Valentine's Day and Love

Love is an important concept to everyone, and most especially for young children. They are just beginning to figure out what love means and who they love. This week we will explore the concept of love and also do a bunch of stuff using the heart shape!

LETTER: V v (Valentine)

Letter V Color Page



COMMUNITY

Mailman
Being a mailman is a very special job! They deliver our mail and packages. If you make a pretty Valentine for someone you love who lives far away, you can mail it to them. The mailman is who delivers that Valentine! Even when the weather is rainy, cold, icy or windy the Mailmen are out making sure all the mail gets to the people.


Project
"Write" a letter or make a Valentine and mail it! I understand preschoolers are too young to actually write a letter, but that won't stop them from trying! Have them color a special picture for someone they love who lives far away and help them mail it. Once the recipient has received the letter, make sure to talk on the phone so that your child knows they got it! It will seem pretty magical to them and make the day of the person they sent it to.



MATH

Conversation Heart Counting

Print out 10 of the heart pages HERE.  Write the number 1 on one, 2 on the next and so on until each is numbered from 1 to 10. 

Get a package of conversation hearts and place them in a bowl on the table. As a group, look at the first heart with the number 1 on it and talk about the number. Ask if the children can place the correct number of candy hearts on the heart picture. Continue through all the numbers. **If you are concerned about the kids eating the candy, you can also do this with heart stickers!

Conversation Heart Sorting (also Fine Motor)

Print out the chart HERE.  The different colors of candy hearts are lined up at the bottom. Sort the candy hearts on the chart by color. Talk about how many of each color there are!



PROBLEM SOLVING

Cupid Maze

http://www.education.com/worksheet/article/cupid-maze/

Print the maze. Help the children guide cupid through the maze to the heart at the end. As you go, discuss the dead ends and which way they should try next.



SCIENCE

Heartbeat Experiment

Talk to the children about their hearts. We each have a special organ inside our chest which pumps our blood around our bodies all day long. We can hear it working! Have the children listen to each other's chests while at rest to hear their heartbeats.
Once everyone has heard a heartbeat, have the children jump around. Get their hearts pumping! Tell them that this makes their hearts work harder and makes them stronger! Now have the children listen to each other's chests again. What happened to the heartbeats? Are they faster or slower?
To keep our hearts healthy and strong, we must get exercise everyday. Making our hearts pump faster is good for our bodies!



Carnation Coloring

**UPDATE - it takes longer than I remember! I would suggest starting this experiment at least 2 days before Valentine's day so that they will be nicely colored on time.

Materials Needed:
White Carnations (1 for each kid if possible)
Food Coloring (red & blue are fastest!)
Jars or Cups (clear)

Fill each jar ¼ full with water. Place about 20 drops of food coloring in each jar. Show the white carnations to the kids. Flowers and other plants suck water up through their stems to their petals or leaves. This is how they drink. If a flower is white, you can change its color to match the color of the water it is drinking. After cutting a bit off the bottom of each stem, place a few flowers in each jar of colored water.  Tell them this will take a couple of hours and you will come back to it. Every so often, check on the progress. After about 6 or 8 hours, the carnations will be slightly colored! Allow the children to take one home to give to someone they love.



ART

Towel Roll Heart Stamping

Materials Needed:
Towel Rolls (enough for each child)
Paint
Paper Plates
Paper

Cut each of the towel rolls in half so there are 2. Flatten them so there is a crease on both sides. Curl the one side outward to form the top of the heart and place a little tape across the gap to help it hold its shape.

Pour some paint onto the paper plates for easy dipping. Have the children dip the end into the paint and stamp their papers! Easy Valentines!

MUSIC

Valentine's
I made this little Valentine
Of red and white and blue
I made this little Valentine
Especially for YOU

Love, Love, Love
(to the tune of 3 blind mice)
Love, love, love
Love, love, love
See how it grows, see how it grows
I love my friends and they love me
We love each other it's plain to see
There's plenty for a big fam-il-y
Love, love, love




GROSS MOTOR/GAME

Color Hearts Game (following directions)

Post several different colored hearts around the room where they are easily seen. Line the children up on one side of the room. Tell them you are going to give them directions and they should follow them the best they can. Say "go to the red heart" and have them follow the direction. Continue through the different colors. Once complete, give them a heart sticker for following directions well!

To make this harder, place a picture of something on the colored hearts. Make sure there are at least 2 of each color, but with different pictures. Then tell them to go to the red heart with the white rabbit on it! They will have to decide which is the correct one before going to it.




CRAFT

Tissue Paper Hearts

You can use the same heart print out as the Math Conversation Heart counting activity.  Cut up several pieces of red, pink, and white tissue paper into squares. Give the kiddos a glue stick and let them stick the paper to the heart. Simple and pretty. Hang up around the room!




BOOKS

All books I suggest are available on Amazon!



A very sweet book which uses many different words to explain just how much your Mommy (or caregiver) loves you!




Franklin's mother is having a birthday and he is trying to figure out how to show her how much he loves her!


COOKING

Heart Cookie Decorating

Bake up some sugar cookies in heart shapes. Provide red, pink and white frosting, sprinkles, and other candy for them to decorate them with. A great idea is to crush up some conversation hearts and allow the kids to frost their cookie and then sprinkle with the hearts! Very cute...

FIREFIGHTERS! And Fire Safety (Feb 4 - 8)

A seriously fun topic for all kiddos, girls or boys! We are going to talk about the community helpers and what they do, and also what they drive. Fire trucks are awesome! If you have the ability, take your kids to a fire station to check out a real one. They will have the best time :)

LETTER: F f


http://bestcoloringpages.com/f-for-fire-coloring-page-with-handwriting-practice_1d2324.html
Talk about F. Have the kids trace the letter with their finger, then with a crayon. Color the page. If they are able, practice writing the letter at the bottom of the page.



COMMUNITY

Firefighters
Firefighters put out fires in homes, stores, forests, and anywhere else they occur. They do their best to help their communities and to help people! They provide emergency medical care for people who are hurt. Firefighters must be brave and strong. Their job can be very dangerous.

What should you do if there is a fire?

In case there is a fire where you are, it is important to know some safety steps. (If you feel comfortable teaching your kids about 911, please do so. I think mine are a little too young to learn about this just yet. For some great tips on how to teach your child to use 911, go HERE)

STEP 1: Pre plan a meeting place in case of emergency.
STEP 2: Practice fire drills at home and at school.
STEP 3: Don't hide! GO OUTSIDE!
STEP 4: Fall and Crawl when escaping a fire. The air near the floor will be easier to breathe.
STEP 5: Stop, Drop & Roll if your clothing catches on fire. This is the best way to put yourself out!



GROSS MOTOR

FIRE DRILL!

To set this up, pre-plan a meeting place and escape routes for everyone to follow. If you can, draw out a map for them to look at also. If you already have these in place, good for you! This will be a great practice. For those who don't, it is very important to provide this information to the kiddos. If you have practiced this, a real emergency will be much less scary for them.

Show everyone the way to get out and where you should be meeting once outside. Talk about the above steps and how important it is to go outside as quickly as they can. Crawl on the ground. Roll if you need to.
Now practice! Tell them you are going to pretend there is a fire emergency and they need to follow the safety steps. Say GO! They should follow the escape route and go outside to the meeting place. Talk about how they should look for the Firefighters and let them know they are safe. Remind them that their job is to make sure they get outside. Do not EVER go back inside a burning building. It is the Firefighter's job to go inside the building and make sure everyone has gotten out safely. They will let you know when it is safe to go back inside.

Go back inside and talk about Stop, Drop and Roll. Have them practice the moves. It is fun for them, but remember that since they have practiced this, if an emergency warrants it, they will remember how to do it.

Once the kiddos have mastered this skill, you can give them these certificates that say they are Stop, Drop and Roll experts! Let them be proud that they know such an important skill!

Certificates

MATH

Fire Truck Numbers

Print the cards from MakingLearningFun.com. Set the fire station at one end of the table and then put the numbered fire trucks out of order on the table. Count the fire trucks out loud with the kids. Then work together to put them in the right order. Use as many trucks as your kids are able to count!

Fire Truck Number Activity

Less Than, More Than

It is time to start learning this concept. It can be a tricky one to master so I like to use visual aides to help it make sense in their heads!

You can use ANY objects you wish. I like to use blocks or Legos. Have 2 pieces of paper that you can place the items on to keep them separated. Start basic: place 1 Lego on 1 paper and 2 Legos on the other. Count them together. Ask them which paper has more Legos? 2 is more than 1! Which paper has less Legos? 1 is less than 2. Add 1 Lego to each paper so that you have 2 and 3. Continue this line of questions and answers. Work up until there are around 5 on one paper and 1 on the other. Revisit this lesson often, as it will take some time for some children to grasp. This is the beginning of learning how to add and subtract!



PRETEND PLAY




Be a Firefighter!

This is a total no-brainer! Get some cheap firefighter hats at a dollar store or print them from DLTK's website: http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/miscellaneous/mfiremanhat.htm
Provide them with some paper towel rolls, rolled up paper, old hose, or whatever else you can use as fire hose. Have them go around putting out "fires".  Have them rescue some stuffed animals or dolls and put bandages on them.



SCIENCE

The Fire Triangle

The fire triangle is the "recipe" for fire. Every fire needs 3 "ingredients" in order to burn: air, heat and fuel. Take any of these away and the fire won't burn.

EXPERIMENT!
Take a long candle, such as an emergency candle. Find a jar that the candle will fit inside, make sure the jar has a lid. Melt the bottom end of the candle so you can stick it to the inside of the lid of the jar. Light the candle with the jar lid under it sitting on the table. Explain that the fire can burn because there is heat, fuel and air. If we take away the air, the fire will go out. Place the jar over the candle onto the lid and watch as the fire goes out!
**CAUTION - please use caution when using fire around the kiddos and NEVER leave them alone with it!


MUSIC

I'm A Fireman

I am a fireman, I'm dressed in red
With my fire hat on my head
I can drive the fire truck and fight fire too
And help make it safer for you!

(sing to I'm a little teapot)



CRAFT

 

Shape Fire Truck

I have borrowed this one from another site! No Time For Flashcards has a great step by step for this craft HERE!



BOOKS

Stop, Drop & Roll (available on Amazon!)




I Want to be a Firefighter (available on Amazon!)





FINE MOTOR

Bead Sorting

Use an egg carton, a muffin tin, a divided vegetable tray, or anything else you think will work! Set out a selection of different colored beads. Ask the children to sort them by color. Put all the red ones in one container, blue in another, etc.


COOKING

Camp Fire Snack

Ingredients:

Pretzel Sticks

Velveeta Cheese, melted

Pile the pretzel sticks in a triangle pattern, as if you were setting up a campfire. Use a spoon to drizzle cheese onto the pretzels. This will look like a glowing campfire!

Transportation! January 28- February 1

It's transportation week! We will talk about many different types of transportation and what makes it all go.

 

Transportation is how we move from place to place using a vehicle. There are many different types of vehicles such as cars and trucks, trains, airplanes, buses, boats, helicopters, and bicycles. Each of these allow us to get to where we need to go more quickly than walking. In some cases, we wouldn't be able to get to a place without using transportation! Boats and airplanes can take us places we can't easily walk to.

Which types of transportation has wheels?  How about wings? Which kind uses a track? A tricky one is: what type of transportation uses a propeller?

LETTER:  G g (Go!)

Letter G worksheet

First trace the letter with your finger. Talk about the sound that it makes. Allow the children to trace the letter with a crayon.

GROSS MOTOR

Red Light, Green Light!

When we are driving in our cars and trucks, there are traffic lights that let us know when we have to stop and when it is safe to go. This game will also be all about stopping and going and also following directions. 

Have the children line up at the far end of the room. You will need a lot of room for this activity! Tell them that you will say Green Light and that means they can GO, just like cars with a traffic light.  When you say Red Light, they have to STOP! They must stand still until you say Green Light again. If they don't stop when you say Red Light, they will have to go back to the beginning and start again. The child that makes it to the end first should get a prize!

SCIENCE

What Floats?

Boats can float. They can take us for rides on the water. What else can float?  This is a fun experiment to find out!

Materials Needed:

Large, shallow container

Pebbles

Toy Cars

Toy Boats

Styrofoam

Sponge

Aluminum Foil Ball

Aluminum Foil Flat

Whatever else you want to try!

Fill the container with water, leaving a little space at the top. Allow the kiddos to feel each of the items and talk about if they are heavy or light, hard or soft. Ask them if they think they will float or sink. You may have to demonstrate with one of the items. Try the pebble. This item is hard and heavy. It will probably sink in the water. Drop it in and watch what happens. Try another item. Make sure to ask the questions first! What do they think will happen? Continue with each item, allowing them to explore and hypothesize!

SHAPES

Hot Air Ballon Shapes Activity

http://www.first-school.ws/t/ap/balloon_colors_shapes.htm

Hot Air Balloons are a special type of transportation. When you fill this really big balloon with heated air, the balloon will rise. These balloons carry a basket below them where people can ride!

Print the sheet out. Cut out the shapes at the bottom of the page. Talk about the shapes with the kids. Also, what color are they? Show them an example of putting one of the shapes into the balloon at the top. Have each of the children try one also. Continue through all the shapes.





SCIENCE

Ramps

Make ramps using pieces of wood, boxes, books, or whatever you have on hand. Make one tall and steep. Then make a short ramp which isn't very steep. Send many different objects down the ramps discussing the items and asking the kiddos what they think might happen. For instance, if you send a toy car down either ramp, it should roll really well since it has round wheels. It will go faster down the tall, steep ramp than it will down the short ramp. If you send a square block down, it doesn't roll so it won't go down the short ramp very well. It may go down the tall ramp better. Allow the children to try different objects on each ramp to see what will happen.

MATH/FINE MOTOR

Numbers Train

Use the printable pack on homeschoolcreations.com. There are a bunch of fun activities for transportation on that site. For this lesson, use the train number activity which is near the bottom of the 1st part of the transportation pack. http://homeschoolcreations.com/transportationpreschoolpack.html

Print the train and the numbered cars. Cut them all out and place the train on the table with the numbered cars out of order. Have the kids put the numbers in the correct order. Once completed, pull out 2 different numbers from the line and see if they can put them back in the correct spaces. Have them close their eyes and you will remove one of the numbers. Put the train cars back together so there is no space. See if they can tell which number is missing.



ART

Car Painting

Materials Needed:

Paper

Small cars, such at hot wheels

Finger Paint

Large, shallow containers

Place the paint in the shallow containers. The children need to be able to "load" their cars up with paint easily. Have the children roll the cars through the paint and then on the paper. Car painting! Simple and lots of fun. As long as you use washable finger paints it will come off the cars with no trouble.

(you can also just squirt a dab of paint onto a paper plate and let them roll the car through it, there is less mess with this method!)

MUSIC

Down By The Station (all about trains!)

http://www.kidsongs.com/lyrics/down-by-the-station.html  (Lyrics and sound)

My Bike

1 wheel, 2 wheels

On the ground

My feet make the peddals go round and round

Handle bars help me steer so straight

Down the sidewalk and out the gate

BOOKS

There are TONS to choose from, but these are some of our favorites!

CRAFT

Egg Carton Traffic Lights

Materials Needed:

Egg cartons (each child will need 3 compartments)

Paint or markers

(you could also cut out circles of colored paper in red, yellow and green for the kids to glue in the right places)

Cut out 3 compartments for each kid. Talk about the traffic light. There are 3 circles of lights and each color means something. Green light means ______.  (Let them yell it out!) Red light means ______. What does the yellow light mean? Give them the 3 colors and have them complete their traffic lights.

**You could use these for the Red Light/ Green Light activity at the beginning of this lesson!

GROUNDHOG DAY BONUS!!!

Get your free printable Groundhog "story" HERE!

Weather and Seasons (Jan 21-25)

We have talked about winter and cold weather, now we should step it up and discuss all the seasons and the basic weather that goes with them! This lesson will go hand in hand with your daily calendar discussions!

In South Texas the seasons are a little fuzzy. What I mean is, we really only have 2 seasons, hot and cold. I think it is important for our kiddos to understand what is happening in the rest of the country and to try to pinpoint the various seasons here as best we can!



SPRING:
Spring is when it begins to get warmer outside, snow on the ground will melt away. The flowers will begin to grow again and the leaves on the trees will begin to show up. You will hear birds singing much more! It rains often in the spring to help the flowers and trees grow. Easter, Memorial Day and Mother's Day are in spring.

SUMMER:
In the summer the weather is warm or hot. You can go swimming, go to the park, go on vacation, and go to the beach during the summer. We wear shorts and tank tops and sandals to help keep us cool. It is fun to eat ice cream and popsicles. The flowers are pretty, the grass and trees are green and the birds have lots of fun playing.  Independance Day and Father's Day are in summer.

FALL:
Fall is when the weather becomes cooler. The leaves on the trees begin to change color and fall off the trees. Flowers will begin to disappear and the grass will start to turn brown. The birds are now storing food for the winter.  Labor Day, Halloween and Thanksgiving are in fall.

WINTER:
Winter is the coldest part of the year. The trees will not have any leaves on them. There are no flowers. The grass will be brown. The birds will be sleeping or have flown to a place that is warmer for them. We get to drink hot chocolate to keep us warm. We wear long sleeved shirts and pants, and even coats, hats and mittens to keep us warm. Christmas, New Year and Valentine's Day are in winter.


SEASON MATCHING

Print out the cards and cut out the pieces at the bottom. I suggest doing two seasons at a time so you don't overwhelm the kiddos. Pick 2 that are opposites, like summer and winter. To make it harder, pick 2 that are close, like spring and summer. Lay out the cards and give them the pictures. Ask them to decide where each picture falls in the seasons. Talk about their answers.

If you are having trouble printing the above matching activity, you can print the below worksheets and use them in the same way. Cut out each item and have the children match them by placing them together. I am working on the link for the matching activity now...
http://www.tlsbooks.com/allkindsofweather.pdf
http://www.education.com/files/95001_95100/95099/weather-wear-matching.pdf



WEATHER CHART

If your calendar does not have a weather piece, this chart can be used with your daily circle time discussions. Cut out a large circle, you can use a paper plate!  Either draw or cut out and paste on the 2 lines to bi-sect the circle, making 4 equal parts. Use a brad to attach the arrow so that you can easily point the arrow at the weather of the day. Attach the 4 different types of weather using a picture and the word in each of the 4 spaces. We do not use the snow, since we only rarely get any here. I used wind instead, since we do have some very windy days! Make it work for your class!

MATH

Raindrop Counting and Sequencing:
Cut out the 10 numbered rain drops. The second page will be where the children will place their drops. Begin by counting the numbered rain drops with the kids. Make sure they can see the numbers on them. Once you have counted them, ask the children to tell you which number comes first. You can give the numbered drops to the kids to place on the second page if they are ready for that, or you can hold them while you do this. When a child has given you the correct answer, let that child place the drop in its place on the second page. Go through each of the numbers. If they get any out of order, you can use your fingers to count and discover which number should actually come next.   raindrop sequencing sheets

 

 

 

GROSS MOTOR

Tornado in a Bottle

Make one of these for each child! Use a 2 liter bottle or use an individual water sized bottle, whichever you want. Clean out and fill with water. Add blue food coloring or glitter. Screw the caps on really well! You can even use duct tape to make sure they won't open. Talk to the kids about what a tornado is. Tornadoes are really fast wind which swirls around and around in a circle. They cause what is called a "vortex" or a tornado. Allow the children to spin around and around in circles. Be careful that they do not make themselves sick! Now demonstrate the vortex you can make with the bottle. Swirl the bottle around and around until they can see the tornado! Let them try to make one too.




SCIENCE

Rain Cloud in a Jar

In order to demonstrate how rain falls from the sky, we will use this really fun experiment.

Materials:

Glass Jar

Blue Food Color

Shaving Cream

Fill the jar with water to about an inch from the top. Squirt shaving cream on top of the water. Explain to the kiddos that they should pretend that the water is the air and the shaving cream are clouds up in the sky. Clouds are made up of water. Remember when we talked about steam rising up? Water can become vapor, which is like steam, and rise up into the sky. The water in the sky becomes clouds. When these clouds become really heavy and full of water, rain falls. Demonstrate this by squirting some blue food color onto the top of the shaving cream. The color will soak through the "clouds" and drip down into the water, or sky.

Wind in a Cup

Materials:
Large, clear cups

Tissue paper, shredded up

Straws
Tape

Make one of these for each child. Shred up some tissue paper. Put it in the cup. Place a straw in the cup and then tape over the top to make a lid. Have the kids blow into the straw in the cups to make wind. They will be able to see the effects of wind on the shredded paper! This is a really fun activity! Discuss how the wind blows the trees, the grass and the flowers.

ART

Rainbows

Materials Needed:

Coffee Filters

Markers

Q tips

Talk about rainbows and how they are made up of the colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Show the kids a picture of a rainbow. Rainbows are formed when rain drops shine through sunlight.

Tape the coffee filters to a larger piece of paper. Draw a rainbow in the correct colors on the coffee filters. Give the children a small container of water and a Qtip. Allow them to dip the Qtip in the water and then let water drip onto the rainow. The colors will spread! The end result is very pretty. Hang these around the room for the week.

 FINE MOTOR

Match the Seasons

Use this Seasons worksheet from Education.com. They will trace a line that connects the weather to the season.

CRAFT

Cloud Craft

There are 2 really fun crafts you can do with clouds! Pick the one that works best for your class. These are fun to hang from the ceiling (if you can!)

#1 - Cotton Ball Clouds

Cut out the cloud template. Provide cotton balls and a glue stick and let the kiddos make theirs as fluffy as they wish!

#2 - Puffy Paint Clouds
Cut out the cloud template OR just print it on paper. Make the puffy paint and allow the kids to paint as they like!

Directions for Puffy Paint:
1 TBSP self-rising flour
1 TBSP salt
Food coloring (blue)

Combine the flour and salt. Drop 3-4 drops of food coloring into it and add about 1-3 TBSP of water to make a smooth paste.

**Once done painting, microwave the painting for around 30 seconds or until the paint puffs up and is dry.

COMMUNITY

Meteorologist

Meteorologists are the scientists who study the weather and predict (make an informed guess) what the weather will be like a few days from now. These scientists examine the wind, rain, and temperatures and report to everyone what they think will happen. People can make plans to be outside if it will be sunny and warm or plans to stay inside if it will be rainy and cold.

MUSIC

Mr. Sun  Lyrics and Sound!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Come again another day

Little _______ wants to play

Rain, Rain Go Away!

COOKING

Mud Pies

Ingredients:
Instant chocolate pudding
Oreo cookies
Milk
Gummy worms

Mix instant chocolate pudding according to the directions on the package. The children help add the “dirt” (pudding mix) and “rain” (milk) to make “mud.” To make this part extra fun, I punch holes in a styrofoam bowl and when the children pour the milk into the bowl it drips like rain into the mixing bowl. The children help mix the mud with a spoon. Put 2 Oreos in a ziplock bag for each child to crush. Put the crushed Oreos in a clear punch cup, add a gummy worm and 3-4 spoonfuls of pudding.

LETTER J j

J is for Jacket! We wear jackets when it is cold outside. Have the kids trace the letter with their finger. Then allow them to color it in. Talk about which Jackets are the same in the picture.

http://www.kidsunder7.com/2011/07/letter-j-worksheets.html

BUGS!

The middle of January seems like a fine time to explore the creepy crawlies! There are so many different kinds of bugs to talk about. It is easy to go overboard with this concept, so I tried to capture many different subjects without going too crazy! Have fun!

LETTER:   H h
Trace the letter H with your finger. Then trace the letter with a purple crayon. Allow them to color! H worksheet  Talk about the words Hill (as in Ant Hill) and Hive (as in Bee Hive). They begin with H and are both places where some bugs live!


COLOR:  Purple
Complete the Purple worksheet
Discuss the items that are purple!



MATH

Bug Counting

Print the Bug Counting printables from prekinders.com. They show the number of bugs that should be in a jar. Using plastic bugs (like from a dollar store) or bug stickers, have the children place the correct number of bugs in the jars. Fun and easy. You can take it a step further by asking them to only put yellow bugs in the jars, etc.

http://www.prekinders.com/bugsunit/BugJarsCounting.pdf

Butterfly Matching

ALSO from prekinders.com, print the Butterfly matching printables. There are 2 of every butterfly. Place one or two butterflies in front of a child. Give them a selection of 4 or 5 (more if they are closer to 4 years old) and ask them to match their butterflies to the butterflies in front of them. Talk about what makes them the same and what makes them different from each other.

http://www.prekinders.com/bugsunit/ButterflyMatching.pdf



LETTERS/SPELLING

Caterpillar names!

Prep for this activity by cutting out multiple different colored circles of construction paper. You will need one circle for each letter of every child's name and also a head. You will also need a whole piece of construction paper to glue the caterpillar to.

Make each child a caterpillar head. Then write each letter of each child's name on individual circles.

Give each kiddo a whole piece of construction paper. Place the letters of their names in front of them, but not in the right order. Give them each a head and a glue stick. Allow them to glue to head to the far left of the paper. Talk about which is the first letter of their name. Pronounce the sound and have them find their letter. Instruct them to glue the first letter just behind their caterpillar's head. Continue through their whole name until they have a name caterpillar! Allow them to "finish" their picture by giving the caterpillar legs, antennae, etc. Hang them up in the room for the week.



GROSS MOTOR

Crawl & Fly Like A BUG

Talk about a few different kinds of bugs. Bees fly, drink nectar from flowers, make honey and live in hives. Butterflies fly, start out as caterpillars, and are pretty colors. Ants crawl around, eat alot of things, live in hills, and can sting. Beetles crawl around, live in lots of different places, have hard shells on the outside of their bodies, and eat mostly plants.

Once you have talked about some different types, have the kiddos crawl or fly around like whichever bug they like. Have them pretend to eat, collect pollen, sleep. After a minute or 2, have them switch to a different bug. It would be fun to play fun music while doing this activity.


SCIENCE

Bee Hives & Honey

Bees make honey! Bees fly from flower to flower collecting pollen on their legs. When the bee is on the flower, the pollen (which grows in the flower and is what makes it smell good) sticks to their legs. Then the bee flies home to its hive. A bee hive is where bees live and make the honey. The bees drop off the pollen in their hive and something special happens that makes the honey. The bees each have their own special job in the hive and they work together.

It is very helpful to have a jar of honey with a piece of the hive for the children to observe. Answer their questions as they come up. Google any answers you may not know!

CRAFT

Paper Plate Ladybugs

So easy and fun! Prep by getting enough paper plates for each child, cut out 1 large black circle and 4 smaller black circles for each child. Also cut out a long black rectangle to place down the back of the bug to separate the wings.

Have the children paint a paper plate red. While they are drying, count the number of circles. Talk about which one is different. Is it bigger or smaller than the other circles? What is the other shape?

Once the red plate is dry, have the children glue the large circle to the top of the plate for the lady bug's head. Glue the rectangle on the bug's back and then allow them to glue the smaller circles to the back of the bug. You can also glue a black pipe cleaner folded in half on the ladybug's head.



FINE MOTOR

Rock Bugs

Find a smooth, small rock for each child. They should be clean.

Let the kids choose a rock for themselves. This will be their rock bug! They can paint them or color them with crayons or markers, whichever works best for your class. Have them glue 2 googley eyes to one end of their bug. The bug can be their "pet" for the week! Make sure to write their name on the bottom for later!

MUSIC

The Itsy Bitsy Spider & The Ants Go Marching
(this is also a fingerplay! see how to do it HERE)

The Itsy Bitsy Spider:
The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout
Down came the rain and washed the spider out
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain
And the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again

The Ants Go Marching: (tune of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home")
The ants go marching 1 by 1, hurrah hurrah
The ants go marching 1 by 1, hurrah hurrah
The ants go marching 1 by 1, the little one stops to suck his thumb and they all go marching down around the town
BOOM BOOM BOOM

~Continue lines 1 and 2 but increase the number each time

The ants go marching 2 by 2, the little one stops to tie his shoe and they all go marching down around the town
BOOM BOOM BOOM

The ants go marching 3 by 3, the little one stops to climb a tree and they all go marching down around the town
BOOM BOOM BOOM

The ants go marching 4 by 4, the little one stops to shut the door and they all go marching down around the town
BOOM BOOM BOOM

The ants go marching 5 by 5, the little one stops to take a dive and they all go marching down around the town
BOOM BOOM BOOM

The ants go marching 6 by 6, the little one stops to pick up sticks and they all go marching down around the town
BOOM BOOM BOOM

The ants go marching 7 by 7, the little one stops to pray to heaven and they all go marching down around the town
BOOM BOOM BOOM

The ants go marching 8 by 8, the little one stops to shut the gate and they all go marching down around the town
BOOM BOOM BOOM

The ants go marching 9 by 9, the little one stops to scratch his spine and they all go marching down around the town
BOOM BOOM BOOM

The ants go marching 10 by 10, the little one stops to say THE END... and they all go marching down around the town
BOOM BOOM BOOM



STORIES


AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!
http://www.amazon.com/The-Grouchy-Ladybug-Eric-Carle/dp/0064434508/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357747310&sr=8-1&keywords=the+grouchy+ladybug



AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!
http://www.amazon.com/Very-Hungry-Caterpillar-Picture-Puffins/dp/0140569324/ref=pd_sim_b_6


COOKING/ SNACK

Ant Hill in a Cup

Ingredients:
Chocolate Pudding (instant works best)
Graham Crackers
Raisins
Small, clear plastic cups (the type used for cocktails are best)

Make the pudding with the kids. Assign each a job, such as emptying the packet into the bowl, pouring the milk, stirring. Scoop about a cup of pudding into each cup. Put about 10 graham crackers into a gallon zippered bag. Give the children toy hammers and allow them to beat the crackers until they are very small pieces (should look like dirt). This is really fun! Pour enough powdered cracker into each cup to almost fill. Leave a little room so that it won't go everywhere when they dig in! Place a few raisins on top of the dirt. These are the ants on top of the hill!