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 🙂) 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 O?
OWL 🦉/ OCTOPUS 🐙/ CAT 🐈/ ORANGE 🍊
Let us start with Oscar Orange from Letterland and listen to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei6g3W__BdY After listening, show your child how to write a capital O and a lower case c (advanced) starting at the top (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJnZePnDo-U). Have your child first trace the letter(s) you wrote with one finger or trace O on the screen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmpV-h9Imj4
If you need printable writing paper for handwriting, here it is https://www.first-school.ws/theme/printables/writing-paper/handwriting.htm
A whole week activity:
For the phonetic part, have a big yogurt container with a lid filled with small objects or pictures that start with the letter O (object, October, octopus, odd, off, of, or, office, often, on, opposite, orange, ostrich, otter.) You might want to add a picture of a cat, so that your child can say that cat does not start with O! Here is a book of O word pictures: https://twistynoodle.com/my-oo-book-5-minibook/ Also, you can add new objects/pictures starting with the letter O every day and let your child explore the container all through the week.
Science
Birds lay …… An Egg is Quiet but Dianna Hutts Aston https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CCVvMyspJI Brainstorm with your child which animals lay eggs and if those animals are birds or not. Classifying in a two columns sheet with headings, like birds and others, helps visualize the data you are gathering.
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. Some activities will be repetitive to create a routine that brings comfort to your child.
Language Arts
I love going out for a walk and listen to birds’ singing. I often imagine what they say. Here are some favorites:
- Are You My Mother? By P.D. Eastman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH_SK0Jvq8M
- Birds by Kevin Henkes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xrti-oaJHI
- Hooray for Birds by Lucy Cousins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTNLSAddebM (your child can add some movement while viewing the book.
After viewing a book, I would recommend going on a walk to see birds and share what you and your child observe. Here is a list of Maryland birds’ pictures https://www.pbase.com/linthicum/birds_in_maryland Once home, your child could also draw what he/she experienced outside.
”Little Bird” Song (“Are You Sleeping?” Tune) Your child can add movement.
Little Bird, little bird,
Fly around (2x).
Up to the sky (2x).
Down to the ground (2x).
Little bird, little bird,
Flap your wings (2x).
Open your beak (2x).
Sweetly sing (2x).
Little bird, little bird,
Fly to your nest (2x).
Now it’s time (2x),
To take a rest (2x).
Cardinal Song (“Old McDonald” tune)
I don’t leave when winter comes.
I have what I need.
I stay put and search for feed.
Eating lots of seeds.
with my feather fluffed up I stay warm,
In the rain, in the cold and even a snow storm.
I stay put when winter comes.
i have what I need.
Bluebird Rhyme
Two little bluebirds sitting on a hill. (Show 2 pointer fingers.)
One named Jack, the other named Jill.
Fly away Jack, fly away Jill. (Hide both arms behind back.)
Come back Jack and come back Jill. (Show 2 pointer fingers again.)
Math
For this Hummingbird Egg Game, you need (1) egg carton, (2) marker and (3) beans as hummingbird eggs. Write numbers from 1-12 or 1-18 with the marker in the egg cups. Have your child put the number of beans corresponding with the number written in the cups. For more a advanced game, write numbers from 11-20 or other numbers in egg cups.
November is here! 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/november-calendar-setbr4-pages/november-calendar-set-2
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)?
Art
For the Bird Nest Art Project, you need (1) small paper plate, (2) scissors, (3) colored construction paper, (4) googly eyes, (5) glue, (6) brown yarn, (7) hole puncher, (8) tape, and (9) feathers if wanted.
Directions:
- Cut paper plate in half and hole punch around the rim.
- Cut ovals out of construction paper which are birds and small triangles out of construction paper for bird beaks.
- Cut a long piece of yarn and attach one end to the half paper plate/the other end wrap with tape to lace.
- Lace in and out of holes making sure yarn covers the inside of the half paper plate or from one end of the rim to the other end.
- Decide which side is the front of the bird nest and glue the bottom third of the ovals/birds to the back of the half paper plate. Glue nose and googly eyes to oval/bird for its eyes and beak.
- Picture (does not include Lacing) https://www.activityvillage.co.uk/birds-nest-collage
For Bird Fruit Loop/Cheerios Feeder or Ornament Art Project, you need (1) Fruit Loop or Cheerios, (2) pipe cleaners, (3) scissors, and (4) string. Have your child make different shapes with pipe cleaners (square, rectangle, triangle, circle, oval,…) and string Fruit Loops or Cheerios. Once done, attach inside or outside with string. Birds will surely love to peck. Picture https://www.natural beach living.com/bird-feeder-ornaments-crafts/
Small Motor Skills
Letter O Activity Book https://twistynoodle.com/letter-o-activity-book-minibook/
Help the Bird Find the Nest https://twistynoodle.com/help-the-bird-find-the-nest-coloring-page/
Match the Birds https://twistynoodle.com/match-the-birds-coloring-page/
Gross Motor Skills
Outside time with climbing, jumping, bicycling, running, walking are great ways to develop the whole child.
For a flying exercise, your child can dance with a scarf while music plays. If you and your child are adventurous, here are 3 ways to make Origami Flying Birds https://www.wikihow.com/Make-an-Origami-Flying-Bird that your child can fly with!
Social-Emotional Development
To boost your child social-emotional development, I encourage you to have conversations with your child all throughout the day. Zoom or FaceTime calls, especially in this pandemic time, is a way for children to connect with other children. The call length depends on the maturity of your child. Short calls are productive too.
What makes a child smile? As a parent, a smile on a child’s face is important. It is letting a parent know the child is ok. In most cases, it is a facial expression of feeling happy. In my family, my sons sometimes smile when they are nervous or in trouble too (We call it a nervous tick.) In our daily life, it is also a way for parents and children to start communicating with others. Here is a hello song by Handwriting without Tears I used in the classroom https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFnjVvdFIWI. I encourage you to do the movement with your child.