C is for Cookie!

 Daily Question:  Do you like cookies? (Surprisingly, this year it was not unanimous)

Toys:  Fisher Price Castles, "Cargo" ships (pirates), and Wooden Cookie Set, Skee-ball, 

(Eva's cousin) Anna, Cole, & Henry Baking Cookies

 

Pirate Faces!  Funny to hear the children speak about being "good pirates" verses "bad pirates" and later, "We are the badder pirates!"  (Ones who kept using, "please." He he)
 
 
        

Snack Time:  Wheat Thins and sliced peaches (with ghost flag skewers), carrots, and carrot cookies.  Polite children say; "More water please!," "Thank you, Anna," "I'll help you!"

 

  Math/Language Arts Time:
*I used my big red hand pointer to identify the letter C and also talk about how C is the copycat letter.   (It sounds like K or S in words).  Examples include C as in celery (s) or  circus (s), or c as in cake (k), caterpillar (k), car (k), cat (k), class (k), carrot (k), etc.

We used our mini cookie manipulatives (Cookie Crisp) to count and talk about arrays (Multiplication) and Division.  It was fun to hear Eleanor say, "I have 18 cookies!"  Another child said, "I counted my cookies all by myself!"  Other students counted their cookies also.  We read The Doorbell Rang and divided our cookies each time the doorbell rings in the story and we share our cookies once again with more friends.  We were glad that in the end Grandma shows up with a large tray of cookies!

We enjoyed listening to If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and talking about story predictions.  (Parents, this is a fun way of helping children understand by asking "What do you think happens now?").  This is a "pattern" book--meaning that it is all about actions,  and consequences.



Cookie Counting and sharing (division)
 
 Eleanor Shows us If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.


We also read Cookie's Week about an indoor cat (who looks like our outdoor cat and unofficial class mascot, Boo) who has a week full of misadventures.  It is fun to laugh at a cat who spills dirt and falls in the toilet and has "bad days" too.  (Days of the week recognition).

Finally, we read Dade's ABC Book which has photos and names of family members, friends, and favorite things and places.  Thank you for sharing some of your favorites with us Dade.



Dade helps choose what came next as we "retell" the Mouse Cookie story.

Books Read:
Cookie's Week bvy Cindy Ward and Tomie dePaola
The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins and Suzanne Toren
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff and Ill. by Felecia Bond
One for Me, One for You by C.C. Cameron and Ill. by Grace Lin
Mouse Cookies & More: A Treasury by Laura Joffe Numeroff and Ill. by Felecia Bond

Music and Movement:

We enjoyed the silly Mouse Cookie Song (CD) and moving freely around the room

Brown Bear's Colors

Daily Question:  Do you know your colors?

Toys:  Color puzzles (red, yellow, and blue), Buckaroo Games, 

Snack: Jelly sandwiches, fruit snacks, granola bars, Oreo cookies, and marshmallow ghosts.

Kayson helped bring snack and told us the marshmallow ghosts say, "bah, bah, BOO!

Language Arts:  We had a lot of fun reading and then retelling the story of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?  We then played a memory game with the animals and colors to see if we could remember what animal and what color came next.

 

Recess:

Songs:
The Primary Colors

I Can Sing a Rainbow* by Arthur Hamilton

Red and yellow and pink and green
Purple and orange and blue
I can sing a rainbow,
sing a rainbow,
sing a rainbow too.

Listen with your eyes,
Listen with your ears,
and sing everything you see,
I can sing a rainbow,
sing a rainbow,
sing along with me.

Red and yellow and pink and green,
Purple and orange and blue,
I can sing a rainbow,
sing a rainbow,
sing a rainbow too!

*Parents, please note that the true colors of a rainbow are ROYGBIV: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. (We also point out the silly line that talks about "listening with your eyes" and explain what that lyrical license means--we are "looking" for colors.)

Brown Bear Color Activity:

 

 

Student's Favorite Colors:

Kayson: black
William: green
Dade: pink, purple, and red.
Eva: pink
Ethan: red
Brody: blue
Seth: green
Eleanor: pink

Circle Time/ Show N' Teach 
Dade: water animals and colorful pipe cleaners
Eleanor: Toy sword
Seth: Bear
Ethan: BYU  Baseball Cap
Brody:  Cookie
Eva: Colorful Butterflies Book

Books:
Annie, Bea, and Chi Chi Delores: A School Day Alphabet by Donna Maurer and Ill. by Denys Cazet
Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
 Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton
Good Night Sweet Butterflies: A Colour Dreamland (Scholastic) Bentley/Cahoon

Bear Picnic!

Bear Picnic Day!

Daily Question:  Hip Hip Hooray!  It's Bear Picnic Day.  Are you excited?

Gathering Activity and Introductions:  Bean bag chairs with many Bear books preschoolers could "read" to their bears this morning.  We had fun learning about our bears (names, types, etc.)  We also enjoyed reading aloud Bear Snores On and The Three Bears.

Bear Facts (Science):  We learned all about bears today.  We learned that bears live on almost all of the continents.  There are many different varieties of bears: brown bear, black bear, polar bear, panda bears, sun bear (Malaysia), etc.  Bears eat many different foods: fish, honey, berries, grubs, ants, insects, and people food too (and so campers need to take care of their food and put it away from hungry bears).  Bears are different sizes and colors and sometimes a bear's fun helps it in it's environment...short hair for bears in warm humid climates and long hair for bears that live in coldren climates.  White fur  for those that live in the snow, etc.  We also saw a number or bear dens and talked briefly about "hibernation."

We read some great stories together, including We're going on a Bear Hunt.  Then we went on a bear hunt with our bear and stuffed animal friends and our snack bags.

Bear Hunt and Picnic:  We're Going on a Bear Hunt...

 We're gonna catch a big one!

 It's a beautiful (cold) day!

 We're not scared!

 Bear spotting--maybe up a tree ahead!

Looking for bears in the "forrest."

 

Picnic Time!

 

 Story Time:  My Friend Bear (or It's The Bear)

Our Bear Bunch!

Bb Circle Time and Show N' Teach:

B the Bear blows bright blue bubbles...bah, bah, bah 

is the sound she makes while blowing upon her bubble blower.

Show N' Teach:
Dade's Spider Bouncing Ball

Ethan & Kayson's Batman toys

 Brody's Blue Tickets

 B the Bear Activity Page:

 

Bear Songs:

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear

Author: Unknown
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
Turn around.
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
Touch the ground.
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
Shine your shoes.
Teddy bear, teddy bear, Skidoo.

Teddy bear, teddy bear,
Go upstairs.
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
Say your prayers.
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
Turn out the light.
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
Say good night.

The Bear Went Over the Mountain
Author: Unknown
Tune: For He's a Jolly Good Fellow
The bear went over the mountain,
The bear went over the mountain,
The bear went over the mountain,
To see what he could see

To see what he could see,
To see what he could see

The other side of the mountain,
The other side of the mountain,
The other side of the mountain,
Was all that he could see

Was all that he could see,
Was all that he could see,
The other side of the mountain,
Was all that he could see.
 
We're Going On A Bear Hunt
(Children repeat each line after adult.)
We're going on a bear hunt,
We're gonna catch a big one,
What a beautiful day,
We're not scared.
Oh oh!
Grass,
Long, wavy, grass.
We can't go over it,
We can't go under it,
We've gotta go throught it!
Swishy swashy, swishy swashy.
We're going on a bear hunt,
We're gonna catch a big one,
What a beautiful day,
We're not scared.
Oh oh!
Mud,
Thick, oozy mud.
We can't go over it,
We can't go under it,
We've gotta go throught it!
Squelch squelch, squelch squelch
We're going on a bear hunt,
We're gonna catch a big one,
What a beautiful day,
We're not scared.
Oh oh!
A river,
A deep, cold river.
We can't go over it,
We can't go under it,
We've gotta go throught it!
Splish splosh, splish splosh.
We're going on a bear hunt,
We're gonna catch a big one,
What a beautiful day,
We're not scared.
Oh oh!
A forest,
A big, dark forest.
We can't go over it,
We can't go under it,
We've gotta go throught it!
Stmble trip, stumble trip.
We're going on a bear hunt,
We're gonna catch a big one,
What a beautiful day,
We're not scared.
Oh oh!
A cave,
A scary, dark cave.
We can't go over it,
We can't go under it,
We've gotta go throught it!
Tiptoe, tiptoe.
(Say the following verse all together and quickly.)
OH NO IT'S A BEAR!!!
Quick!
Through the cave, tiptoe, tiptoe,
Through the forest, stumble trip, stumble trip,
Through the river, splish splosh, splish spolosh,
Through the mud, squelch squelch, squelch squelch,
Through the grass, swishy swashy, swishy swashy.
Run to the house, run up the stairs,
Oh oh forgot to shut the door!
Run back downstairs, shut the door,
Run back up, to the bedroom,
Jump into bed, pull up the covers,
WE ARE NEVER GOING ON A BEAR HUNT AGAIN!!

Bear Songs on CD: Car Ride Fun/Animal Songs
#5 Teddy Bear's Picnic
#17  Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear.
#27  The Bear Went Over the Mountain

*Bear Books:
Little Bear (series) by Else Holmelund Minarik, Ill. by Maurice Sendak
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr., Ill. by Eric Carle
Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? by Nancy White Carlstrom, Ill. by Bruce Degen
It's About Time, Jessie Bear and Other Rhymes by Nancy White, Ill. by Bruce Degen
Bears, Bears, Everywhere (A Rookie Reader)
The Bear next Door by Ginnie Hofmann
Can't You Sleep, Little Bear? by Martin Waddell, Ill. by Barbara Firth
The Red Ribbon; A Story of Friendship by Kristine Lombardi, Ill. by Thomas Taylor
Mr. Bear to the Rescue by Debi Gliori
(Goldilocks and ) The Three Bears; A Little Golden Book.
Goldilocks and The Three Bears (Caldecott Honor Book) by James Marshall
It's The Bear! by Jez Alborough
Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens
We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen, Ill. by Helen Oxenbury
Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson, Ill. by Jane Chapman
Bear Wants More by Karma Wilson, Ill. by Jane Chapman
Pooh's Basket of Surprises (Jellybean Books--Disney's Winnie the Pooh)
Arthur's Honey Bear by Lillian Hoban
Corduroy by Don Freeman
Bears Odd, Bears Even (Puffin Math Easy to Read, 2) by Harriet Ziefert, Ill. by Andrea Baruffi
The Berenstein Bears (series) by Stan and Jan Berenstein
Can You See a Little Bear? by James Mayhew and Jackie Morris
The Bear With The Golden Hair by Karla Kuskin, Ill. by Linda Yakel
Bear Hugs by Kathleen Hague, Ill. by Michael Hague
Big Bear's Treasury; A Children's Anthology (Candlewick Press, Vol. 1, 3, & 4)
Baby Bear's Treasure; 25 Stories For the Very, Very Young (Candlewick Press) *
The Three Bears Holiday Rhyme Book by Jane Yolen and Jane Dyer (Month Poems)
The Biggest Bear by Adam Relf (oversized, light up constellation) by Scholastic
The Big Baby Bear book by John Prater * Perfect anthology for preschoolers 

Bear Movie Activity:
Scholastic has made the book Corduroy into a short movie for children.