The One with January Plans, Week One

Hey guys! It's a new year and I'm ready to be more disciplined about working with the kiddos. If you're new here, let me tell you how I do my lesson plans. I have planned out a year worth of lessons, breaking it up into themes. Each month I post a calendar. Print it and stick it up on the fridge. Then, check back every Sunday night for specifics on each weekly lesson. I try to do simple activities that are fun for preschoolers, simple for moms to do, and require little extra materials. Each month I will make a list of a few extra things you will need to get for the months' lessons. That's it! Participate as little or as much as you like. 

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
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Extra Supplies You May Need this Week:
-all printable files*
-uncooked macaroni pasta
-food coloring
-ice cube tray
-clothespins
Supplies for the rest of the month:
-clear contact paper
-cheerios
-pipe cleaners
-white elmers glue
-shaving cream
-noodles, such as penne or rotini (for noodle necklaces)
-shoelaces/yarn for noodle necklaces
-ping pong balls
-Cheez-It crackers
-uncooked white rice (1-2lbs)
-blue jello
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Plans, Week One

M Dot Art*
Directions: Print file.  Allow child to decorate the uppercase M. (You can use circle stickers, dot stampers, play dough pieces, or pom poms) Teach them that M makes the "mmm" sound. (Try not to say "Muh" as it can confuse them as they learn to read later!) The way I taught my students the difference between m and n is that m has 2 mountains! Hang paper on fridge for the week to reference. 

 





Square Coloring Page*
Directions: Print file. Invite your child to decorate the square. As they do, discuss the attributes of a square. Describe and count the 4 corners. Describe that the sides are all the same length, and that some aren't long (like in a rectangle). Since our color of the month is blue, I decided to let my kiddos decorate the square by gluing down little blue paper squares. You can also paint, use crayons/markers, etc.  Have fun! Look for squares around the house and wherever you go! 

        

Float Or Sink Tub
Directions: Fill a large clear tub (or even the bathtub!) with water. Gather some household items to experiment with. Before placing each item in the water, allow your child to predict if the item will sink or float. "Do you think this one will float on top, or sink to the bottom? Let's find out!" Invite them to splash and have fun with this one. If you have 2 oranges laying around, you should check to see what a peeled orange does versus a non-peeled orange! ;) Have fun letting them explore! 

M is for Macaroni*
Directions: Print file. Show your child the paper and see if they can identify the letter M from Monday's lesson. Discuss that M makes the "mmm" sound and like macaroni! Cover the letter M with glue and invite them to decorate their letter with the macaroni pieces. For a fun bonus, have mac and cheese for lunch! :) 

 

This quickly turned into a "let's play with macaroni" game. So I gave in. Eventually my baby was playing and scooping macaroni like a big girl! (And she only tried to eat the macaroni once! Shock!)

(Isn't she sooooo cute? Melt.)

Blue Coloring Page*
Directions: Print file. Invite your child to color the crayon blue. For older children, discuss and describe the letters in the word "blue" and let them trace the letters. Try to find blue things around the house! 

Ice Color Mixing
Directions: Using food coloring, color water red, yellow, and blue and then freeze them in ice cube trays. (It takes about an hour to freeze so you might want to do this earlier in the day). I didn't have any ice cube trays, so I just used some random paint tray I had. 
Next, color warm water red, yellow and blue. Drop the colored ice cubes into the warm water and watch them dissolve and change colors. "What do you think will happen when we mix this blue ice into red water? Let's see!"

Drop red ice into yellow water ---->orange

Drop yellow ice into blue water ---->green

Drop blue ice into red water --->purple

My kids LOVED this and squealed! 

Polar Bear Counting Race Game*
Directions: Print file. The goal of the game is to hop your polar bear along the board and get to the final igloo. It's super cute and simple! Specific directions are on the printable on how to play! It's so much fun! The number of the month is 4, so make sure that you are counting along as your polar bear hops along the board! Have fun! :) I'm going to laminate mine! 

Letter Mm recognition*
Directions: Print file. Invite children to find the letters Mm on the sheet. (use bingo stampers, crayons, stickers, etc). 

 

Printable Files Here (All free!)
M Dot Art
Square Coloring Page
M is for Macaroni
Blue Coloring Page
Polar Bear Counting Race
Letter Mm Recognition