Birds | Book Play Everyday

All the birds want to be beautiful like black bird who generously shares his color with them.

Materials

Roll of crepe paper
A whisk, hand eggbeater, slotted spoon, different tools to make bubbles in water.
Several large stiff feathers to use as paint brushes

Vocabulary

Arcs (curves and semicircles)
Festival (party or celebration)
Mirrored (reflected)
Beautiful (how lovely someone or something is)

Introducing the Story

Play a color game such as; If you are wearing _____clap your hands, if you are wearing ________green stomp your feet.

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

Or have snips of paper in several colors (one for each child). Give each child a snip of paper and the child must go and find an object in the room that color. Make sure whatever game you play that black is included.

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.

Reading the Story

Read this book ahead of time so that you have the rhythm of the story as you read. When you get to the page where Blackbird shares his color, tell the children that he is being a beautiful friend by sharing all his color.

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

After Reading the Story

Ask the children what it is that all the birds wanted from black bird? (His color black). Why do you think they wanted some black of their own? (They thought it was beautiful). Do you think it was fair that Black Bird shared some of his with all the other birds? (Yes, he was being a good friend). Ask the children if they know what beautiful means? Let them give their thoughts (Beautiful is really pretty like a shiny necklace. Beautiful is my stuffed doggie. My Mommy says my smile is beautiful.). Then tell the children that every person in the whole wide world has something that is beautiful about them. Sometimes it is on the outside like lovely curls and sometimes it is on the inside like when someone always shares and is kind. Let the children comment upon this idea. If they do not, you can tell one thing beautiful about all the children in the group. (Roger has a beautiful smile and Alison is beautiful because she is so gentle with her baby sister and other little children.). Make sure to include both inward and outward beauty for everyone throughout the day. (Sean, that is beautiful how you mixed those colors on your painting, you are an artist. Paula, that was so thoughtful and beautiful for you to share your book with Ryan).

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

Music and Movement

Take the words to the dance in the book and turn it into a barnyard type call and dance.

Beak to beak, peck, peck, peck

Spread your wings, stretch your neck.

Tip tap toe to the left, spin around

Toe tap tip to the right, stroke the ground.

Wings flip-flapping as you glide,

Forward and backward in a snow claws slide.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multiple-step directions. AND Creative Arts/Movement; shows growth in moving in time to different patterns of beat and rhythm in music.

Sing Two Little Blackbirds

Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill,

(Children hold up 1 finger on each hand)

One named Jack and one named Jill.

(Wiggle left finger, wiggle right finger)

Fly away Jack, fly away Jill

( Put 1 finger behind back, then the other)

Come back Jack, come back Jill.

(Bring 1 finger forward, then the other)

Next add 2 fingers to each hand and count. Sing about 4 blackbird, then 6 blackbirds, 8, and then 10

Mathematics/Numbers & Operations; develops increased abilities to combine and name “how many” concrete objects.

Discovery

Fill 5 plastic cups with a small amount of paint; red, blue, yellow, white, and brown. Put out white paper and brushes. Challenge the children to mix colors to make new colors. Can they make black? Pink? Green? Purple? What happens when you add more white to your color?

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

Blocks

Challenge the children to build a nest and then pretend to be birds.

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

Art

Put out black paint and feathers for brushes at the easel today. You can cut out simple bird shapes from colored construction paper.

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

Sand and Water

In the story, blackbird stirred his brew in the medicine gourd. Put water into the table today with things to stir; a whisk, a hand mixer, a slotted spoon. Let the children add soap to stir around and make bubbles.

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

Library and Writing

Tell the children that in the story today, blackbird said color on the outside is not what’s on the inside. You don’t act like me. You don’t eat like me. You don’t move and groove your feet like me. And in our class, you don’t have the same name as me. Give the children paper and pencils/markers to practice writing their names. Put out name tags so the children can see their name as they copy the letters. For older children, encourage them to also copy the name of their friends.

Literacy/Alphabet Knowledge; identifies at least 10 letters of the alphabet, especially those in their own name. Literacy/Early Writing; progresses from using scribbles, shapes, or pictures to represent ideas, to using letter-like symbols, to copying or writing familiar words such as their name.

Dramatic Play

In the story, the birds gathered for a festival. Put out crepe paper and masking tape so the children can begin to decorate for a festival in the dramatic center.

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

Math and Manipulatives

Make a ‘Which is our favorite color’ chart and then survey the children to see which is their favorite color. After all the children have been surveyed, you can use your chart to see which color was most favored in your classroom, which color was nobody’s favorite, count how many marks each color has. Write the number on the chart.

Mathematics/Patterns & Operations; begins to make comparisons between several objects based on a single attribute. AND Mathematics/Numbers & Operations; begins to make use of one-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups of objects.

Outdoor Play

Pretend to be birds and fly about the play yard. Can the children fly fast? Slow? Fly very low to the ground? On their tiptoes? Use the edge of the sandbox to perch as though on a branch, pretend to fly down and eat insects and gather together in a nest for the night.

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

Transitions

Send the children off to the next activity by colors. If you are wearing black, line up. If you are wearing green, line up, etc..

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; understands an increasingly complex and varied vocabulary.

Resources

Dear Parents, today we read a story about how birds got black markings on their bodies. Take your child for a black walk about your house or property. How many black items can they find?

One day a baby bird hatches from his egg and his mother is not there! Follow little birds’ trail as he looks for his mother.

Materials

Pictures of things that are alive/not alive from story and magazines
Several scarves or bandanas
Colored feathers or pieces of paper strips to represent feathers

Vocabulary

Alive (something that eats/drinks, grows, depends upon their environment where they live, and breaths.)

Before Reading the Story

Ask the children if they know what it means to be alive. Define for them that being alive means things that eat/drink, grow, depend upon their environment where they live, and breathe. Ask the children if a fish is alive, a bear, their Mom, a rock, a tree? Make a list of alive-not alive with the children. Ask the children about a variety of objects and list them on a sheet of paper as ‘alive’-‘not alive’. Add any items to the list that they might share.

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, ask the children about each thing that the baby bird thinks is its Mother. What is it? Is it alive, or not alive? Why or why not? (a car does not breathe and does not grow).

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

After Reading the Story

Ask the children if they remember why the mother bird left the nest. Talk to the children about what they would do if they woke up and could not find their mother? Would you be scared? Ask if anyone has ever gotten lost in a store or a park. How did it feel? If the children have not had this experience, share one of yours with them. What should you do if you are lost or you cannot find your parent?

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 in responding appropriately to potentially harmful objects, substances, and activities.

Discovery

Tell the children that the baby bird thought all kinds of things were his mother. Some were alive and some were not, cut and sort magazine pictures by things that are alive and things that are not alive.

Mathematical/Geometry & Spatial Sense; shows growth in matching, sorting, putting in a series, and regroup objects according to one or two attributes such as color, shape, or size. AND Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; develops strength, dexterity, and control needed to use tools such as scissors, paper punch, stapler, and a hammer.

Music and Movement

Act out being birds. Sit on your eggs and get comfortable. (Children can squat down and pretend to rustle their wings by flapping their arms). Fly down from your nest and look for food. (Children can stand up and pretend to fly around the room). What do you eat? Look for worms and bugs. (Show the children how to pinch their thumb and fingers to make a pretend beak). Use your beak to pick the worm out of the ground. Hold the worm in your beak and fly back to nest and feed your babies. (Open and shut your beak and pretend to feed baby birds in the nest). Now be the baby birds and pop out of the egg. Stretch your wings and peep for food because you are hungry from all that pecking. Practice flapping your wings and then try to fly, slowly at first and then faster.

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

Blocks

Add animals, preferably adults and their babies or large and small similar animals for the children to sort as they play.

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

Bring out the play dough. Ask the children if they can make a ball, an egg, a long snake, and a mother bird.

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

Ask the children to draw a picture of their Mom, or other caretaker, doing something special with them. Write what the children dictate about their Mom, or other caretaker. (My Mom gives me ice cream, My Grandma took me to the park and we saw a squirrel that runned up the tree).

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

Sand and Water

Add grass and mud to the table. Challenge the children to make a nest for baby bird. Add small rocks to be eggs.

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

Dramatic Play

Put out scarves or bandanas like Mother Bird is wearing. Encourage the children to cook nutritious meals for their babies. (Do you have a fruit for your baby? What vegetable will you cook? What is your baby drinking?)

Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; builds awareness to follow basic health and safety rules.

Math and Manipulatives

Add a variety of colored feathers and a piece of dark paper. Show the children how they can use the feathers to make designs and patterns on the paper.

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

Outdoor Play

Teach the children how to not get kidnapped. Tell the children that you are going to pretend to be a stranger and try to take them into your car. Explain to the children that you are going to grab them by the arm and pretend to try to get them in your (pretend) car. Explain to the children that if this were to happen they should throw themselves on the ground and shout loudly, “You are not my mother!” Practice giving each child a turn. Encourage them to shout loud!

Physical Health & Development/ Health Status & Practices; 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 in responding appropriately to potentially harmful objects, substances, and activities.

Transitions

As the children go off to the next area, tell them that they are to think of an animal that starts with a letter sound. Use the child’s first letter or one that is simple to think of an animal. Call each child and give them the letter sound i.e.; Kerry-cat, Roger-rhinoceros. Then ask them, “are you my mother?” Help the children respond using a full sentence; “No I am not your mother, I am a cat, meow” “No I am not your mother, I am a rhinoceros, hunn.”

Literacy/Phonological Awareness; shows growing awareness of beginning and ending sounds of words.

Dear Parents, Today we read the book, Are You My Mother? By PD Eastman. In the book the baby bird does not know what his Mother looks like and goes to find her. It might be fun to take a few minutes and look through old pictures that you might have of family members and talk about each one. (This is a picture of me when I was your age and that is Grandpa holding me in his lap.

Resources