Duck and Goose, Tad Hills

Duck and Goose are not really friends but must learn to get along as they wait for an egg to hatch.

Materials

Many 1-2 inch circles cut in a variety of colors
Large circle of paper, 1 per child
Circle graph, label one side “duck” and the other side “goose”
Several ping pong balls or other small balls that will float
5 paper ducks (color each a different color) and an egg shape that fits underneath without showing.

Vocabulary

Before Reading the Story

Cut a one inch hole in a manila file folder. Cut out interesting pictures from magazines. Place the picture behind the file folder with a section showing through the 1-inch hole. Have the children see if they can guess what the picture is behind the file folder. Move it around some to help them see just a little bit of the picture at a time. After you have done this several times, tell the children that today’s story is about two friends who find something that they think is an egg but it is not an egg. Ask them if they guess what that thing might be. Show them the cover after they have made their guesses and introduce the story.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; chooses to participate in a n increasing variety of tasks and activities. AND 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, use an assertive voice when the two friends are arguing about what to do with the egg.

After Reading the Story

Ask the children what they would do if they and another child both wanted the same toy? Use your social cues to help talk about taking turns, sharing, or asking the teacher for help. (If me and Juanna wanted the baby I would give her the other one. If someone tried to take a toy from me I would tell them “No, it is my turn, you can be next”. When Kim took the truck from me I cried and then told the teacher she was mean”.

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

Discovery

Put out pictures of a real duck and a real goose. As the children look at the pictures, ask them to compare them using a circle graph. Write their responses in the appropriate sections.

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

Music and Movement

Play a passing game using a small ball. Sing or chant the following.

We will pass this ball from me to you to you

We will pass this ball and that’s just what we’ll do.

Have the children sit in a circle and pass the ball around the circle. Have the children turn to their right so they are facing the child beside them’s back and pass the ball overhead. Have the children pass the ball under their legs, using only one hand , etc..

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

Sing 5 Little Ducks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZw9veQ76fo

5 little ducks went out to play,

Over the hills and far away.

Mother duck called quack, quack, quack

4 little ducks came running back.

Sing 4,3,2,1

0 little duck went out to play,

Over the hills and far away.

Mother Duck called QUACK, QUACK, QUACK!

5 little ducks came running back.

Children hold up the correct number of fingers to go with each verse and wave their hand back and forth to the rhythm.

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

Blocks

Remind the children that on the one page, duck and goose made fences around the ball so the other could not get it. Encourage the children to make a fence with the blocks. Can they make a patterned fence using two or three sized blocks?

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

Art

Give each child a large circle shape of paper and many smaller circles in a variety of colors that they can glue onto the large circle. After is has dried, trim any pieces that go over the edge so that the finished product is a large circle with a many circle design.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; begins to be able to recognize, describe, compare, and name common shapes, their parts and attributes.

Sand and Water

Put floating balls and/or ping pong balls in the water table today. Give the children spoons or similar to try to scoop the balls from the water.

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;

Bring in books that show real ducks and geese for the children to examine.

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

Dramatic Play

If you have a large yoga ball, bring it in and the children can act out the story.

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.

Math and Manipulatives

Use your colored ducks and 5 pieces of paper with 1-5 dots on it. Ask the child to show you 3 ducks, 1 duck, 5 ducks, etc.. For older children ask them to show you 3 ducks and then add 1 more…now how many ducks do you have?

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

Outdoor Play

Bring out the balls today and practice kicking from a stand still and while the ball is rolling. Practice catching the ball, bouncing and catching, and dribbling.

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

Play Duck, Duck, Goose with the children. Have the children hold hands and make a big circle. One person is ‘It’. ‘It’ walks around the circle lightly tapping the children’s heads saying either duck or goose with each tap. If ‘It’ says Duck then nothing happens and ‘It’ goes onto the next person. But if ‘It’ says Goose, the person tapped must chase ‘It’ around the circle and try to tag him/her. ‘It’ is safe when he/she runs around the circle and back to the place where the other child was goosed. The new child now becomes ‘It’.

Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; participates actively in games, outdoor play, and other forms of exercise that enhance physical fitness. AND Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multiple-step directions.

Transitions

Lay the 5 colored ducks out in the middle of the circle. Have a child cover their eyes and hide the egg under one of the ducks. The child must then guess which duck the egg is under by naming the color duck. I usually give the children three guesses. That child then hides the egg for another child to guess.

Resources

Screen Shot 2018-11-05 at 1.06.37 PM — use for colored ducks

Screen Shot 2018-11-05 at 12.48.56 PM — Saw this on the internet, could be fun to make for dramatic play.

How the Sun Was Brought Back to the Sky, by Mirra Ginsburg

For three long days the sun has not come out to shine its warmth and light upon the earth. Follow the adventures of 5 little chicks to set out to see if they can help the sun begin to shine again.

Materials

2-4 beach balls.
Several pair of sunglasses, sun hats, and empty sunscreen container

Vocabulary

Before Reading the Story

Bring a pair of sunglasses, a hat, and an empty sunscreen container to the carpet. Hold up the items and ask the children what they all have in common (these two are red, they came from your house, my Dad has those). After the children have had the opportunity to guess. Tell the children that they all help keep you safe when you are in the sun. Explain how each item keeps your safe. Ask, who uses each item?

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. AND Physical Health & Safety/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.

Ask the children who likes sunny days? What do you like to do on sunny days? Show the children the cover of the book. Tell them that today’s story is about the sun. Look at the sun’s face, how do you think he is feeling? I wonder what made him so sad. Read the title. I wonder where the sun had been? Let’s find out.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates 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. AND Science/Scientific Knowledge; develops growing awareness of ideas and language related to the attributes of time and temperature.

Reading the Story

On the page that shows the animals climbing the mountain, take a moment to show the children what a long way the chicks have traveled to try to help the sun.

After Reading the Story

Talk with the children about how the animals helped the sun to shine again. Do you think that they were being good friends? Do you ever help your friends or your parents? When you help people it makes 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 for others.

Discovery

Make small weather signs that will fit onto your calendar. Count how many sunny days there are in a week, a month.

Science/Scientific Knowledge; develops growing awareness of ideas and language related to the attributes of time and temperature. AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; demonstrates increasing interest and awareness of numbers and counting as a means for solving problems and determining quantity.

Music and Movement

Teach the children the song, Mister Sun https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlzvrEfyL2Y

Mister Sun, Sun, Mister Golden Sun

Please shine down on me.

Mister Sun, Sun, Mister Golden Sun

Hiding behind the tree.

These little children are asking you

To please come out so we can play with you

Mister Sun, Sun, Mister Golden Sun

Please shine down on me.

Sing You Are My Sunshine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh7LJDHFaqA

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.

You make me happy when skies are grey

You’ll never know dear

How much I love you

Please don’t take my sunshine away.

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

Blocks

Cut out a yellow circle from construction paper. Put this on the floor of blocks and suggest to the children that they use the blocks to make rays coming off the sun in a pattern. (You might have to make the first ray to get them started).

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

Art

Give each child a piece of yellow construction paper. Ask them to trace around a paper plate and then cut out the circle. Ahead of time cut out plenty to yellow triangles. The children can collage the triangles around their circle to make a sun shape.

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

Library and Writing

Talk to the children for a moment about what they like to do on sunny days. (I like to play outside, I drink lemonade, I wear my baseball hat). Encourage the children to draw a picture about what they like to do. Under the picture write, Dear Mr. Sun, Please come out so I can _________________. Have the child then sign their name.

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

Sand and Water

In the story the animals polished the sun. Put a small amount of water in to the table. Add sponges or rags and beach balls. The children can pretend to be polishing the sun.

Dramatic Play

Bring in sunglasses and sun hats for the children to use in their play. Clean and empty sunscreen bottle. Watch and listen to see if the children recall your talk about sun safety in their play.

Physical Health & Safety/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.

Math and Manipulatives

Have the children collect all your old crayons and peel the paper off of them. Sort the crayons into a muffin tin or paper drinking cups according to colors. Place the muffin tin out on a hot sunny day (this is a summer activity). Observe over the next hours to see if the crayons have melted. If not, this experiment can also be done by placing the muffin tin in the oven. Bring inside and let cool down some so that a large crayon starts to form in each muffin tin. Turn the crayons out and let them finish cooling. Save them to use on another day.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; develops strength, dexterity, and control needed to use tools such as scissors, paper punch, stapler, and hammer. AND Science/Scientific Knowledge; develops growing awareness of ideas and language related to the attributes of time and temperature.

Outdoor Play

Step out into the sunshine, now step into the shade. Can you feel a difference, see a difference? (The sun will feel warmer and makes everything very bright).

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

Transitions

Cut out a simple sun shape. On the wall where all the children can see, tape a piece of rectangular construction paper. Move the sun about the construction paper and ask the children to tell you where/what position the sun is in. Encourage the children to use whole sentences. (The sun is under the rectangle. The sun is behind the rectangle. The sun is on top of the rectangle.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; builds an increasing understanding of directionality, order, and positions of objects, and words such as up, down, under, over, top, bottom, inside, outside, in front, and behind.

Resources

Don’t Let the Pigeon drive the Bus! By Mo Williams

A naughty pigeon tries to convince your children that he should be able to drive the bus. Children enjoy interacting with this fun book.

Materials

Simple pigeon shapes
Alphabet bus page, one per child

Vocabulary

Before Reading the Story

Talk to the children about rules. Why do we have rules? What are some of our classroom rules? What do you think would happen if nobody followed the rules? Is it fair for one person to not have to follow the rules but everyone else does?

Social & Emotional Development/Self-Control; demonstrates increasing capacity to follow rules and routines and use materials purposefully, safely, and respectfully.

Reading the Story

Read it as though you are trying to convince the children that you (the pigeon) should really drive the bus. Turn to the last page with the truck and ask the children what they think the pigeon might be thinking? (I’ll drive the truck!)

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

After Reading the Story

Tell the children that you are going to play a game about listening and following the directions. Play The Bus Driver Says… which is really Simon Says. The teacher either says,”Bus Driver says to jump up and down” or “jump up and down” The children only follow the direction if the Bus Driver says to do. Think of lots of fun and silly things for the children to do mixing up times when the Bus Driver says and times when the the Bus Driver does not say what to do.

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

Discovery

Do you have any feathers? Put out several and a magnifying glass. Encourage the children to look through the magnifying glass and see how feathers are made. Up close, they are truly lovely.

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

Sing The Wheels On The Bus doing the actions to go along with each verse.

The wheels on the bus go round and round,

Round and round, round and round.

The wheels on the bus go round and round,

All through the town.

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

Blocks

Put out your transportation vehicles today, especially if you have a bus. Encourage the children to make roads using blocks.

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

Art

Put the book on the table so the children can see the cover. Explain that today they are going to make pigeons. Put out the pigeon shapes, either pre-cut for younger children or with scissors for older children. The children can then look at the book cover and see if they can put their shapes together in a similar pigeon fashion. Put out markers so that they can add beaks and eyes and embellishments.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; progresses in ability to put shapes together and to take them apart.

Sand and Water

Library and Writing

There is a Youtube of this story.

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

Make copies of the alphabet bus page and small pieces of paper with a letter on each. The children take turns picking up and letter and naming it. They can then all look for the letter on the bus page and color it in. Continue until all the letters are found.

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

Dramatic Play

Add a police type hat and call it a bus driver hat for today. Let the children bring in chairs to make a bus. A paper plate makes a simple steering wheel. The children can take turns driving the bus.

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

Math and Manipulatives

Put out your counting bears or similar small counters and several duplos/large legos of different sizes and shapes. Ask the children to pretend that a duplo is a bus and to see how many of the bear counters they can get onto or into the bus. As they experiment, ask them why they think one duplo can hold more counting bears that another. (The red one is longer so it has more room. The yellow one is tiny. This one has a circle so it is big)

Mathematics/ & Operations; demonstrates increasing interest and awareness of numbers and counting as a means for solving problems and determining quantity. AND 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. AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to use language to compare numbers of objects with terms such as more, less, greater than, fewer, equal.

Outdoor Play

Play Duck, Duck, Goose. Have all the children hold hands and make a large circle. Drop hands and have everyone sit down. Choose one child to be ‘It’. It walks around the circle gently tapping each child on the head saying either duck or goose. If the ‘It’ says duck, nothing happens. But if ‘It’ taps a child and says, “goose” the child quickly stands up and tries to chase ‘It’ around the circle. ‘It’ tries to get to the child’s open spot before the child can tag him/her. This child is the new ‘It’ and the game continues.

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

Transitions

Have all the children get in a line behind you. Tell them that you are going to pretend to be the bus driver and drive them to the different centers today. Have the children follow you as you make your way around the room announcing each center and letting children ‘off’ the bus to go play.

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

Dear Parents, today we read a story about a pigeon who did not want to follow the rules and begged and pleaded to be able to drive the bus. Talk to your child about house rules, why do you have them? What happens if you do not follow them? Does begging change your mind?

Resources

Screen Shot 2018-11-13 at 5.30.36 PM — Use this to make a pigeon

Careers, Following Rules