Over in the Meadow, by Ezra Jack Keats

This old Appalachian counting rhyme comes to life with Mr. Keats bright illustrations. If you know the tune, this is a wonderful book to sing and act out with your children. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIDHDfk3sm8 (Make sure to change up the words to match the version of the book you are using).

Materials

Copy of each animal in the story plus 6 other animals not found in a meadow
Meadow, not meadow sort page

Vocabulary

Meadow (a grassy field that has a stream running through it.)
Basking (to lie in the sun)

Before Reading the Story

Tell the children that your story today is called over in the meadow. Ask them if they think they know what a meadow is? Show a picture or draw one on a chalkboard explaining the parts of a meadow (Draw a grassy area, a stream, some trees, and a gate). Tell them that many kinds of animals live in meadows. Ask them if they can think of any that might like to live in this one. Make a list of animals that they name.

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

If you know the tune for this story, sing it instead of reading it. Hold up your fingers on each page and let the children say the number. Note if any animal is on the children’s list from above (Hey Kerry, you said a fish!)

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

After Reading the Story

Go back and do a picture walk. On each page have the children do the action and ask them if they know the sounds the animals make.

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

Discovery

If you have an old aquarium, set it up with a habitat for a small creature that is familiar to your children. Bring one in for a few days so the children can observe it. Put out magnifying glasses, paper and pencils for recording their observations. (We get toads on our playground which the children love to catch, we bring one or two inside for a day to observe. We have also made a Roly Poly habitat, a catfish tank, and a worm habitat).

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

Count from zero to ten and back again. Use your fingers to hold up and take down as you count.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; develops increasing ability to count to 10 and beyond.

Re-sing the book with the children. On each page, have the children clap the appropriate number of times.

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

Teach the poem, Beehive.

Here is the beehive, Make a fist

But where are the bees? Shrug shoulders

Hiding away, where nobody sees Look down at fist

I hear them now, they’re in the hive Put fist up to ear

Out come the bees, 1,2,3,4,5. Hold up fingers as you count

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

Blocks

Bring in a box of items that the children can use with your rubber/plastic animals to make habitats (Styrofoam block, rocks, sticks, cloth square).

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

Art

Cut large pieces of green construction paper in half. On each half, draw a line 2/3 the way across the long ways. Have the children cut fringe on the paper stopping each time at the line. After they have cut “the meadow grass”, encourage them to draw an animal or person to go into the meadow. Tape all the fringed pieces of paper onto the wall in rows then slide the animals/people in between. Make a label that says Over in the Meadow.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; develops growing strength, dexterity, and control needed to use tools such as scissors, paper punch, stapler, and hammer. AND Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; progresses in abilities to use writing, drawing, and art tools including pencils, amarkers, paint brushes, and various other types of technology.

Sand and Water

Bring in grass clippings and small animals. Pretend your table is a meadow today.

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

Library and Writing

Have several children sit with you and the book. Ask the children questions about each page. Who is this? What are they doing? What is basking? Do you ever bask in the sun?

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes. AND Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; grows in eagerness to learn about and discuss a growing range of topics, ideas, and tasks.

Dramatic Play

Parent and baby play today. Who is the mother? What will you teach your children to do today? (Set the table, change the baby, get dressed up)

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

Math and Manipulatives

Cut and contact the animal pictures. Have the children sort the pictures by those that live in the meadow and those that do not live in the meadow.

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

Outdoor Play

Make a hopscotch board and practice jumping and hopping to the numbers.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numbers in meaningful ways. AND Physical Health & Development/Gross Motor Skills; shows increasing levels of proficiency, control, and balance in walking, climbing, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, marching, and galloping.

Transitions

Play, 1-2-3 What Number Do You See? Make two fists and bump them together as you say 1-2-3. As you say What number do you see? Hold up 1-10 fingers. Ask a child to answer before they head off to the next activity.

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

Resources

Look Once, Look Again In A Tree, David Schwartz

This book is part of a science series that delves into nature and habitats. First you get a close up, can you see what it is? Then you are shown the animal and given a little information.

Materials

Animal head masks, squirrel, owl, raccoon, caterpillar, and bird
Pine needle branches
Parts of a tree or signs of life in a tree
Props for Green Grass Grew All Around
10 straighter sticks of different lengths

Vocabulary

Pounce (jump quickly upon)
Bark (the skin of a tree)

Before Reading the Story

Tell the children that today you want them to help tell a story before you read your story. Ask the children to make themselves very small and round just like an acorn, or whatever other seed from a tree you want them to be. Tell them that they are in the ground where it is warm and dark. Soon it starts to rain and you begin to grow little roots that stretch down into the ground. Now you are just a sapling or a tiny baby tree. Each year you grow a little bit bigger and a little bit bigger until one day you are a great big tree that almost touches the sky. You stretch out your branches as wide as you can because you are a strong and beautiful Oak tree. One day a squirrel scampers up on you and it tickles so you wiggle with laughter. One day a caterpillar begins to eat your leaves so you shake to get it off. One day a bird comes and makes a nest in your branches and you gently rock it. The wind blows through you and you slowly sway from side to side. Sometimes when a storm comes you bend over and almost touch the ground but you do not break. You are the home to many animals and you give the children on the playground shade when it is hot outside. You look down and you smile because you are an Oak Tree and very important to the world.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; shows growing creativity and imagination in using materials and in assuming different roles in dramatic play situations. AND Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems.

Reading the Story

Introduce the story and let the children guess what each object is in the tree.

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

After Reading the Story

Ask if anyone has a tree in their yard at home. Let them share any tree stories they might like. Tell the children that they did a good job at the rug today.

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

Discovery

Look at the trees in your school yard; do you see any signs of animal life? Bring in bark, branches, leaves eaten by bugs, a birds nest, and any other interesting tree specimens you have to share with the children. Encourage them to bring in more.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to describe and discuss predictions, explanations, and generalizations based on past experiences. 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.

Music and Movement

Teach the children the song The Green Grass Grew All Around. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkAOeIMypg8 This is an echo song. The teacher sings it and the children sing the line back. The chorus is sung by everyone all together. Use the props to help the children recall the order. (This is a long song, are the children able to stay on task throughout)?

There was a hole children repeat

In the middle of the ground children repeat

The prettiest hole repeat

That you ever did see repeat

And the green grass grew all around all around and the green grass grew all around.

And in that hole repeat

There was a tree repeat

The prettiest tree repeat

That you ever did see repeat

Well, the tree in the hole and the hole in the ground and the green grass grew all around all around, and the green grass grew all around.

And on this tree repeat

There was a branch repeat

The prettiest branch repeat

That you ever did see repeat

Well the branch on the tree and tree in the hole and the green grass grew all around all around and the green grass grew all around.

And on that branch repeat

There was a nest repeat

The prettiest nest repeat

That you ever did see repeat

Well the nest on the branch and the branch on the tree and the tree in the hole and the hole in the ground and the green grass grew all around all around and the green grass grew all around.

And in that nest repeat

There was an egg repeat

The prettiest egg repeat

That you ever did see repeat

The egg in the nest and the nest on the branch…..

And in the egg there was a bird….

Well the bird in the egg and the egg in the nest and the nest on the branch and the branch on the tree and the tree in the hole and the hole in the ground and the green grass grew all around all around and the green grass grew all around!

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems. AND Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; grows in abilities to persist in and complete a variety of tasks, activities, projects, and experiences.

Blocks

Bring in small branches to add to the block play today. Tell the children that your blocks are made from wood that comes from trees.

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

Bring in pine tree branches to use at the easel instead of paint brushes. Use a rubber band or tape to hold together. (Bring lots because they can not be easily cleaned).

Creative Arts/Art; gains ability in using different art media and materials in a variety of ways for creative expression and representation. AND Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; progresses in abilities to use writing, drawing, and art tools; including pencils, markers, chalk, paint brushes, and various technology.

Library and Writing

Tree begins with the letter /T/. Have the children help think of T words. Give them paper to practice writing T’s. Make a list of all the /T/ words that your children were able to come up with and hang it on the wall.

Literacy/Phonological Awareness; shows growing awareness of beginning and ending sounds in words. AND Literacy/Alphabet Knowledge; shows progress in associating the names of letters with their shape and sounds.

Sand and Water

Put water into the table and add leaves. Do they look the same dry and wet? You can especially notice the color difference in the fall time when the leaves are changing color. Do dried out leaves stay dried out in the water? Do leaves float or sink? Can you smell the leaves better when they are wet or dry?

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

Dramatic Play

Make masks for the children by stapling the animal heads to a sentence strip. The children can pretend to be the animals and your dramatic center the tree house.

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

Math and Manipulatives

Put the 10 straight sticks in a pile and challenge the child to put them in order from shortest to longest. Have them then count the sticks, how many in all?

Mathematics/Pattern & 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.

Outdoor Play

If you have pine needles on your playground, help the children gather them up to make a giant nest (toy rakes work well but you can use your hands also). They can be the birds. The pinecones can be the eggs.

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

Transitions

Have the children recall animals and items that they saw in the story today or things they have really seen in a tree. (My Grandma has a tree with cherries in it, I have a swing in my tree).

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

Resources

The inside of a tree has rings to tell how old the tree is.

The branches are beginning to grow on this tree.

Where Does The Butterfly Go When It Rains? by May Garelick

What a wonderful question this title is. Follow along as the author tells where other animals go when it rains, but where does the butterfly go when it rains?

Materials

Butterfly match game/patterns
Butterfly wings (sold at Dollar Store)
8 one to two in paint brushes and buckets

Vocabulary

Hide ( to move out of sight or to be blocked from view)

Before Reading the Story

Talk about where and what people do when it is raining outside. Make sure to touch on the safety of going inside when there is thunder. Talk about how after the rain there are puddles, does anyone like to play in the puddles? Ask the children if they know what an umbrella is, have they ever used one? Ask the children if they know where animals might go when it rains (my cat runs under Mommy’s car, the cow goes to the barn) Introduce the story and ask it as a question, Where do the butterflies go when it rains?

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

After you ask the question, “Where does the butterfly go in the rain’? Give the children a few seconds to respond before you turn the page. If no one responds, shrug your shoulders and continue reading. If someone does respond say “I don’t know, let’s keep reading”.

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

After Reading the Story

Cut out a small butterfly shape from a manila file. Cut out a triangle, circle, square, and rectangle from colored paper that is big enough for the butterfly to be able to hide under without being seen. Have a child hide their eyes. Place the butterfly under one of the shapes. The child then opens their eyes and guesses which shape the butterfly is under. Make sure to have the child name the shape that he thinks the butterfly is under. Then let that child hide the butterfly while another child guesses.

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

Discovery

If you have butterflies already at your center, put out orange slices and water to attract them to a window close to your science center. Check out this web site for more info about making butterfly feeder. https://insteading.com/blog/how-to-attract-butterflies/

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

Teach the children the counting rhyme, La Mariposa

Uno, dos tres, cuatro, cinco One, two, three, four, five

Cogi una mariposa de un brinco. I caught a butterfly.

Seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez Six, seven, eight, nine, ten

La solte brincando otra vez Then I let him go again.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; develops ability to count in sequence to 10 and beyond.

Play the piano piece, Butterfly in the Rain and let your children dance and move to the music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVXmtckavDQ

Creative Arts/Movement; expresses through movement and dancing what is felt and heard in various musical tempos and styles.

Blocks

Put out a few paper butterflies, or draw several small ones on a manila folder and cut out. As the children build structures they can hide the butterflies within or on the structure. Then ask you or another child to come and find them. Older children might like to cut out their own butterfly to hide.

Art

Give each child a clean manila folder. Have them dab small amounts of paint onto one side. Fold the other side over and press with their hands. Open back up and let it dry. When it is dry, refold it and then draw a butterfly pattern on one side. Older children can cut these out but the teacher will have to cut for younger children. Cut both sides together. If your center allows, hang the butterflies from the ceiling with the painted side facing the floor.

Give each child a white coffee filter and tell them to color it with water soluble markers. When they have finished coloring the entire coffee filter have them use a squirt bottle to spray their coffee filter 3 times. This will cause the marker to run and the colors to melt into each other. Use a clothespin for the body and put half the coffee filter through to make wings.

Creative Arts/Art; gains ability in using different art media and materials in a variety of ways for creative expression and representation.

Sand and Water

Put sand in the table today and hide magnet letters in it. The children can scoop and sift in search of the letters. Make an alphabet chart and as the children find the letters, they can match them to the chart.

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

Library and Writing

On the bottom of each piece of drawing paper write; If I were a butterfly I would hide from the rain _______. Read this sentence to the children and then ask them to illustrate it. You can collect all the pictures and make a book, Where Would We Butterflies Hide From the Rain?

Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing ability to find more than one solution to a question, task, or problem. AND Literacy/Early Writing; begins to represent stories and experiences through pictures, dictation, and in play.

Dramatic Play

Many Dollar Store sell butterfly or fairy wings in theri toy department. If your center has a budget, ask them to purchase enough so that everyone in the dramatic center can have a pair of wings to wear.

Math and Manipulatives

Make a butterfly pattern matching game. Make two copies of each butterfly pattern, cut, color and cover with contact paper. The children then match the butterfly’s that are the same.

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

Outdoor Play

Give the children the large paint brushes and buckets filled with water. Show them ow to paint the building, the sidewalk, and the tree. If you have a lot of cement, challenge the children to write thier names with the water before it evaporates.

Literacy/Early Writing; experiments with growing variety of writing tools and materials, such as markers, crayons, and computer. AND Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; chooses to participate in an increasing variety of tasks, activities, projects, and experiences.

Transitions

On pieces of paper write 2 and 3 step directions. Put the pieces of paper into a bowl. The children take turns pulling one out and then must follow the instructions. (Put your hands on your head and hop forward 3 hops, Tell your neighbor hello, clap your hands and then turn around. Jump 2 times and touch your toes. Jump 2 times, clap your hands 2 times, and turn around. Nod your head yes then shake your head no. Jump and turn 4 times. Etc.).

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