Abuelo and The Three Bears, by Jerry Tello

This is the classic Three Bears but with a multi-culture twist. Read the original story and then use this to compare.

Materials

Tortillas, beans, salsa
Popsicle sticks
Bear Masks
Hot and cold cards

Vocabulary

At the end of the story all the Spanish words are translated.
Grumpy (grouchy and in a bad mood)
Stubborn (very determined and going to do it your way no matter what)
Family Reunion (when all the members of an extended family get together for a party)

Before Reading the Story

Ask the children if they ever have large family meals or meals where relatives and friends come to eat. What kinds of things do your parents make for these meals? (My Dad cooks spaghetti and Uncle Mark comes to my house, When Grandma came at Christmas we had turkey and cookies).

Reading the Story

Make sure you stop and help the children understand the Spanish words.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; understands a n increasingly complex and varies vocabulary.

After Reading the Story

Make a venn diagram and compare this story with the traditional Three bears. What are the similarities, what are the differences?

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

Discovery

Bring in some tortillas and salsa for the children to try. Make some frijoles to put onto the tortillas. If a child is a picky eater, encourage them to try a new food.

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

Music and Movement

Sing People in a Family, sung to Frere Jaques. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FXH36epPnY

People in a family, people in a family

Eat together, eat together

People in a family, eat together

All day long, all day long.

People in a family, people in a family

Laugh together, laugh together

People in a family, laugh together

All day long, all day long

(ask the children to help think of other things that families do together.

Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Communities; progresses in understanding similarities and respecting differences among people such as genders, race, special needs, culture, language, and family structures. AND Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing ability to find more than one solution to a question, task, or problem.

Tap out patterns in sets of three and see if the children can copy you. (3 claps or 1 clap, 2 stamps, etc.)

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

Blocks

Challenge the children to make a bed and/or a chair for blocks big enough for a stuffed animal and then themselves.

Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; demonstrates increasing ability to set goals and develop and follow through on plans. AND Approaches to Learning/Reasoning and Problem Solving; grows in recognizing and solving problems through active exploration, in trial and error, and interactions and discussions with peers and adults.

Art

Remind the children that Abuelo said Trencitas came back later to glue Ositos chair back together. Put out Popsicle sticks and glue and ask the children if they can build something from wood.

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

Have the children dictate a recipe that their parent cooks to you. They can either draw the food or find a picture and cut it out. (My Mom makes me tuna sandwiches. She opens the can and puts it in a bowl. Put in 5 spoons of mayonnaise and some little pickle pieces. She puts a shake of that stinky stuff and mixes it all together. I like to eat it on bread with cheese).

Sand and Water

Add dampened sand to the table today and some cooking utensils and plates. The children can pretend to cook various foods.

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

Dramatic Play

Add three bear masks and encourage the children to act out this or the traditional version of the three bears story. Add three bowls, three chairs and three blankets to represent beds.

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

Sort things by those that are hot and those that are cold.

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

Outdoor Play

Encourage the children to have a family reunion. Help them figure what role they will play (aunt, grandparent, cousin, baby, father, etc).

Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Communities; progresses in understanding similarities and respecting differences among people such as genders, race, special needs, culture, language, and family structures.

Transitions

As the children go off to the next activity, play categories. Have them name one of their favorite foods, a food they eat for breakfast, a food their parent cooks, or a food they like to eat at a restaurant.

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

Resources

Corduroy, by Don Freeman

This is the story about a lost button and friendship. A Teddy Bear searches through a department store to find his lost button and ends up finding a new friend.

Materials

Large button shape and small corduroy bear for hiding game
A variety of buttons
Oil pastels and watercolors

Vocabulary

Overalls (pants with an attached bib on the front)
Escalator (moving staircase)
Palace (where the king and queen live)
Admire (to look at something you think is beautiful)

Before reading the Story

Talk about friendship. How can you tell that someone is your friend? What can you do for your friend if they are feeling sad? How does it make you feel when someone wants to be your friend? What should you do if you want to be someone’s friend?

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 Language Development/Speaking & Understanding; progresses in abilities to initiate and respond appropriately in conversation and discussions with peers and adults.

Reading the Story

Make sure to use voice modulation to express the different emotions that Corduroy experiences. Make the expressions on your face also so the children can see.

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.

After Reading the Story

Check on your clothing and see who is wearing a button. Who is wearing the most buttons? Who is wearing a snap, a zipper, a hook, a buckle? As you look for various items, talk about what they are used for. Can you think of something else that has a button on it, a zipper, etc.. (My Mom’s purse has a zipper, my jacket has a zipper, my folder has a snap).

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

Discovery

Bring in a button collection that the children can look at and sort by various attributes.

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, size, or shape.

Bring in pictures of real bears. Let the children look at these and use them for discussion. Can they tell about where bears live, what they like to eat, etc.?

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge if and abilities ti 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.

Music and Movement

The Bear Went Over the Mountainhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAW2GSwUnNo

The bear went over the mountain
The bear went over the mountain
The bear went over the mountain
To see what he could see.
To see what he could see.
To see what he could see.
The bear went over the mountain
The bear went over the mountain
The bear went over the mountain
To see what he could see.
And all that he could see
And all that he could see
Was the other side of the mountain
Was the other side of the mountain
Was the other side of the mountain
Was all that he could see.

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

Blocks

Add doll furniture and let the children build a department store with a furniture area. Can you make an upstairs and a downstairs? How can you make the stairs or the escalator?

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

Add Teddy Bear counters; can you put a bear under the table, on the table, behind the table,etc..

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

Art

Give each child a large round circle in light colored paper. Let them color their buttons using oil pastels. When they are finished coloring their button, they can do a watercolor wash over it. This causes the oil pastel to sort of pop through and can make a very lovely effect.

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

Library and Writing

Ask the children to draw a picture of where Corduroy’s button might be hiding. After they have drawn the picture they can glue a small button (round circle) onto their picture. Make sure to write their dictation underneath. (The button was under the chair. The button was in the grass next to the flower)

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 a book home; going to the library; and engaging in pretend-reading with other children.

Sand and Water

Put sand in the table today and add either buttons, counting bears, or another small item that the children can scoop, count, and sort.

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, size, or shape.

Dramatic Play

Add clothes that have buttons. Encourage the children to practice buttoning and unbuttoning.

Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; shows growing independence in hygiene, nutrition, and personal care when eating, dressing, washing hands, brushing teeth, and toileting. 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.

Math and Manipulatives

Play, Where’s Corduroy? Cut out and color the large button. Make 4-6 depending on how well your children know their colors. Each button should be colored a color that your children are working on. Have the children take turns hiding their eyes and put the bear under one of the buttons. The child whose turn it is must guess where Corduroy is by naming the color. You can also play this game by making shape buttons or buttons with 1-6 dots on them.

Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; uses an increasingly complex and varied vocabulary.

Outdoor Play

Pretend that you are bears. Use your long claws to scratch a tree trunk. Pretend the climber is a tree to sit in. Throw balls and pretend that you are catching fish. Find a place to crawl under like a cave. Growl loud and try walking on all fours (hand and feet), not hands and knees.

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

Transitions

Ask the children to tell you or show you how they would feel if…, they lost something, like a button. They were alone in the department store at night, someone said they wanted to be their friend, they fell down and bumped their head, your mother said you could not have something you really, really, wanted. You got to buy a special toy at the store.

Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; develops increasing abilities to understand and use language to communicate informations, experiences, ideas, feelings, opinions, needs, questions; and for other varied purposes.

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.