Lost In Pizzaland: Toddler themed lessons

Showing posts with label Toddler themed lessons. Show all posts

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Thirsty For Knowledge Thursday! Week 1 : September 17 Numbers 1 & 2

Thursdays will add an additional educational learning to the end of each week.

NUMBERS 1 & 2

Supplies Needed For All Projects: Index cards, foam book, cardboard pieces ( 2 8x10 pieces), glue, pictures, card stock, foam piece, construction paper, pom poms, yarn, colored markers, crayons, foam numbers and letters.

Number Books:

Supplies Needed: Foam book, foam letters and numbers

Take a foam book and put foam numbers 1 and 2 on the front, along with spelling out one and two with foam letters on the front.
Write 1 on first page, 2 on second page, one on third page and two on fourth page and repeat.
Its just like the foam word books, we have made so far.
Remember you can make your own with foam pieces, writing paper and yarn.
Also remember to practice spelling, reading, writing and counting these new words along with the other words all ready learning.

Picture Book:

Supplies Needed: Foam piece, 5-6 pieces of card stock paper, yarn, pictures

Make a big foam book like we did with the story book.
On the front you could write like: (Your child's name) first number book
On the first page put the following on top in the middle of the page. 1 (make sure its big enough)
Then a little bit below the number 1 put the spelling of the number 1 (One).
Then directly below the word one put a picture of any one item like a toy, flower, or animal (make sure it is one item.)
What is really neat to use for all this is foam letters, letters and pictures.
On the second page do what you did with the first page expect use the number 2/two and a picture of 2 items like 2 toys, 2 flowers, or 2 animals.
If you didn't want to use foam numbers or letters, you can use puff paint or write it in glitter glue. Just something extra to draw their attention to it.
Use can also try to use pictures that the children relate to. Like for my daughter she loves dinosaurs so I used her favorite dinosaur for the pictures.
The rest of the pages will be for weeks to come when they will be learning more numbers.

Memory Game:

Supplies Needed: 2 8x10 Cardboard pieces, glue, pictures, markers

Make your own memory game.
First cut the cardboard into two or three inch squares, just like in the game of memory.
Write the numbers 1 on two different pieces and the same with the number 2.
Then write the word one on two different pieces and the same with the word two.
Then glue 2 identical pictures of one item on two different squares.
Also, glue 2 identical pictures of two items on two different squares.
You could have several different picture squares to make it more fun.
For the numbers and words squares you could change the color of the writing to a different color. When they turn the cards over they must be able to match not only the number but the right color too.
When you have finished getting your cards together, place all the cards upside down so your child can't see any numbers, words, or pictures.
Then have them turn over two tiles only to see if they match. If they match they get to have another turn. If they do not match they turn over the cards and let the next player try.
The one with the most matches wins.
They can also play the game by themselves if they want. When playing the game with others it teaches them how to take turns.
If you do not have any cardboard try using something else that might be thick, like card-stock or an empty cereal box.

Pom Pom Numbers:

Supplies Needed: Construction Paper, Marker, Pom Poms, Glue

Take a piece of paper and write the number 1 real big, taking up 3/4 of the paper
Then let the child glue pom poms on the number.
Then do the same for the number 2.
Hang the pictures up for the children to see them often. The more they see something the more they can absorb it.
If you don't have pom poms try using pasta shells.

Index Cards:

Place the number 1 on a card, word one on a card, a picture of one item and two items on cards.
Add these cards with the your other index word cards.
Remember to add the numbers and words to your key chain card holder
Also you can begin a little math here too. Write on a card 1+1 = ? on the other side have a picture of two items and the number 2 written out.

Math:

You can start teaching math to your child now and they won't even know it.
Find two items, like 2 toys.
Write on a piece of paper 1+1=2.
Then show them the two items.
You have one and give the other to your child
Then explain that you have one toy and they have one toy. Lets put them together and see how many we have now.
Then explain there are two toys now. So, one (pick up a toy, plus one(pick up the other toy) equals two then put them together in your hand.
Now let your child do the same thing you did.
Next, show them the piece of paper that you wrote 1+1=2. Explain what you wrote.
Have your child try to write the same thing you did.
Go around the house or yard, with your child and find items that you can do the same with.

Other Great Learning Items:

Window Markers: I let my child use window markers on my sliding glass door. They easy to wipe off and fun to use. Just make sure your child knows to only use it on the glass.
Soap Crayons: Taking a bath is another great opportunity to teach your child stuff. Let your child write there words and numbers on the tub wall. My child learned very quickly this way. Its lots of fun to play in the water and they are learning at the same time and don't even now it.
Count your child's fingers and toes with them and then let them count yours.
Ask them questions throughout the day. How many eyes or ears do you have? What is 1+1=?

Number Printable Websites:

http://www.preschoolcoloringbook.com/color/cpnumber.shtml

http://www.kidslearningstation.com/preschool/teach-numbers.asp

http://www.thelittleartist.com/coloringnumbers.html

Books:

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish by Dr Seuss
Chika, Chika, One, Two, Three by Bill Jr Martin
Five Little Monkey Book Series by Eileen Christelow

Songs:

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Week 2: Songs and Poems about Dinosaurs!

These are a couple great traditional songs wtih a Dinosaur Theme.

The Dino Pokey

Tune: Hokey Pokey

adapted by Mrs. Jones

You put your claws in

You put your claws out

You put your claws in

And you scratch them all about

You do the Dino Pokey

And you turn yourself around.

That's what it's all about.

You put your feet in

You put your feet out

You put your feet in

And you stomp them all about

You do the Dino Pokey

And you turn yourself around.

That's what it's all about.

You put your teeth in

You put your teeth out

You put your teeth in

And you chomp them all about

You do the Dino Pokey

And you turn yourself around.

That's what it's all about.

You put your tail in

You put your tail out

You put your tail in

And you swing it all about

You do the Dino Pokey

And you turn yourself around.

That's what it's all about.
Dinosaur Song

Youngsters participate by sing and acting out the motions to this dinosaur song by Kay who says, "My older three's loved it".

I'm a Mean Old Dinosaur

(Tune: I'm a little Tea Pot)

I'm a mean old Dinosaur

(Make a mean face, the kids make the cutest mean faces)

Big and Tall

(Gesture hands big and tall )

Here is my tail, here is my claw.

(Gesture hands behind your back for tail and make claw hands)

When I get all hungry

(rub your tummy)

I just growl

(have the kids exaggerate the grrroooowwwlll)

Look out kids I'm on the prowl.

(Here I tickle each one of the tummy and they all giggle)

Website where this song can be found is:
http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/dinosaur.htm

Dinosaurs

Linda M. shares this action poem by Nancy Klein.

Spread your arms, way out wide,

Fly like a Pteranodon, soar and glide.

Bend to the floor, head down low,

Move like Stegosaurus, long ago.

Reach up tall, try to be

As tall as Apatosaurus eating on a tree.
Using your claws, grumble and growl

Just like Tyrannosaurus on the prowl.

Poem was found on:
http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/dinosaur.htm

Instead of the traditional Were going on a Bear Hunt try:

Going on a Dinosaur Hunt

Try doing the motions along with the it.

Going on a dinosaur hunt.

And I'm not afraid.

There's a tall mountain.

Can't go under it.

Can't go around it.

Guess I'll go over it.

Going on a dinosaur hunt.

And I'm not afraid.

There's a river.

Can't go over it.

Can't go under it.

Guess I'll swim across it.

Going on a dinosaur hunt.

And I'm not afraid.

There's some tall grass.

Can't go over it.

Can't go around it.

Guess I'll go through it.

Going on a dinosaur hunt.

And I'm not afraid.

There's a cave!

Can't go over it.

Can't go under it.

Guess I'll go in it.

It's dark and spooky in here.

It's cold in here!

I feel some scales.

I feel some big teeth!

OHH! It's a Dinosaur!

(kids say the following with you)

Run out of the cave,

Go through the grass,

Swim across the river,

Climb the mountain,

Run, hope,

Open the door,

Jump into bed.

I went on a dinosaur hunt,

And I wasn't afraid!

http://www.101kidz.com/poems/dino1.html

Friday, September 4, 2009

Cowboys and Indians: Crafts, Activities, Games, Food, Books, Songs and Videos

Week One: September 4-12 Cowboys And Indians

Made sure you check out my educational blog that goes with each lesson for toddlers each week!!!!

Supplies for Crafts: Different Size Foam pieces, Western shaped foam pieces, glue, glitter, glitter glue, cowboy hat, hole puncher, beads, yarn, feathers, paper towel tubes, rubber cement, toothpicks, 2 small paper bathroom cups, construction paper, markers, paints, rice, stickers, large round tubed pasta pieces, oatmeal container, wooden dowels, jar candle, leather piece, leather string, paper bag, poster board, rocks, gold paint, crafts sticks, scissors, straws, hot glue gun, glue sticks.

Crafts: Pictures for Crafts Shown at End of Posting.

Horseshoe Game:

Materials Needed: Foam Sheets, Western foam shapes, foam stick, glitter
Instructions:

Make 4 Horseshoe shapes from foam sheets.
Make one star shape from foam sheet.
Cut circle in middle of star shape for the pole to insert into.
Insert foam stick about 8 inches long into middle of star.
Decorate horseshoes and star with cowboy shape foam pieces like horses, stars, badges, cowboy boots and hats.
Can use glitter to really sparkle it up

Cowboy Hat

Materials Needed: Felt or Foam Cowboy hat, western themed foam stickers, gliiter and ribbon.
Instructions: Decorate the hat with foam stickers and glitter. A piece of ribbon can be used to hold the hat on.

Moccassins:

Materials Needed: Felt, yarn and hole puncher
Instructions:

I took the felt and wrapped it around my child's shoe.
I then punched holes in the top piece and bottom piece to tie them together.
After knotting the yarn all the way around, I removed the shoe and had my child try it on.
If its too big, pinch the back together and punch holes through it and tie and bow in the back.

There are several different designs I have found at fabric stores like Hobby Lobby, that are great for this project. Remember to print out a Hobby Lobby coupon for 40% off one item. http://www.hobbylobby.com/, http://www.couponcabin.com

Bead Necklaces:

Materials Needed: Leather string or yarn, and beads.
Instructions:
Let the child build their own necklace by threading beads onto the string.

Feather Hat:

Materials Needed: Foam pieces, yarn, feathers, glue, glitter and beads.
Instructions:

Place a piece of foam around your child's head to get their size.
Cut foam piece about 2 inches wide.
Punch holes in the foam piece where you need to tie it together with yarn. Can punch a couple different sizes if you want it adjustable.
The child can now decorate the feather hat.
You can cut 2 little slits one above the other to insert the feathers into the hat. Glue would be best to keep the feathers in place. You can use glitter or beads on the hat.
At the end of the yarn you used to tie it together they can string beads on it.
Could also make some wrist or ankle bracelets using same idea.

Rain Stick:

Materials Needed: Couple paper towel tubes, paint, toothpicks, rubber cement or glue, two bathroom size paper cups, rice, paints or markers, glitter, stickers and jewels.
Instuctions:

Before the child starts this an adult will need to insert glued toothpicks at different levels and angles into the tube.
Cover the tube with contruction paper, wrapping paper or another tube.
Glue the sides of one bathroom cup and insert it into one of the openings.
Then let the child pour in a bathroom size cup of rice.
Then glue the sides of another cup and insert in the other opening.
Let the child decorate the outside with paints, markers, glitter, stickers, and jewels.

Pasta Necklace:

Materials Needed: Large round tubed pasta, paint, yarn and wax paper.
Instructions:

Let the child paint each pasta piece they want for their necklace.
Place the wet pasta pieces on wax paper to prevent from sticking.
When the pasta is all dry, they can thread yarn through the pasta and have a beautiful necklace.

Drum:

Materials Needed: Oatmeal container or other container, glue, construction paper, leather pieces, beads, markers or paint, glitter, feathers, 2 wooden dowels and beans.
Instructions:

Glue construction paper around the container for decorating it, let dry.
Can decorate it with leather pieces, beads, markers, paint, glitter or feathers.
Wooden dowels can be decorated for the sticks for drumming.
I put beans inside the drum for a little extra noise.

Tom Tom:

Materials Needed: Paper towel tube, feathers, wooden dowel, beads, yarn and paint.
Instructions:

Cut the tube down to about 6 inches long. Use the left over tube for top and bottom of tubes.
Place the tube onto the leftover tube and trace 2 circles to cover the opening. (Make sure not to make them too small).
After cutting out the circles cut a hole in the center of one of them for the dowel to go into. If one wants they can use a thicker cardboard for the circles.
Glue the dowel into the hole and then glue the circle onto the tube.
After it dries, place rice into the tube and glue the top on. Make sure the glue dries before shaking, otherwise the rice will stick to the glue.
After everything is dried, they may now decorate the tube and dowel. They can use paint, beads, feathers, stickers and glitter. We glued a bead on top of the tube and glued feathers into it. Then at the end of the handle we tied and glued some yarn and put beads and feathers in the beads.

Candle:

Mateials Needed: jar candle, leather material, leather string and beads.
Instructions:

We found a jar candle we liked and took some pieces of leather to fit around the jar.
After cutting the leather piece to fit around the candle, cut little strips to look like fringe.
Glue the fringe around the candle.
Then glue a leather string around the jar long enough to put beads on the end.
Great gift idea!

Gold:

Materials Needed: Rocks, gold paint, sand, strainer.
Instructions:

Find rocks around your house or neighborhood paint them gold.
Place the gold in with some sand and other rocks and let your child use a strainer and pan for gold.

Photo Frame:

Materials Needed: Photo frame with matte in it (can be found a dollar tree)or foam photo frame, glitter or puff paint, jewels, markers or crayons, stickers and stamps, black and white picture, magnet.
Instructions:

Have your child use glitter glue or puff paint and decorate the matte.
Can use a foam picture frame to decorate instead.
You can also make your own by having 2 pieces of foam and cutting out the center of one and glueing it on the other one. After placing the picture in it can be cover by a thin piece of plastic By placing a magnet on the back it can be hung up on the fridge or file cabinet or anything else metal.

Vests:

Materials Needed: Brown paper bag, markers or crayons, glitter or jewels.
Instructions:

Cut the paper bag to make it look like a vest for the child to wear and decorate it.
Could put a star on it to make it look like a sherrifs badge.

Wanted Poster:

Materials Needed: 8 x 10 black and white picture of child , poster board, markers or crayons and glitter.
Instructions:

Print out a 8 x 10 black and white picture of your child and glue it to some poster board and put wanted and whatever you wish for the reward.
You can have your child decorate it.
You could have a little jail you made with a big cardboard box you both decorated. You can get Big cardboard boxes from places like Sears, Lowes, Menards, places that sell big items like stoves and fridges. You can call ahead to these stores and ask for them to save you one.

God's Eye:

Materials Needed: 2 craft sticks, yarn in 2 or 3 colors, glue, feathers and beads.
Instructions:

Glue the two craft sticks to make an X. Let dry.
Tie yarn to the center of the X.
Loop yarn under the first stick, then over and around the next stick, then over and around the next, and so on.
Make sure the rows are not on top of each other.
Change colors when an "eye" has been made in the center.
Tie the two colors of yarn together.
Keep weaving.
Stop when there is about 1/2 inch of the craft sticks showing.
Tie the yarn tightly onto the craft stick.
If you wish, decorate the ends of the craft sticks with yarn, feathers, or beads.
This craft idea was found in the book, "Hispanic-American Crafts Kids Can Do!" by Fay Robinson. This decoration comes from the Hutichol Indians of Mexico.

Mayan Weavings:

Materials Needed: 5 drinking straws, colorful yarn.
Instructions:
To make a loom, thread a piece of yarn through each straw. Leave 2-3 inches of yarn sticking out of each end.

Line up the straws and tie the pieces of yarn together.

Cut another of yarn about 1-2 feet long.

Tie one end to a straw.

Weave over and under each straw until you get to the other side of the loom.

Then weave over and under the other way.

Push the woven yarn together.

Continue weaving until you have about an inch of yarn left.

Choose another color. Tie 1-2 foot piece of yarn to the end of the last piece.

Cut the ends short.

Continue weaving.

If you wish, choose new colors or create a pattern.

When you have reached the end of the straws, tie the yarn around the end of one straw.

Untie the big knot of yarn at one end of the loom.

Carefully pull out each straw.

Then tie the knot again.

This craft idea was also found in the book, "Hispanic-American Crafts Kids Can Do!" by Fay Robinson. This decoration comes from the Mayan Indians of Guatemala.

Can be used as a bookmark if wanted.

Feather Painting:

Materials Needed: Feathers, paint, paper.
Instructions:
Take a feather and dip it into paint and use the feather instead of a paintbrush. The painting comes out with some cool effects.

Mosiac Foam Art:

Materials Needed: Coloring book, different color foam pieces, glue
Instructions:

Find a picture in a coloring book or print one out and instead of using paints and such use foam pieces. Someone could also draw their own picture for this project too.
Cut foam pieces into tiny squares or other shapes and glue them onto the picture. They also sell foam with a sticky back so no glue is needed.
I have found that places that carry crafts also carry mosiac art kits which everything is already done for you. (I know hobby lobby carries them.)

Activities:

Plastic Cowboy and Indian Toys
Use a broom or a long stick (decorated dowel) to pretend to ride a horse (could have horse races)
Find a place near you, that has horseback riding
Play Cowboy and Indians, use facepaint, dress-up with the cowboy hat, red bandana, indian headress and buy or make a bow and arrow, make a tent indoors under the table or a tee-pee, play the the drums and tom-tom just made. Could also have outlaws that rob banks and such too,
Have a bonfire-cook over fire like they did back then.
Camp-Out have lanterns, set under the stars and enjoy nature.
When its dark play flashlight tag
Take black and white pictures just like back then.
Hide and Seek
Tell ghost stories around the campfire.
Pin the badge on the sheriff
Theres a snake in my boots/hat game where they try to throw plastic snakes into a boot/hat to see who gets the most.
Watergun fight, could also put up items on a ledge and try to squirt them down.
Indian tribal dance
Pan for Gold!
Coloring Pages