Feelings & Emotions

Preschool is a tough time for kids. They have all of these feelings and emotions that they don't have much control over and are difficult to understand. They often find themselves getting into trouble because of these feelings and emotions that they can't control and it can be very frustrating. My hope is to help them understand them a little bit more, which could help them control them better. Maybe...we will give it a shot!

CIRCLE TIME

What are feelings?

Feelings are what we experience as humans. We feel sad when a friend moves far away. We feel happy when we get a new friend. We feel mad when our friend takes our favorite toy. We feel love for our Mommy and Daddy. Each of these are emotions or feelings.

In order to demonstrate these feelings, provide a mirror for the kids and ask them to act happy while looking in the mirror. Smile and laugh and watch your face. Now act sad. Frown, wrinkle your brow. See the difference? Each of our emotions show on our face as we are feeling them. Try a few more, just for fun!

Activity

Print the packet I found on TeachersPayTeachers.com and use them to discuss the different emotions David is feeling. Cut out the first page of emotion cards and lay them face down on the table. Ask each child to chose a card and then guess the emotion portrayed on that card. You can then read them the scenarios on the next pages and have the kids guess which emotion David is feeling.
What is David Feeling?

LETTER: N  n for Noisy

http://www.easy-preschool-activities.com/support-files/colourn.pdf

The letter N starts the words Noisy, Necklace, Nose, No and Nice. Print the worksheet. Trace the letter with your finger then with a crayon. Color the picture.






READING

 This week we will continue on our Long Vowel lessons and begin Long E.

On Starfall.com: Work on lesson 7 (Pete's Sheep)  http://www.starfall.com/n/level-a/learn-to-read/play.htm?f

On ReadingBear.org:  Long E lesson

Our Long E activity will be to print the puzzle worksheet and out out the puzzle pieces. Sound out the word with the children and see if they can find the matching puzzle pieces. As they make a match, explain the long E sound.  It works best to print these out on cardstock.
http://www.havefunteaching.com/fun-activities/kids-puzzles/long-vowel-e-puzzle.pdf




SCIENCE

Feelings In Color

Colors can show how you feel. To begin this experiment, play some happy music and then ask the children to pick a color and draw a picture of how they feel. It doesn't always work, as many children will always pick their favorite color first. Just see what happens. Then give them a fresh piece of paper and play some sorrowful music. Ask them to draw another picture of how they feel now.

Once you are done with this, compare the pictures the children drew. Talk to them about how different colors can show their emotions. Ask them about the colors they chose and why!

People will use different colors to bring about certain feelings in others. For example, if you are feeling angry, you can look at a soothing color like blue and it might help to calm you down. Looking at the color yellow can make you feel happy and excited.



MATH

Happy & Sad Sorting

Cut out pictures from magazines of people who look happy and people who look sad. Make a Happy Face and a Sad Face. Shuffle all the people in a pile and place the happy face on one spot and the sad face on another. Ask the children to pick a picture from the pile and look at their face to decide if they look happy or sad. Sort all the pictures and discuss what makes the people look happy or sad.








Paper Plate Numbers

Materials Needed:
10 Clothespins

Paper Plate
Markers

Write the numbers 1 - 10 on the clothespins. Divide the paper plate into 10 segments and draw 1 - 10 dots in each segment. Place the numbered clothespins in a bowl. (you can color code the numbers and dots, if you feel like it may help)

Ask each child to pick a clothespin and read the number that is on it. They will then find the correct place on the paper plate to place their number.





ART/CRAFT

ART - Faces 

Provide the children with paper and colors. Ask them to draw a happy face and a sad face. Once they are done, ask them what made their faces happy and sad.


CRAFT - Emotional Faces 

Check out this craft on DLTK's website! It is pretty simple and can be used for demonstrating many of the feelings you will be talking about this week.

http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/miscellaneous/memotions.html




BOOKS

On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Duck-Goose-How-Are-Feeling/dp/0375846298/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369752262&sr=1-1&keywords=duck+and+goose%2C+how+are+you+feeling

A sweet book which will simply describe some feelings such as happy, sad, scared and proud.



            On Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Way-I-Feel-Janan-Cain/dp/1884734715/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369752363&sr=1-1&keywords=the+way+i+feel

This is a great book for helping preschool kids to learn to express their feelings with words.




MUSIC (and Gross Motor)

If You're Happy and You Know It

What a fantastic song for this week! Use this variation in order to incorporate many emotions into the song:

If you're happy and you know it clap your hands, "Clap clap"
If you're happy and you know it clap your hands, "Clap clap"
If you're happy and you know it, and you really wanna show it
If you're happy and you know it clap your hands. "Clap clap"

If you're mad and you know it stomp your feet, "Stomp stomp"
If you're mad and you know it stomp your feet,  "Stomp stomp"
If you're mad and you know it, and you really wanna show it
If you're mad and you know it stomp your feet.  "Stomp stomp"

If you're sad and you know it cry out loud BOO HOO,
If you're sad and you know it cry out loud BOO HOO,
If you're sad and you know it, and you really wanna show it
If you're sad and you know it cry out loud BOO HOO

If you're scared and you know it give a shiver "BRRRR"
If you're scared and you know it give a shiver "BRRRR"
If you're scared and you know it, and you really wanna show it
If you're scared and you know it, give a shiver "BRRRR"

If you're silly and you know it laugh out loud "HAHA"
If you're silly and you know it laugh out loud "HAHA"
If you're silly and you know it, and you really wanna show it
If you're silly and you know it laugh out loud "HAHA"

If you're friendly and you know it wave hello "Hi There"
If you're friendly and you know it wave hello "Hi There"
If you're friendly and you know, and you really wanna show it,
If you're friendly and you know it wave hello "Hi There"

If you're excited and you know it shout hurray "Hurr-ay"
If you're excited and you know it shout hurray "Hurr-ay"
If you're excited and you know it, and you really wanna show it,
If you're excited and you know it shout hurray "Hurr-ay"

Dance to the Music

Another fun way to express feelings is to dance to music. Put on some lively music and just let the kids cut loose!


COOKING

English Muffin Faces

Ingredients:
English Muffins
Peanut Butter (or apple butter)
Raisins or Blueberries for eyes
Apples, sliced into different mouth shapes
Raspberries or Strawberries, cut to make noses
Any other items, be creative!

Toast the muffins. Provide spoons and easy access to the peanut butter and allow the kids to "paint" theirs. Then give them the other ingredients and have them make any face they wish.




**BONUS - FATHER'S DAY CRAFT!

Keychains!

SO fun and easy. You can find that "shrinky dink" plastic stuff at craft stores. You can use pre-printed ones or even better get the blank ones. Have the kids color them for Dad. Punch a hole in it for the key chain. Make sure to write their name and the year on them BEFORE you bake them.

Once baked, have the kids string some beads onto some yarn. Attach the beads to a keychain ring and the art on the other end. These are so fun because now Dad can carry their original artwork with him wherever he goes!

Nutrition & Health Week (1st week November)

November is Nutrition and Health Month so we will use this week to focus on how to be healthy and proper nutrition.

 

ALL ABOUT ME!

SCIENCE -  Body Parts 

In circle time, have the children stand up. Begin by asking the children about their bodies. Where is your nose? Where is your tummy? Go through all the big major body parts. Next begin to ask them where the body part is that they eat with? Where is the body part that they walk on? Have them point and make it fun!

 

MUSIC - Head, shoulders, knees and toes!
As you sing this, point at each of the body parts. It is an educational and physical song.

Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes

Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes

My eyes, my ears, my mouth my nose

Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes!

PHYSICAL FITNESS

MATH - Physical Fitness Math Game

Fitness and math concepts can be combined during this simple and fun game for preschoolers:

1. Gather flash cards printed with the numbers 1 through 10, and shuffle them into a pile.
2. Allow the children to take turns drawing a number from the pile. Ask each child to name the number out loud, and then perform a corresponding number of short exercises. For example, if a student draws the number 6, say, "Touch your toes six times". Suggestions for exercises can include walking in a circle around a chair, doing jumping jacks, or hopping up and down.

GROSS MOTOR - Obstacle Course

Set up an obstacle course outside or in a large room. Use tape on the floor to make a balance beam. Place pillows to jump over.  Set up chairs they have to crawl under. Make a crepe paper section that they can tear through if not careful. Make it fun, but keep it safe. Make it a race. Or tell them if they can make it through without falling down or knocking any obstacles over they win a prize like a sticker.

 

NUTRITION - Food Plate (the new food pyramid)







Discuss the food groups. Fruits are strawberries, bananas, apples, oranges, pears.  Vegetables are green beans, carrots, spinach, broccoli.  Grains are cereals, breads, bagels, pastas.  Protein is chicken, turkey, beef, tuna.  Dairy is milk, yogurt, cheese.

Use the graphics by clicking this link: my plate graphic to print a copy of the plate. Using either pictures from magazines or play food, have the children add food items to the plate in the correct spaces. Talk about how having a balance these food groups are how we stay healthy and strong.

It is important to talk about "all the time foods" and "sometimes foods". All the time foods are those found on the My Plate or Food Pyramid. sometimes foods are those goodies that we can enjoy sometimes, such as candy, cookies, ice cream, etc. Those items are not found on the Plate because they are not full of nutrition. They are tasty, but should only be eaten as a special treat on occasion.


COMMUNITY -  Nurses

"N" is for Nurse!   Print coloring page HERE

Trace letter N's in upper and lower case with your finger as you also sound out the letter.  Invite the children to do the same on their coloring page (first presentation) or handwriting practice worksheet.   


What does a Nurse do?

Nurses, also called registered nurses or RNs, take care of sick and injured people. They give people medicine. They treat wounds. And they give emotional support to patients and their families.

Nurses ask patients about their symptoms and keep detailed records. They watch for signs that people are sick. Then, nurses help doctors examine and treat patients.

Some nurses help to give tests to find out why people are sick. Some also do lab work to get test results.

Nurses also teach people how to take care of themselves and their families. Some nurses teach people about diet and exercise and how to follow doctors' instructions. Some nurses run clinics and immunization centers.

HEALTH - Handwashing & Germs

Start your talk or circle time about germs with a great poem.

Don’t forget to give it a creepy low voice. It will really catch their attention.

Germs, Germs everywhere

Even on your teddy bear

Germs, Germs everywhere

Even where you can’t stare

Germs, Germs in our hair

But even when they’re out of

sight, they’re are so many ways

for us to fight…Germs



A Fun Demonstration on how a Cough or Sneeze Spreads.

Take a hand full of pompoms. At the end of the germ poem pretend to sneeze or cough and bring the handful of pompoms up close to your mouth. Then toss the pompoms lightly from your hand. These fun little pompoms spread out just like the germs from a sneeze or cough. A great demonstration on why we need to cover our mouth when we cough or sneeze.



How do we fight Germs? Germs are scared away with soap and water! Washing our hands will help to keep us healthy and germ free.

How to demonstrate "scaring away" those pesky Germs that may be on our hands.

Mix together some baby oil and some cinnamon. Add just enough cinnamon that you can see the small specs in the oil. Gather the children and smear a small amount of the oil mixture onto one of their hands. Have them look closely to see the "germs" in the "dirt" on them. Now, how to remove these Germs? Handwashing, of course! Discuss the proper steps for washing their hands and have each child wash their hands using these steps. Demonstrate how this action will remove the nasty Germs from their hands.