March 7-13: Houses
Book Suggestions:Home by Roger Priddy
My Very First Book of Animal Homes by Eric Carle
Animals at Home by David Lock
Houses and Homes by Ann Morris
The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson
Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
A House is a House for Me by Mary Ann Hoberman
Activities:
Shape House:
Materials: construction paper, glue, scissors
Description: Prior to doing this activitiy, cut a large rectangle or square (for the house), a smaller rectangle (for the door), two small squares (for the windows), and a large triangle (for the roof). Show your toddler all these shapes and have them idenitfy each one and their colors. Help your toddler arrange the shapes to make a house. Glue the pieces together and write the word house under the picture. Have your toddler see if they can name each part of the house. (door, windows, roof)
Skills Targeted: shape identification, color identification, enhance creativity, language development, recognize everyday objects
Count the Windows:
Description: Show your toddler one of the windows in your house. Talk about the window. (Windows let light in. You can see through a window etc). Take a walk around your house with your toddler and count each window. You could even carry a piece of paper around with you and write a tally mark each time you see a window. When you are all finished count the tally marks to see how many windows there are in your house. You could do this activity with doors also.
Skills Targeted: Counting, number recognition, language development, recognize everyday objects
Trees are homes:
Materials: camera
Description: Take your toddler outside to look at a tree. Explain to your toddler that trees are homes to many different kinds of animals. Sit for awhile by the tree and see if you and you toddler can see any animals that might live in it. If you see any, take pictures of them. (birds, squirrels, bugs, etc). When you come inside, print these pictures (or you could draw or print these animals from clip art on your computer) and cut them out. Draw a large picture of a tree and have your toddler color it. See if your toddler can recall some animals that live in trees. Give the pictures to your toddler and have them glue them in the tree. You could write the names of each animal under their pictures.
Skills Targeted: language development, recall details or facts, motor skills development, sensory development
Water is a home:
Materials: pictures of animals that live in the water, popsicle sticks, glue, a cardboard box, blue paint
Description: Talk to your toddler about animals that live in the water. Explain that the ocean, river, or pond can also be a home to many animals. Cut the tops and bottoms off of a cardboard box and cut one of the long sides off of the box as well. (the box should look like tri-fold). Have your toddler help you paint the box blue for water. Show your toddler the pictures of animals that live in the water (have them color the pictures if necessary). Cut the pictures out and have your toddler help you glue them to popsicle sticks. Your little one can use these animals on popsicle sticks as puppets and make them swim across the water(cardboard box).
Skills Targeted: language development, sensory development, enhance creativity, enhance pretend play and imagination, recognize animals and where they live
Where do These Objects Belong:
Materials: a variety of different objects found around the house (taken from different rooms)
Descriptions: Talk to your toddler about the house that they live in. See how many different rooms your little one can name (ex. kitchen, bathroom, my room, playroom etc). Gather a variety of different objects from around the house (ex.spoon, cup, food, pillow, toy, your toddler's clothes, toilet paper, toothbrush etc) and lay these objects out in from of your toddler. Have your toddler pick up one object at a time, name the object and tell you what room it belongs in. See if your little one can bring the object to the correct room and maybe even put it in its correct place.
Skills Targeted: language development, develop life skills, recognize everyday objects, recall details
Label Objects in Your House:
Materials: index cards, marker, tape
Description: Labelling objects is a great pre-reading skill for toddlers. Walk with your little one around the house. As you enter each new room, have your toddler tell you what room they are in and what this room is used for. Point out some well known everyday objects in each room. Have your toddler say the name of each object as you write the word on an index card (you could also print out pictures of each object and hang the picture labels on the objects. Choose one option depending on your toddler). Have your toddler tape the index card to the actual object. Leave these labels up, as long as possible, and throughout the week, month and year, read these labels with your toddler as you enter the different rooms in your house.
Skills Targeted: recognize everyday objects, develop pre-reading skills, correlate written words to actual objects, motor skill development, sensory development, language development
Different Houses:
Description: Take a walk down your street or through your neighborhood and compare all the different houses. Talk with your toddler about how all the houses are alike and how they are different. See if your toddler can name the color of each different house that you pass. You could count the houses together as well.
Skills Targeted: language development, compare and contrast objects, sensory development, counting, color recognition
Caves:
Materials: sheets or blankets
Description: Some animals live in caves. Ask your toddler if they know any animals that live in caves. The most common is a bear. Together you and your toddler can build a cave using blankets and sheets draped over furniture. Encourage your toddler to pretend that they were a bear living in a cave.
Skills Targeted: motor skill development, enhance creativity, encourage imagination development and pretend play
In and Out:
Description: You can teach your child about the oppostites in and out. Take your toddler to one of the doors in your house. Ask your child to tell you what it is and what shape it is. Tell your toddler that you are both "in" the house. Then open the door and walk outside. Now tell your toddler that you are "out" of the house. Repeat this over and over until your toddler can tell you whether they are "in" or "out."
Skills Targeted: language development, shape recognition, recognize everyday objects, develop an understanding of opposites
Build a House:
Materials: blocks or legos
Description: Help your toddler build a house using blocks or legos. As you create the house, talk to you toddler about the different parts of a house.
Skills Targeted: motor skill development, languge development, recognize everday objects
Songs and Fingerplays:
I live in a little house:
Sung to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb
I live in a little house
Little house
Little house
I live in a little house
On a little street.
I have a little room
Little room
Little room
I have a little room
In my little house.
I have a kitchen too
Kitchen too
Kitchen too
I have a kitchen too
In my little house.
I have a bathroom too
Bathroom too
Bathroom too
I have a bathroom too
In my little house.
I live in a house:
Sung to the tune of Happy Birthday
I live in a house
I live in a house
My house has many windows
Windows are in my house
I live in a house
I live in a house
My house has many doors
Doors are in my house
I live in a house
I live in a house
My house has many rooms
Rooms are in my house.
I live in a house
I live in a house
My house has lots of furniture
Furniture is in my house.
Online Fun:
Coloring Pages:
Check out www.coloring.ws for free printable coloring pages of houses.
Videos:
check out www.sesamestreet.org for videos about houses:
Homes Around the World
Copycat: Building Houses
Animals Houses
Recipes and Snacks:
Gingerbread Houses:
Ingredients: graham crackers, frosting, jellybeans, M&M's, sprinkles, gum drops, cheese-its
Directions: Break the graham crackers into several squares. (ask your toddler to identify the shapes). Use the frosting to "glue" the graham cracker squares together to make a house box or house shape. Use two graham cracker squares to create the roof, using frosting to hold the crackers together. Have your toddler use frosting to glue on cheez-its for the windows and the door. Your little one can decorate the house using jellybeans, M&M's, sprinkles, gum drops, etc.
Thursday March 04 2010 - 19:08:57 by Corey
Posted in Weekly Themes | Comments: 0 |
