The One with November Plans, Week Three

Week 3 is up! Here is the November calendar of activities if you haven't printed it yet! 

This week we are learning about the letter I. An important note about vowels is that you should teach the short vowel sound first. So /i/ makes the "ih" sound, as in iguana, igloo, etc. 

{For more tips on beginning reading, click here on my post about pre-reading and alphabet skills for toddlers. This stuff early childhood teachers know, but is great for parents that aren't certified teachers!}

I Dot Art*
Directions: print file. Allow child to decorate the uppercase and lowercase I. (You can use circle stickers, dot stampers, play dough pieces, or pom poms) Read Dr. Seuss's ABC book, and discuss which letter is "Big I" and which one is "Little i" Hang paper on fridge for the week to reference. For older toddlers, teach that /i/ makes the "ih" sound. 

(I had to use a funky font in order to make the capital I look different than a lowercase L!)

Star Beanbag Toss
Directions: use painter's/masking tape to make a star on the floor. As you make the star, describe the attributes of a star (5 points, straight lines, etc) Have fun throwing a beanbag into the star. (If you don't have a beanbag, you can fill an old sock with dried beans or rice). You can make stars of different sizes! "Can you throw your beanbag into the big star?" 

Brown Paper Bag Turkey Puppets
Directions: use a paper bag as the body of the turkey. Add eyes and a beak (with googly eyes, crayons/marker, etc).  Adhere feathers to the back of the turkey (real or construction paper feathers). My girls loved this! They ran around the house playing puppets with their turkey while yelling "Happy Thanksgiving!" and gobbling.

I is for inchworm snack*
Directions: print file for snack mat. This will be my girls' first linear measurement activity! Give your child a gummy worm (aka inch worm) and teach them to lay it along the ruler. Count the numbers 1-5 and then measure how many inches your inchworm is. Allow them to take bites and re-measure as the gummy worm gets eaten. Note how many inches it is after the bites. This activity should really give you an opportunity to measure more things around the house and discuss how many inches it is. Have fun! :)

Decorate Letter I
I actually changed this to a new activity I found on Pinterest...magic appearing letters! 

Directions: on white paper, write big, bold capital letters in white crayon. Invite your child to paint on the paper with colored water (you can use food coloring or watercolors). They will love to see the letter appear magically! See if they can identify the letter without prompting. :) 

Sorting G, H, I*
Directions:  Print file and cut apart pieces. Label 3 different cups as "G, H, and I". Invite your child to sort the pieces into 3 different cups. 

Bonus cute idea: Put an adult sock over a regular cup and have the child pick the letters out of that cup! It is super fun to reach inside the sock-cup and pull out a letter that way! (Like my fuzzy striped sock? Eh? Eh?)


Play Dough Counting Mat*
Directions: print file. Roll a die and count the dots on top. Invite the child to place pieces of play dough as acorns onto the mat. Count the "acorns" together. Roll again and again for fun! :)

That's all, folks. Printables here:
Ii Dot Art
Inchworm Snack Mat

GHI Sorting Letters
Play Dough Counting Mat