Nursery Rhymes

 I haven't read or sang any nursery rhymes since I was a little kid.  Needless to say, I've forgotten a lot of the lyrics and stories.  I've done an okay job by making up forgotten lyrics or just humming the rest of the song, but think I should try to learn them right.


I only picked out a couple books from the library this week because each of the books should have a lot of stories.

Books
Read Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young by Jack Prelutsky


Hey Diddle Diddle and other Mother Goose Rhymes by Tomie Debaola






Art
Lamb Coloring Page - color or glue cotton balls to it.  "Sing Mary had a little Lamb"
Hey Diddle Diddle Coloring page - Talk about the animals and what they are doing

Activities
Edible Playdough (If you have a recipe, put a link in my comment section below, I'd love to try it)

Jack "Jump" Over the "candle stick" - I'll lay a jump rope or string across the ground.  We'll walk or jump from one side to the other (he's  not much of a hopper yet hehe)

Easter Lesson Plan

Our Lesson Plan for this week focuses on Easter!  I'm super excited about Easter this year.  Dying Eggs and watching Little Man find the eggs the Easter Bunny left is going to be fun, fun, fun!  I have almost everything ready for Little Man's Easter basket, too. 

Books

Where are Baby's Easter Eggs By Karen Katz




Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney



Give Me Grace by Cynthia Rylant




The Story of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter




Good Egg by Barney Saltzberg

Art

Dying Easter Eggs.
Painting Easter Eggs (Show child how to dip cotton ball in paint then dab it on a hardboiled egg)
Decorating paper Easter Eggs or Bunny


Activities
Finding Easter Eggs! 
Pom Poms and Muffin tin (scooping pom poms with a spoon into muffin tin)

Singing/Finger play:

Little Bunny Fufu Song
Here Comes a Bunny

Imagination play:

Taking care of teddy bear

Lesson Plan: March 26

This is our lesson plan for next week.  We're reading books about colors and learning through play!

The lessons look long, but there is a lot of repeating from day to day and things you don't actually have to prepare.  Feel free to cut out projects or add additional ones as you need them. 

Little Man is 18 Months old, so this lesson plan is geared for around his age group.  You can find ways to make this appropriate for "older" toddlers.  The books will certainly be okay for them. 


If you would like a printable version of this lesson plan, click here:


Monday: 
Book:  Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh




Music/Movement:  "Play" Row, Row, Row your Boat.
Sit on the floor across from your child, legs spread apart enough so you can hold your child's hands.  As you sing the song, pull your child toward you while you lean away.  Have your child lean back while you lean in.  (like you're rowing)  Little Man gets a kick out of doing this activity and claps a lot. 

Creative Art/Fine Motor Skills:  Tracing hands and coloring them.

Gross Motor Skills:  Play ball!  Using a few different sized balls practice rolling them back and forth and showing how to throw.

Speech & Vocab:  Saying "thank you", pointing out colors.

Daily Life Skills:  Being gentle. 


Tuesday: 
Book:  A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni


Gross Motor skills:  Jumbo Legos.  Talk about colors, help sort blocks into piles of different colors.  Have fun stacking them and knocking them over! (fine and gross motor skills)

Music/Movement:  Row, Row, Row your boat

Sensory:  Jello play:  Put jello in dishwashing tub.  Let them play with it with their hands, and let them squish it with their feet.  You could also do this in the bathtub.

Speech & Vocab:  Saying "thank you",  pointing out colors.

Daily Life Skills:  Being gentle. 





Wednesday:
Book:  White Rabbit's Color Book by Alan Baker


Fine motor skill/Art:  Finger painting.  Primary colors: red, blue yellow.  Talk about sensory: what does he feel?

Gross Motor:  Chasing bubbles!

Speech & Vocab:  Saying "thank you",  pointing out colors.

Daily Life Skills:  Being gentle. 






Thursday:
Book:  What makes a Rainbow by Betty Ann Schwartz

Music/Movement:  Dancing to reggae music (using Pandora Radio).  Encourage twirling, putting hands above his head, etc.

Sensory: Exploring toys in a laundry bag. 

Fine Motor Skill:  Toothpick and Spice Jar.

Speech & Vocab:  Saying "thank you",  pointing out colors.

Daily Life Skills:   Being gentle. 





Friday:
Book: My First Colors Book by Dawn Sirett



Sensory:  Walking across sticky side of parchment paper (sensory learning)  describe what he's feeling.

Music/Movement:   Row, Row, Row your boat

Speech & Vocab:  Saying "thank you", pointing out colors.

Daily Life Skills:  Being gentle. 




Any ideas for a lesson plan theme?  I'd love to hear them!

Mommy Book

I just checked this book out at the library today, but so far I'm loving it.  It's called The Toddler's Busy Book, written by Trish Kuffner.

She provides some really great information about toddlers in the intrdocution section.  She writes that toddlers learn great in a one on one situation with their caregivers because the caregiver knows what the children like to learn about and can cater to their needs.  She writes that the little things we do with out toddlers really make a big difference in their learning.  Glad I'm making a difference with Little Man when we play peak-a-boo for the millionth time!

She also has some great suggestions for keeping a busy toddler entertained:  Keeping a "baker's box" for them to play with in the kitchen, a "rainy day" box, and a "job jar" are some of the great ideas she shares.

I'm really excited to read the rest of this book and get tons of ideas!  This book is definitely worth checking out from the library or purchasing.  I'm going to take good notes (I'm a super dork who does that kind of thing) but I may end up purchasing it, too. 

Do you have any favorite books centered around toddler activities?  I'd love to hear them in the comments below!

Lesson Plan

Hi All!

I'm going to attempt to come up with some lesson plans each week for Little Man.  After I planned this one I realized how time intensive it is to plan these lessons out!  I'm sure as I start planning more lessons it will get easier (I hope) because I'll find some great sources for ideas and inspirations. 

This is the first lesson plan I've created ever.  I have absolutely no background in Childhood Education (my B.S. was in Criminal Justice) but I figured I go for it.  I feel like this may be too much to try and get done and should probably scale it down.  We'll see. 

This plan is for next week.  Since next Saturday is St. Patrick's Day I picked a "green" theme and went with the color green and frogs.

I'll try to post each day next week and let you know how things are going.  I've never read any of these books before, so I'll let you know if any of them are keepers :D  

Monday:
Book: Mr. and Mrs. Green by Keith Baker  (This book was more like a chapter book.  Nice pics though)


 Froggie went a-courtin by Iza Trapani

Art:  Color a Frog 
Exercise:  Hop like a frog
Activity:  Talk about the frog. What does the frog say?  What does the frog do? What color is the frog?  What does the frog eat?

Tuesday:
Book:  Leap Back Home to Me by Lauren Thompson

Song:  There was a frog which swallowed a......
Exercise:  Hop like a frog
Art:  Water and Marker Painting
 
Wednesday:
Book:    A Frog in the Bog by Karma Wilson

Green:  Seeing Green All Around Us by Keith Baker

Activity:  Discovery Bag (Put green objects into a pillowcase, let the kids take the objects out and explain the color and shape of the objects)
Activity:  Odd Color Out (Use objects from the discovery bag but add new color.  Tell him the color of the "odd" object.  Put the "odd object" next to the green objects and have him pick out the "odd" colored object)
Song:  Five Little Speckled Frogs

Thursday:
Book:  Little Green by Keith Baker



Tuesday by David Wiesner


Activity:  Color Flashcards (use colored paper to explain colors to your child)
Activity:  Show Little Man Colored frog.  What does the frog say?  What does the frog do? What color is the frog?  What does the frog eat?

Friday:
Books:  Pick out our favorite and read them again!
Activity:  Pick out our favorite activity and do it again!
Exercise:  Hope like a frog!

Shared With:
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