The One With May Plans, Week 4

Hi guys! I'm sending out a few last ideas on reviewing overall pre-k skills for the month!

May Calendar Printable Here

I'm getting ready to make a big trip out of town, so I'll just send you out to links of ideas vs. making my own demos! I've got some packing to do! :)

Alphabet Review: Alphabet Beach Ball

Directions: Write the letters of the alphabet with permanent marker onto an inflatable beach ball. Play a toss game with their child. Ask them to identify the name of the letter that their them is closest to as the catch the ball. (This is fun in the bathtub with a smaller beach ball as well!)

http://www.playdoughtoplato.com/alphabet-ball/

Shapes Review: Water Balloon Smash:

Directions: Using chalk, draw varying shapes all around the sidewalk. Call out the names of a shape and encourage your kiddo to splash the shape with a water balloon! Water balloons are super exciting for preschoolers! This blogger took it a step further and wrote letters onto the water balloons for extra practice. Have fun! http://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/water-ballon-letters-shapes-play/

Colors Review: Sort and Stick Colors 

Directions: On a large piece of paper (easel, butcher, etc) draw long columns in order to create separate sections on the paper. Label each section a color (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, etc). Encourage your child to glue down corresponding colored items in each column. These items could be as simple as squares of colored paper (as seen in link) or fun pictures that they found in magazines! Be creative! Once their giant paper is compete, it will be something that they will be really proud of! :) 

http://www.rockabyebutterfly.com/2011/05/colour-practicing.html

Numbers Review: 

Directions: Number the left side of a paper 1-10. Draw a caterpillar head to the right of each number. Then, invite your child to add the corresponding number of body segments next to the caterpillar head! They can add stickers for body segments, draw circles, or do dot stamps!  I added a link here with an example picture. 

https://kenandkaren.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/c-0011.jpg

Alphabet Review: Fly Swatting Letters

Directions: print file. Cut apart the flies and label them with letters. (Or shapes, colors, sight words, or anything else you'd like to review!) Lay the flies out on the floor (or tape them around the house!) and ask them to swat certain things! This game cracks my kids up!!! 

Print fly file here. 

Thats it!!! A school year's worth of lesson plans!!!! 

For the rest of the summer, keep checking in and following my facebook page. I will be having giveaways and fun posts about fun summer activities. Love you guys! 

The One With May Plans, Week 3

Hey there! The year of lesson plans is over! I can't believe I go through this weekly extravaganza of the entire alphabet! The next 2 weeks on here are just reviewing overall pre-k skills. I have some links/ideas on here for you!

Print the May calendar here!

Rectangle Fine Motor Outlining
Directions: Draw a rectangle a piece of paper. Describe the attributes of it (4 sides, 4 corners, 2 sides are long).  Encourage your child to place small items (beans, beads, cheerios, etc) around the perimeter of the rectangle. This will give them the opportunity to really observe the shape while utilizing fine motor skills.

Shape Dancing and Matching Game
Directions: Draw all of the shapes on the sidewalk with chalk. Turn on some music and dance around! When the music stops, call out the name of a shape for them. The child will have to identify the shape quickly and run to it. This activity is fun and a simple way to review (and get their energy out!)

Life Cycle of a Butterfly Snack
Directions: Read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle again. Remind your child of the 4 phases of the the butterfly life cycle. Present them with 4 snacks that resemble the 4 phases. I chose raisins as eggs, gummy worms as caterpillars, gummy fruit slices as the chrysalis, and butterfly crackers! Ask them questions such as, "Which one of these snacks looks like a tiny egg?" and so on. Have fun snacking!

Colors Review: Muffin Tin Sorting
Directions: Print file. Cut apart the circles and place them into the bottom of a muffin tin. Use this to review and sort colored items. (Beads, pom poms or other items!) For added hand-eye coordination, you can use tongs to transfer items to the muffin tins.

Numbers Review: Number Dot Book Printable
Directions: I found a cute printable online to review numbers! Click to this link below to get working! :)
http://www.messforless.net/2013/04/free-math-printables-number-book.html


Printable:
Muffin Tin Color Sorting 

The One with May Plans, Week 2

Hi!!!

This is our last week of specific themes until we have fun reviewing games for the end of the year! I'm so excited we made it to Z week! Here's whats going on this month and week:

Print the monthly calendar here.

Z Dot Art
Directions: print file. print file. Introduce the letter of the week: Z!  Allow child to decorate the uppercase and lowercase z. (You can use circle stickers, dot stampers, play dough pieces, or pom poms) You can read Dr Suess's ABC book and demonstrate which letter is big Z and which one is little z. Discuss that z makes the "zzzzz" sound, like in zebra and zipper!

Rectangle Shaving Cream Tracing
Directions: On a smooth, wipeable surface (like a tray, cookie sheet, or kid-safe table) spray out some shaving cream. Smooth it out into a thin layer and practice making rectangles with their fingers. This is a great and simple sensory activity for young kiddos! Even if they get off task, it's still fun manipulate the cool shaving cream in their fingers. One of my twins doesn't really like to get messy, but she will gladly play like this if I give her a paintbrush to work with.

Butterfly Coffee Filter Craft
Directions: Use markers to decorate and color coffee filters. Next, drip water onto the coffee filters to watch the colors run and flow together. It will have a tie-dye like look. (We used eye droppers, but medicine droppers, turkey basters, or small teaspoon scoops will help them dispense small amounts of water). Lay the coffee filters out to dry (or zap them in the microwave for a few seconds!). Now you can bunch the coffee filter in the middle to create wings.  Clip on a clothespin as the body of the butterfly. Bam. Cute and very toddler friendly!

 

Z Snack: Zebra Pretzel Rods
Directions: Make some fun Zebra pretzel rods! This is a simple cooking activity that toddlers can easily participate in. Purchase some pretzel rods and some of these microwavable chocolate dips. I got white chocolate and milk chocolate. (You simply microwave the chocolate in the provided plastic tubs and stir it!) My kids love to stir, so this is no problem for them! Once the white chocolate has melted, dip your pretzel rods in. Next, melt the milk chocolate and drizzle that across the white chocolate in order to look like zebra stripes. It's a tasty delicious snack for all ages!

Z is for Zebra Craft
Directions: Draw a large letter z onto a piece of blank paper. Add a fun little face so that it's recognizable as a zebra. Invite your child to glue on some little black strips of construction paper along the Z in order to make a zebra. Remind them that z is for zebra!

Yellow Suns-Stringing on the Rays
Directions: Decorate a paper plate yellow (color of the month) like a sun (theme of the month) using markers, crayons, paint, etc. Punch 8 holes around the plate and attach strings/pipe cleaners around the radius of the plate to look like sun rays. Count out the 8 (number of the month) sun rays together. Now your kiddo can lace cheerios, beads, etc on the the rays! I love keeping my kids busy with this lacing while I'm cooking dinner. I just throw a bunch of cheerios on the table and they go after it! 

Z Letter Recognition
Directions: print file. Discuss that this is the letter Z. "There are some little z's hiding on that big z! Can you find them all?" Encourage them to identify the letter z's by marking them with a dot marker, sticker, or simply circling them. They should hopefully be able to find all the Z's by the end of the week!

Figure 8 Car Racing
Directions: Fill a large zipper bag with hair gel. You know, the old school LA Looks that reminds you of the 90's? It's super cheap. Seal the bag very well! Trace the shape of a figure 8 (number of the month) into the gel through the bag. Encourage your kiddo to trace along with the finger as well. Next, give them a little matchbox car to race around the figure 8! This is a great tactile way for them explore the number 8.

(pic coming soon!)

Free Printables:
Z Dot Art
Z letter recognition

The One with May Plans, Week 1

Hey guys! It's May!
This is the end of the alphabet, so we will do 2 letters this month plus 2 weeks of reviewing skills! It should be a super fun month! I'm really excited that I completed this school-year long challenge of lesson plans!

Here is the link to the calendar of monthly activities! Click, print, stick on the fridge, and do an activity of the week! 

Y Dot Art
Directions: print file. print file. Introduce the letter of the week: Y!  Allow child to decorate the uppercase and lowercase y. (You can use circle stickers, dot stampers, play dough pieces, or pom poms) You can read Dr Suess's ABC book and demonstrate which letter is big Y and which one is little y. Discuss that y makes the /y/ sound, like in yellow and yak and yesterday!

Rectangle Coloring Page
Directions: print file. Introduce the shape of the month: rectangle! Count the sides and the corners. Describe that a rectangle looks kind of like a square, but longer! Older kids can trace the letters in the word "rectangle". Encourage the children to decorate the rectangle as desired.

Butterfly Life Cycle Pasta Activity
Directions: Read your children "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle. Discuss the 4 different phases of the butterfly life cycle: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis (cocoon in book), butterfly. Divide a paper plate into fourths and label each quadrant with the 4 phases. For this activity, you need a bean (or something else tiny like a grain of rice, quinoa, etc), a long noodle, a shell noodle, and a bow-tie pasta noodle. Go through the story again and show the child the 4 little pieces. Ask "Which one of these little pieces of food reminds you of an egg? Right! Let's put the bean in the egg part of the plate! Which one of these pasta pieces reminds of you of a long caterpillar?..." and so on! Talk through the 4 phases and glue down each piece into the corresponding part of the plate! This is a super cute visual, and the bow-tie pasta as a butterfly is so cute!

Y Snack-Yogurt Parfait
Directions: Discuss that yogurt starts with the letter y! Have fun making a parfait together. We used blueberries, granola, and vanilla yogurt. My kiddos made theirs all by themselves!!! (Ok, I was right there giving directions, but still!) This is a delicious and healthy snack that they have already asked to have again!

Yarn Yak Craft
Directions: print file. Cut up lots of pieces of yellow yarn (or any color!) invite your kiddo to decorate their yak with yellow yarn. My kids love using glue and these yaks are so ugly that it's hysterical!

Yellow Coloring Page
Directions: print file. Discuss that the color of the month is yellow. It starts with the letter y! Just like our yak with yarn! Encourage your child to color the yellow crayon (marker, paint, crayon, etc). Discuss the letter in the word yellow. "Y-e-l-l-o-w! Can you trace the letters in the word yellow?" Search for yellow things around the house today!

Y Letter Recognition
Directions: print file. Discuss that this is the letter Y. "There are some little y's hiding on that big Y! Can you find them all?" Encourage them to identify the letter Y's by marking them with a dot marker, sticker, or simply circling them. They should hopefully be able to find all the Y's by the end of the week!

#8 Playdough Mat
Directions: print file. Introduce the number 8 as the number of the month. Count the dots together. Show them the word "eight" and spell out the letters. Use play dough to fill in the dots. Roll out a big long snake in the play dough in order to make the number 8 at the top! This is a fun page for kids to explore the number in a very tactile way.

Here are the free printables:
Yy Dot Art
Rectangle Coloring Page
Yarn Yak Craft
Yellow Coloring Page
Y Letter Recognition
8 Counting Mat