For this lesson you will need:
Speaker Bear
Sticker Basket
2 dolls (or stuffed animals or puppets)
Drawings (see # of the day)
Play-Doh
Measuring Tape
Baby pictures of children
Button up Shirt, shoes, jacket, shorts and tie (child size or adult clothes will work)
Brush
Toothbrush
Books: I Can do it Myself by Emily Perl Kingsley
All by Myself by Mercer Mayer
Paper
Crayons
Cheese or cheesesticks
Welcome Song: (To tune of Old McDonald):
Welcome, welcome everyone
So glad that you are here.
Today we’re gonna have some fun
So let’s give out a cheer
Woo hoo!!
Clap clap clap clap
Slap(legs) slap slap slap
Clap clap clap let’s go! (when you shout “let’s go!”, do a group high five in the center)
Question of the day: What do you want to be when you grow up? Pass around the speaker bear and allow each child to share their answer. Tell children what your own future plans used to be when you were their age.
Number of the day ‘7’: Before preschool draw and color the following items on separate pieces of paper.
7 flowers
7 bees
7 ducks
7 berries
7 stars
You will use two dolls, stuffed animals or puppets as well as these drawings to tell the following story about the number 7.
“Once there was a little boy named Gary. He loved to spend his days outside. After dinner one evening he decided to go for a walk around the park with his friend Gretchen. They started down the pathway, when all of a sudden Gary saw something."
Hold up picture of flowers
Gary: “Look at those beautiful flowers Gretchen! Lets go take a closer look!”
Gretchen:(in a higher, feminine voice) “Wow! Those are beautiful! Let’s count them!”
Have children help Gary and Gretchen count the flowers aloud.
Gretchen: “Uh-Oh, we better not get too close. I hear a buzzing sound by the flowers!”
Ask children what they think the buzzing sound could be. Pull out the picture of the bees.
Gary: “Cool! Bees! Let’s count how many there are!”
Have children help Gary and Gretchen count the bees aloud.
Gary: “I brought some bread to feed to the ducks in the pond! I hope they’re hungry today!”
Gretchen: “I hear them quack quack quacking. I think it means they’re hungry! How many hungry ducks are in the pond today?”
Pull out picture of ducks and have children count them aloud.
Gretchen: “Now that the ducks are all fed, I’m feeling a little hungry.”
Gary: “I saw some black berries growing on the bush over there. Let’s go see how many we can find!”
Hold up picture of berries and have children count them aloud.
Gretchen: “Those were super tasty! I love blackberries!”
Gary: “Me too! Well, we better start walking back home. It will be getting dark soon.”
Gary and Gretchen decided to race all the way home. By the time they got home, they were out of breath and it was dark outside. They decided to lay on the grass and catch their breath for a minute.
Gary: “Wow. What a clear night it is. Do you see all those stars in the sky?”
Gretchen: “Let’s count them and make a wish!”
Hold up the picture of the stars and have children count them aloud.
Ask them what their wish would be.
Gary and Gretchen made their wishes on the brightest star. Gary wished that he could have a duck for a pet. Gretchen wished that she would get to eat yummy blackberries every day!
THE END.
Have children choose 7 stickers each, from the sticker basket while counting aloud, and stick them on the sticker chart.
Letter of the Day ‘G’: With a blob of play doh in hand, tell children you’re going to see how good they are at guessing. Mold the play doh into any object that begins with the letter G and have them guess what you are making.
Ideas: Guitar, Ghost, Glasses, a Glass, Grapes, Golf club, etc.
Allow each child to make something with the play-doh as well. Whisper a G object into their ear, and see if the others can guess what the child is making. Praise them for their excellent sculpting skills.
Ask children what letter each of the play-doh items started with.
Demonstrate how to write the capital and lower case letter G. Allow them to practice in their writing notebooks.
Teach the ASL sign and the sounds for ‘G.’ Teach ASL sign for Good, Gorilla, and Grow.
Introduction of Topic: Pull out measuring tape and say “Before we start, I need to make a few measurements.” Measure each child. Allow them to take a step back to see how tall they are and tell them how many inches high they measured. Act astounded when finished measuring. “I can’t believe how much you’ve grown!!”
Pull the tape measurer in so that only about 1 ½ feet of tape is sticking out. Tell them that they started out only this big! Pull the tape back out to their current size and say “And Now you’re THIS big! You’ve been growing right before my very eyes!”
Have children sit in a circle and pass around pictures of each of them when they were babies. Describe how they looked when they were first born, how much they weighed, and anything else that was unique about them.
Lead a discussion about what babies are able to do. (drink, sleep, poop, cry)
Talk about what babies are able to do when they get a little older (Sit, eat food, crawl, put things in their mouth, walk, use words, smile, play….)
Talk about the many things they are able to do now. “Each year our bodies get a little bit bigger, and each year you learn how to do more and more things. Next year we will be even bigger and will be able to do even more things than we can do now.” Discuss some of the things they might be able to do when they’re a little older: tying shoes, reading, learning new languages, cooking, playing sports, etc.
Activity: Before preschool, write the following phrases on a piece of paper:
Get Dressed*
Button my shirt
Zip up my jacket
Brush my teeth**
Sing ABC’s
Tell a joke
Write my name (or letter ______. )
Do jumping jacks
Count my fingers and toes
Brush my hair
Count to 20
Say two words that rhyme..
(Adjust phrases to fit your child’s level of ability, of course)
* Have ready a pile of clothes and a pair of shoes, child or adult sized for the ‘get dressed’ task
** Brushing teeth task can just be mimed with a toothbrush (unless you really want them to get some practice in)
Cut out each phrase.
When it’s time for the activity, place the phrases face down in the middle of the circle. Tell each child they must pick two phrases and then complete the tasks as quickly as possible, one right after the other. When they are done, they must come back to the circle and sit down. If they need help with one of the tasks, take the time to show them how to do it correctly and allow them to practice until they get it on their own.
Story: I Can do it Myself by Emily Perl Kingsley
All by Myself by Mercer Mayer
Explain that as they grow they will have lots of fun times, and some hard times too. Sometimes they'll feel really happy , and sometimes they'll feel sad. Discuss other feelings that go along with growing up and that it's always OK to feel the way they do. Discuss ways of handling these different feelings, and tell them its okay to ask for help if they are confused or can't do something on their own. We all need help sometimes. Share a story from your childhood when you felt sad angry or embarrassed and how you got through it with help from others.
Snack: Cheese stick. Explain that cheese is a great source of CALCIUM, which is something in food that helps us grow strong bones and teeth. It also has a lot of protein which will help our muscles grow strong.
Service/Art: Help each child write a thank you note (and have them draw a picture) for someone who has taught them something special. (a church teacher, friend, neighbor, a sibling, etc).
Have them help you prepare it to be mailed.
Good bye song: To the tune of “If You’re Happy and you Know it”
If you’ve learned a lot today, clap your hands (clap clap)
Here’s the letter of the day (sign the letter G), clap your hands (clap clap)
Oh, we’ve had a lot of fun,
Now our preschool time is done (tap index finger to wrist)
See you next time (wave) and we’ll do it all again! (Clap clap.)
