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.
If you put 2 candy canes together facing each other, which shape do you come up with?
SQUARE / CIRCLE / HEART / TRIANGLE
Make Letter J Shape:
- 1 big line, 1 little line and 1 little curve for capital J/2 little lines and 1 little curve for Lowercase j. Your child use a finger to trace the letter starting at the top, going down and jump back up. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzQCbX_7wDs) In order to start learning letters, your child will need a set of big curves, little curves, big lines and little lines in wood. You can purchase them at https://www.lwtears.com or make them your self. Here is a picture: http://cdn.lwtears.com/images/uploads/1_787_large.png)
- Wet-Dry-Try on small chalkboard (Handwriting Without Tears) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6p4LUEGbwM
- Play dough with small chalkboard (recipe: https://www.thebestideasforkids.com/playdough-recipe/) or you can purchase the Roll-A-Dough Set from Handwriting without Tears https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spjVLDXDixI
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 J (Jacquet, jam, January, jar, jaw, jelly, jigsaw, job, jog, joke, jolly, journey, joy, jug, juggle, juice, July, jump, jumper, June, jungle, just.) You might want to add a picture of an Snake, so that your child can say that Snake does not start with J! Here is a book of J word pictures: https://twistynoodle.com/j-minibook/ and https://www.first-school.ws/t.asp?t=http://www.first-school.ws/images/alpha/ap1/j.gif Also, you can add new objects/pictures starting with the letter J every day and let your child explore the container all through the week.
Science
Candy canes are made out of………Sugar! What happens when a spoonful of sugar is dropped in a liquid? It…….. (dissolves?) For this Candy Cane Science Experiment, you need (1) 3-4 clear cups, (2) 3-4 pieces of candy canes, (3) water, (4) oil, and (5) vinegar.
Directions:
1. Fill 1 cup with water and 1 piece of candy cane. You can have cold water in 1 cup/warm water in 1 cup.
2. Fill 1 cup with oil and 1 piece of candy cane.
3. Fill 1 cup with vinegar and 1 piece of candy cane.
4. Observe with your child what happens to candy canes and draw a conclusion with your child.
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
Holiday celebrations are often associated with special yummy treats for children like candy canes or other candy. In my family, children received chocolates and clementines/oranges in the past. Here are:
1. Katie the Candy Cane Fairy by JS Dwyer (advanced) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KqTOhI9Nmg.
2. I Spy A Candy Cane by Jean Marzollo (all I Spy ….. books are great gifts!)
3. Candy Canes on Top of My Christmas Tree by Loving2Learn (Early reader) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8YhyyuWpno
4. The Nutcracker based on the book by E.T.A. Hoffmann https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grH_jpu4n1Y
5. The Littlest Elf by Brandi Dougherty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAZ0KEvWR7E
After viewing a book, help your child sequence the story: what happened first, next,… at the end. One theme is Better Together. Brainstorm with your child how it is better together: better to read a book together, better to wrap presents together, better to ……
O Candy Cane Song (“O Christmas Tree” tune)
O candy cane, o candy cane,
You are minty and a delight!
O candy cane, o candy cane,
I love you, every bite!
You’re tasty and so sweet!
Your handle makes you easy to eat.
O candy cane, o candy cane.
I love your stripes and flavor!
“Ten Little Candy Canes” Fingerplay.
One little, two little, three little candy canes,
Four little, five little, six little candy canes,
Seven little, eight little, nine little candy canes,
Ten little candy canes hanging in a tree!
“Way Up high in the Christmas Tree” Song
Way up high in the Christmas tree, I saw 5 candy canes looking at me.
I shook that tree as hard as can be and one candy cane came down to me!
Mm, mmm…! It was delicious, you see.
Way up high in the Christmas tree, I saw 4 candy canes looking at me.
I shook that tree as hard as can be and one candy cane cane down to me!
Mm, mm…! It was delicious, you see.
Way up high………3, 2, 1.
Now, there are no more candy canes on that Christmas tree!
Math
Independent Math Practice Sheets:
Candy Cane Matching https://twistynoodle.com/candy-cane-matching-coloring-page/
Candy Count and Match https://twistynoodle.com/candy-count-and-match-coloring-page/
Candy Cane Sorting https://twistynoodle.com/candy-cane-sorting-coloring-page/
December is here now! 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/december-calendar-set/december-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 Candy Cane Beaded Ornament Art Project, you need (1) white pipe leaner, and (2) red and white beads.
Directions:
1. Put beads on pipe cleaner in a pattern: 1 red, 1 white, 1 red, 1 white,….. or 1 white, 2 red,…..
2. Fold ends of pipe cleaners to keep beads in place.
3. Shape it like a candy cane. You can hang it too!
For Marble Painted Candy Cane Art Project, you need (1) white construction paper candy cane (template: ), (2) marbles, and (3) red tempera paint.
Directions:
1. Put white construction paper inside the box.
2. Drop red tempera paint on paper candy cane and marbles.
3. Move box right and left to have marbles rolling in the red paint and on the paper.
4. Glue paper holy on candy cane. if wanted (2 green paper leaves and 3 little red circles.)
Small Motor Skills
Candy Tracing and Coloring https://twistynoodle.com/candy-tracing-coloring-page/
Candy Cane Book https://twistynoodle.com/my-candy-cane-book-minibook/
Candy Cane Puzzle https://twistynoodle.com/candy-cane-puzzle-coloring-page/
Candy Cane Maze https://twistynoodle.com/candy-cane-maze-coloring-page/
Gross Motor Skills
Outside time with climbing, jumping, bicycling, running, walking are great ways to develop the whole child.
If your child likes to dance along, here is the Candy Cane Twist Song and Dance Movement from a performance by Miss Kathey’s Academy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWDtloXeNT8