The One With January Plans: Week 2

Here are the plans for week 2! 


Calendar Printable Here.  (All printables are free. The rest of the printables* are at the end of this post.)

January Objectives:
Letters: M, N, O
Color: Blue
Shape: Square
Number: 4
Themes: snow/ice, polar bears, float/sink

N Dot Art*
Directions: Print file.  Allow child to decorate the uppercase and lowercase n. (You can use circle stickers, dot stampers, play dough pieces, or pom poms) Teach them that N makes the "nnn" (similar to the yummy "mmm") sound. Try not to say "nuh" as it can confuse them as they learn to read later! You can read Dr Suess's ABC book and demonstrate which letter is big N and which one is little n.  Hang paper on fridge for the week to reference. 

Sticky Square Collage
Directions: tape a piece of clear contact paper (sticky side out!) against a wall or window. Invite your child to make a fun square collage by sticking paper squares onto the contact paper. If you don't have any contact paper, you can always make a simple collage by gluing squares down onto paper. As they create, discuss that squares have 4 equal sides and 4 corners. Count the sides and corners together. :) Near the end, I gave my girls some popsicle sticks and they made squares all by themselves! I was so proud!

 

Paint a Polar Bear with Fluffy Paint
Directions: I made a polar outline printout if you'd like to use that, or you can freehand draw a polar bear outline. Print file if you'd like! To make fluffy paint, mix together equal parts shaving cream and white glue. That's it! I mixed mine in a disposable cup so I didn't have a terrible cleanup job! Make sure they use a generous amount of fluffy paint for their polar bear! (I'm sure that's not hard for a toddler to do!) It will dry 3-D and puffy! You can talk about how polar bears are white to camouflage in the snow. 

N is for Noodle Necklaces
Directions: Make necklaces out of noodles! I used shoelaces for easier lacing. For the youngest of toddlers, a pipe cleaner is easiest to lace on. Yarn works for older preschoolers. Rigatoni is great for younger toddlers. Penne also works great, and ditalini pasta is another good option (about the size of a cheerio!) While we laced I sang to the tune of "Are You Sleeping?" 

Noodle Necklace,

Noodle Necklace,

starts with N,

starts with N,

N makes the "nnn" sound,

N makes the "nnn" sound,

N, N, N.

(Which yes, is the lamest song in America. But hey, they liked it.)

Blue Sensory Bin

Directions: Dye noodles or uncooked rice blue. We have done this in lessons past, but here is a link on how to do it.  (Note: Mine took maybe an hour to dry, not overnight as this blogger said. Also, I dyed a ton at a time in a big gallon sized bag! I would say this a grown up job, but your little helper can watch! Wet blue dye isn't forgiving.) 

I had lots of extra macaroni from last week, so I used that instead of rice. Fill a tray or tub with your colored rice/noodles along with lots of blue household items. Ask the child what all of the things have in common. As they play, try to sneak in another item of a different color (yellow, red, etc) and see if they notice that it doesn't belong! Have fun! :) Kids love to scoop and dump items, so make sure that you have cups, bowls, and spoons available! 

Floating Ping Pong Ball Number Scooping

Directions: Fill a big tub (or the bathtub and play inside!) with water. Using a sharpie, label some ping pong balls with the numbers 1-10. (Funny story, I couldn't find any plain ping pong balls, so I ended up ordering some beer pong balls on Amazon prime. They were cheapest for the amount I wanted!) 

Ask your child, "Do you think these balls will sink or float?" and then experiment! My girls loved scooping and dumping the balls out. Each time they retrieved a ball, we talked about what number was written on the ball. My kids liked to place these into egg cartons once they fished them out! I suggest using measuring cups or large serving spoons to scoop. 

Other variations:

-younger toddlers: draw dots on the balls (1-4) and once they scoop a ball, count the dots together

-older preschoolers: have 2 sets of numbers 1-10 in the tub (20 balls total) and ask them to find and match up both of the balls with #3 on them, etc.

(I think I will use these this summer in the pool with letters on them!) 

Letter N Identification*

Directions: print file.  Invite children to find the letters Nn on the sheet. Discuss that N is for nose! (use bingo stampers, crayons, stickers, etc).

Free Printables:

Nn Dot Art

Polar Bear Outline

Letter N Identification

Love you guys, have fun this week! :)