Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Pre-K Squirrels Getting Ready For Winter

I've been busy as a squirrel getting ready for winter (haha) and haven't been blogging.  This particular program worked well the MORNING AFTER HALLOWEEN because it was a smaller group and the acorn activity would have been crazy with a bigger group.

Theme: Squirrels getting ready for winter
Kids: 21
Siblings: 4
Adults: 16

 Books:

Nuts to You! by Lois Ehlert (I like this book but not my first choice).  A rascally squirrel has an indoor adventure.
 
The Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri.  Squirrel is too busy to play with the other animals because he is getting ready for winter.

 
Memory Box:  Pumpkin from The Busy Little Squirrel


Music / Movement:

Music: "Gray Squirrel, Gray Squirrel".  There are many versions but I used the one that has gray squirrel, mommy squirrel, and daddy squirrel all shake their bushy tails.  I had enough pom poms for adults to move too and a few moms and dads did stand up.  Their kids LOVED watching them dance (so did I).  So funny! 

"Furry, Furry Squirrel" (poem) by Jack Prelutsky.  The kids acted the poem out as the puppet also hopped, ran up the tree, turned around, and scurried down.
 
 
 
Letter of the Day:  Ss for squirrel
 
I presented different animals and we categorized them as words that start with Ss and that don't:
Oh, yeah...that's a Snowy Owl

Flannel:

Sammy Squirrel comes from a flannel book.  Eesh I can't remember which one...

Sammy Squirrel contemplates how to stay warm during the winter when he can't find a tree with leaves on it.  He thinks about various friends who hibernate but none of those homes work for him.  Finally he sees something green in the distance...pull slowly out of folder....what is it?  A tree for Sammy!!

 
 
Activity:  The kids searched the library for acorns to put in the squirrel's tree hole.  Despite my clarity on only finding 2 or 3 each, some kids went nuts (haha) so I helped the more reserved kids find the acorns that the others didn't find (like in our potted plants).  I cut 76 acorns so there were plenty to find.

Borrowed straight from:  http://busycraftingmommy.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/animals-in-fall-storytime/

 
 


 




Tara at
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4 comments:

  1. Lois BurgessSeptember 23, 2013 at 3:50 AM

    I love the idea of using pom poms with "Grey Squirrel, Grey Squirrel". I will have to look for some at the dollar stores :) Could you send me the words you use. Sounds fun! Thanks,Tara! Happy "story timing"!

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  2. Miss TaraSeptember 23, 2013 at 11:30 AM

    Scarves would totally work too. I also got these from Oriental Trading. They smell a bit plasticy at first, but the quality seems really good. http://www.orientaltrading.com/white-pom-poms-a2-25_1543-12-1.fltr?Ntt=white pom poms

    Here are the words to the song. Like I said you can find it on tons of CDs. I liked the version I found because it included mom and dad squirrel. If you want me to track down who sings that version, I will do that for you. I belive it downloaded it for 99 cents.

    http://www.preschoolplaybook.com/2009/10/gray-squirrel.html

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  3. Lois BurgessSeptember 30, 2013 at 5:57 PM

    Thanks Tara :)) I would greatly appreciate if you could send me who sings the version you use!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Miss TaraOctober 1, 2013 at 8:58 AM

    You can hear a sample at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/thelearningstation22. Email me at tarabudka@gmail.com if you need more help!

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