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Welcome Summer! Preschool Lesson Plans

Lorelei — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 22:30:57 +0000

Wearing Sunglasses May Protect Young Eyes from Damage

Summer is nearly here! Gardens are growing, flowers blooming, bugs buzzing about – and it is a great time to teach your preschooler about the great outdoors. For this Welcome Summer lesson plan, your child may learn:

Summer is the season that comes after spring
In summer, the days are often sunny and hot
gardens that were planted in the spring now continue to grow
many flowers bloom
Trees that bloomed in the spring may now be growing fruits
Baby animals that were born in the spring are growing bigger
We need to protect our skin from too much sun
We protect our eyes, as well, from bright sun by wearing sun glasses
Water is fun to play with, but we must be careful around water
We should drink more water in the summer

Teaching the Concepts

This week you will also focus on the letter R, the color red, a rectangle shape, and the number four. These concepts are introduced during the calendar activity. You might have a shelf around your calendar, where you display objects that begin with the “r” sound, like a rubber band, a ring, a toy rabbit, a silk rose, a rag, something red, a rook from a chess set, a ruler. When you and your child talk about the date, and count the numbers from the first of the month to today, then you may point to the items and teach your child the names if he doesn’t know them. Help him to recognize the sound that they begin with. Show him a letter R. I buy six-inch wooden alphabet letters in the craft store and paint them. They come with a plastic hook stapled to the back, that I leave on, and hang them on the wall. Tape a rectangle shape to the wall. Display some things that are rectangular. Display four things, and have your child count them with you. You might not cover all of this every day. Always end an activity before your child is restless and bored.

Summer Sun and Sunscreen Use

This summer, you may want to move many of the projects and other activities to the back yard. It will keep the house cleaner, and your child will enjoy it more. Many children in the U.S.A. are actually deficient in vitamin D! This may be because they spend too much time indoors playing video games, or because they never go outside without sunscreen. The “authorities” disagree on how much sunlight exposure is too much. Those who push for sunscreen use insist that you apply it every time you go outside, and frequently during the day. Those who believe in a more natural approach, insist than thirty minutes outside without sunscreen is sufficient for your child to soak up some vitamin D. You must chose for yourself. I allow myself and my granddaughter to go out without sunscreen for a half an hour, especially if it is before 10am or after 4pm. After that, I either put on a long-sleeved, loose-fitting shirt, move to the shade, or apply sunscreen. I have sensitive skin, and I’m not convinced that sunscreen isn’t part of the skin-cancer problem, but that’s my issue. Encourage your child to wear a hat and/or sunglasses, to protect his face, ears, and eyes. You may wish to read these two opposing articles:

Serve Something Red

This week you will focus on the color red. Try to serve red foods at every meal. Some may be family favorites, and some your child might never have tasted before. Foods that are bright, bold colors tend to be very high in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. This week, consider serving some beets, strawberries, watermelon, cherries, cranberries, tomatoes, and red peppers. Visit Red Foods, the New Powerhouse for more information.

Wet Sand is a Different Sensory Experience than Dry Sand

I hope you and your child enjoy this week’s activities! Here is a list of great picture books. See what you can find at your local library, or purchase these from my store – which helps to keep this website free.

Five-Star Books:

Summer by Alice Low
Summer (Four Seasons) by Nuria Roca
Mouse’s First Summer by Lauren Thompson
Mama, Is It Summer Yet? by Nikki McClure
Carl’s Summer Vacation by Alexandra Day
Caterpillar Spring, Butterfly Summer by Susan Hood
Under Alaska’s Midnight Sun by Deb Vanasse
One Hot Summer Day by Nina Crews
Sunflower House by Eve Bunting

Quality Products for Your Preschooler: (Optional)

Drink Lots of Water in Warm Weather

These are extras, and not required for the lesson plans. However, if you are looking for a birthday gift, or if you want to create a great backyard play area, you may find these items helpful. Of course, the Alpine swing sets do not include the wood! You would purchase that extra at your local hardware store. My children had the geometric dome climber when they were little, and they loved it. My granddaughter has the Schwinn Roadster 12″ tricycle (in pink) and I feel it is the best trike on the market. It is solid, sturdy, stable, and easy to pedal on a variety of terrains.

Worksheets

These are optional. If your child is not ready for pencil and paper activities, just ignore them.
Letter R worksheet 1
Letter R worksheet 2
Letter R worksheet 3
Letter R Itsy Bitsy Book
Itsy-Bitsy Book Directions
Count and Trace number 4
Rectangles worksheet 1

Lesson Plans for Welcome Summer! week

Photo Credits:

Top: photo by Flyheatherfly
Middle: photo by Grandmamusher
Bottom: photo by wealhtheow1

Easter Lessons for the Christian Preschooler

Lorelei — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 12:34:14 +0000

Many Families Dress Up in their Finest Clothes on Easter Morning, to Show Respect to the Risen Lord

This week, Easter Lesson Plans for the Christian Preschooler, your child will learn about Jesus’ death and resurrection. Your child can learn:

Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey
The people cheered him, shouting “hosanna”
Jesus and his disciples ate a last meal together
Jesus’ friend Judas betrayed him with a kiss
Jesus was punished, even though he did nothing wrong
Jesus died on the cross
His body was wrapped in linen and laid in a tomb
The world was dark on the afternoon that Jesus died
On Easter morning, the tomb was empty
An angel said, “He is not here. He is risen!”
Jesus died to take away our sins

There are many fun activities to help you teach these concepts to your child, from the Jelly Bean Prayer, to making a batch of Empty Tomb cookies. These yummy treats are sure to become a family tradition. I love how the author of Faithful Provisions relates each step of the cookie process to the Easter story. For example, there are eggs in the cookie, and eggs are the symbol of new life. We have new life in Jesus. There is vinegar in the cookie, and Jesus was made to drink vinegar on the cross.

If possible, try to make or buy a set of Resurrection Eggs. I recently discovered this learning tool, and used it with my granddaughter. It caught her attention, and helped her to learn many of the key concepts of the Passion of Christ. It is a bit much for one sitting. You might want to take several days to introduce all the eggs. But then, encourage your child to retell the Easter story to you, using the eggs as prompts. There are directions on the internet to make your own set of eggs, if you have more time than money.

I struggled to find good books for this unit. I rejected some because the cartoonish illustrations offended me. Jesus is real. He is not fiction. I felt the cartoons made Him seem like a fairy tale. I rejected the beautiful “Very First Easter” by Maier, because although the illustrations are gorgeous, the story was boring and too long for most preschoolers. I hope you’ll find a few Easter books in this list that your child will treasure for years to come. And may your family be truly blessed this Easter!

Five-Star Easter books:

An Easter Gift for Me by Crystal Bowman
The Easter Story by Patricia A. Pingry
The Easter Story (St. Joseph Picture Books) by Jude Winkler
The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado
Benjamin’s Box by Melody Carlson
J is for Jesus: An Easter Alphabet and Activity Book by Debbie Trafton O’Neal
The Parable of the Easter Lily by Liz Curtis Higgs
Donkey’s Easter Tale by Adele Bibb Colvin

Optional Easter Toys and Gifts

According to Legend, the first Easter Lily appeared at the Foot of the Cross, from the Blood of Jesus

Easter Worksheets

Easter Lesson Plans for the Christian Preschooler

Photo Credits
Top: photo by Todd Anderson
Bottom: photo by Godizwithin

Winter Week

Lorelei — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 12:00:04 +0000

This week is about winter. You’ll feed the birds and the squirrels. You’ll introduce the letter S and the number 3 to your child. You’ll teach the color white, and the circle shape. Your child can learn that:

We Enjoy Playing in the Ice and Snow

when it is very cold, water freezes (gets hard), making ice, snow, sleet, and icicles.
A blizzard is when a strong wind blows for a long time during a heavy snowstorm.
Days are shorter, and nights are longer.
Most plants stop growing for a while.
Some plants and trees grow all year round, and are called “evergreens”.
Some trees lose their leaves in the winter.
Some animals hibernate.
Many birds fly south (migrate) for the winter.
We wear warmer clothing in the winter.
We enjoy playing in the ice and snow – we build snow forts, throw snow balls, skate on ice, ski on snow.

Feeding the Birds and Squirrels Will Give Your Child Many Hours of Enjoyment

Feeding the birds can be an exciting and rewarding experience, but if you start to feed the birds in the fall, then you should feel obligated to feed them all through the winter until spring, when they can find other sources of food. To extend your bird-watching experience, consider investing in a small, inexpensive bird bath heater, which will keep the water in the bath from freezing. You’ll have more birds in your yard, and watching them preen, and bicker, and splash is a treat.

In the winter, we dress warmly. It’s better for the environment to put on a layer of long underwear rather than crank up the heat on your thermostat. It may be healthier, too. It’s less of a shock going out to the cold, when you have that extra layer of insulation next to your skin. Thermal (long) underwear comes in so many attractive colors and prints! Get a dozen pair for your child and yourself, as well. Hard-to-find flannel-lined overalls fit nicely over the thermal underwear. A long-sleeved tee-shirt,then a sweatshirt completes the layers. Don’t forget wool socks for the family. Never buy synthetic socks in the winter. Synthetics do nothing to insulate, or wick away moisture. Cotton socks are okay inside, but when you are outside, if you want your feet to stay toasty warm and dry, you must go with pure wool. They can be expensive, but if you take care of your wool socks, they will last a lot longer than cotton. I’ve heard so many people complain that they just don’t like winter – but nearly everyone of them isn’t dressed appropriately for the weather. If you dress warmly, you won’t begrudge the chilly temperatures.

Dog Sledding Can Be a Great Family Sport

Now is a great time to take up an outdoor sport! Learn to love the seasons, and your child will, as well. Get everyone a pair of ice skates and make weekly outings to the ice rink part of your family fun. Get some sleds and ask your neighbors where the best sledding hills are. Have you ever considered taking up mushing? Mushing isn’t just for Alaskans, and you don’t have to have ten dogs to do it! One dog, 35 pounds or larger, can pull one child. Two dogs can pull one adult. Four dogs will pull you and your child together, and that’s when the fun begins. Dogs can pull you on a wheeled cart in the spring and fall, or cooler days in the summer as well, so this isn’t just a winter sport.

For answers to all your mushing questions, you can either email me, or contact: Sled Dog Central. I’ve been mushing for about ten years, so while I don’t know all the answers, I do know several places I can go to get the answers.

The worksheets for this week were all taken from First_School.
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
Worksheet 3
Worksheet 4
Worksheet 5
Alphabet

All of the books that are recommended for this week can be found here, if you don’t find anything suitable at your library. When I select books, they are either ones that I have read and loved, or they have a five-star rating from parents. The music and a few seasonally appropriate toys are also found here .

Lesson Plans for Winter Week

Photo Credits:
Snowy Day by Mark Evans
Chubby Squirrel by Jeremy Noble
Running Sled Dogs by Lorelei Sieja

F is for Fall

Lorelei — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:58:55 +0000

Take Your Child on a Nature Hike to Gather Beautiful Autumn Leaves

This week F is for Fall, share the joy and wonder of the changing seasons with your child. Your child can learn:

Fall is the season after summer. Autumn is another word for fall.
Daylight hours become shorter. Nighttime hours become longer.
The weather becomes cooler. It may be time to put away shorts and sandals, and wear long pants, and sweaters.
Frost may appear at night or early morning.
Leaves begin to change colors.
Leaves and nuts begin to fall to the ground.
Grass turns brown and dies out.
Some birds and butterflies fly south for the winter.
Some animals get ready for winter, by gathering nuts or storing food in their homes.
Some animals grow thicker coats to help them stay warm
Farmers harvest many foods and sow winter crops

Make Your Own Lotto Game

The Joy of Fall Leaves

Repeated in this lesson are directions for making a simple lotto game. Lotto is very similar to bingo, but uses pictures in place of numbers. Children learn to match pictures, making a one-to-one correspondence. It is a great game for the young child, the rules are simple. You can keep the child interested by making multiple lotto games. Use fall stickers to make an autumn lotto. Make a Christmas lotto with Santa, reindeer, holly, and wreath stickers. Make a baby animals lotto, or favorite Disney characters lotto. If you can find it pictured in stickers, you can make a game from it. For the older child, you could use alphabet letters or musical notes for the lotto. There is a lovely animal lotto game for sale in the store.

Go on a Nature Hike

The week activities will start with a nature walk. Stroll around your neighborhood or take a trip to a nearby park. Gather colored leaves, nuts, acorns, seeds, milkweed, or other signs of autumn. You’ll need the leaves, seeds, and twigs for some of the craft projects. Take a bag with you on the hike to carry home your child’s treasures. If you feed the ducks at the park, remember that white bread is NOT nutritious and can harm the ducks. You can buy whole corn or grain for them from a feed mill for probably less than a loaf of bread. Check with your local ordinances though. In some areas, it may be illegal to feed the ducks.

Pick Apples at an Orchard

Visit an Orchard to Pick Some Ripe, Red Apples

The week ends then with a return trip to the apple orchard. If you did “A is for Apple” earlier, then your child visited the apple orchard this summer. Now you can point out that the apples have turned red (or yellow), although a few green ones might remain. Some apples have fallen to the ground already. Some leaves fall, too. Don’t forget to return to the apple orchard in the winter, to see the bare branches.

Have a great time with your child. And don’t forget to take lots of pictures for your memory album.

F is for Fall lesson plans

Suggested Picture Books for Fall

Why Do Leaves Change Color by Betsy Maestro
It’s Fall by Linda Glaser
How Do You Know It’s Fall by Allan Fowler
Fall is Here! I Love It! by Elaine W. Good
Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell
For the Love of Autumn by Patricia Polacco
Autumn by Gerda Muller
Autumn: An Alphabet Acrostic by Steven Schnur
T is for Touchdown: A Football Alphabet by Brad Herzog

Some interesting Toys and Games for Autumn

Autumn Landscape Roll
Preschool Lotto Game
Melissa & Doug Bear Family Dress-Up
Music for the Nursery
From Caterpillar to Butterfly
Where is Puppy Listening Lotto
Baby Genius the Four Seasons w/bonus Music CD
Sing-Along with Elmo and Friends: Autumn
The Very Hungry Caterpillar

If you are new to this site, you may want to read:
Working with the Lesson Plans
Play Areas for Encouraging Creativity
Calendar Activities

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Photo credits:
Top: photo by Sarah Neville
Middle: photo by Abigail Batchelder
Bottom: photo by Dawnzy58

Sight Preschool Lesson Plans

Lorelei — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 02:44:00 +0000

This week you and your child will focus on Sight, one of the five senses. Young children can learn:

A Magnifying Glass Will Draw Interest to Your Discovery Table

we see with our eyes.
We learn things by seeing with our eyes.
We need light to help us see.
When it is very dark, we cannot see.
Some people need glasses to to help them see better.
We need to take good care of our eyes so that we can see.
Some people cannot see at all. They are blind.
Our eyes can help tell us what color something is, how big or small it is, and what shape it is.

A good way to introduce this lesson is to go on a “sight” walk. Bring along binoculars, a magnifying glass, and a bag for collected treasures. What will your child find? Look for pretty stones, a feather, a bit of snake skin, a dragonfly, or a penny.

Children Are Often Fascinated by Airplanes, Although The Noise May Frighten Them

Don’t forget to look up. Point out airplanes, helicopters, clouds, the network of branches overhead, tall buildings, or a helium balloon.

Look all around you. What do you see? A firetruck, an ambulance, a grocery store, a taxi, or a bus?

If you are very lucky, you will have a thunderstorm this week, complete with rainbows!

At the end of the lesson plans are directions for making popcorn “the old-fashioned way” and for making play dough. Old-fashioned popcorn is not only cheaper and better for you, it’s also really easy once you’ve got the hang of it. And best of all – you don’t need a microwave.

Have fun!

Interesting Toys for this lesson:

Photo Credits:
Top: photo by Lieutenant Pol
Bottom: photo by Charles Roberts

C is for Cookie

Lorelei — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 03:16:16 +0000

A Round Cookie with a Bite out of it Makes a C

Early Monday morning, you’ll make a batch of yummy Breakfast cookies! This somewhat nutritious recipe includes bacon, rolled oats and raisins. Then, when your youngster takes a big bite of this surprising breakfast treat, you can show him that he just made the letter C! After breakfast, help him find some other things that start with the “Kuh” sound and bring them to your calendar area. You might bring a toy car, stuffed cat, coins, color crayons, a cup, a cap, and a carrot. If he tries to call the cat a kitten, make sure you praise him, let him know that yes, “kitten” starts with the “kuh” sound, but it is a “K” word.

C is for Cookie week is full of fun, educational activities. You and your child will color with sidewalk chalk, make mud pies, play Candyland, and go climbing. He’ll make a Cloud picture and create a caterpillar. If the weather permits, he’ll play with bubbles in a splash pool. Otherwise, he could just play with the bubbles, or do the activity in a bathtub.

Suggested Picture Books

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
The Everything Kids Cookbook by Sandra K. Nissenberg
Cookies, Bite-size Life Lessons by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
The Chocolate-Covered Cookie Tantrum by Deborah Blumenthal
Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks by Richard Scarry
Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Cookie’s Week by Cindy Ward

Here is a link to the Very Hungry Caterpillar on YouTube.

Interesting Toys, Games, DVDs

These items are optional, but well-made, classic toys.

Watching television should be done sparingly! Many children today spend twice as much time in front of the television as they do playing outside. Not surprisingly, there is a corresponding rise of childhood obesity, and adult-onset diabetes in very young children. Monitor your child’s viewing habits. More than two hours a week is obsessive. However, if you wish to allow it, this might be a good week to watch the Pixar movie Cars.

If you are new to using the lesson plans, you may wish to read:
Calendar Activities
Working with the Lesson Plans
Play Areas for Encouraging Creativity

C is for Cookie Lesson Plans

I hope you and your child have a lot of fun with this!

Photo Credits
Top: photo by Diana