On Monday When It Rained, by Cherryl Kachenmeister

Each day the narrator talks about an event that brought about an emotion. This book offers simple explanations for a variety of emotions.

Materials

One or two mirrors
One paint stir stick per child (these can be found at any place that sells paint).
Copy of the Emotion game

Vocabulary

Before Reading the Story

Play Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down with the children. Give a scenario and ask the children if they think this is a thumbs up (kind thing to do) or thumbs down (not kind thing to do). Examples; Ann wants to ride the bike so she goes in front of Michael and tries to pull him off the bike. Ann is playing in the block center and Michael asks her if he can help build a tower. When Michael asks Ann, she says yes. When Ann says she wants a turn on the swing, Michael tells her “you can be next when I am finished”,he then calls her when he gets off the swing. Ann bumps into Michael when they are playing and says she is sorry. Note; young children do not always know right from wrong so you may have to talk about some of your questions and teach them positive social responses.

Social & Emotional Development/Social Relationships; progresses in responding sympathetically to peers who are in need, upset, hurt, or angry; and in expressing empathy or caring to others.

Reading the Story

Stop on each page where the boy talks about his experience and ask the children if they can guess how he feels. When you turn to the page where he names a feeling, ask the children to copy the same facial expression. After reading the last page, ask the children what they think the boy was wondering about? If they give answers such as “What will I play with today?” or “Who will be my friend?”, ask them how it makes them feel.

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.

After Reading the Story

Open up the book to a page where the boy names an emotion. Ask the children if they have ever felt this way. Allow them time to tell their story about the emotion. (When my Mommy turns off my night light I get scared. When Johnny told me I couldn’t play with him I felt sad).

Social & Emotional Development/Self-Concept; begins to develop and express awareness of self in terms of specific abilities, characteristics, and preferences.

Discovery

Put mirrors out along with the book and encourage the children to practice making the facial expression in the mirror, As they play, help them to name the emotion. “Oh, that face looks really angry”. “When you do that you look like you are feeling silly and having fun”.

Approaches to Learning/grows in abilities to persist in and complete a variety of tasks, activities, projects, and experiences. AND Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing abilities to classify, compare, and contrast objects, events, and experiences.

Music and Movement

Sing or chant any days of the week song you might know. Point to your class calendar as you sing.

Literacy/Print Awareness & Appreciation; develops growing understanding of different functions of forms of print such as signs, letters, newspapers, lists, messages, and menus.

Sing If You’re Happy and You Know It changing up the verses to sing and act out different emotions. Ask for the children’s input upon how to act out the emotion (angry-kick foot, stomp fist, jump up and down).

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

Blocks

If room allows, do not put the children’s block structures away but leave them up for tomorrow. Allow the children to continue to build upon yesterday’s block structures for several days. As they continue to build use the words; yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Science/Scientific Knowledge; develops growing awareness of ideas and language related to attributes of time and temperature.

Art

Give each child a paint stir stick and explain that today you are going to paint one side and tomorrow when it is dry you will paint the other. Show the children how to paint stripes onto their paint stir stick but allow to paint anyway that the child chooses. After the second side has dried, drill a hole in one end and hang as a cluster from the ceiling using string or yarn.

Creative Arts/Art; develops growing abilities to plan, work independently, and demonstrate care and persistence in a variety of art projects.

Sand and Water

Water is often very calming to children. Put warm water into the table today and allow the children to choose what equipment they will add.

Science/Scientific Knowledge; develops growing awareness of ideas and language related to attributes of time and temperature.

Library and Writing

Encourage the children to draw a picture about something that they did at school today or at home. After they are finished, ask them to tell you about it as you write their words onto a piece of paper. After their story ask them how it made them feel and write; I felt ______ as the last line of your dictation. Attach their story to their picture.

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

Dramatic Play

Watch the dramatic center closely today and help the children to identify the emotions that each is feeling. Is someone being left out of the play? Is someone bossing everyone around? Help the children to see how their actions affect the emotions of others. And then help the children find positive ways to be included and to share the role playing with others.

Social & Emotional Development/Cooperation; shows increasing abilities to use compromise and discussion in working, playing, and resolving conflicts with peers.

Math and Manipulatives

Make a copy of the Emotion game. Give each child a small manipulative to use as a marker. Take turns rolling a dice and moving your man forward. If you land on a face card, you must make the face, name the emotion, or tell something that makes you feel that way.

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. AND Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing ability to find more than one solution to a question, task, or problem.

Outdoor Play

With chalk, draw 7 squares onto the cement that are large enough for the children to jump into. Show them how to sing your days of the week song as they jump from square to square. Challenge them to jump forward, backward, like a frog, and hop on the squares as they say/sing the days of the week.

Physical Health & Development/Gross Motor Skills; shows increasing levels of proficiency, control, and balance in walking, climbing, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, marching, and galloping.

Transitions

Pull out your classroom calendar and talk to the children about upcoming events. Count how many days until the event. Show the children today on the calendar and then point to tomorrow and tell them what day it will be. Show the children yesterday on the calendar and tell them what day that was. Ask them if they can recall anything they did or ate yesterday.

Science/Scientific Knowledge; develops growing awareness of ideas and language related to attributes of time and temperature.

Dear Parent- Today we talked about the days of the week. This is a difficult subject for young children because many do not fully understand the concept of time. You can help your child by sharing your family calendar. Help your child count the days to upcoming events, talk about what you did yesterday(remember yesterday when grandma called?), and what might be happening tomorrow (tomorrow I am making spaghetti for supper).

Resources

Alex Alligator and his Fearsome Jaws, by Paul Flemming

Alex alligator does not understand why no one wants to be his friend. This book is a good book to talk about bullying behaviors and also teeth! Children like this story because the alligator snaps.

Materials

Alligator mouth for game

Example of A for alligator drawing, B for butterfly, A for ice cream cone****

Several toothbrushes for painting.

Vocabulary

Fearsome (terrifying or frightening)

Handsome (good looking)

Before Reading the Story

Tell the children that each of us is very special and each has a feature/something special they should be proud of themselves for/about. Give the children an example about yourself ( I like that my legs are strong so I am a good runner, I like that my hair is long so it moves in the wind, I like that my eyes are green like my cats). Let the children name some things that they like about themselves. Introduce the story by showing the children the cover. Tell them that this is Alex Alligator and he is proud about something too. Can anybody guess? He is proud of his fearsome jaw and many teeth. Ask, What do you think will happen if he shows all those teeth to the other animals?

Social & Emotional Development/Self-Concept;begins to develop and express awareness of self in terms of specific abilities, characteristics, and preferences. AND Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates progress in abilities to retell nad dictate stories from books and experiences; to act out stories in dramatic play; amd to predict what will happen next in a story.

Reading the Story

Use the snapper that the story provides and show the children how to make an alligator using their hand in an open/closed fashion. Have them snap along with the story.

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

After Reading the Story

Ask, why were all the animals afraid of Alex alligator? (He had mean teeth, they thought he was gonna eat them, he’s an alligator). Explain to the children that sometimes people do not know that they are doing things that make other people afraid of them or not want to play with them. Give some examples, minus names, of things that you have seen in your classroom. (Yesterday I saw one of my friends go into the block center and another child snapped at him, You can’t play here! This morning I saw one of my friends ask if she could have the glue and another child just pretended that she was not even there). How does it make you feel when people treat you badly or snap at you (sad, scared, mad). Let’s practice some better ways to talk to people. Tell the children that you are going to play a friend game. Go around the circle and ask the children questions about being friends. (Kerry what would you do if I asked you for the scissors but you were still using them? What could you say if a friend was watching you build with legos? What should you say if a friend pushes you when we are lining up to go outside?). Think of times in your own room where you see situations arise. If necessary help the children by talking through appropriate responses.

Social & Emotional Development/Social relationships; progresses in responding sympathetically to peers who are in need, upset, hurt, or angry; and in expressing empathy or caring for others.

Discovery

Bring in any real teeth that you might have for the children to look at with a magnifying glass. If you have no real teeth, bring in a book of animals that shows their teeth. (Ask your Dentist for any of your old x-rays)

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.

Music and Movement

Do the movement rhyme, Here Comes Hungry Alligator by Lori Van Winden

Here comes hungry alligator

(Put one hand on top of the other and sway back & forth )

He goes chomp, chomp, chomp

(Open and close hands)

In the swamp, swamp, swamp.

So swim fast little fish

(Use one hand to make a fish swimming)

Birds, fly away!

(Raise arms and flap)

Move along turtles and crabs

(wiggle fingers)

Hurry out of the way!

Because here comes the hungry Alligator

(Put one hand on top of the other and sway back & forth.)

Going chomp, chomp, chomp

(Open and close hands)

In the swamp, swamp, swamp.

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

Blocks

Challenge the children to make a path using blocks from one side of the center to the other. Can they walk across without falling off? Can they walk it backwards? When finished the path may look thin like a balance beam or wider like a sidewalk.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows progress in using standard and non-standard measures for length and area of objects. AND Physical Health & Development/Gross Motor Skills; shows increasing levels of proficiency, control, and balance in walking, climbing, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, marching, and galloping.

Art

Give the children pieces of yellow paper that has been cut into a large tooth shape. Put out bowls of white paint and toothbrushes. The children can brush the teeth to a pearly white. While they work, talk to them about dental hygiene and allow them to share their toothbrushing experiences.

Creative Arts/Art; begins to understand and share opinions about artistic products and experiences.

Library and Writing

Show the children how to make a capital A on a piece of paper. Now turn it on its side and draw an alligator head! The children can add teeth and an eye. Try doing lots of different letters, what shapes can they make?

Literacy/Alphabet Knowledge; shows progress in associating the names of letters with their shapes and sounds.

Sand and Water

Water play. Add long rectangle blocks to pretend to be alligators.

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

Dramatic Play

While brushing your teeth today, pretend that you are alligators. Brush all your handsome teeth and when you are through, smile a toothy grin and then chomp, chomp, chomp just for fun.

Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; shows growing independence in hygiene nutrition, and personal care when eating , dressing, washing hands, brushing teeth, and toileting.

Math and Manipulatives

Play, The Alligator’s Fearsome Teeth. Make 4 copies of the alligator mouth. Cover them with contact paper. Show the children how to roll tiny balls of play dough to represent the teeth. Now you are ready to begin the game. The children take turns rolling the dice. They may then add that many teeth to their alligator. The winner is the first to fill the alligator’s mouth with fearsome teeth.

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

Outdoor Play

Use a balance beam and practice walking the plank. My class liked to use the edge of the sandbox as the balance beam. They often played that if they fell off into the sandbox that there was an alligator or shark ready to eat them. Encourage them to try walking forward, backward, and sliding along the beam.

Physical Health & Development/Gross Motor Skills; shows increasing levels of proficiency, control, and balance in walking, climbing, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, marching, and galloping.

Transitions

As the children go to the next activity ask them to answer a question about teeth and dental care. (What kind of doctor takes care of your teeth? When should you brush your teeth? What will happen if you do not brush your teeth? Is drinking soda pop healthy for your teeth? Is it ok to try to open things with your teeth? Why not?).

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 responding appropriately to potentially harmful objects, substances, and activities.

Dear Parent- today we talked about the importance of brushing our teeth. Children should brush their teeth every day. Watch your child to make sure that he/she is brushing up and down as well as back and forth.

Resources

At the Firehouse, Anne Rockwell

This book introduces the children to what happens at a firehouse. It would be a good book to read before taking a field trip to the firehouse.

Materials

Small syringes or spray bottles

Vocabulary

Shiny (all bright and polished clean)
Glow in the dark
Extension ladder (something that gets longer and longer)
Exit (this way out/in case of a fire)

Before Reading the Story

Bring in a smoke detector and talk to the children about what it is and how it keeps us safe. Turn it on so they can hear the loud piercing sound. Talk about what they should do if they ever hear this sound at school or in their home.

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 responding appropriately to potentially harmful objects, substances, and activities.

Reading the Story

Stop on the page that shows all the parts of a fire truck for a few moments and talk with the children about what the part is called and how it might be used.

Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Communities; develops growing awareness of jobs and what is required to perform them. AND Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; uses an increasingly complex and varied spoken vocabulary.

After Reading the Story

Have a pretend fire drill with your class. Do the children know where to go, what to do or not do when they hear the alarm? Do they know to walk versus run to the exit?

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 responding appropriately to potentially harmful objects, substances, and activities.

Discovery

Bring in a smoke detector and show it to the children. Have the children cover their ears and then turn it on so they can hear the shrill sound. Talk about the sound that the smoke detector makes. Do you think you could hear it if you were sleeping? Talk about the fire alarm at your school. What do you do in case the alarm goes off at school? Practice having a fire evacuation with the children making sure to tell them what is going to happen before it happens so that they are prepared and will not become frightened.

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 responding appropriately to potentially harmful objects, substances, and activities.

Music and Movement

Use masking tape to put a ladder design down on the floor. The children can use this for jumping or walking the lines.

Physical Health & Development/Gross Motor Skills; shows increasing levels of proficiency, control, and balance walking, climbing, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, marching, and galloping.

Sing Stop, Drop, and Roll to The Farmer in the Dell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c0srtQUZtE

Stop, drop, and roll

If my clothes are on fire

I stop, drop, and roll.

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

Blocks

Add any fire trucks that you may have to the center. If you have none, draw a simple fire truck like that in the story and tape it to the side of the blocks. Encourage the children to be firemen and save the burning building.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; shows growing creativity and imagination in using materials and in assuming different roles in dramatic play situations. AND Social & Emotional Development/Cooperation; increases abilities to sustain interactions with peers by helping, sharing, and discussion.

Art

Put out red, orange and yellow finger paint. Show the children how to make zig zags like fire flames. Also practice making circles and wavy lines.

Creative Arts/Art; progresses in abilities to create drawings, paintings, models, and other art creations that are more detailed, realistic, and creative.

Sand and Water

Fire persons use lots of water. Put out water today with small syringes and/or spray bottles. The children can practice putting out fires. Give them bowls to aim their spray at, or make bulls eyes using cardboard and markers so that when they hit the mark, the color bleeds.

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

Library and Writing

Put the book on the writing table and the children can try to draw their own fire trucks using the design on the balloons in the story. Take a moment and discuss and name all the parts of the fire truck.

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

Make EXIT signs that resemble those in your classroom. Ask the children to show you where the signs are, in the room and then practice writing the letters on a piece of paper.

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.

Dramatic play

Add some fire hats, jackets, and boxes to the center so the children can drive their own fire truck. If this is an extended unit they can take the box outside and paint it red.

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

Math and Manipulatives

Bring in a play phone and have the children take turns practicing dialing 911.

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

Outdoor Play

Have a tricycle wash today or a chair wash to make them nice and shiny.

Social & Emotional Development/Cooperation; increases abilities to sustain interactions with peers by helping, sharing, and discussion.

Transitions

As the children prepare to go to the next center say, “My Firefighter Friend hold up a card with a child’s name written on it may go and fight a fire. Continue until all the children’s names have been held up.

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

Dear Parent-

Today we talked about fire safety. Have you made an evacuation plan for your family in case of a fire or emergency? Find a spot away from the house to meet and practice getting there safely with your child.