Last summer, my son and I saw a box turtle in the middle of the road, stopped the car, picked it up and brought it to the park. As we continue with reptiles, review with your child Reptile characteristics like: (1) backbone (have him/her touch his/her backbone), (2) cold blooded and needing the sun to warm up (compare with touching his/her arm to show she/he is warm blooded), (3) scales, (4) carnivores and herbivores (we eat meat and plants too) and lay eggs. Children learn best when they can compare new things to what they already know best: themselves.
Let’s sing together our song “Rise and Shine – Welcome to School Today” by Dr. Jean https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyAD2OoFuoY and our greeting song “Hello to all the children of the world”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nYjGy_ZUG8
My favorite Closing Song sung on “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” tune with movement:
Twinkle, twinkle little stars! Time is over and we say goodbye. (Open and close hands)
We had fun with all our friends. Let’s come back and do it again! (Arm moved up and back)
Twinkle, twinkle, little stars! What a wonderful bunch you are! (Blow kisses)
For the writing/reading process, have your child trace or copy (advanced skill) daily his/her name on paper/dry eraser board/ mini blackboard (kindergarten handwriting page) starting at the top of each letter (you could draw an emoji 🙂) either in all uppercase letters or just first letter in capital/uppercase and the rest in lowercase. If your child is starting to write on paper, you can write your child’s name with a highlighter and your child can use a crayon to trace it.
I realize that you might have to survey other members of your family for the question of the day so that your child have enough tally marks to count or have your child put more than one tally mark.
Which word starts with the letter Y?
UNICORN 🦄/ YACHT 🛥/ VIOLIN 🎻/ YARN 🧶
Your child started with from Yo-yo Man Letterland and listened to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeBAgjw-5f4 After listening to the song, your child traced a capital Y and a lower case y, starting at the top (song – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJnZePnDo-U), do a diagonal line down, jump back up and do a diagonal line down the other way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQFlIyKAuNI
Now, let’s listen to the story from the Letterland Corner: Yellow Yo-yo Man and his Yogurt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk2KyZ4mV5Q After listening to the story, help your child retell the story using lots of Y words.
A whole week activity:
For the phonetic part, have a big yogurt container with a lid filled with small objects or pictures that have the letter Y (yacht, yawn, year, yell, yellow, yes, yesterday, yo-yo, yogurt, yolk, you, your). You might want to add a picture of a xylophone, so that your child can say Xylophone does not start with Y! Here is a book of Y word pictures: https://www.first-school.ws/t.asp?t=http://www.first-school.ws/images/alpha/ap1/y.gif Also, you can add new objects/pictures starting with the letter Y every day and let your child explore the container all through the week.
Science
Let’s view a video about tortoises from National Geographic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTOxpV3L7YA
Explain to your child about what is on the back of a tortoise/turtle? Help your child come up with the idea that it carries its house on its back, its hard shell. Tell your child that he/she will experience what it feels like carrying a house on one’s back.
For this science experiment, you will need a backpack with some books in it (not too heavy). Encourage your child to be on knees and hands and to carry the backpack on his/her back. Have him/her try to move forward. What does your child feel? Is it easy?
If you have a nature journal for your child, encoutage him/her draw an entry of him/ her pretending to wear a shell on his/her back and label it.
Or, you might also check on your egg in vinegar from previous blog and touch it. Did the shell become soft like a turtle/tortoise Egg shell? Your child could make another nature journal entry with you!
On the tune of “Oh, my Darling Clementine”, we can sing: what’s the weather, what’s the weather, what’s the weather like today? Is it cloudy, is it rainy, is it sunny, is it cold? (You can also change the weather words).
Let your child check the weather and tell you about it. You might want to ask your child to do a weather drawing that you can label.
Language Art
Turtle literature:
1. The Foolish Tortoise by Eric Carle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GV1khxrcflM
2. Turtle Island by Kevin Sherry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPdUfmAxFXg&t=81s.
3. The Box Turtle by Vanessa Roeder https://.youtube.com/watch?v=6Uwz5qlSgiQ
After viewing a book, help your child sequence the story: what happened first, next,… at the end. Brainstorm with your child what you know about turtles. Discuss how your child and your family can see turtles (nature, Petco, other pet store,….)
One major theme is loneliness. Share when you feel alone and encourage your child to share too. Do you like it? Why? What can you do about it?
For an advanced activity, have your child fill in a simple story map. Take a sheet of paper and divide it into 3 equal size parts. Write “Beginning”, “Middle”, and “End” and encourage your child to make a drawing about the beginning, the middle and the end of the story.
Turtle Song
I had a little turtle. His name is Tiny Tim.
I put it in the bathtub to see if it could swim.
It drank up all the water and ate up all the soap.
And now, it’s in his bed with bubble in its throat!
“My Turtle” Fingerplay.
This is my turtle. (Show fist with thumb extended)
It lives in a shell. (Hide thumb in fist)
It likes its home very well.
It pokes its head out when it wants to eat. (Extend thumb again)
And pulls its head in when it’s time to sleep! (Hide thumb in fist)
“Little Turtle” Rhyme
There was a little turtle living in a box.
It climbed all the way on top of the rocks.
It snapped at a flea.
It snapped at me.
It caught that flea,
But it couldn’t catch me!
Art
For the Paper Plate Art Project, you will need: (1) green tempera paint with brush /dot paint, (2) paper bowl or paper plate, (3) green or brown construction paper for neck and legs, (4) black marker, (5) scissors, and (6) stapler.
Directions:
1. The paper bowl/paper plate upside down is the tortoise shell to paint in green paint.
2. Cut legs and neck Out of brown/green construction paper.
3. Staple all to the plate/bowl.
4. Use the black marker to draw eyes, nose and mouth.
Options:
1. Use bubble wrap to paint and print the design on turtle’s shell.
2. To use glue, tear up or cut small construction paper pieces and glue them on the upside down bowl/plate.
3. Use a potato masher dipped in green paint to print on paper plate or paper bowl for the turtle’s body and glue cut-out necks and legs out of construction paper to attach, as well as using a marker to give eyes, nose and mouth.
Math
For a Fingers Counting Game, you only need your hands and your child’s. Show a number of fingers and your child has to count or guess/subitize. You can take turn with your child.
For a Guessing Number Game, You can also play a game of guessing the number with your child. Say: “I have a number in my head and it is after 5 and before 7.” Another one could be: “I have a number in my head and it is the number of fingers on one hand.” There are more possibilities!
Spring is in the air in March! The calendar is a daily activity to do with your child that develop number and pattern recognition. Here is the link to print a calendar to update daily with your child. The set has a weather component, if you like. https://www.themailbox.com/magazines/march-calendar-set/march-calendar-set-4
Daily counting of tally marks and show your child a number card or write the number down to show your child. The numbers of the tallies will be different every day. Extend the concept by comparing numbers: which has more? Which has fewer? Which are the same?How many more (count with fingers)?
Small Motor Skills
Here is a Tortoise coloring page https://twistynoodle.com/tortoise-26-coloring-page/.
Turtle tracing page https://twistynoodle.com/help-the-turtles-find-the-pond-coloring-page/.
Turtle dot painting https://twistynoodle.com/turtle-dot-painting-coloring-page/
Gross Motor Skills
Outside time with climbing, jumping, bicycling, running, walking are great ways to develop the whole child.
Holds hands with your child, move around and around while sing first slow and then fast, as a game, the Mulberry Bush Song:
Here we go round the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush.
Here we go round the mulberry bush so early in the morning.
This is the way we play and sing, play and sing, play and sing.
This is the way we play and sing so early in the morning.
This is the way we laugh and dance, laugh and dance, laugh and dance. This is the way we laugh and dance so early in the morning.