Illustrate a famous book!

What You Need:

• Picture book
• Paper
• Pencil
• Crayons or markers.
• Stapler, string, or brass clips

What You Do:

1. Pull out an unfamiliar book and sit down somewhere comfortable with your class. Without opening the book, look at the cover. Ask them what the pictures make them think of. What’s happening in it? Looking only at the picture, ask them to predict what they think the story will be about.

2. Now tell your class you’re going to read a story, but just this one time, they won’t be able to look at the pictures. Instead, ask them to use their imagination, and come up with images in their mind while you read.

3. During the reading, stop periodically and ask questions. For example, “Why did Sally go outside when her mother said not to?” Try to incorporate questions that require kids to make predictions as to what will happen next.

4. Once you’ve finished the book, tell your class that they are going to illustrate it! Now’s the time for discussion. While adults can often remember what happened in a story long after they’ve finished reading it, this is a skill that young kids need help developing. Give your class some prompts. Ask what happened first and then let them draw it. Ask what happened next, let them draw it, and so on. As they finish each picture, help them by writing some text below the illustration, using the words the child used when they retold it to you.

Bind the story and make a cover. Together you can compare their versions to the original and see what’s different.

For more classroom literacy ideas visit our website

Color Glove

Teach toddlers five colors with this song and craft idea 


Materials: 
White work gloves
red, yellow, green, blue and orange paint.


Description:
Take the white gloves and paint the fingers and thumbs of each glove (not the palm)
Paint them red, yellow, blue, green, orange, so that you have two of each color.
Then, sing this song:

Tune: "Are You Sleeping"

Where is red? (bring one hand up with all fingers showing)

Where is red? (repeat with other hand.)

Here I am, (wave one hand)

Here I am (wave other hand)

Show me if you can, (Hold hands up)

Show me if you can.

Where is red?

Where is red?

Repeat this with all the colors allowing your toddler to show you the colors.

The American Academy of Pediatrics reported recently on the importance of play in promoting healthy child development and maintaining strong parent-child bonds.
"Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth," reads the first line in this 12 page report.
AAP also reports that despite the benefits derived from play for both child and parent, time for free play has been markedly reduced for some children!
AAP lists many important reasons why play is important:

• Play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength.
• Play is important to healthy brain development

  

  Puppet Book

• It is through play that children at a very early age engage and interact in the world around them.
• Play allows children to create and explore a world they can master, conquering their fears while practicing adult roles, sometimes in conjunction with other children or adult caregivers.
• Undirected play allows children to learn how to work in groups, to share, to negotiate, to resolve conflicts, and to learn self-advocacy skills.

You can read the full report by visiting The American Academy of Pediatrics site.

When I was a kid, I loved to play with worms! One of my favorite things to do after it rained was to build worm houses out of the mud. Each worm had their own house! I spent hours building the houses and digging for worms.  I didn't understand why worms loved dirt, or how important they are! But I sure loved watching them wiggle around! 

Our "Build a Worm Farm" activity is the perfect way to teach kids about worms.