Max Found Two Sticks, by Brian Pinkney

Materials

Objects made from plastic, wood, and metal of various sizes and shapes. These will be used to hit with a stick and listen to the different sounds that the materials make. Think tin cans, shoe box, wood block, cubbie, empty paper towel tube, jewelry box, etc..
A timer that makes a ticking sound
Working stethoscope
2 paint sticks per person or 2 pencils (paint sticks are free wherever you buy house paint)
More paint sticks for art
Bring in a basket of natural materials such as sticks of various barks, acorns, corn husks, stones both smooth and rough, leaves with strong ridges.
Pre-writing page per child

Vocabulary

Stripes (a long narrow band or strip, typically of the same width throughout its length, differing in color or texture from the surface on either side of it).

Before Reading the Story

Explain to the children that today you are going to read a story that uses your sense of hearing. Do the children know what the five senses are? Do they know that you use your ears for hearing? Talk about some sounds that you like (my cat purring, when my brother laughs, music) and some sounds you do not like (when my Mom yells at me, when the timer says turn off the tv, I get scared when I hear the siren). Explain that in the story today a boy named Max makes sounds with two sticks. Let’s find out what kinds of sounds he can make.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; grows in eagerness to learn about and discuss a growing range of topics, ideas, and tasks.

Reading the Story

When you get to the pages where Max plays his sticks and makes various patterns (pat…pat, tat. pat…pat, tat. pat…pat,tat. or Putter-putter…pat tat, putter-putter pat tat). Stop and have the children try to repeat these also. Expect it to take at least three tries. Say them slowly so they make patterns with sound.

Mathematics/Pattern & Measurement; enhances abilities to recognize, duplicate, ande extend simple patterns using a variety of materials.

After Reading the Story

Remind the children that in the story Max did not want to talk that day. It was just a listening day. Ask the children to sit very quietly and just listen. After a moment ask them to name some of the sounds they heard. Explain that when it is very quiet, you can hear many more sounds with your ears. Did any of the sounds the children hear make a pattern? Help them repeat it. (Yes Francois, the clock said tik,tik,tik,tik,tik.

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

Have the children cover their eyes while you hide the timer. Make sure to turn it on so that it is ticking. The children uncover their eyes and listen carefully and then point to the center/area where they are hearing the ticking coming from.

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.

Discovery

Give the children rhythm sticks or pencils. Have them hit them on a variety of objects to make different sounds. Talk about the various sounds. Which item makes the loudest sound, which sound do you like best, which item makes the softest sound?

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

Show the children how to tap out patterns by counting 1-2-3 or 1-2-1-2, etc.

Mathematics/Pattern & Measurement; enhances abilities to recognize, duplicate, ande extend simple patterns using a variety of materials.

Music and Movement

Give the children sticks, pencils, or even blocks and tap to the Hap Palmer song, Put Your Sticks in the Air.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8lK7cvJWME. Or try, Tap Your Sticks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLfEW3SwpdI

Mathematics/Pattern & Measurement; enhances abilities to recognize, duplicate, ande extend simple patterns using a variety of materials.

Pull out your musical instruments today and let the children tap along to songs of their choice. When you finish one song, have the children pass their instrument to the right. This allows children to experiment with several different instruments during a music setting.

Creative Arts/Music; experiments with a variety of musical instruments.

Make Music Cubes. On one write the name of six familiar songs. On the other write six actions (IE jump and turn, stomp your foot, clap your hands). Let the children take turns rolling the dice and then as a class do the actions to the song that was rolled.

Literacy/Early Writing; develops understanding that writing is a way of communicating for a variety of purposes. AND Social & Emotional Development/Cooperation; develops increasing abilities to give and take in interactions; to take turns in games and using materials; and to interact without being overly submissive or directive.

Blocks

Any type of pattern play that you have.

Mathematics/Pattern & Measurement; enhances abilities to recognize, duplicate, ande extend simple patterns using a variety of materials.

Art

Give each child a paint stick. Add paint into small containers or egg cartons. Have the children use watercolor brushes (they are smaller and so will be able to produce more details). Tell them that today we are going to make stripes. Show them how to make stripes across the paint stick. One day one, paint one side and on the next day paint the other. When dry, hang these from the ceiling. (My children especially liked when we hung them over the lunch table).

Creative Arts/Art; begins to understand and share opinions about artistic products and experiences. AND Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and ,multiple-step directions.

Library and Writing

Give each child a pre-writing page and markers to follow the lines.

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

Add damp sand to the center today. Bring in a basket of natural materials such as sticks of various barks, acorns, corn husks, stones both smooth and rough, leaves with strong ridges. Let the children mash these into play dough to see the patterns that they make.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to participate in simple experiments to observe and discuss common properties, differences and comparisons among objects and materials.

Dramatic Play

Add your doctor kit to the center today. If you have a working stethoscope, add it to the center. Show the children how to use it and quietly listen to each others heartbeat.

Math and Manipulatives

Any kind of pattern type play. (My class really enjoyed parquetry shapes and patterns. Check out this web page for ideas). See Resources for more ideas. https://www.prekinders.com/pattern-blocks/

Mathematics/Pattern & Measurement; enhances abilities to recognize, duplicate, ande extend simple patterns using a variety of materials.

Outdoor Play

Bring some of your sticks outside for the children to bang on the fence, the ground, the tricycle, wagon, etc.. Making music sounds and patterns.

Mathematics/Pattern & Measurement; enhances abilities to recognize, duplicate, ande extend simple patterns using a variety of materials.

Transitions

Dismiss the children by what is on their clothing. If you are wearing stripes, shapes, letters, numbers, pockets, zipper, buttons, etc..

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; understands an increasingly complex and varied vocabulary.

Resources

Take pictures of several block structures and see if the children can copy them using the blocks.

Someone Special Just like you, by Tricia Brown

This book introduces young children to disabilities in a way that makes them so natural that the children will not think of a disability as something odd but a natural part of who each individual is.

Materials

Eyeglasses shape cut from poster board (1 per child)
Pipecleaners
Water Beads https://www.instagram.com/p/Bjara13HRlm/?utm_source=ig_embed
Pillow case
Chalk for playground

Vocabulary

Disability (a physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, senses, or activities)

Before reading the Story

Start a discussion with the children about how we are all different. That each of us has things that we like to do, things we are good at doing, and things we do not really like to do. Allow children to comment upon each of these thoughts. Explain to the children that it is all these different feelings that make us each special. Introduce the book.

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

Reading the Story

As you read, point out the different equipment that the children are wearing or using (See the hearing aid? It helps him to hear sounds and words). Answer any questions that the children might have about devices and equipment to help people with disabilities.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; grows in eagerness to learn about and discuss a growing range of topics, ideas, and tasks. AND Language Development/Speaking & Understanding; 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

In our story today we saw lots of children who had special equipment to help them to be able to do things that they might not otherwise be able to. Does anyone remember the names or uses for one of the pieces of equipment? (glasses, hearing aid, walker). When people have to use special equipment they sometimes might need help. For example if a person is in a wheelchair, they might need help being pushed down the hall/to a center. You can be a friend by asking them if they would like you to help, or by just asking them if they would like to play with you. Ask the children to raise their hands if they like to have fun? And people with disabilities like to have fun too. Raise your hands if you like it when others ask you to play with them? And children with disabilities like to be asked to play too. Raise your hands if you like to be treated mean? People with disabilities do not like to be treated mean either. Raise your hands if you like to be treated with kindness? People with disabilities like to be treated with kindness also. End by telling the children that just like the title of the story today, they are all special and you are so glad that they are your friends.

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.

Explain that a person who is blind can not see out of their eyes. They have to learn to get around with the help of a friend or sometimes a dog that has been specially trained to help them. Tell the children that today you are going to pretend to be the dog or friend. Explain that as they move to the next activity, you are going to lead them while they close their eyes. Walk them to the line or the center. As you walk with them one at a time, ask them how it makes them feel to not be able to see out of their eyes? (scary, confused, unsure)

Discovery

Put the book in the center today along with any other books or pictures that show equipment to help people with disabilities. Take a moment to share with the children the names of the pieces of equipment and how they help.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; grows in eagerness to learn about and discuss a growing range of topics, ideas, and tasks.

Music and Movement;

Teach the children, It’s Love That makes The World Go Round https://search.myway.com/search/video.jhtml?enc=0&n=7867896c&p2=%5ECPZ%5Exdm317%5ETTAB02%5EUS&pg=video&pn=1&ptb=A0680D34-B28C-4AA7-BB20-22002DA2EFA5&qs=&searchfor=It%27s+love%2C+it%27s+love%2Cit%27s+love+that+make+the+world+go+round-song&si=55412556653&ss=sub&st=tab&tpr=sbt&trs=wtt

It’s love, its love, it’s love that makes the world go round,

It’s love that makes the world go round.

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

Blocks

If you have a set of disability people you can talk about each one and what their piece of equipment is called. Tell them that for a person in a wheelchair how it is hard for them to go up and down stairs. Ask the children if they can build a ramp to get into their block structure.

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

Art

Cut out eyeglass shapes from poster board and let the children decorate them. Use pipe cleaners to make the over the ear pieces.

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

Sand and Water

Add water beads to the center. As they swell in the water they become very sensory.

Library and Writing

Use plastic lacing letters or make letters from pieces of sand paper. Have the children lay the letters onto the table and put a piece of paper over. Use the side of a crayon to press down and make a rubbing. Can the children name the letters that they have used?

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

Dramatic Play

Add any kind of special equipment you can find so the children can understand how it feels to wear a brace or not see, etc. (Cut a box to make a brace that can be taped around a child’s leg, old sunglasses can have tape put on the lenses, ear phones can be added so the children hear through a muffled sound, and a chair can be turned into a pretend wheelchair).

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

Math and Manipulatives

Put out any puzzles that depict people with disabilities. Use the puzzles as a jumping board for a discussion on how we can help each other, ways to make people feel a part of the group (with and without special equipment), and acts of kindness in general.

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

Is your playground and facilities handicap accessible? As you go to the playground, note to the children the ramps to get in and out of the building.

Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; beuil;ds 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.

Make a jumping game. On the cement, draw a large rectangle that is divided by slanted lines (see resources). The children start at one end and jump from name to name calling them out as they go. Can they identify their friends names? Can they identify the first letter of the name? You can also do this with colors, shapes, or individual letters.

Literacy?Alphabet Knowledge; increases in ability to notice the beginning letters of familiar words. AND Literacy/Early Writing; develops understanding that writing is a way of communicating for a variety of purposes.

Transitions

Use the pillowcase as a Feely Bag. Explain to the children that people who can not see with their eyes, learn to use their sense of touch to help them know what things are. Beforehand, gather a variety of objects from your various centers. Put an object one at a time into the pillow case so that the children can not see. Have the children take turns using their hands to feel the object in the pillowcase and guess what it is.

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.

Resources

pattern to make glasses out of posterboard

Kiss it Better, by Hiawyn Oran

It is amazing what a kiss and a Band-Aid can do to heal a hurt.

Materials

Lots of band-aids (the more the merrier. I found the children liked opening and applying bandaids with this book).
Piece of paper large enough to trace a child
Make a dice for transition (see resources)

Vocabulary

Before Reading the Story

Come to the rug time wearing a band-aid. Tell the children a story about how it happened. Ask them if they have ever worn a band-aid? What do they think band-aids do? Let the children talk about their experiences about being hurt or sick while at home. What did they do, who did they tell, what did their parent do, did they have to go to the doctor?

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 with sympathetic emotions and point out to the children, “look, can you tell how Little Bear is feeling”? Let the children talk about each sad experience that Little Bear goes through if they choose. When you get to the part where Big Bear is upset, ask the children what they think Little Bear will do?

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. AND Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates ability to retell and dictate stories from book sand experiences; to act out stories in dramatic play; and to perdict what will happen next in a story.

After Reading the Story

Trace around one child in the classroom before hand. Tape the child’s body shape to the wall. Give each child a band-aid and have them open it. Go around the circle naming body parts. The children then attach their band-aid to the body part that they were assigned (Kerry can you put your band-aid on the knee, Roger can you put your band-aid on the neck. Include body parts such as knuckles, ear lob, nostril, spine, ankle, heel, etc).

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge if and respect for their bodies and the environment. AND Language Development/Listening & Understanding; understands and increasingly complex and varied vocabulary.

Discovery

This would be a good day to practice proper hand washing and body washing technique. Explain to the children that when they fall and bleed that the area must be washed well to help fight any dirt or germs that might have gotten into the cut. Let the children practice washing their hands and also any other body part that they would like to pretend was cut; water, soap, rinse, dry, apply a band-aid.

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

Music and Movement

Play Simon Says with the children.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; understands and increasingly complex and varied vocabulary.

Sing the Hokey Pokey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EnaAFyrcQM or Looby Loo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwcA_xjw8vs. Use songs and movements that make children aware of body parts and their names.

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

Sing We’re Gonna Wash Those Germs Right Off Of Our Hands, sung to the chorus of I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out Of My Hair. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzu8ZxBHMWk

We’re gonna wash those germs right off of our hands,

And keep them nice and clean.

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.

Use body parts to make simple patterns for the children to follow (clap, jump, clap, jump or tippy toes, touch the ground, turn around, tippy toes, touch the ground, turn around).

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

Blocks

Bring paper and red writing materials to the center and show the children how to make a cross shape with red marker. Tell them that this is the universal sign for first aid. Let them build a hospital and attach their red crosses. Bring in a toy ambulance if you have one.

Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Communities; develops growing awareness of jobs and what is required to perform them. AND Literacy/Early Writing; experiments with a growing variety of writing tools and materials, such as pencils, crayons, and computers.

Art

Give each child 5-7 band-aids and have them attach them to a piece of colored paper. Paint over the band-aids. When the paint is dry, peel the band-aids off the paper. Can the children predict what will happen?

Creative Arts/Art;develops growing abilities to plan, work independently, and demonstrate care and persistence in a variety of art projects. AND Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to describe and discuss predictions, explanations, and generalizations, based on past experiences.

Sand and Water

Remind the children if they are wearing a band-aid on their hands, that they should not play in the water as it will fall of when it gets wet. And you do not want any germs to get into their cut or their cut to get into the water.

Library and Writing

Have the children draw a picture of a person. Give each child a band-aid to attach to their picture. Ask the child how who the person is and why they had to have a band-aid? (My Mom got cut with the knife; I fell off my bicycle and hurt my knee).

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

Dramatic Play

If you have any Doctor’s office equipment put it out in the center today along with more bandaids and bandages!

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

Math and Manipulatives

Put out sequencing cards for the children to put in order and talk about what comes first, next, and last. If you do not have sequencing cards, The Wiseowlfactory website has some that you can copy and print. https://www.thewiseowlfactory.com/sequencing-cards-and-color-matching-for-pre-k-k-1-free-pdfs/.

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. 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.

Outdoor Play

Play Elbow-Elbow. Every child finds a partner. The caller calls out a body part and the children must touch them together (elbow to elbow, forehead to forehead, toe to toe). Let the children take turns being the caller.

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

Transitions

Let the children take turns rolling the movement dice and following the actions as they line up or go to the next activity.

Literacy/Early Writing; develops understanding that writing is a way of communicating for a variety of purposes. AND Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multiple-step directions.