Mary Wore Her Red Dress, by Merle Peek

Today is Mary’s birthday and her friends are coming to help her celebrate. Sing your way through this folk song and name colors and articles of clothing along the way.

Materials

Pictures of articles of clothing
M&M’s or jelly beans for math
Swatches of various fabrics, two of each
Box of birthday candles/silk flowers
Birthday party supplies, crepe paper, wrapping paper, hats, etc..

Vocabulary

Sneakers (gym shoes)
Bandana (a scarf that you can wear on your head or around your neck)

Before Reading the Story

Talk to the children about their birthdays. Who is the next in your classroom to have a birthday? Who was the last birthday? How many children are 4 and will turn 5? How many are 5 and will turn 6? Let the children share with you any birthday experiences that they choose. (When it was my birthday I had a pink cake. I got a scooter for my birthday).

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

Reading the Story

First time through, sing the story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N284P3zpL_4. As you turn to the next page, ask the children if they can name the color.

Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; uses an increasing complex and varied spoken vocabulary. AND Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems.

After Reading the Story

Second time, go back through the story and this time read the pictures with the children. On each page let the children talk about what they see. (What kind of animal is Mary? Where is she? What is she doing? Why is she walking across that log? What is on her head? What do you think is inside the box?) Allow plenty of time for the children to discuss and share their party experiences with one another.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates progress in abilities to retell and dictate stories from books and past experiences; too act out stories in dramatic play; and to predict what will happen next in a story.

Discovery

Make several copies of the clothing and color them. Put a piece of tape on the back or make them into flannel board pieces. On an index card write the colors that you made the clothes (blue=shirt) and color the card to correspond. Now hold up a color card and ask a child to find the piece of clothing that matches the color. The children can match color words to colored clothing. Ask them to name the article of clothing.

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

Bring in swatches of various types of fabrics. Talk about the textures and patterns that the fabric have. Let the children match the two pieces of fabric that are the same.

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

Music and Movement

Put on the song This is a Song About Color by Hap Palmer and follow the directions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v-nocdm20g

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

Use the tune of the story today and sing about the children in your classroom. Go around the circle and ask each child to name one article of clothing that they are wearing today. Sing about it. While you are singing, clap to the beat of the song. What other movements can you do to the beat of the song? (Sean is wearing his cowboy boots, cowboy boots, cowboy boots. Sean is wearing his cowboy boots all day long. Ryan is wearing his dinosaur shirt…).

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

Sing any song you have about colors, for example, The Rainbow Song. Have the children point to any colors that they might be wearing.

Red and yellow and pink and green,

Purple and orange and blue, black, brown and white

I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow too.

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

Sing the Happy Birthday Song.

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

Blocks

In the story Mary is crossing a log-bridge. Challenge the children to make bridges (balance beam) today that they can walk across or their cars can drive across.

Physical Health & Development/Gross Motor Skills; shows increasing levels of proficiency, control, and balance in walking, climbing, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, marching, and galloping.

Art

Put large balloon shapes at the easel and let the children paint the balloons. When they dry they can be hung up together with yarn to look like balloon strings. Hang near your birthday chart.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; progresses in abilities to use writing, drawing, and art tools, including pencils, markers, chalk, paint brushes, and various types of technology.

Library and Writing

Copy the clothing page to a large format and let the children choose which they choose to color. After they color their clothing article, ask them to describe it. Underneath it write _____ wore her _____all day long (Kerry wore her green and white striped sweater all day long). Put these together and make a classroom book that the children can learn to sing.

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

Sand and Water

Dampen the sand add birthday candles and silk flowers. Let the children be a birthday bakery and design cakes.

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

Dramatic Play;

Add birthday party materials; crepe paper, birthday hats, gift bags, wrapping paper. Let the children play birthday party.

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

Math and Manipulatives

This would be a fun day to do M&M math activities or jelly bean math.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to use language to compare numbers of objects with terms such as more, less, greater than, fewer, equal to.

Make three sets of each clothing article. Color one that corresponds with the story and color 2 that do not. Ask the child, can you remember what color shirt, dress, shoes, were in the story? Put out the book and the articles of clothing and show the children how to look up the answers.

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; asking to take books hoe; and engaging in pretend reading with other children.

Outdoor Play

Have the children all line up on one side of the playground. Tell them the object of the game is to be the first to the other side of the playground but you have to follow the directions to get there. Call out different colors and actions. If the child is wearing the color, they may do the action. (If you are wearing red take 5 giant steps, if you are wearing green take 3 skips).

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multiple-step directions. AND Social & Emotional Development/Self-Control; demonstrates increasing capacity to follow rules and routines and use materials purposefully, safely, and respectfully.

Transitions

Play I Spy as the children head to the next activity. (I spy a child who is wearing a red shirt with yellow stripes, I spy a child who is wearing black shoes with a white laces)

Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; grows in recognizing and solving problems through active exploration, including trial and error, and interactions and discussions with peers and adults.

Katy No-Pocket, by Emmy Payne

Kangaroos carry their young in front pockets on their bodies. What is to become of Katy’s son Freddy when she has no way to carry him?

Materials

Pocket chart or hanging shoe holder.
Animals from the story and several others that begin with the same letter
Picture of a kangaroo with a pocket and a baby
Pocket shape
Several long scarves

Vocabulary

Awfully (extremely) really big hops
Enormous (another word for really big)
Cross (angry or crabby)
Carpenter (a person who uses tools to build houses and things of wood)

Before Reading the Story

Hold up the picture of the kangaroo and ask the children if they know what kind of an animal this is? Ask them if they can see the baby kangaroo? Explain that the mother kangaroo has a special pocket in her stomach to carry the baby kangaroo. Read the title of the book. Ask the children what they can guess what the problem is in the story (the mother has no way to carry her baby). Ask them if they can think of a way to help the mother kangaroo to carry her baby. Have the children look at their clothing and count the number of pockets that they are wearing. Show the children the front of the book and re-read the title and begin.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates progress in abilities to retell and dictate stories from books and experiences; to act out stories in dramatic play; amnd to predict what will happen next in a story. AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins toi use one-to-one correspondence is counting objects and matching groups of objects.

Reading the Story

As you read, pay attention to the different feelings that the animals are experiencing. Let the children talk about them.

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

After Reading the Story

Use the pocket chart and put an animal into each pocket. Ask the children if they can guess which animal is hiding in each pocket by listening to you make the sounds. Sss-nake/snake, cro-co-d-ile/crocodile. As the children guess the animals, pull them out of the pockets so they can see them.

Literacy/Phonological Awareness; shows growing ability to hear and discrimainate separate syllables in words.

Discovery

Bring in pictures or books of real animal adults and babies for the children to look at, compare, and discuss. Do the babies look like the adults?

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

Finger play, Kangaroo.

Jump, jump, jump goes the Kangaroo

(jump fist up and down)

I thought there was one, but now I see two

( Hold up one finger, then two fingers)

The mother takes her baby along in a pouch

(put thumb inside palm of other hand)

Where he can nap like a baby on a couch.

(open palm and lay thumb across)

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

Sing, I’ve Got Something in My Pocket. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkO7UKUBXUY

I’ve got something in my pocket,

That belongs across my face.

I keep it very close at hand

In this most convenient place.

I’m sure you will not guess it

If you guess a long, long while

So I’ll take it out and put it on,

It’s a great big happy smile!

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

Blocks

In the story the carpenter who helped Katy carried many tools. Add a carpenters apron or tool belt and tools for the children to build.

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

Art

Give each child a pocket shape that they can cut out and decorate. They can then cut out pictures from magazines and put them in their pockets. (My children like to cut out pictures from toy magazines).

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.

Library and Writing

Color and cut out the animals from the story. On the pocket chart attach the letters that correspond. (L,T,C,B for lion, turtle, crocodile, and bird). Have the children match the animal to the correct letter/letter sound.

Literacy/Phonological Awareness; shows growing awareness of beginning and ending sounds of words. AND Literacy/Alphabet Knowledge; increases in ability to notice the beginning letters in familiar words.

Sand and Water

Dramatic Play

Add several aprons with pockets. (Ask your local home improvement store for donations) Or… Explain to the children that many mothers use or make baby carriers to help hold their babies. Show the children how to take a large scarf and turn it into a carrier for their baby dolls.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; chooses to participate in a variety of tasks and activities.

Math and Manipulatives

Copy the kangaroo picture onto a manila file and punch holes all around to make a lacing board.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; grows in hand-eye coordination in building with blocks, doing puzzles, reproducing shapes and patterns, stringing beads, and using scissors.

Outdoor Play

Explain to the children that kangaroos are really good jumpers and can jump over 10 feet in one jump. Let the children pretend to be kangaroos and measure their jumping abilities. Measure and record, standing broad jumps and running long jumps.

Mathematics/Pattern & Measurements; shows progress in using stand and non-standard measures for length and area of objects. 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

As the children go off to the next activity ask them to name something that could fit in their pocket or as the teacher ask them if something could fit in their pocket. (Could a tree fit in your pocket? Could a penny fit in your pocket? Could an apple fit in your pocket?)

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; begins to make comparisons between several objects based on a single attribute. AND Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems.

Hats, Hats, Hats, by Ann Morris

People wear hats throughout the world for a variety of reasons. Go for a trip around the world and discover all the wonderful hats.

Materials

Directions for easel paper hat
Send a note home a day or two ahead asking the parents to let their child wear a hat for hat day.
Hats for hat match game with extras for coloring.

Vocabulary

Hat (a covering for your head)
Crown (the top part of the hat)
Brim ( the part of the hat that surrounds the crown of the hat)
Names of different kinds of hats as you discuss with the children

Before Reading the Story

Bring in several varieties of hats from your dramatic center or from your home. Tell the children that you are going to hide an object under a hat (it can be anything) and then let the children take turns guessing under which hat the object is hiding.

Social & Emotional Development/Cooperation; develops increasing abilities to give and take in interactions; to take turns in games and using materials; and to interact without being overly submissive or directive.

Reading the Story

Talk about the more unusual hats as you read. Can you tell what it is made of? Why do you think that he is wearing that kind of hat?

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

After Reading the Story

Put up 4-5 pictures of hats on the wall. Give each child a slip of paper with their name on it. Let them take turns putting their name under the hat that they would like to wear best. After everyone has had a turn to put their name up count and talk about your graph. Which hat had the most votes? Why did you like this one best? Which hat had the least votes? Why did you like this one best?

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

Discovery

Put the Hats, Hats, Hats book into the center and add a globe or map of the world. Help the children find where different hats originated from.

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.

Music and Movement;

Sing My Hat it Has Three Corners https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4xXiHllJO8

Put on the Mexican Hat Dance music and teach children how to dance to it. Lay a hat in the center of the circle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgRMRfQgslM

Left foot, right foot, left.

Right foot , left foot, right.

Left foot, right foot, left

Right foot, left foot, right.

(Go around the circle to the right.)

We’re dancing, we’re dancing, we’re dancing.

We’re dancing around the hat

We’re dancing, we’re dancing, we’re dancing.

Now that’s the end of that.

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

Blocks

Add fire hats and fire trucks to the center. Or add construction hats and tools.

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

Art

Make hats with the children. These could be paper plate hats with the center cut out or these could be crown like hats from a sentence strip. The children can either collage on them or you can put out theme based hat materials (silk leaves and flowers to glue on: shapes to cut out and glue: long strips of colors to fold and glue)

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

Put out copies of the hats for matching and allow each child to pick their favorite hat and color it. Ask them to tell you why they like that hat and write their responses down. Attach the hat and the response to a piece of paper.

Literacy/Early Writing; begins to represent stories and experiences through pictures, dictation, and in play. AND Literacy/Early Writing; experiments with a growing variety of writing tools and materials, such as pencils, crayons, and computers.

Sand and Water

Dramatic Play

Add a variety of “worker” hats to the dramatic center. If you have enough hats the children can pretend to buy and sell them at a hat store using play money and a cash register.

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

Math and Manipulatives

Show the children how to make a paper hat by folding two sheets of easel paper together. They can then decorate it with markers or paints. https://www.babycentre.co.uk/v25014841/how-to-make-a-paper-hat-video

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

Outdoor Play

Bring out several of your classroom hats and beanbags. Line the hats up and let the children take turns tossing the bean bags into or at the hats.

Physical Health & Development/Gross motor Skills; demonstrates increasing abilities to coordinate movements in throwing, catching, kicking, bouncing balls, and using a slide and swing.

Transitions

Let the children take turns telling about their hat they brought from home. Why is it special? Where or when do you wear it? If they did not bring a hat from home, have pictures of hats that they can take turns talking about.

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