Mary Wore Her Red Dress, by Merle Peek

Today is Mary’s birthday and her friends are coming to help her celebrate. Sing your way through this folk song and name colors and articles of clothing along the way.

Materials

Pictures of articles of clothing
M&M’s or jelly beans for math
Swatches of various fabrics, two of each
Box of birthday candles/silk flowers
Birthday party supplies, crepe paper, wrapping paper, hats, etc..

Vocabulary

Sneakers (gym shoes)
Bandana (a scarf that you can wear on your head or around your neck)

Before Reading the Story

Talk to the children about their birthdays. Who is the next in your classroom to have a birthday? Who was the last birthday? How many children are 4 and will turn 5? How many are 5 and will turn 6? Let the children share with you any birthday experiences that they choose. (When it was my birthday I had a pink cake. I got a scooter for my birthday).

Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; progresses iin abilities to initiate and respond appropriately in conversation and discussions with peers and adults.

Reading the Story

First time through, sing the story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N284P3zpL_4. As you turn to the next page, ask the children if they can name the color.

Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; uses an increasing complex and varied spoken vocabulary. AND Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems.

After Reading the Story

Second time, go back through the story and this time read the pictures with the children. On each page let the children talk about what they see. (What kind of animal is Mary? Where is she? What is she doing? Why is she walking across that log? What is on her head? What do you think is inside the box?) Allow plenty of time for the children to discuss and share their party experiences with one another.

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

Discovery

Make several copies of the clothing and color them. Put a piece of tape on the back or make them into flannel board pieces. On an index card write the colors that you made the clothes (blue=shirt) and color the card to correspond. Now hold up a color card and ask a child to find the piece of clothing that matches the color. The children can match color words to colored clothing. Ask them to name the article of clothing.

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

Bring in swatches of various types of fabrics. Talk about the textures and patterns that the fabric have. Let the children match the two pieces of fabric that are the same.

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

Music and Movement

Put on the song This is a Song About Color by Hap Palmer and follow the directions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v-nocdm20g

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multiple-step directions.

Use the tune of the story today and sing about the children in your classroom. Go around the circle and ask each child to name one article of clothing that they are wearing today. Sing about it. While you are singing, clap to the beat of the song. What other movements can you do to the beat of the song? (Sean is wearing his cowboy boots, cowboy boots, cowboy boots. Sean is wearing his cowboy boots all day long. Ryan is wearing his dinosaur shirt…).

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

Sing any song you have about colors, for example, The Rainbow Song. Have the children point to any colors that they might be wearing.

Red and yellow and pink and green,

Purple and orange and blue, black, brown and white

I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow too.

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

Sing the Happy Birthday Song.

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

Blocks

In the story Mary is crossing a log-bridge. Challenge the children to make bridges (balance beam) today that they can walk across or their cars can drive across.

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

Put large balloon shapes at the easel and let the children paint the balloons. When they dry they can be hung up together with yarn to look like balloon strings. Hang near your birthday chart.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; progresses in abilities to use writing, drawing, and art tools, including pencils, markers, chalk, paint brushes, and various types of technology.

Library and Writing

Copy the clothing page to a large format and let the children choose which they choose to color. After they color their clothing article, ask them to describe it. Underneath it write _____ wore her _____all day long (Kerry wore her green and white striped sweater all day long). Put these together and make a classroom book that the children can learn to sing.

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

Sand and Water

Dampen the sand add birthday candles and silk flowers. Let the children be a birthday bakery and design cakes.

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

Dramatic Play;

Add birthday party materials; crepe paper, birthday hats, gift bags, wrapping paper. Let the children play birthday party.

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

Math and Manipulatives

This would be a fun day to do M&M math activities or jelly bean math.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to use language to compare numbers of objects with terms such as more, less, greater than, fewer, equal to.

Make three sets of each clothing article. Color one that corresponds with the story and color 2 that do not. Ask the child, can you remember what color shirt, dress, shoes, were in the story? Put out the book and the articles of clothing and show the children how to look up the answers.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; shows growing interest in reading related activities, such as asking to have a favorite book read; choosing to look at books; asking to take books hoe; and engaging in pretend reading with other children.

Outdoor Play

Have the children all line up on one side of the playground. Tell them the object of the game is to be the first to the other side of the playground but you have to follow the directions to get there. Call out different colors and actions. If the child is wearing the color, they may do the action. (If you are wearing red take 5 giant steps, if you are wearing green take 3 skips).

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multiple-step directions. AND Social & Emotional Development/Self-Control; demonstrates increasing capacity to follow rules and routines and use materials purposefully, safely, and respectfully.

Transitions

Play I Spy as the children head to the next activity. (I spy a child who is wearing a red shirt with yellow stripes, I spy a child who is wearing black shoes with a white laces)

Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; grows in recognizing and solving problems through active exploration, including trial and error, and interactions and discussions with peers and adults.

Little Gorilla by Ruth Bornstein

Everybody loves little gorilla, a baby in the jungle. When he has his first birthday he discovers that he is no longer a little gorilla, but he is still loved.

Materials

Picture of a real gorilla from a book or magazine.
How to draw a gorilla directions
2 Washcloths and towels
crepe paper
wrapping paper, foil, or newsprint (to use for wrapping)
several shoe boxes or blocks (to use for wrapping)
Large banana cards for measuring
1/2 Banana per child, cereal (i.e. Cheerios), and small baggie per child.

Vocabulary

Gorilla (a cousin to the monkey. Gorillas grow really, really big)

Introducing the Story

Begin a discussion about babies. What kinds of things can babies do? What kinds of things can babies not do? Show the children the picture of a gorilla and the cover of the book, Little Gorilla. Ask if they know what kind of animal this is? Tell the children that all animals, just like people start off as babies and that they grow up to be big and strong.

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and respect for their bodies and the environment.

Reading the story

Emphasize the word grow as you read. When you get to the page where the animals sing Happy Birthday to Little Gorilla, stop and let the children sing along.

After Reading the story

Ask the children what their family and friends do to make them feel loved?

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

Music and Movement

Teach the poem, When I Was One Years Old. Have the children scrunch down low and as you say the poem they grow taller and taller until they are reaching towards the ceiling.

When I was one years old,

I was very,very small

But now I’m 3 years old

And I’ve grown up big and tall!

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

Discovery

Put out books/pictures of animal babies and mothers. Encourage the children to tell how they look alike and different.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; develops increased ability to observe and discuss common properties, differences ,and comparisons among objects and materials.

Make banana pops with the children. (Give each child a half of a banana and a small baggie of cereal). Have the children crush the cereal and then cut the banana into three pieces and put the banana pieces into the baggie. Shake it up and then take it out to eat.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multiple-step directions.

Blocks

Add animals to blocks. Ask the children if they can arrange the animals from smallest to largest.

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

Art

Put out the How to Draw a Monkey directions and encourage the children to try to read teh directions and draw.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; progresses in abilities to use writing, drawing, and art tools, including pencils, markers, chalk, paint brushes, and various types of technology.

Sand and Water

Put any hard plastic baby dolls that you have in water today. Add several washcloths and towels for the children to give the dolls baths. Remind them that babies and children need to stay clean and healthy.

Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; shows growing independence in hygiene, nutrition, and personal care when eating, dressing, washing hands, brushing teeth, and toileting. AND Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; participates in a variety of dramatic play activities that become more extended and complex.

Library and Writing

Cut out the picture cards. Have the children sort them by pictures that start with the G sound and those that do not.

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

Dramatic Play

Let the children play Birthday Party. Give them the crepe paper to decorate by hanging on the walls. Give them the boxes or blocks to wrap with paper and masking tape as gifts. Add any other party supplies that you might have.

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

Math and Manipulatives

Make several copies of the large banana card and have the children use it to measure how many bananas tall their partner is. Record (Kerry is 4 bananas tall). Encourage them to also measure the table, the book shelf. etc..

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows progress in using standard and non-standard measures for length and area of objects.

Outdoors

Use a ball to play Monkey in the Middle. Two people throw a ball back and forth. Some one, the monkey, is in the middle and must try to get the ball before the throwers. If they do, then a thrower goes in the middle and the monkey comes out to be a thrower.

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

Transitions;

Play I’m Bigger Than-Smaller Than. Make up riddles for the children to solve. (I am an animal that is bigger than a cow. I have wrinkly skin and a long nose called a trunk. I am smaller than a mouse. I am an insect that has spots on my back and wings to fly).

Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing abilities to classify, compare, and contrast objects, events, and experiences. AND Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes.

Resources

Things that start with /G/ and things that do not

Happy Birthday Moon, by Frank Asch

This is the story about a little bear who wants to share something special with the moon on its birthday.

Materials

Pictures of the moon in the sky at night to go with poem
Recipe card for Man in the Moon treats
Cream cheese and round crackers
Plastic knives to spread
Small box of raisins

Vocabulary

Echo (to repeat a sound)

Before reading the Story

Talk to the children about what an echo is. Sing an echo song (examples; There was a Man, Going on a Bear hunt). Practice having the children echo back responses by naming letters while you hold up cards and say first, TEG, SFP, DBV

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

Tell the children that you are going to read a story and need their help to be the echo.

Reading the Story

As you read the story, stop when you get to the part where Bear shouts; “Hello!” This time his own voice echoed off one of the mountains:” Hello!” Tell the children that they are the echo now and repeat back all the things that Bear thinks the moon is saying. Continue this way to the end of the story. For older children you can write the echos on paper and hold up so the children can see the sentence as they echo back to you.

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

After Reading the Story

Talk to the children about the moon. When do you see the moon? Does it always look the same? The moon helps to light the sky at night. What else helps to light the sky at night? The moon looks like it is growing in the sky and then gets little again, this is called a moon cycle. Read the poem, The Moon, anonymous.

Sometimes the moon is full Hold up full moon picture

And shows a circle of light

And sometimes the moon looks like Hold up half moon picture

One half a ball at night.

Sometimes the moon is only Hold up new moon picture

A sliver and hardly more

But all the night the moon is out there

When you look out of your door

Science/Scientific Knowledge; develops growing awareness of ideas and language related to attributes of time and temperature. AND Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems.

Discovery

Using books and magazines that depict nocturnal animal life. Help the children develop a list of animals that come out at night. Notice the eyes of many of the animals are large, better to see at night with.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; shows growing interest in reading-related activities, such as asking to have a favorite book read; choosing books to look at; drawing pictures based on stories; asking to take books home; asking to go to the library; and engaging in pretend reading with other children.

Music and Movement

Teach the children the chorus to I See The Moon. If you have time teach them the verses also. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4ZOGGRGuTw

Teach songs with Echo like Frere Jacques https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QblcSZcRDBA

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

Blocks

In the story Bear climbed to the highest mountain. Challenge the children to build a very tall structure. You might start this activity with the children using one inch cubes or small blocks instead of the unit blocks.

Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; grows in abilities to persist in and complete a variety of tasks, activities, projects, and experiences.

Art

Cut out moon shapes from a manila folder. Show children how to take 1 inch squares of tissue paper, crumple into small ball and glue it onto the moon shape.

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

Sand and Water

Put water in the table 2 inches deep. Give the children lids, small plastic containers, and boats. Show the children how to put counting bears on to the boats/containers, lids to make boats to float the bears. How many bears can you put in a boat?

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to use one-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups of objects. AND Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; grows in hand-eye coordination in building with blocks, putting together puzzles, reproducing patterns and shapes, stringing beads and using scissors.

Library and Writing

Play the Man in the Moon only speaks in ‘m’ words. With the children in a circle, go around taking turns thinking of words that start with the letter M. Also try putting an ‘m’ sound as the first letter of each child’s name (Kerry=Merry, Roger=Moger)

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

Dramatic Play

Bedtime rituals. Bring in blankets, pillows, books, night time pictures to hang on the wall.

Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Communities; progresses in understanding similarities and respecting differences among people such as gender, race, special needs, culture, language, and family structures.

Math and Manipulatives

Spread crème cheese on round crackers. Add a man in the moon face using raisins.

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

Outdoor Play

Let the children climb onto something tall (climber, box, log stump) and pretend that they are the moon. Shout out a silly sentence and have them repeat it back to you

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stries, songs, and poems. AND Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates ability 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.

Transitions

Say a sentence and have the child repeat back to you. This could be a long 12 syllable sentence of a silly sentence depending upon the child’s language skills.

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