The Mitten, by Jan Brett

After a little boy loses his mitten in the woods, all the forest animals want to snuggle inside where it is warm.

Materials

Mitten page colored and cut out
Twin size sheet or blanket
Food coloring
4-5 eye droppers or small spray bottles

Vocabulary

Wool (a material, not leather)
Snuffling (sniffing around)
Commotion (a hubbub or disturbance)
Talons (the sharp fingernails on birds)
Muzzle (the nose of an animal)
Stretch (to have elasticity to make it expand)

Introducing the Story

Talk to the children about all the different articles of clothing that people wear to stay warm on snowy cold days. Make a graph to see which children like better, mittens or gloves.

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

Reading the Story

As you read the story, note the side pictures to the story. Show the children that the picture on the right shows which animal will be next to climb into the mitten. Can the children name the animal that will come next?

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.

After Reading the Story

Act out the story using a large bed sheet as the mitten. If you have more children than animals in the story, make up a few extra so everybody can squeeze under the blanket (into the mitten).

Music and Movement

Sing The Mitten Song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHiiVQL3NIU

Thumbs in the thumbhole, fingers all together

This is the song we sing in mitten weather,

When it is cold, it does not matter whether

Mittens are wool or made of fine leather.

Thumbs in the thumbhole, fingers all together

This is the song we sing in mitten weather.

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

Give each child a real or paper mitten. With their mitten play a listening game. Ask the children to put their mitten behind them, beside them, in front of them, on top of them, under them, and on them.

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

Have the children sit in a circle. Hand one mitten to a child. Begin to sing or chant “We will pass the mitten from me to you to you, we will pass the mitten and that’s just what we’ll do”. Each time you pass the mitten, ask the children to help you think of new ways to pass (behind your back, over your head, as fast as you can, under your knees, etc.).

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

Discovery

Bring your cylinder shaped blocks to science today as well as a hand full of rubber bands. Show the children how to wrap the rubber band around by stretching it round and round the cylinder. Make sure to monitor any children who put things into their mouths. Depending on the size rubber band you are using, the children can also wrap them around small boxes, toilet tubes. You could also challenge them to rubber band two blocks together.

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

Blocks

Add animals to the center today, also a small scarf or doll blanket. Watch to see if the children act out today’s story even if different animals are used.

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 predict what will happen next in the story.

Art

Cut out large mitten shapes to put at the easel today. Add some Epson salts to your tempera paints. As the paint dries on the paper, it should make tiny crystals that sparkle.

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

Sand and Water

Put snow in the table today. Encourage the children to put their mittens or gloves on and play in the snow using sand molds and measuring cups. Can you make a snow castle?

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

Put snow in the table today and give the children cups filled with water and food coloring. Show them how to use an eyedropper and suction up some colored water and squirt it onto the snow. (I recommend using red, yellow, and blue-primary colors). You can also fill spray bottles with food coloring and water to spray onto the snow. The colors drip into the snow and form new colors as they combine.

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.

Library and Writing

Give each child a mitten shape cut from a piece of copy paper. Encourage the children to draw a picture of an animal that crawled into the mitten. It can be one from the story or one of his or her own choosing. After they have drawn their animal, write, “A _________ squeezed into ______ mitten!” (A bear/cow squeezed into Roger’s mitten!) These can then be put together to make a classroom wall or stapled together to make a classroom book; The Amazing Mitten Stretch.

Dramatic Play

Add hats, scarves, mittens, and gloves. Encourage the children to pretend to dress up warm on a cold winter day.

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

Math and Manipulaties

Ahead of time, decorate the pairs of mitten page with each pair being different. Cut them out and put into a bowl or pile. The children match the pairs of mittens. These can be decorated from simple to more difficult depending upon the age of the children.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; begins to make comparisons between several objects based on a single attribute.

Outdoor Play

If there is snow on the ground, practice throwing snowballs at a target. If not, use bean bags.

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 Bigger Than, Smaller Than. Say, “I’m thinking of an animal that is bigger than a ___________”. The child must name an animal that is bigger. Do this with smaller than also. (Bigger than a horse, bigger than a mouse, smaller than a cat, smaller than a rabbit, etc.).

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

Resources

Out of the Woods, By Rebecca Bond

A forest fire brings animals and people together in an unlikely place. This is a real story of an unforgettable event.

Materials

A bag of thin sticks, 3-8 inches long (use a fallen branch and break into many smaller sticks)
Small disposable drinking cups
A gallon of school glue
An index card for each child with their name written upon it. If you have access to a camera, you can add a picture of the child also.
2 sets of Forest Animal Cards
1 set of other animal cards
I set of jumping bean cards

Vocabulary

Unforgettable Event- something you do not forget, even when you are old.
Hotel-a place where people can stay for a vacation or for a longer time.
Stoking a stove-to put the wood into the stove and make the fires in the stoves before there was electricity.
Boisterous-noisy and over the top, crazy
Dense-thick with lots and lots of trees

Before Reading the Story

Before reading the story, spend a few minutes talking to the children about fire safety. Explain that there are several rules one should always follow if there is a fire. 1. Don’t be scared, be smart. 2. Never hide, get outside and get outside quickly. 3. Sit and wait outside until your parent/an adult tells you it’s all safe. 4. If it’s smoky crawl on your knees. Have the children repeat the rules back to you as you say them. Tell the children that your story today is about a little boy who’s home got caught in a forest fire. Encourage the children to think about the fire safety rules you have just talked about as you read the story.

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

When you get to the page where Antonio is looking into a travelers room, ask the children if they think that Antonio should go into the room to explore or not? Why? (“It’s not his room”, “I’m not allowed to be near a gun”, “The man might get mad”, “My big brother would go in the room and see the fishing stuff cause he likes to fish”.) On the page where everyone is standing in the lake, ask the children if they can find the baby, find Antonio and his mother. Ask them if they remember what fire safety rules Antonio and all the people were remembering. (Never hide, get outside and get outside quickly). When you get to the page where the animals come out into the water with the people, ask the children why they think this is happening? (Water puts out forest fires so all are safest in the water). Explain that all the people and animals were remembering rule #1, don’t be scared, be smart.

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

After Reading the Story

Go over the four fire safety rules with the children. Did the people in the story follow any or all of them? Talk to the children about your fire safety plan. Make sure they understand what they are to do when they hear the school fire alarm sound. Talk about the importance of staying as a group and walking out of the building. Use a bell or another sound to make a mock fire drill and practice it with the children.

Physical Health & Safety/Health Status & Practices; builds an 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

Make a copy of the forest animal cards and the other animal’s card. Put out a piece of paper with a line down the middle. On one half write ‘forest animals’, on the other write ‘not forest animals’. Have the children sort the cards accordingly.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows growth in matching, sorting, putting together in a series, and regrouping objects according to one or two attributes such as color, shape, or size.

Music and Movement

Make one copy of the forest animal cards. Cut out and put into a container that the children cannot see inside. As you put them in, have the children name the animal. Add one jumping bean card per three children. Put these into the container also. The children take turns picking out a card and naming the animal. If they pick out a jumping beans card, they shout “Jumping Bean!” and everyone gets up and jumps. Continue until everyone has had or turn or the children grow tired of playing.

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

Blocks

If you have fire trucks add them to the center today. Encourage the children to build a firehouse that the trucks can go inside of.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; begins to be able to determine whether or not two shapes are the same size and shape.

Art

Pour school glue, an inch or two into the disposable cups. Let the children add sticks into the cup and leave it until it dries. This will take several days. After it is dry, show the children how to take a paintbrush, dip it into a color of paint, and allow it to drip over the sticks. When they are dry, group the cups together for a 3d modern art forest sculpture. Ask the children if they think it looks like a forest, why or why not?

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

Library and Writing

Put out cards with the words EXIT and 911 on them for the children to practice copying. Talk to the children as they write about the importance of these two ‘words’. EXIT, find the exit and explain that in an emergency to look for the EXIT sign to get out of a building quickly. 911 are the numbers you call in case of an emergency. Talk about what is an emergency and whom one would ask for when they call 911.

Literacy/Early Writing; progresses from using scribbles, shapes, and pictures to represent ideas, to using letter-like symbols, to copying or writing familiar words such as their name.

Sand and Water

Fill the table with a very small amount of water. Add rubber style animals and people that you might have. Encourage the children to stand an animal next to a person. Can they name all the animals in the water? Can they tell you anything about what happened in the story that put the animals and people in the water or what happened after the fire went out?

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.

Dramatic Play

Add any play tools that you might have so the children can help maintain the center and fix the broken chair or door to the stove. As they play, ask them to name the different tools, do they know what they are used for?

Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Communities; develops a growing awareness of jobs and what is required to perform them.

Math and Manipulatives

Lay several of the name index cards on the table saying and pointing out whose name is on each card. Ask a child to pick a card from the pile. Can they name the name on the card? Ask them to put it onto the table with the others ones but in a specific location. (Can you put Ryan’s card under the card that says Paula, can you put Alison’s card next to the card that says Sean?). Continue, naming the cards and putting them in positional places on the table with the other cards (under, over, next to, beside, on top, underneath).

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; builds increasing understanding of directionality, order, and positions of objects, and words such as up, down, over, under, top, bottom, inside, outside, in front, behind. AND Literacy/Alphabet Knowledge; Knows the letters of the alphabet are a special category of visual graphics that can be individually named.

Outdoor Play

As you prepare to go outside, remind the children that in the story Antonio loved to look for signs of animals when he went outside. Challenge the children to look for sign so of animals on your playground. Encourage them to look carefully at the ground for signs of insects or, squirrels, birds, or any other creature that you are lucky enough to find.

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

Transitions

Ask the children if they can remember the 4 rules of fire safety? Help them if they cannot. Number four is, “If it’s smokey, crawl on your knees”. Have the children crawl to the next activity.

Dear parent, today we read a story about a forest fire and how all the animals and people stayed safe. There is a good link for talking to your child about forest fire safety. Check out the web site; www.smokeybear.com.

Resources

Home for a Bunny, by Margaret Wise Brown

It is spring time and Bunny is looking for a home somewhere under something. Along the way he meets several animals but none have a home for a bunny. Finally he meets another bunny and together they find the perfect home for bunnies.

Materials

10-12 animal pictures who live under and above the ground
Cotton balls
Rabbit shape

Vocabulary

Bunny (another name for a rabbit)
Habitat (the different kinds of places that animals live)
Bog (a wet grassy place near a pond)
Burrow (a tunnel underground where rabbits and other animals live)

Before Reading the Story

Ask the children if they know what a bunny is. Show them the cover of the book and read the title. Ask them if they know where a good place for a bunny to live is. Tell the children that bunnies usually sleep all day in their burrows and then come out at night. Bunnies can sit so quietly that they hardly move at all. Ask the children if they can sit as still as a bunny.

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

After Reading the Story

Talk about the different homes in the story and who lived in them (a tree, a bog, a log). Ask the children where people live (in a house, an apartment, a trailer). Ask what kinds of things you find in a people house.

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.

Discovery

Sort animals by those that live under the ground and those that live above the ground.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows growth in matching, sorting, putting in a series, and regrouping objects according to one or two attributes such as color, shape, or size.

Music and Movement

Teach the children the finger play, Here is a Bunny

Here is a bunny with ears so funny Hold up 2 fingers like a peace sign

And here is his hole in the ground Make a circle with your other hand

When a noise he hears, he pricks up his ears Stretch bunny ears on hand

And jumps in his hole in the ground Put bunny hand through circle hand

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

Put on some music and do the Bunny Hop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgLL_q5FMCU

Left foot out, left foot out

Right foot out, right foot out

Jump forward, Jump backwards

Jump forward three times.

Creative Arts/Movement; shows growth in moving in time to different patterns of beats and rhythm in music.

Blocks

Challenge the children to make bunny tunnels/burrows.

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

Art

Cut out simple bunny shape. Put watered glue into bowls and add paint brushes. The children paint the glue onto the bunny shape and then pull cotton balls apart to decorate.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multiple-step directions. AND Creative Arts/Art; develops growing abilities to plan, work independently, and demonstrate care and persistence in a variety of art projects.

Library and Writing

Ask the children to draw their home. When they are finished, write their address on a piece of paper and encourage them to copy the numbers. The teacher can help write the street name.

Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Communities; develops ability to identify personal characteristics, including gender and family composition. AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways.

Sand and Water

Add dampened sand to the table and dig bunny holes.

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

Dramatic Play

House play today. This would be a good day to let the children use rags and water to clean the shelves and make the dramatic play area clean and a perfect home for children.

Social & Emotional Development/Self-Concept; develops growing capacity for independence in a range of activities, routines, and tasks.

Math and Manipulatives

Let the children build with small blocks or Legos and make homes. Put out small people or animals that they can put inside their homes.

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

Play bunny tag on the playground. The children hop on all fours like rabbits. Put hoola hoops on the ground and the children can hop into their bunny holes where they are safe and can not be caught.

Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; progresses in physical growth, strength, stamina, and flexibility.

Transitions

Play I’m thinking of an animal. (I’m thinking of an animal that lives in a barn and gives us milk to drink. I’m thinking of an animal that lives in the trees of the jungle and eats bananas and swings from its tail.)

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