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

Ten Terrible Dinosaurs, by Paul Strickland

What child doesn’t like dinosaurs? This fun book will help children with their number awareness.

Materials

A variety of small dinosaurs

Vocabulary

Enormous (really, really big)
Spiky (sharp and pointed)
Elated (to be happy)
Feisty (acting pretty wild)
Weary (tired)
Carnivore (one who eats meat)
Herbivore (one who eats plants)
Canine teeth (the pointed tooth between the incisors and the molars, people have one on each side of their mouth.)

Before Reading the Story

Today the children will be exploring their teeth before reading the story. Make sure that the children have washed their hands appropriately before they come to the group today so that they will not be putting dirty fingers into their mouths. On a piece of paper, draw a large tooth. Ask the children if they know what it is? Talk for a moment about dental care (brushing, dentist visits, minimal sugars, and not using teeth to open things). After you have discussed dental care to your and the children’s satisfaction, point to the tooth you drew and ask the children if all teeth are shaped like this? (No, we have different kinds of teeth in our mouths to chew different kinds of food). Draw a pointy canine tooth. Tell them that some teeth are shaped like this and ask them to touch the tooth in their mouth that is pointy. Explain that this tooth is pointy so that it can tear and eat meat. People and animals that eat meat are called carnivores. Ask them to think about other animals that might have pointy teeth (dogs, cats, tigers, alligators). After each, if it is a meat eater say, “Yes, it’s a carnivore”. Have the children go back into their mouths and touch a back molar. Explain that some teeth are flat like these so that they can mash and chew plants. Tell them that people and animals that eat plants are called herbivores. Ask them to think of some animals that might be herbivores (horse, camel, elephant, rabbit). If it is a plant eater say, “Yes, it’s an herbivore. If the animal eats both meat and plants tell the children that it is both an herbivore and a carnivore and is called an omnivore. Let the children name animals and guess if it is a carnivore, herbivore, or omnivore.

Science/Scientific Skills & Measurements; begins to use senses and a variety of tools and simple measuring devices to gather information, investigate materials, and observe processes and relationships. AND Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and respect for their bodies and the environment.

Reading the Story

Tell the children that your story today is about a creature that is sometimes an herbivore and sometimes a carnivore. Read the title of the book and look at the dinosaurs on the cover. Point to each one and ask, could this one be a carnivore? (Only the ones with visible teeth count) When you get to the pages that say, “so then there were”…pause to see if the children can name the correct number.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways. AND Science/Scientific Methods & Skills; develops increased abilities wo observe and discuss common properties, differences and comparisons among objects and materials.

After reading the Story

Hold up 10 fingers and state, “10 take away one equals _____. Let down a finger. (take away one equals ____.) Continue down to zero.

Mathematics/ Numbers & Operations; demonstrates increasing interest and awareness of numbers and counting as a means for problem solving and determining quantities.

Discovery

Bring in pictures of dinosaurs or books about dinosaurs.

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

Do a web search of dinosaur pictures to color and print off 4-5 realistic looking pictures for the children to talk about, compare, and color.

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

Music and Movement

Say, “Feel that shaking on the floor, must be the dancing of the dinosaurs!” Turn on some lively music and stomp, twist and dance to the music.

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

Blocks

Dinosaurs in blocks would be fun. If you do not have dinosaurs, cut out pictures from the internet and tape to your blocks.

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

Art

Move the chairs away from your art table and have the children stand around the edges. Tell them that you are going to be dancing, twirling, silly dinosaurs. Put out two primary colors of finger paint directly on the table and some lively music. As the children finger paint the tabletop, help them be aware that the two colors are mixing into a new one. Make sure to give yourself a little extra clean-up time. Children seem to really enjoy painting the table but it takes extra time to clean.

Science/Scientific Knowledge; shows increased awareness and beginning understanding of changes in materials and cause-effect relationships.

Library and Writing

Write D/d on a piece of paper. Point to and name the capital D and then do the same with the lower case d. Tell the children that D/d is the letter that begins the word dinosaur. Have the children practice making the D/d sound several times. Ask the children to think of as many D/d words as they can and write them on the paper repeating the /d/ sound and the word each time.

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

Sand and Water

Add small dinosaurs to the sand table. Dampen the sand so the children can make mountains, craters, and volcanoes. Add rocks and sticks to make a dinosaur diorama.

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

Dramatic Play

As the children move about the room today, at intervals call out , “Dinosaurs Roar!” and encourage all the children to roar loudly with you. You could have the children roar for each other when they or you have seen someone do an act of kindness or friendship.

Social and Emotional Development/Social Relationships; shows progress in developing friendships with peers.

Math and Manipulatives

This would be a good day to put out any puzzles relating to dinosaurs, teeth, or numbers. If you have none of these, any puzzles will do, both table and floor.

Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; grows in abilities to persist in and complete a variety of tasks, activities, projects, or experiences.

Outdoor Play

Choose one child to be the ferocious, meat eating Tyrannosaurus Rex. The rest of the children can be the gentle plant-eating dinosaurs. The T Rex is “it” and chases the other dinosaurs . If they are caught, they must go stand by a tree and pretend to eat the leaves until the T Rex has caught three children and then a new T Rex is chosen.

Physical Health & Development/Gross Motor Skills; shows increasing levels of proficiency, control, and balance in walking, climbing, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, marching, and galloping. Mathematics/Numbers & Operations; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways. Develops increased abilities to combine, separate, and name “how many” concrete objects.

Transitions

As the children go to their next activity, ask them to make loud chomping sounds if they are an herbivore plant eater, roar if they are a carnivore meat eater, now stomp on off.

Literacy/Listening & Understanding; understands an increasingly complex and varies vocabulary.

Dear Parents, Help your child learn to count by doing this little dinosaur song. As you sing each number hold up the corresponding finger.

Ten Big Dinosaurs (To the Tune of “10 Little Indians”)

1 big, 2 big, 3 big dinosaurs,

4 big, 5 big, 6 big dinosaurs,

7 big, 8 big, 9 big dinosaurs,

Ten Big Dinosaurs!

They all lived a long, long time ago.

Now there are no more.

A Color of His Own, by Leo Lionni

Every animal has his own special color/s except the chameleon. He changes colors wherever he goes. This is the story of a chameleon that wanted to have a special color like all the other animals. It was not until he met another chameleon did he learn how special he really was.

Materials

Seek and find letter C
Several sponges cut into small pieces.
Chameleons for hiding

Vocabulary

Chameleon (a kind of lizard that can change his color)
Heather (a kind of flowery bush)
Camouflage (to be able to hide or change color into the environment)

Before Reading the Story

Tell the children that you are going to play a same and different game today. Have two children (a boy and a girl) come up to the front of the group. Ask the other children to name ways that the two children are different. (He’s a boy, she has darker hair, he’s wearing pants and she’s wearing shorts). After the children have exhausted how the two children are different, ask them to tell you ways they are the same. (They both have arms and hands, they both are smiling, they are both tall).

Scientific Knowledge and skills; observes and discusses common properties, differences, and comparisons among objects.

Ahead of time, make a simple graph labeled, “Our Favorite Colors” and a name card for each child to stick on. Explain to the children that we are all alike in some ways but each of us is also special and different. Not all people like the same things. Pull out your Favorite Color Graph and hand out the name tags. Ask the children to come up and put their name beside their favorite color. When everyone has done so, talk about the colors and how some people like one color better than another.

Literacy Knowledge and skills; recognizes print in everyday life, such as numbers, letters, one’s name, words, and familiar logos and signs. AND Social & Emotional Development/Self-Concept; begins to develop and express awareness of self in terms of specific abilities, characteristics, and preferences.

Reading the Story

Pause on each page so the children can name the colors.

After Reading the Story

After reading the story ask the children why the chameleon was unhappy at the beginning of the story? (He did not have his own special color). What happened to make the chameleon know he was perfect just the way he was? (The other chameleon said that that was the nature of chameleons). How did the story end? (Happily ever after) If you were a chameleon, what color/s would you like to be?

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; shows growing interest and involvement in listening to and discussing a variety of fiction and non-fiction, and poetry.

Discovery

Put out red, yellow, and blue stamp pads or paint in shallow dishes. Tell the children that when you mix two colors of paint together you get a new color. Give each child a sheet of white paper. Ask them to dip their left hand in one color and their right hand in another color. Have them print their left hand on the left side of the paper and their right on the right. Ask them what color they think it will make when they mix the two colors together. Then have them make a left hand print and put the right hand on top and mix. What new color did you make? On the bottom of the paper write color left + color right =_____. Have the child repeat the sentence back. Have the children wash their hands before they try two other colors together and see what new color you can make.

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

Music and Movement

Explain to the children that chameleons move slowly. Put on some slow music and have the children move slowly about the room while looking for an object that is a color on their shirt. Find the object and slowly bring it back to the carpet. Name the color. Put the music back on and the children can slowly go and put the object away.

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

Blocks

If you have colored blocks or cubes, feature these in your center today. As the children clean-up their structure, encourage them to clean by colors. (Ryan you put all the red blocks away and Paula you can put the green blocks away).

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

Art

Explain to the children that the illustrator of the story made his pictures by doing sponge printing. Put out small trays of red, blue, yellow, and white paint. Show the children how to sponge print by dipping the sponge lightly in the paint and then moving the sponge up and down, up and down on the paper.

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

Library and Writing

Chameleons are very good at hiding because they blend/camouflage right in. Ask the children what letter chameleon starts with. Give children a Seek and Find page and ask them to take their favorite color and find all the C’s on the page.

Literacy/Alphabet Knowledge; increases in ability to notice the beginning letter of familiar words.

Sand and Water

Put water in the table today. Ask the children at the table what color food coloring they would like you to add. After they name the color, find a corner of the table and add their color. As you add the second color in a different corner, ask the children what they think is going to happen to the colors when they get mixed.

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

Dramatic Play

Add many colorful dress-ups today (scarves, hats, jewelry)

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

Math and Manipulatives

As the children are using the manipulatives today, encourage them to make patterns using color and naming the colors in their patterns.

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

Outdoor Play

Make a number of chameleons in colors that are on your playground. Before the children go outside, hide these outside yet in plain view (put a yellow chameleon in a yellow bucket, a brown chameleon in the sand)). Tell the children that there are chameleons camouflaged about the playground today so while they are out they can be on the lookout for them. Bring out a pen and as the children find the chameleons and bring them to you, you can write their name on it. When you go back in the classroom, you can count who found the most.

Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; demonstrates increasing capacity to maintain concentration over time on a task, question, set of directions or interactions, despite distractions and interruptions.

Transitions

Go back to your Favorite Color Graph and dismiss the children to the next activity by the colors that they chose.

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