CIRCLE TIME
There are many topics to cover in circle time this week. I have planned it so that you can talk about 1 each day!
Stranger Danger
When kids get to be around this age, it is (unfortunately) time to teach them that they should be weary of strangers. For the kids who are pretty reserved already, this is not very hard for them. For the kids who are very outgoing and friendly, this concept is pretty tough to understand. A really great way to help with this concept is to read "The Berenstein Bears Learn About Strangers". Read the book and then answer questions as best as you can afterward. You can also do some role play scenarios with them so they will better understand how to handle different situations.
Being Lost
Kids are always getting lost. It is really important to teach them what to do in case this happens so that you can be reunited quickly!
1-Tell them to stay put! It will be much easier for you to find the child if they aren't wandering around. Find a place that is in the open and stay there.
2-Teach them to call the parent's name (real name). In a crowded shopping center, no one will pay attention to a child yelling for their "Mommy"! You will be much more apt to hear them if they are calling your actual name.
3-Ask another mom for help. It is a pretty safe bet that a woman with small children will be safe to talk to. Let them know that they can ask a woman with kids for help.
4-Talk to your kids about safety often, and in a calm and reassuring way. It is a very delicate balance, between making sure they know that things are dangerous and scaring the crap out of them. Make safety and finding you when lost a part of normal conversation so that, when the time comes, they feel comfortable dealing with the situation. A frantic child will have a much more difficult time figuring out what to do next.
5-A great idea that I have seen on Pinterest recently is to write your cell number on their arm and cover it with liquid bandage so it can't be easily wiped off. Teach the child to find a mom and ask them if they can call their mom and show them the phone number. Why not use the technology we have now to our advantage?
Role of a Police Officer
Show the kids a picture of what police officers look like in your area. Make sure they will be able to identify them easily.
Police Officers are there to serve and protect the public. That means that if you are in trouble, they are there to help! You should always feel comfortable asking a Police Officer for help if you are hurt, lost or in trouble.
Police Officer's jobs are to try to stop people from breaking the law (or rules). When they see someone breaking the law, or if someone tells the Officer that they saw someone breaking the rules, the Officer will go to that person and probably arrest them. When someone is arrested, it means they are taken to jail, which is kind of like a really big time out.
Following Rules (or Laws)
Just like there are many rules in your classroom that you must follow or you will have consequences, there are rules for all people that must be followed or they will also have consequences. Most of the rules that you must follow in the classroom are the same as the rules that grown ups must follow also. The consequences for grown ups who don't follow the rules are much worse than for kids! By the time you are a grown up, you should know how to follow the rules! Most rules are there to protect us and keep us safe. One example is "No hitting our friends". If we went around hitting each other all the time, we would get really hurt! If a grown up hit another grown up, a Police Officer would come and take the grown up that did the hitting to jail, because that is against the rules (law).
Some safety topics that we haven't covered yet this week include:
Crossing the Street
Buckling Seat Belts in the Car
Walking Outside at Night
Being Careful Around Strange Animals
Playing around Train Tracks, Ditches, Streams, and Drainage Systems
(There is always Fire Safety, but we are going to go into that fully in a few weeks!)
BIBLE
Sheep Protected by a Shepherd
This lesson focuses on God as a Father who protects his children. (taken from ministrytochildren.com)
In John 10:27, God says that, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” Let’s play a game to practice using our listening ears. You get to pretend to be sheep and I am the Shepherd. Do you know the game Simon Says? It’s just like that except we’re going to call it “The Shepherd Says.” Play the game Simon Says, substituting the word Shepherd for Simon.
Say: It’s very important to listen to God, our Good Shepherd. His words are written in the Bible. They will help us follow God and do what is right. In John 10:28 it says, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish: no one can snatch them out of my hand.” Hmmm… let’s try to be detectives and figure out what this verse means.
Put on whatever protective gear you have access to (the more the funnier.) As you put each piece, tell the students what it is for. (For example, I wear my helmet on my bike to protect my head from getting hurt. I wear my mouth guard in my mouth to protect my teeth when I’m playing sports. I wear my shin guards so that I do not get bruised legs….)
Say: Wow! Look at me! I am well protected. It is very important to wear your helmets, life jackets, and seat belts. All of these things will help you from getting hurt. But, sometimes accidents still happen.
Because of sin, there will always be problems on this earth. People will need band-aids, will have to see the doctor, and need help from police men, firefighters, and pastors. Our hearts will get hurt and broken. Sometimes we’ll be sad and afraid.
But there’s good news. Really good news! If you choose to follow Jesus and invite Him to live in your heart, God will heal your broken heart. He will give you eternal life. That means you will live forever with Him in Heaven one day. In Heaven, you won’t get hurt. There won’t be crying or hurting or being afraid.
God is and will be the best Father we’ll ever have. He’ll take care of us. No one will be able to take us out of His hands. We will be more protected than even I am today!
Say: Today I want you to think about whether Jesus is living in your heart. Have you asked for your sins to be forgiven? If not, think about doing that today. If you have any questions, please ask me. I would love to help you understand His love!
READING/LETTER OF THE WEEK
Long A: http://www.starfall.com/n/level-a/learn-to-read/load.htm?f
Things can start getting confusing from this point, since letters will start making different sounds, depending on which vowel they are with. It is really very simple, it just takes practice. Teach a rule, then practice it in single words, then go on a hunt for the words and rules in stories, allowing them to read as much as they can by themselves.
NOTE: When learning to read, a child should read out loud so you can hear how they sound through words and articulate sounds. The most difficult thing for you to do at this point is - sit quietly while the child sounds through a word; it is very tempting to help them. Don't get them into the habit of waiting for you to give them the words! We don't step in and help unless the student is becoming frustrated, and only after at least two or three tries.
When we help, we never give the whole word if they have already learned all the phonics rules that apply; we only help with specific sounds within the word. If the word is new and contains rules that have not been covered yet, we let them try to figure it out, then help with some sounds, and only after that do we give them the word (if they are still stuck).
This is a good worksheet for working on the Long A sound: http://www.abcteach.com/free/b/beginningsound_longvowel_a.pdf
SCIENCE
Examining Finger Prints!
Each and every person in the world has their very own set of fingerprints that no one else has! Even when a person is a twin, each twin's fingerprints are special. For this reason, fingerprints can be used to find a person who committed a crime. When a person touches things, like a door and a light switch, they leave invisible fingerprints on those objects. We have oils on our skin and that oil comes off onto the things we touch. In the oil, our fingerprint pattern is able to be seen. The oil is invisible, so we must do some special things to be able to see the fingerprints.
Materials Needed:
Scotch Tape
Ink Pads
White Index Cards
Powdered Paint (any color will do)
Powder Makeup Brush
Magnifying Glasses
We are going to see our fingerprints in 2 ways. The first way is to see our fingerprints on some sticky tape. Give each child a small length of tape. Ask them to stick their index finger to the center of the sticky side and then pull the tape off. If you look really closely, you can see some lines and swirls where your finger was. That is your fingerprint! You can now dust that print with the powdered ink using the makeup brush. This will make it easier to see the print. Stick the dusted print to the index card. This is exactly how the police collect fingerprints at places that crimes were committed!
You can also stick your finger into the ink pad and then onto the index card. This is messier! You can look at the fingerprints using the magnifying glass. Be sure to write the child's name on the card with their prints on it and then trade cards to other children. Then they can compare and see how each person has a different set of prints.
MATH
Measuring Shapes
Materials Needed:
Worksheet with shapes
Lengths of yarn
Rulers
This website has several free shape worksheets you can print: http://amazingworksheets.blogspot.com/2012/04/shapes-coloring-worksheet-for-preschool_08.html
Give each child a length of yarn and a ruler. Show them how to place the yarn around each shape to find it's length. When you lay the yarn straight, you can use the ruler to find out how long that was in inches. You will find that the shapes are very different in length, even when they look like they are the same size. The shapes that have more sides will be longer than those with fewer sides.
Patterning Worksheet
Practice completing the patterns using this free printable worksheet: http://www.kidslearningstation.com/patterns/pattern-worksheets-1.asp
ART & CRAFT
Art - Fingerprint Art
Materials Needed:
Watercolor paint
Paper
Crayons
Show the children how to wet their fingertips in the watercolors and then create art by making fingerprints on the paper!
Craft - Shape Police Car
Print out the template HERE and cut out the pieces. Allow the kids to put their cars together using the shapes! Glue them to a piece of paper.
MOTOR SKILLS
Gross - Police Officer Says
This is just another take on "Simon Says". Line the children up and tell them only to follow the directions IF the police officer says! Then give them simple instructions and every so often don't say "police officer says". When a child does the task when the police officer didn't say, they must sit down. The last child (or last couple of children) left standing win!
Fine - Sifting Sand for Clues
This is a fun way to work on fine motor skills! You will need a deep tub of clean sand and a bunch of sand safe items to stash in the sand to use as "clues". Provide sand sifters and allow the kids to sift the sand to find the hidden items!
BOOKS
http://www.amazon.com/Officer-Buckle-Gloria-Caldecott-Medal/dp/0399226168/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389561902&sr=8-1&keywords=officer+buckle+and+gloria
"Besides the beguiling story, the affable illustrations of the smiling Gloria, the accidental mayhem in the background, and the myriad safety tips -- such as 'always pull the toothpick out of your sandwhich' and 'never lick a stop sign in the winter' -- add to the enjoyment. A glorious picture book." -- The Horn Book "Rathmann is a quick rising star in the world of chidren's books. In this book, she again shows her flair for creating real characters, dramatic situations and for knowing what will make young audiences giggle and think." -- Children's Book Review Magazine "Rathman brings a lighter-than-air comic touch to this outstanding, solid-as-a-brick picture book." -- Publisher's Weekly "A five-star performance." -- School Library Journal
http://www.amazon.com/Big-Mikes-Police-Car-Pictureback/dp/0375823344/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389562024&sr=8-1&keywords=big+mikes+police+car
Kids will have a ball taking a ride with Big Mike as he goes through a day in the life of a typical police officer. Whether it’s helping to find someone lost in the woods or tracking down a stolen ham, Big Mike makes it clear that police officers work hard to help people and keep them safe.
MUSIC
Listen to this great song called "Stop, Look & Listen"!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKQ5FdyMFFI
EXTRA FUN:
Print the police hat and badge for each kid to wear this week! http://www.first-school.ws/t/policesetbw.htm
