Author Archives: Kerry C

Night Shift, by Jessie Hartland

When most of us are getting ready for bed, there are many people who are just going to work.  Meet the many people and the jobs they do while you and I are sleeping.  Meet the people who work the Night Shift.

Materials

  • Paper dolls and clothing cut out.  (For a long lasting paper doll set, cover with contact paper and attach small Velcro circles to attach.  Or make out of felt and use with the felt board.
  • Collage materials (feather, sequence, fabric squares, buttons, pipe cleaner bits, silk flower heads, etc.).
  • Alphabet print letters and inkpad
  • Several buckets and 2-inch paintbrushes
  • Plastic lids and containers of various sizes
  • Pictures of Donuts for Finger play
  • Colored chalk

Vocabulary

  • Mannequin (model of a person or animal)
  • Topiary ( cutting and trimming of bushes, shrubs, and trees)
  • Askew (crooked)
  • Evaporate (to turn from liquid to vapor from the heat of the sun)

Before Reading the Story

Ask the children if any of them know what their parent does for work?  Ask; is your parent home at night with you?  That is because your parent works the day shift.  They work during the day and sleep at night.  Our story today is about the nightshift.  Ask the children if anyone can guess what that means (the people work all night and sleep during the day while we are here at school.  Ask the children if they can think of any job that you might have to do at night?  After giving them an opportunity to answer, introduce the book.

Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Communities; develops growing awareness of jobs and what is required to perform them. AND Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; grows in eagerness to learn about and discuss a growing range of topics, ideas, and tasks.

Reading the Story

Each introduction to a night shift job starts with a question.  Turn the page and see if the children can name the job. Before reading the title of the worker.

Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Communities; develops growing awareness of jobs and what is required to perform them.

After Reading the Story

Tell the children that there are a lot of important jobs that are done during the night shift when you and I are sleeping!  Turn to any page in the book and read the title of the night shift worker.  Ask the children, “Who can remember what this person does”?  Give the children a moment to talk about the job and then turn to another page and continue in the same fashion.

Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; develops increasing abilities to understand and use language to communicate information, experiences, ideas, feelings, opinions, needs, questions; and for other varied purposes.

Discovery

Use the pictures of day and night for sorting. As the children sort, ask them questions about what they like to do during the day and at night. Ask about their evening rituals and talk about some of your daily rituals/routines.

Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; develops increasing ability to understand and use language to communicate information, experiences, ideas, feelings, opinions, needs, questions; and for other varied purposes.

Music and Movement

Remind the children that the Late-Night Radio DJ plays favorite songs for people.  Let the children choose the music that you will sing and the CD’s that you will dance to today.

Creative Arts/Music; participates with increasing interest and enjoyment in a variety of music activities, including listening, singing, finger plays, games, and performances.

Five Little Donuts make five donuts by either cutting out pictures or drawing. Put tape on the back and attach to the wall where the children can all see and come up and take one.

Down around the corner  (point to the right)
In the bakery shop
There were 5 little doughnuts  (hold up 5 fingers)
With sprinkles on top
Along came _________ all alone
She/he grabbed a big one and ran on home  (clap hands)
(Repeat 4, 3, 2, 1)

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways.

Blocks

Remind the children that the Zookeeper works all night to keep the animals of the zoo safe and healthy.  Put your zoo animals in the center today and encourage the children to make cages for like animals.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; shows growth in matching, sorting, putting in a series, and regrouping objects according to one or two attributes such as color, shape. or size.

Art

Remind the children that the window Dressers decorated the windows with feathers and fluff and lots of fun stuff.  Put out your best collage materials today.  Give each child a piece of construction paper and let them create their own fancy designs.

Creative Arts/ Art; gains ability in using different art media and materials in a variety of ways for creative expression and representation.

Give each child a piece of dark colored paper and a small cup of water.  Show them how to dip the colored chalk in the water and then write on the dark colored paper.  Can they write their name?  Let the children practice drawing and writing and letters.

Literacy/Early Writing; progresses from using scribbles, shapes, or pictures to represent ideas, to using letter-like symbols, to copying or writing familiar words such as their own name.

Sand and Water

Remind the children that the Freighter Captain works all night to bring containers of food to the ports where they will go to the grocery store.  Put out the plastic lids and containers along with many 1-inch cubes or other manipulative.  Explain to the children that you are going to see which container/lid can hold the most 1-inch cubes without sinking in the water.  Show the children how to carefully place the cubes onto the lid/container.  Count, which holds the most.  Count, how many does each hold?  Who can put the most containers (cubes) onto a boat?

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways. AND Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to use senses and a variety of tools and simple measuring devices to gather information, investigate materials, and observe processes and relationships.

Library and Writing

Remind the children that the Newspaper Printer prints the paper all night long so that in the morning it will be ready to read.  Put out Alphabet ink pad letters and ink pads.  The children practice printing-going in an up and down movement to make letters on their paper.

Literacy/Alphabet knowledge;identifies at least 10 letters of the alphabet, especially those in their own name.

Dramatic Play

Remind the children that Fishermen sometimes work all night trying to catch fish for people to eat.  Turn your dramatic center into a fishing boat by bringing in 4-6 chairs and facing them all together touching.  Make fishing poles out of rulers with pieces of yarn tied at one end.  At the other end, tie a magnet.  Make fish and label each fish with a concept that you are learning (letters, numbers, colors).  Add several large paperclips to each fish.  The children can pretend to be fishing as they try to tap a magnet onto a paper clipped fish.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; participates in a variety of dramatic play activities that become more extended and complex.

Math and Manipulatives

 Put out paper dolls for the children to dress.   http://teachingbymom.blogspot.com/2012/10/free-printable-paper-doll-dress-up.html   OR            https://www.freekidscrafts.com/playtime-paper-doll-bodies/

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; grows in hand-eye coordination in building with blocks, putting together puzzles, reproducing shapes and patterns, stringing beads, and using scissors.

Outdoor Play

Fill buckets with water and give the children the 2-inch paint brushes to paint the playground!  As they are painting, help them to notice what happens to the water/paint after a few moments in the sun (it evaporates)

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to participate in simple investigations to test observations, discuss and draw conclusions, and form generalizations.

As the children ride their tricycles around the path today, stop them and tell them that you have to work on the road before they can pass.  Use a broom to sweep the walk.  After a moment, wave the riders on.  Let other children take turns working on the road, being the sweeper, and the riders.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; shows growing creativity and imagination in using materials and in assuming different roles in dramatic play situations.

Transitions

At lunch today, pretend to be a waitress.  Ask the child if they would like coffee or tea to drink?  Then pour their drink for them today and say, “Enjoy your Coffee/Tea”.

Resources

Mannequin (model of a person or animal)


fishing game

for sorting day and night pictures

Are You My Mother? by PD Eastman

One day a baby bird hatches from his egg and his mother is not there! Follow little birds’ trail as he looks for his mother.

Materials

  • Pictures of things that are alive/not alive from story and magazines
  • Several scarves or bandanas
  • Colored feathers or pieces of paper strips to represent feathers

Vocabulary

  • Alive (something that eats/drinks, grows, depends upon their environment where they live, and breaths.)

Before Reading the Story

Ask the children if they know what it means to be alive. Define for them that being alive means things that eat/drink, grow, depend upon their environment where they live, and breathe. Ask the children if a fish is alive, a bear, their Mom, a rock, a tree? Make a list of alive-not alive with the children. Ask the children about a variety of objects and list them on a sheet of paper as ‘alive’-‘not alive’. Add any items to the list that they might share.

Science/Scientific Knowledge; Expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things and natural processes.

Reading the Story

As you read the story, ask the children about each thing that the baby bird thinks is its Mother. What is it? Is it alive, or not alive?  Why or why not? (a car does not breathe and does not grow).

Language Development/Speaking and Communicating; develops increasing abilities to understand and use language to communicate information, experiences, ideas, feelings, opinions, needs, questions; and for other varied purposes.

After Reading the Story

Ask the children if they remember why the mother bird left the nest. Talk to the children about what they would do if they woke up and could not find their mother? Would you be scared? Ask if anyone has ever gotten lost in a store or a park. How did it feel? If the children have not had this experience, share one of yours with them.   What should you do if you are lost or you cannot find your parent?

Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; Builds awareness and ability to follow basic health and safety rules such as fire safety, traffic, and pedestrian safety, and in responding appropriately to potentially harmful objects, substances, and activities.

Discovery

Tell the children that the baby bird thought all kinds of things were his mother.   Some were alive and some were not, cut and sort magazine pictures by things that are alive and things that are not alive.

Mathematical/Geometry & Spatial Sense; shows growth in matching, sorting, putting in a series, and regroup objects according to one or two attributes such as color, shape, or size. AND Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; develops strength, dexterity, and control needed to use tools such as scissors, paper punch, stapler, and a hammer.

Music and Movement

Act out being birds. Sit on your eggs and get comfortable. (Children can squat down and pretend to rustle their wings by flapping their arms). Fly down from your nest and look for food. (Children can stand up and pretend to fly around the room). What do you eat? Look for worms and bugs. (Show the children how to pinch their thumb and fingers to make a pretend beak). Use your beak to pick the worm out of the ground. Hold the worm in your beak and fly back to nest and feed your babies. (Open and shut your beak and pretend to feed baby birds in the nest). Now be the baby birds and pop out of the egg. Stretch your wings and peep for food because you are hungry from all that pecking. Practice flapping your wings and then try to fly, slowly at first and then faster.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; shows growing creativity and imagination in using materials and in assuming different roles in dramatic play situations.

 Blocks

Add animals, preferably adults and their babies or large and small similar animals for the children to sort as they play.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows increasing abilities to match, sort, put in a series, and regroup objects according to one or two attributes such as shape or size.

 Art

Bring out the play dough. Ask the children if they can make a ball, an egg, a long snake, and a mother bird.

Creative Arts/ Art; gains ability in using different art media and materials in a variety of ways for creative expression and representation.

Library and Writing

Ask the children to draw a picture of their Mom, or other caretaker, doing something special with them. Write what the children dictate about their Mom, or other caretaker. (My Mom gives me ice cream, My Grandma took me to the park and we saw a squirrel that runned up the tree).

Literacy/Early Writing; begins to represent stories and experiences through pictures, dictation, and in play.

Sand and Water

Add grass and mud to the table. Challenge the children to make a nest for baby bird. Add small rocks to be eggs.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; approaches tasks and activities with increased flexibility, imagination, and inventiveness.

Dramatic Play

Put out scarves or bandanas like Mother Bird is wearing. Encourage the children to cook nutritious meals for their babies. (Do you have a fruit for your baby? What vegetable will you cook? What is your baby drinking?)

Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; builds awareness to follow basic health and safety rules.

Math and Manipulatives

Add a variety of colored feathers and a piece of dark paper. Show the children how they can use the feathers to make designs and patterns on the paper.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurements; enhances abilities to recognize, duplicate, and extend simple patterns using a variety of materials.

Outdoor Play

Teach the children how to not get kidnapped. Tell the children that you are going to pretend to be a stranger and try to take them into your car. Explain to the children that you are going to grab them by the arm and pretend to try to get them in your (pretend) car. Explain to the children that if this were to happen they should throw themselves on the ground and shout loudly, “You are not my mother!” Practice giving each child a turn. Encourage them to shout loud!

Physical Health & Development/ Health Status & Practices; Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; Builds awareness and ability to follow basic health and safety rules such as fire safety, traffic, and pedestrian safety, and in responding appropriately to potentially harmful objects, substances, and activities.

Transitions

As the children go off to the next area, tell them that they are to think of an animal that starts with a letter sound. Use the child’s first letter or one that is simple to think of an animal. Call each child and give them the letter sound i.e.; Kerry-cat, Roger-rhinoceros. Then ask them, “are you my mother?” Help the children respond using a full sentence; “No I am not your mother, I am a cat, meow” “No I am not your mother, I am a rhinoceros, hunn.”

Literacy/Phonological Awareness; shows growing awareness of beginning and ending sounds of words.

Dear Parents, Today we read the book, Are You My Mother? By PD Eastman. In the book the baby bird does not know what his Mother looks like and goes to find her. It might be fun to take a few minutes and look through old pictures that you might have of family members and talk about each one. (This is a picture of me when I was your age and that is Grandpa holding me in his lap.

Resources

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A Birthday Basket for Tia, by Pat Mora

It’s Tia’s birthday, what special gifts will she find in the basket?

Materials

  • Large basket to hold a book, a teacup, a mixing bowl, a (red) ball, a flowerpot, and some silk flowers.
  • A circle graph
  • A sheet, or towel, large enough to cover the items in the basket.
  • Pillowcase
  • 10 flannel candles, color these yellow and blue
  • Copy of basket, one per child
  • old wrapping paper or aluminum foil
  • 4-5 pipe cleaners cut into thirds

Vocabulary

  • Tia (means Aunt in Spanish)
  • Tea Cup (a special cup to drink tea in)
  • Surprise (to give somebody something unexpectedly)

Introducing the story

Bring the large basket filled with the items listed. Tell the children that you have a surprise for my Tia/aunt whom I love very much. Ask them if they can guess why you are giving them to your Tia. “Yes! It’s her birthday!” If nobody suggests birthday, tell the children because it is her birthday. Pick up each item and have the children name. Ask the children how they celebrate birthdays. Write their responses on a large sheet of paper.

Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; develops increasing abilities to understand and use language to communicate information, experiences, ideas, feelings, opinions, needs, questions; and for other varied purposes.

Reading the Story

Read the story quietly, secretly as though you do not want Tia to hear. As you read, hold up each item in the basket when presented in the story and put down in front of you in a haphazard order.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems.

After Reading the Story

Ask the children to recall what item was put in the basket first, second, third, last. Put the items back in the basket in the proper order with the help of the children.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates progress in abilities to retell and dictate stories from books and experiences; to act out stories in dramatic play; and to predict what will happen next in a story.

Use the circle graph and take the list of the children responses of how they celebrate birthdays and mark those that are like the story and those that are different.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; begins to make comparisons between several objects based on a single attribute. 

 Music and Movement

Sing Happy Birthday with your children. Or, try

Happy Birdle Daydle toodle yooudle.
Happy Birdle Daydle toodle youdle
Happy Birdle Daydle deardle youdle
Happy Birdle Daydle toodle youdle.

Literacy/Phonological Awareness; shows growing awareness of beginning and ending sounds in words.

Or teach them to sing it in Spanish

Feliz cumpleaños a ti
feliz cumpleaños a ti
feliz cumpleaños querido/a (name)
feliz cumpleaños a ti.

Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; uses an increasingly complex and varied spoken vocabulary.

Discovery

Without the children being able to see, put an object into the pillowcase. It should be something from the classroom that the children are familiar with. Let the children take turns feeling the item through the pillow case. Can they guess what it is without looking? After each child, change the object. Try putting in the objects from the story also. Encourage the children to take turns finding a classroom object and putting it into the pillowcase for a friend to guess.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; approaches tasks and activities with increased flexibility, imagination, and inventiveness. Chooses to participate in increasing variety of tasks and activities.

Blocks

Give the children scraps of wrapping paper and tape, or pieces of aluminum foil, and show them how to wrap the blocks up like gifts.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; develops growing strength, dexterity, and control needed to use tools such as scissors, paper punch, stapler, and hammer.

Art

Use the teacup and a variety of cups to print circle shapes on paper. Talk about small, medium, and large circles as they print.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; begins to be able to determine whether or not two shapes are the same size and shape.

Sand and Water

Use dampened sand today to make cakes. Add pieces of pipe cleaners to represent candles. Encourage the children to add 3 candles, 5 candles, etc.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; develops increased abilities to combine, separate, and name “how many” concrete objects.

Library and Writing

Give children a copy of the basket and ask them to draw a picture of a gift that they would give to Tia.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; shows growing interest in reading related activities, such as asking to have a book read; choosing to look at books; drawing pictures based on stories, asking to take books home…

Dramatic Play

Put the basket with the items from the story (minus the tea cup-replace with a plastic one) and encourage the children to play birthday party. You could also add some crepe paper and tape, some boxes to put items in, and birthday hats.

Social & Emotional Development/Cooperation; develops increasing abilities to give and take in interactions; to take turns in games or using materials; and to interact without being overly submissive or directive.

Math and Manipulatives

Teach the children the poem, Ten Little Candles and let them subtract the candles as you recite.

10 Little Candles standing on a cake (Put the 10 candles on the flannel board)
Whhh, Whhh, now there are 8 (Take 2 candles away)
8 little candles in candlesticks
Whhh, Whhh, now there are 6 (Take 2 candles away)
6 little candles and not one more
Whhh, Whhh, now there are 4 (Take away 2 candles)
4 little candles, yellow and blue
Whhh, Whhh, now there are 2 (Take away 2 candles)
2 little candles, 1 plus 1
Whhh, Whhh, now there are none. (Take away 2 candles)

Mathematics/Number & Operations; demonstrates increasing interest and awareness of numbers and counting as a means for solving problems and determining quantity.

For younger children you might try Five Little Candles

5 little candles standing tall
Burning brightly, count them all
Puff, I blow with all my might
And out goes one little candle light.
Then so on for 4, 3, etc.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; demonstrates increasing interest and awareness of numbers and counting as a means for solving problems and determining quantity.

Outdoor Play

Hang a piñata from a tree and practice hitting it with a plastic baseball bat. If you do not have a piñata you can use a pillowcase stuffed with newspaper, sack, anything that the children can practice hitting at. You do not need to fill it with goodies, you can pretend.

Physical Health & Development/Gross Motor Skills; demonstrates increasing abilities to coordinate movements in throwing, catching, kicking, bouncing balls, and using slide and swing.

Transitions

Have each child pretend to blow out the birthday candles. Remove 1-10 and the child must tell you how many remain before they go to the next activity.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; develops increasing ability to count in sequence to 10 and beyond.

Dear Parents, Today we read a story about a birthday celebration. Talk with your child about when their birthday is. Tell them the date and what happens just before. Example; Kerry your birthday is March 11, when it is your birthday it will begin to get warmer because soon it will be spring. Roger your birthday is December 23, when it is almost Christmas it will be your birthday.

Resources

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candles
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