Go Away Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley

This fun book makes learning facial parts and colors easy. This book can easily be made into a flannel board story for the children to enjoy over and over.

Materials

Paper plate per child
Styrofoam cup per child
Potting soil and a handful of grass seed per child.
Multiple colors of sidewalk chalk

Vocabulary

Imagination (to be able to see or think up things that are not really true or real)

Before Reading the Story

Ask the children if they know what the word “imagination” means. Talk about how sometimes we imagine things that are not really true or real. Sometimes we might imagine that we are a superhero or a doctor but we are just pretending. Sometimes we imagine scary things like monsters under the bed. Let the children talk about some of their imaginary thoughts. If the children do not begin their own talk, help them out by telling your own story (I used to imagine that there were snakes under my bed at night).

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

Have the children help with the line “Go away big green monster!”

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

After Reading the Story

Play Big Green Monster says…. Touch your two long legs, your triangle shaped nose, your round knees, your two pointy elbows etc..

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

Discovery

Give each child a Styrofoam cup that they can draw a monster face on. Then let the children fill it with potting soil and add some grass seed on top. When the grass begins to grow, they will have their own monster heads to take home. Observe and record how long it takes for the grass seed to grow.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; develops growing abilities to collect, describe, and record information through a variety of means, including discussion, drawings, maps, and charts.

Music and Movement

Teach the children the Scary Eyes poem.

See these big and scary eyes,

It’s a really big surprise

BOO!

Touch fingers to thumb to make two small circles. Put these by your eyes and say the poem slowly. At Boo! pop hands open.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; chooses to participate in an increasing variety of tasks and activities.

Sing I’ve Got Two Eyes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyMRGeT_SRI

I’ve got two eyes, one two.

They’re both the same size, one two

I’ve got two eyes and they’re both the same size.

I’ve got two ears, one two

They help me hear, one, two

I’ve got two ears and they help me hear.

I’ve got two hands to wave good-bye

I’ve got two arms to swing up high

I’ve got two knees as round as you please

I’ve got feet to walk down the street.

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

Sing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4eueDYPTIg

Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; participates actively in games, outdoor play, and other forms of exercise that enhance physical fitness.

Blocks

Ask the children if they can build a house that is very dark inside. Encourage them to include a door so that you can see how dark it is inside.

Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; demonstrates increasing ability to set goals and develop and follow through on plans.

Art

Put out green finger paint. Challenge the children to make a big green monster face.

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

Let the children paint a paper plate to be a monster head. When it dries they can collage on the face. Show them how to punch holes with a hole puncher across the top and use yarn or pipe cleaners for hair. Have many colors of paper available for the children to cut out eyes, mouths, and noses.

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

Encourage the children to dictate and illustrate any monster story or dream story that they would like to share.

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.

Sand and Water

Add cornstarch and a small bit of water to the table today. Explain to the children that sometimes it may appear to be one way but really it is not (The cornstarch looks like you should be able to pick it up but when you do it melts into and off of your hand). https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/quicksand-goo/

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.

Dramatic Play

Put out dress ups of community helpers or ones that encourage the children to use their imaginations to be someone that they are not.

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

Math and Manipulatives

Encourage the children to use any manipulative toy/s that you have that encourage them to sort by colors.

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.

Outdoor Play

On the cement draw circles about six inches round. Have the children each color a circle using a variety of colors of chalk. When the circles are all colored in, have the children start at one end and jump from circle to circle naming the colors as they go.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; chooses to participate in an increasing variety of tasks, activities, projects, and experiences.

Transitions

As the children move to the next activity ask them to show you a body part they have two of, one of, many of, ten of or a body part that is big, small, on their front, on their back, etc.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to make use of one-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups of objects.

Resources

Color Dance, by Ann Jonas

Four children dance across the pages of this book to mix and make colors. This is a great book to use to reinforce how primary colors make secondary colors.

Materials

Examples of colors in pairs (paint or material swatches, paper)
Clear glasses or jars of water
Food coloring
Several rolls of crepe paper
2-dice. On one, tape six different basic colors to each of the 6 sides.
Color mixing chart.
Make several ice cube trays filled with colored ice the night before (color ice with food coloring or non-toxic water soluble paint)

Vocabulary

Disappear (to look like it is not even there)

Before Reading the Story

Make a simple graph to show the children’s favorite colors. After everyone has given his or her input, look at the graph together. Which color has the most votes? Which color has the least? Is there any color that did not get a vote?

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

Reading the Story

As you begin to say some of the unusual color names that the dancers make, look at the children’s clothing to see if any of them are wearing the named color. (Look, Kerry is wearing magenta on her shirt. Roger has an aquamarine blue stripe right here).

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

After Reading the Story

Ask the children if they can remember what color red and blue make? Follow the directions on the back of the food coloring box and mix a variety of colors in the glasses or jars so the children can watch the colors mix together.

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

Discovery

Do your science on the art table today. Put several blobs of red, yellow, and blue finger paint directly onto the table. Add some soothing music and have the children use their hands to slide/dance across and around the table with their hands. As the colors mix, make note,“how did you do that? What colors did you mix here to make that orange?”

Music and Movement

Give the children scarves and play some cheerful music. Let them experiment with throwing the scarves up in the air and catching them, swirl around, make circles over head, in front of, etc. As the children move to the music use movement words such as swish, swing, choppy, zigzag, smoothly, up and down.

Creative Arts/Music; participates with increasing interest and enjoyment in a variety of music activities, including listening, singing, finger plays, games, and performances. AND Language Development/Listening & Understanding; understands an increasingly complex and varied vocabulary.

Sing the Rainbow Song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRTdq0VsLGQ Have a piece of construction paper to represent each color and let the children hold them up when their color is called.

Red and yellow and pink and green

Purple and orange and blue

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

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

Blocks

If you have any colored blocks, put them out as the feature building block for the day.

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.

Art

Put out red, yellow, blue, and white paint in small cans or jars (I use old Gatorade bottles). Show the children how to pour paint into small cups and make their own colors for the easel. This takes practice. Encourage each child to wash out their cups and brushes when they are finished. Add a color-mixing chart (red + blue = purple)

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multi-step directions. AND Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to participate in simple investigations to test observations, discuss and draw conclusions, and form generalizations.

Library and Writing

Cut out squares and rectangles from colored construction paper. Write the name of the color on the shape. Put the shapes out on the table along with corresponding markers. Have the children find a colored shape and marker that are the same (i.e. blue) and show them the word on the shape and marker. Encourage the children to write the color names with the correct color marker.

Literacy/Early Writing; experiments with a growing variety of writing tools and materials, such as pencils, crayons, and computers. AND 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.

Sand and Water

Add a small amount of water to the table and let the children experiment by adding colored ice cubes. You can talk about how the colors melt and change the water color as well as how the ice makes the water cold to the touch.

Dramatic Play

Put the scarves into the dramatic center and let the children use them to make articles of clothing or to continue their color dancing.

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

Math and Manipulatives

Bring in pairs of color swatches (paint swatches, materials, paper, etc) for the children to match up. For older children use swatches that are similar in color.

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.

Outdoor Play

Take several rolls of crepe paper outside and let the children weave lengths in and out of the fence. Or just run around with a crepe paper ribbon.

Transitions

Bring two dice to the carpet. Leave one untouched and on the other one, tape on six small paper dots in six different basic colors. The children take turns rolling the two dice. The one dice tells them what color item they must search for in the room and the other tells them how many of that color item they must find. For example if a child was to roll a 3 and a red the child must find 3 red items and bring them back to the carpet.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; demonstrates increasing interest and awareness of numbers and counting as a means for solving problems and determining quantity. AND Language Development/Listening Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multi-step directions.

Dear Parent, Today we read a book about many colors. Help your child be able to identify his or her basic color names. When he/she is proficient at these, introduce some of the more exotic color names such as chartreuse, maroon, violet, magenta, or copper.

Resources

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr.

A classroom favorite that can be used to help reinforce colors as well as the importance of eyes.

Materials

Large blocks of frozen ice (freeze Tupperware’s ahead of time)
Box of rock salt
Food coloring
Eyedroppers

Vocabulary

Glasses (those things people wear on their face to help them see better)
Ophthalmologist (a doctor who takes care of your eyes)

Before Reading the Story

Ask the children what we use our eyes for (to see things, to know what color it is, to read a book). Share with the children some ways to keep your eyes safe (don’t rub them when something like sand gets inside, never look right at the sun, give your eyes plenty of rest at night).

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

This is such a nice predictable book that the children can easily join in the reading.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; shows growing involvement in listening to and discussing a variety of ficvtion and non-fiction and poetry.

After Reading the Story

Cut out a shape for each child. Use a variety of colors. Give each child a color shape and tell them that they are going to go on a hunt to find something in the room that is the same color as their color shape. When everyone is back at the circle have them tell the color and the name of the object.

Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; grows in ability to persist in and complete a variety of tasks, activities, projects, and experiences. AND Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; sows growth in matching, sorting, putting in a series, and regrouping objects according to one or two attributes such as color, shape, or size.

Discovery

Ask the children if you can blindfold them. While blindfolded, have the children try a variety of activities such as putting several small objects into a container, picking up a pencil and drawing a picture, building with legos, buttoning a sweater, using a spoon to put cereal into their mouths, etc. While they are trying these activities, talk to them about the importance of our eyes. Remind them that our eyes allow us to see what we are doing and what things are. People who cannot see with their eyes are blind. Blind people need to learn about the world through their other senses.

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

Music and Movement

Chant the following poem, My Eyes Can See/Mis ojos pueden ver

My eyes can see. Mis ojos pueden ver

My mouth can talk Mi boca puede hablar

My ears can hear Mis oidos pueden o’ir

My feet can walk. Mis pies pueden andar

My nose can sniff Mi nariz puede olfatear

My teeth can chew Mis dientes pueden masticar

My lids can flutter Mis parpados pueden pestanear

My arms hug you Mis brazos te pueden abrazar.

Have the children point to each body part as you read the poem slowly. After repeating the poem, allow the children a moment to talk about their preferences of smell and taste if they choose.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems. AND Social & Emotional Development/Self-Concept; begins to develop and express awareness of self in terms of specific abilities, characteristics, and preferences,

Blocks

Use colored blocks to play today. Encourage the children to name the colors as they build. Can they sort the colors, build with only one color, make a color patterns?

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

Make cards that show a circle of red + circle of blue = ? Make the cards to use the primary colors and also black and white. Hang the cards up beside the easel and let the children solve the color mysteries.

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

Library and Writing

Ask the children to think of an animal that they would like to draw. Ask them what their favorite color is. Give them a crayon in their favorite color and have them draw the animal. Afterwards label their picture “________,_______ what do you see? I see a (color)___(animal)___looking at me”. These can be put together into your own class book.

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; drawing pictures based on stories; asking to take books home; going to the library; and engaging in pretend-reading with other children.

If you have a camera you could let each child take a picture of something in the classroom. On the top write, “______, ______what do you see”? On the bottom write, “I see _______(a puzzle, the little doll, my lego car), that’s what I see”.

Sand and Water

Put the large block of ice in the water table. Pour a little bit of rock salt over the top. Put food coloring into small cups or bowls. Show the children how to suck up the colored water into the eye dropper and then squeeze it out on top of the ice. The colors will mix as the children experiment with the droppers.

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

Dramatic Play

Add sunglasses and glasses frames without the lenses. Make a simple eye chart using a capital E facing up, down, left, and right. The children can pretend to be an opthamologist and someone who needs glasses.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; participates in a variety of dramatic play activities that become more extended and complex. AND Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Communities; develops growing awareness of jobs and what is required to perform them.

Math and Manipulatives

Sorting objects by color.

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.

Outdoor Play

Play I Spy by describing children and what they are doing. (I spy with my little eye someone digging in the sand with red pants and gym shoes on). The child names the friend.

Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing abilities to classify, compare, and contrast objects, events, and experiences.

Transitions

Play I Spy with the children by describing objects in the room. (I spy with my little eyes something that is made of plastic and it’s blue, and we sit on it at the table).

Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing abilities to classify, compare, and contrast objects, events, and experiences.