Lesson 18: Recycling

Understanding the positive impact recycling has on the Earth

For this lesson you will need:
Colored Paper ( 1 piece cut into several 3 inch squares)
Pictures (real or drawn) of the following: Earth, Food and clothing, Fire, Brick, Drinking glass, vegetable or fruit, tree and a garbage Truck
Toilet Paper
Pen/marker
Plastic soda/water bottle
Books: Dear Children of the Earth: A Letter from Home by Schimmel
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Empty cereal boxes and/or newspapers
Scissors
Glue/Tape
Fruit and veggie for snack
Designated recycling container

Welcome Song: (To tune of Old MacDonald):
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: Do you enjoy going on walks with your family? Tell me about some of the things you see on your walks.

Number of the Day ‘18’: Display a large #18 on a white board, window, or piece of paper and tell children they’re going to help you make a picture out of it. Draw something small on the number 18 (like a hat on top of the number 8 to make it look like a snowman) and then hand the pen to the next person. Allow each child to make one or a few additions.

Explain that ‘18’ is a very special number, because in our country, when someone turns 18 that means they are old enough to vote! This means they get to help the leaders of our country make some pretty big decisions. Ask children what decisions they would like to make if they were old enough to vote.

Have children work together to count 18 of any designated item, and place it into the counting jar. Remind children of the reward they will get when the counting jar is full!

Letter of the Day ‘R’: Before Preschool, cut out a few squares (all same size) of colored paper and write the letter R on one side of each square. Stack the squares and hold them, letter side down, in your hands. Ask children if they would like to see a magic trick.

Have one child choose any ‘card’ from the deck and show the letter to the other children (but not you!)
Ask children if they think you can guess what card they are holding without looking.
Close your eyes as if you’re concentrating very hard, and say:

“Radishes, rings, rosy, race-car
I think you’re holding the letter R!”

Have children attempt the magic trick on you. Tell them this time you will choose a card, and they will guess which letter you’re holding in your hand.
After they make their guesses, say:

Rectangle, red, rhino and rot,
Restaurant, rackets, ready, robot
Ribbon, ride, read , recess
Do you think you know it? What is your guess? (R!!!)
Can you guess what the letter of the day is?? (R!!!)

Display the letter Rr and demonstrate how it is written. Allow children to practice in their writing notebooks. Teach the ASL sign for ‘R’ as well as for Rattlesnake and Recycle!

Introduction to Topic: Hold up a picture of the world for everyone to see. “We live in a beautiful world don’t we? Can you tell me about some of the things in this world you think are beautiful?” Possible answers include trees, flowers, rivers, oceans, animals, rainbows, etc.

“People have lived on this earth for thousands of years and have figured out many ways to use things found on the earth to help make life a little easier. For example, people who lived long ago figured out how to:

Use animals for food and clothing.
Use wood to make fires, so they were able to cook food, and stay warm.
Make mud into bricks so they could build homes.
Use water for cleaning, swimming, cooking and drinking and
Use soil and seeds for growing fruits and vegetables
(hold up pictures to illustrate each of these phrases)

“As the years have passed by, people have discovered more and more ways to use the earth to help them.”

Show a picture of a tree. Ask children if they can help you think of all the ways a tree can be used. (for climbing, for shade, for decoration, for fruit, for bees, birds and insects to live in…) Explain that not only are trees used for all of these things, but they are also used to make paper (hold up a piece of paper)

Explain that all over the world, many trees are cut down every year and taken to factories where they are made into paper for us to use at home, work, and school! “Paper gives us something to practice our letters on, and a place to color our pictures. Paper is also used to make boxes that our cereal comes in (hold up a cereal box) and to make bathroom tissue! We use paper every day don’t we?”

“What happens when we’re done using a piece of paper or a cereal box? Many times when we’re done using things like that, we just throw them in the garbage can. Then what happens to the garbage? (Hold up picture of garbage truck). The people who drive big garbage trucks come and pick it up for us, and take it to a big place called a landfill, where the garbage is dumped. The garbage sits outside in piles of other garbage for a very very long time. The landfill is a very stinky place to be!

“The special thing about paper is that it doesn’t need to be thrown in the garbage when we’re done using it. Paper can be used over and over again for many different things. When you use something over and over again, it is called recycling.”

Demonstrate this by using a piece of paper with a picture on it (used previously in the lesson) to make a grocery list on the back. When you’re finished with your grocery list, make it into a paper airplane. Explain that when you recycle, it makes it so not as many trees need to be cut down to make paper, and that in turn, makes it so we can have more beautiful trees in the forest!

Explain that after you’ve used the paper as much as you can, you will put it into a container that is different from the garbage. This container will be picked up by people who drive the Recycling Truck, and will take the paper to a place where it will be cleaned and made into paper that looks just like new again!

Explain that things other than paper can be recycled too. (Hold up a water/soda bottle) Explain that by recycling paper and plastics around our house, we are helping the earth to be a better, healthier and more beautiful place to live. Discuss other possible ways of taking good care of the earth.

Story: Dear Children of the Earth: A Letter from Home by Schimmel
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Snack: Any fruit and veggie of choice. Point out that this is another way we use the earth; to grow yummy foods to eat.

Craft: Make something new out of something old. Create a dog house out of empty cereal boxes/ make an umbrella, sandals, or hats out of old newspapers. Take whatever you have around the house and allow children to use their imaginations.

Go here for instructions to make News Sandals! Family Fun


Optional Activity: Roll newspaper up into tube and stick a spoon, handle first, into one side. Tape to make sure tube stays together and spoon won't fall out. Make one of these for each player. Sit at opposite sides of a table and place a bowl of food in the middle. While holding on to the very end of your spoon tube, see how much of the food you can scoop and drop into your own bowl in one minute. Whoever ends up with the most wins!



Service: Help make the world a better place by actively participating in a recycling program. Have children help decorate a designated recycling container, and place it in an area of the house where they will remember to use it!

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 R), 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.)

Lesson 17: Questions

Recognizing questions as an important part of learning



For this lesson you will need:
Q words written on slips of paper
Cut outs of body parts
Pen/Marker
Large Glass Bowl
Small objects (See ‘Activity’ below)
Piece of paper
Paper towel tubes (or paper) One for each child.
Items to decorate paper towel tubes (pom poms, stickers, beads, etc.)
Glue
Crackers
Various toppings for crackers (jam, cheese, chocolate chips, pickles, etc.)
Books: How Things Work (A Child’s First Library of Learning)
What Stinks? By Marilyn Singer

Welcome Song: (To tune of Old MacDonald):
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: N/A today…as there will be plenty of questions later in the lesson

Number of the Day ‘17’: Draw and cut out the 17 body parts listed below.
Head
Eye (x2)
Ear (x2)
Nose
Eyebrow (x2)
Freckle
Lips
Hair
Neck
Torso
Arm w/hand attached (x2)
Legs (x2)

Hide body parts around the room (before preschool). Display the number 17 on a piece of paper. Have children search for the 17 body parts and place them in a line on the floor. Count the body parts aloud before having children put them together to form a body. Congratulate them on a counting job well done.

Have children work together to count out 17 of a designated object (coins, pom poms, candies, etc.) and have them place the objects in the counting jar. Remind them of the reward they will get when the counting jar is full!

Letter of the Day ‘Q’: Ask children if they have a friend that they like to do everything with.
“I bet you didn’t know that letters can have friends too!”
Display the letter Q.

“The letter Q is a little different than the rest of the letters because it never likes to be alone. The letter Q almost ALWAYS has to have its best friend, the letter ‘U’ by its side. Without the U standing next to it, a Q doesn’t have much of a sound. But when Q and U are together it makes a nice, strong ‘Kwa’ sound. Can you make this sound with me?”
Have them repeat the Qu sound with you.

Write the following words on slips of paper (before preschool), fold them up and put them on the floor in front of you: Quail, Quake, Quack, Queen, Quarter, Quick and Quest. Allow each child to pick a word.

Each time a word is chosen, read it aloud and take a moment to explain its meaning. Point out that in each of these words, the letter 'u' is standing next to the Q.

Demonstrate how to write the letter Qq and allow children to practice in their writing notebooks. Teach the ASL sign for the letter Q as well as the signs for Quiet and Question.

Introduction of topic: Ask each child a different question from the following list:

Where do you live?
What is the first thing you do when you get up in the morning?
Why do you eat breakfast?
What would happen if you didn’t eat breakfast.?
What would happen if you didn’t wear a coat outside when it was snowing?
Have you ever had an “owie”? Why can’t you see the ‘owie’ that used to be t here?

“Do you ever have questions for your moms and dads? Asking questions is a wonderful way to learn about the world around us. When we ask questions, it shows that our brains are thinking, and that we love to learn."

"We ask questions to get to know people; to find out where they come from and what kind of things they like to do.

"We ask questions to find out how to get to where we want to go.

"We ask questions to help us understand how things work.

"We ask questions to help us understand why things happen.

"There are many many things to learn about, which means there are many many questions to ask. Do you have any questions you'd like to ask?"
Allow each child to ask a question if they wish.

Activity: “There is something I have been wondering about, so here is a question I have for you: Which things sink in water, and Which things float? Do any of you have any ideas? (you may need to explain what ‘sink’ and ‘float’ mean.) The only way for us to really know the answer to this question , is to do a little experiment. An experiment is a way of trying something out, in order to find answers to our questions."

Gather children around a table. Fill a big glass bowl with water and place it in the middle of the table. Tell children you are going to find a few (small) objects from around the house to put into this bowl of water and test them to see if they will sink to the bottom, or float on top. Have children help gather a few items, and then make a list of the items on a piece of paper. Draw 2 boxes next to each item on the list (one for the hypothesis, and one for the actual result)

Have children take turns choosing one item from the table. Have them guess whether it will sink or float. If they guess that it will sink have them write an ‘S’ in the first box by the item on the list. If they guess that it will float, have them write the letter ‘F’ in the box. Then have them drop the object into the bowl and observe what happens.



Record the results! If the object sinks, write an ‘S’ in the second box next to the item on the list. If it floats, write an ‘F’. At the end of the experiment, have the children count how many times they guessed correctly.

Explain that if you hadn’t asked the question, we probably never would have known which objects sink in water and which ones float. Now we know.
Emphasize that ALL questions are good questions.

Story: How Things Work (A Child’s First Library of Learning) This is not a story, but a book written in more of a question/answer format. Some of the Answers are a bit complex for little minds, but some of them will work great in this lesson.

What Stinks? By Marilyn Singer

Or read "Questions for Mommy" found at the end of this lesson.

Craft: Provide markers, glue, beads, and anything else you have in your craft box for children to decorate their own telescopes (paper towel tubes). Explain that people created telescopes to help answer some of their questions about space. They wanted to know what the stars really looked like, and where all of the planets were located. Tell them they will use their telescopes later tonight when it’s dark, to see the stars.

Snack: Place a few Crackers on each plate and a few choices of toppings in the middle of the table (jam, pickles, chocolate chips, salsa, and cheese) Ask: “How do you think a pickle cracker would taste?” Explain that you all are going to do an experiment to see which one of the toppings tastes the best with the crackers. Enjoy!

Service: Explain that questions can be used to help people as well.
Have each child ask the person sitting next to them “Can I clear your plate for you?” and then bring it to the sink.

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 Q), 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.)


Here are some questions my girls have asked me over the years...

Mommy, why do we toot?


We toot so we always have something to laugh about…and to help us be more thankful for the good smells in life.


Mommy, why do I have a belly button?

Belly buttons are for collecting fuzzies and for giving daddies something really cute to tickle

Mommy, why do we sometimes have bad dreams?


If we only had good dreams all of the time, some little girls would never get out of bed!


And sometimes Mamas just need another reason to give their little girls extra long hugs and extra big kisses.


Mommy, why do we get snow in the winter time?


We get snow so we can see how big our feet have grown each year,

…and so we have something to throw at Daddies!


Mommy, why do flowers have so many different colors?


So we can wake up to a beautiful rainbow every morning without having to wait for the rain

and, of course, so little girls can decorate their hair.

Mommy why do you kiss my cheeks so much?

Because your cheeks are as smooth as silk, and as soft as pillows…. And sometimes they smell like yummy peanut butter and jelly.

Now I have a question for you.
Why don’t you give those little dancing feet a break,
Close those beautiful curious eyes,
And rest that busy busy mind of yours until the morning?

(But only after one last yummy peanut butter and jelly kiss!)