Barnyard Banter

This is my little guy reading his favorite book Barnyard Banter by Denise Fleming.  The refrain is: But where's goose? It's very exciting when he finds goose!

Pre-K: St. Patrick's Day! 3-14-13

Thankfully this group was smaller than usual due to Spring Break and they were super good listeners because I got to do my St. Patrick's Day theme even though I'm recovering from laryngitis!!  I had a great time with you guys!

Thanks for taking some vocal responsibility off me and helping today, Miss Michelle!


22 kids
4 siblings
19 adults

Memory Box:  A lime from Green by Laura Seeger

Books:
Green by Laura Seeger:  Illustrations and simple, rhyming text explore the many shades of green.

Good Luck Bear by Greg Foley.  Bear looks for a lucky four leaf clover, but realizes he's even luckier to have a friend like Mouse.  (I often change the words and sometimes even the storyline of a book to send a more positive message, and I did that with this one).

 

Thanks for finding a FIVE leaf clover, Mouse!

 

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover by Lucille Colandro.  These books can be a bit cheesy, but I love making flannels and props to spruce them up!

 

 

Color of the Day (instead of letter): Green

Game: I'm thinking of something green: We gave clues and the kids guessed the picture

 

Movement Activities:

 

Ribbon Dancing to "Rainbow Dancers"

 

 

"Leaping Leprechauns" (http://www.hummingbirded.com/st-pattys.html ) Each child danced with a shamrock.  They held onto them for the next (and best part) activity

 

Magic Cauldron:

I put an armful of rainbows (streamers) into the cauldron and we said some magic words, but no magic happened.  Oh, that's right.... We needed some magic shamrocks!  The kids brought their shamrocks up in groups and put them in the cauldron.  We said some more magic words.  Nothing!  What's the most magical Leprechaun word of all??  Thanks, Miss Michelle for reminding me that it is "Shillelagh"!  That worked!  I pulled out a sack of gold coins!

 

 

 

The kids lined up along a patch of shamrocks and leprechaun footprints taped to the floor and received a piece of gold to take home with them.

 

 

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day, from yours truly!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wiggle Worms 3-12-13 St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day is a little over toddlers' heads, but since holidays are so much fun to celebrate I had to incorporate a little festivity!  Here's some of what we did:

Puppet Animal Song:  "If I was a Bird" from the Wiggleworms Love You album

 

Letter of the Day: Rr for rainbow

Mr. Bear:  Our Wiggle Worms friend got a wee bit Irish today.

 

 

He also found a fancy sack of Leprechaun gold and each child got a piece on his or her way out the door.  Treasure!

Cube Song:  Skidamarinkadink

Book:  Duckie's Rainbowby Frances Barry.  Follow Duckie as he hurries out of the rain and discovers a rainbow.

 

Prop Movement:  We made rainbows with colorful ribbons and danced to "Wiggerly Woo"

 

Flannel Activity:  Rainbow Stew

Miss Michelle put different colored fruits in the cauldron for me to mix around and pull out a rainbow

Credit:  This activity in one version or another has been around for a long time.  I started using it years ago and don't know who the original idea came from.

Fingerplays:
We mellowed out with "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" with nifty little finger lights and a dim room

We always end by driving in our cars before bubbles:

I'm driving in my car
I'm driving in my car
Beep beep
Toot toot
I'm driving in my car

I'm driving really fast....
I'm drivig really slow....

Mr. Bear had a gold coin for each of the kiddos on the way out!

 

 

 

 

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