Families & Pets

Family is so important! They are those people who we can count on for help, who are there when we are happy or sad, who we can relate to. Many times our pets are part of the family, so we can't leave them out!

CIRCLE TIME

Our family are the people we are related to. This means our Mom, Dad, sisters, brothers, Grandmothers, Grandfathers, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, etc. These are the members of our family. There are many different types of families and many different sizes. Some families are really small. There could be a Mom, a brother and a sister. Some families are really big, with a Mom and Dad, 2 brothers, 2 sisters, 2 Grandmothers, a Grandfather, and several Aunts, Uncles and cousins! Our pets are usually a part of our family too. People's pets include dogs and cats, birds, hampsters, fish, lizards and turtles! The most important thing is that our family is the people who love us and who we love also!



ACTIVITY

Who Would Use This? - Game

Materials Needed:
Electric Shaver
Pacifier or bottle
Small Broom

Hair bow
Toy car
Glasses
Hand weights
Baby doll
Knitting needles
Pipe
Dog bowl
ANYthing else you can think of!

Explain to the kids that you are going to show them objects from around the house and they should say who in their family would use it. There is no right or wrong answers here! The point of the game is to think about the different members of families and to allow them to notice how different everyone is.

 

SCIENCE

Family Trees

This is a generic way to do a family tree. It is just an example of how a family "grows". You can go further and see if their parents can send pictures of their actual families to add and personalize them, if you wish.

Print the family tree template HERE.  

Make some stick figures for the family members. They can be very simple, just try to make them look male or female and give them different hair. Write their designations across them (Mom, Dad, Uncle, etc). Print a selection for children to choose from. The children should place the family members where you show them as you discuss.

Start at the top with Grandmother & Grandfather. Talk about who their grandparents are. They are their Mommy's Mom and Dad and Daddy's Mom and Dad! On the next branch down place Mom on the right side and Dad on the left. Place the child and their siblings on the branch above the Mom and Dad in the middle. Place Mom's sisters and brothers on the branch above Mom and Dad's siblings on the branch above Dad. Place the cousins in the top branches.

Again, this is very generic and not really how a family tree works, but it helps small children understand how families work with a great visual.

MATH

Family Graph

For this activity we will graph family members as a class. Print out the graph chart HERE.  You will need some stickers for this. I suggest hearts, since we love our families!

 

Ask the kids how many of them have a grandmother? Place a sitcker on the chart for each grandmother, 2 sitickers if they have 2 living grandmothers! Continue down the list until you have completed the chart. Tally the columns and discuss how many of each family member there are for your class!

Playdough Counting Mats - Dogs and Cats

We can't forget our pets! Download the FREE printable math mats from Prekinders.com HERE.  The children should place the listed number of dog or cat treats into their bowls. This is great for fine motor skills and also counting!

BOOKS

On Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Berenstain-Bears-Really-Big-Show/dp/0060573902/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372261222&sr=1-2&keywords=pet+show

A great book about many different kinds of pets!

On Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Family-Book-Todd-Parr/dp/0316070408/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372264756&sr=1-1&keywords=family

Great for describing the many different types of families and how important our families are!

GROSS MOTOR

Dog Training

This is just a fun game! Have all the kids get on their hands and knees like a dog. Now you will "train them" and they should follow your directions. (You can make the dog ears they can wear in the below craft for use with this game!)

"Bark like a dog!"
"Follow me to the dog bowl"
"Scratch your ear"
etc. etc!

FINE MOTOR

Color a Pet Picture

http://www.raisingourkids.com/coloring-pages/animal/cat/032-pet-shop-cats.html

Print the picture of the people shopping for a pet and color it!

ART & CRAFT

Art - Draw a picture of your family

This is an easy one. Provide the kids with some paper and colors and ask them to draw you a picture of their family! Include any pets they may have. When they are finished you should ask them to describe the picture so you can label the family members on the picture. This is a fun one to give to their parents!

Craft - Dog Ears Headband

Materials Needed:

Cardstock

Black (or whatever) construction paper

Glue

Cut out a strip of the cardstock long-ways for the part that will attach to their heads. Then cut out dog ear shaped pieces, 2 for each headband. Cut the construction paper into dog spots.

Wrap the long piece of cardstock around the kid's head and mark where to tape it.

Give the kids each a headband piece, 2 ears, and a bunch of the spots. Show them how to glue the ears to the headband. Then allow them to glue the spots on wherever they want. Once they are dry, tape to their heads.

MUSIC

How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?
You can see the lyrics and hear the song HERE thanks to Bussongs.com!

My Family
I love mommy. . .she loves me
We love daddy. . .yes sir e
He loves us and so you see
We are a happy family

I love grandma. . . she loves me
We love grandpa. . .yes sir e
He loves us and so you see
We are a happy family

I love sister, she loves me
We love brother. . Yes sir e
He loves us and so you see
We are a happy family


COOKING

Family Fruit Salad

The salad is usually eaten at family reunions! It is a great recipe for kids because they can help measure, mix and portion it.

Ingredients

• 3 34 ozs instant vanilla pudding
• 1 12 cups milk
• 8 ozs cool whip (thawed)
• 11 ozs mandarin oranges (drained)
• 20 ozs pineapple (chunk, drained)
• 16 ozs fruit (cocktail, drained)

Beat with mixer the pudding mix and milk for 2 minutes. Add the cool whip, then all the fruit. Mix to incorporate. Serve!

**You can also add marshmallows, grapes or bananas to this!

ZOO Week

What kid isn't fascinated by animals? There is so much to learn about animals, and there are so many different kinds to learn about. Some are big and hairy, some are small and scaley. Some run and jump, some swim and some fly. They each behave in their own way and they all have different eating habits. They are fun to observe because they are always doing something interesting! The Zoo is a fantastic place for children because it houses a number of unique and interesting animals. We will talk about many different kinds of animals this week. If you can, go on a field trip to a local Zoo. A large city Zoo, a petting Zoo, or even a reptile Zoo is a great outing.

CIRCLE TIME:
Talk about animals. Print the flash cards (cut them out on the dotted line and each card will be the same size)and use them to discuss the different animals, their names, what sounds they make, where they live, what they eat, etc. There are lots of animals to choose from! You could split them up and talk about a different group each morning in Circle Time. Start the discussion with the kids and see where it takes you. They often have some very interesting questions and observations!

Zoo Animal Flashcards


LETTER: Z z for Zoo

  Click HERE for coloring page
Trace the Z with a finger and then with a color. Talk about the sound Z makes.



SITE WORDS:

Name Game

This will be the last week to focus on recognizing their own names! By this time they should be able to pick out their name fairly readily.

Print each child's name on 2 index cards using the correct upper and lower case letters. Cut one of the 2 cards into individual letters for each child.

Begin the game by placing the complete name cards on the table and ask the kids to choose their name card. When they have theirs, tape it to the table in front of them. Next, place the individual letter cards for their name on the table in front of them but all out of order. Ask them to put the letters in order by using their name cards as a guide. They should say each letter out loud as they go. Once they have this accomplished, ask the kids to trace the letters in their name with their fingers.




SCIENCE

Animal Characteristic Graphing

Use the animal flashcards from circle time for this activity. Print the graph sheet. Talk about the different characteristics that the animals have. Ask the kids to place all the animals with hair in one pile and all the animals with scales in another. Once complete, place a sticker for each animal on the graph in the appropriate spaces. Continue through the rest of the characteristics. It will be interesting to discover the animals which fit into several categories!

Animal Graph


MATH

Monkey Mats

Print the mats from AtoZ TeacherStuff and cut everything out. Go through each numbered mat with the kids and have them trace and then say each number. Then ask them to place a banana bunch on the mat for the total number listed on the mat. This is a great counting activity, and it has MONKEYS! :)

http://printables.atozteacherstuff.com/760/monkey-number-mats-1-to-10-with-banana-counters/
Print in black & white or color, whichever you prefer!


Animal Addition

Use the divided plate again for a great visual addition helper! It is ok to use any kind of animal for this activity, such as stickers, little figurines, pictures printed from the Internet. My FAVORITE for this is to use animal crackers! Place 1 animal in one of the small sections and 1 animal in the other small section. Ask the children how many 1 and 1 equal. Place each of the animals into the 3rd larger tray to show that 1 plus 1 equals 2! Continue with this activity using different amounts each time.






COMMUNITY

Zoo Keepers

A "zoo" is a place where animals that you would not normally see are kept. People can visit and watch these animals without having to travel to the far away places these animals normally live.

People are necessary to help take care of these animals. In the wild, they can find food shelter themselves. While in a zoo, people help to provide these things for them. These people are called Zoo Keepers.

The Zoo Keepers bring food to the animals each day. This food must be prepared especially for each type of animal and special vitamins must be added to keep the animals healthy. This is a BIG job since some big animals can eat tons of food everyday!

The Zoo Keepers also check the animals to make sure they are not sick or hurt. They clean the spaces they live in to make sure they are comfortable. What fun it must be to play with animals every day!

GAME/GROSS MOTOR

Monkey Obstacle Course

This can be done any way you want! You can set it up inside or outside. Use whatever materials you have on hand. You could even do it at a local park. Be creative and make it fun. Have the kids act like different animals for different parts of the course. Hop like kangaroos, slither like snakes, swim like a seal. Maybe the winner could get a small stuffed animal or zoo coloring book! The possibilities are endless.

ART/CRAFT

ART - Zoo Animal Collage

Find pictures of animals on the internet, in magazines, a zoo brochure, or whatever you can think of. Cut out all the pictures and ask the kids to glue their favorites to a piece of paper. Talk about their animals and why they chose the ones they did.

CRAFT - Paper Plate Elephant

I found this craft on No Time for FlashCards! Follow this link to do this super fun activity! http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2008/04/zoodley-zoo.html

BOOKS

  On AMAZON:  http://www.amazon.com/Brown-Bear-What-You-See/dp/B0073XW096/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364410724&sr=1-4&keywords=brown+bear+brown+bear+what+do+you+see

A great preschool book with different animals in different colors. The rhyming words make it a favorite!



On AMAZON:  http://www.amazon.com/Inside-City-Rebus-Read-Along-Story/dp/0590997157/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364410815&sr=1-1&keywords=inside+a+zoo+in+the+city

A really fun book about some animals living in a big city all coming together to live at a zoo! There are pictures in place of words for the different animals so your preschooler can "read" this one with you!


  On AMAZON:   http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=goodnight+gorilla

A book of few words, this gives you or your preschooler the ability to make up the story yourself, based on what is happening in the pictures.



MUSIC

"Keeper in the Zoo"
(sung to Farmer in the Dell)
The keeper in the zoo,
the keeper in the zoo,
Heigh-ho! The derry-o!
The keeper in the zoo.
The keeper feeds the (bears).
The keeper feeds the (bears).
Heigh-ho. The derry-o!
The keeper feeds the (bears).
continue with monkeys, 'gators, birds, etc.


COOKING

Zoo Cookies

Provide animal crackers and a couple different colors of frosting with some spoons. You could also provide sprinkles and other embellishments. Allow the kids to decorate their animals as they want.