Saturday, January 22, 2011

Integrating Music: Children's Songs

On a snowy day today, boredom hits, a glaze goes over everyone's eyes, and the technology stays on.

Lesson: Make up your own song!!
Today turn off the TV and put in some CD's.

Listen to: Jingle Bells, Frere Jacques, You are my Sunshine,Happy Birthday, and Twinkle twinkle little star.

Did you know these songs are the most frequently used songs to teach children in school? Different words- same lyrics.

3 Letters or Syllables- Jingle Bells
4 letters or Syllables- Frere Jacques (songs for two voices also)
5 Letters or syllables- You are my sunshine (10 little Indians)
6 Letters or Syllables- Happy Birthday
7 letters or Syllables- Twinkle Twinkle

Change it up!
To the tune of Jingle Bells:

Snowy Day, Snowy Day
Let's go play outside
Put on gloves, coat, and boots
and Sled, run, throw, and hide!

What can your family do?

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Integrating Culture: The Color of Us

Karen Katz is a great children's author. I love her books because of the diversity in them. In a country where there are many cultures, exposing our children to different people will be helpful to them in life. She has board books for babies and paperback for school age.

Resources:


Activity:
Taken from a wonderful site Karen Katz.com

Procedure:
1. Give the children multicultural crayons
2. Have them draw pictures of themselves or give them die cut multicultural heads
(Available from shapes 1.800. 888.6580.)
Have them decorate them and hang up all the different shades
of brown and white. Discuss everyone’s beautiful skin color.
3. Ask the children to name things they think are the color of their skin such as
oatmeal or sand.
4. Write the words on construction paper and tape it all around the room.
Discuss the beautiful differences in people’s colors.
5. Ask children to bring in items that match their skin color. Make a collage.
(Leaves, oatmeal, sand, cumin, etc.). Talk about nature and variations colors.
6. Have each child choose a head from the 3x3” multicultural die cut packs.
(Use the small ones, or precut them yourself ).
Decorate with yarn and various materials.
7. Make a large map of the world on brown butcher paper. Draw the equator.
Paste each child’s head on the part of the world from where their ancestors
originated. Write the child’s name.
8. Have the children notice people born closer to the equator
usually have darker skin. Tell them how darker skin is a protection
from the sun and people born far from the equator usually have paler skin.
Discuss how color is an indication of where you come from and
not what you are like as a person
From an art perspective:
1. Have the children bring in wrapping paper, old paintings, boxes or shopping bags
with pattern on them etc. Cut out shapes of clothing from the art materials and
have them make collages of themselves. Make pictures using the found papers.
Cut them into leaves or tables or anything!

Monday, January 3, 2011

Integrating facts: Parent Involvement

Parents need to start to read to their child right away. Starting in infancy when the baby is alert and the parent is not distracted will bridge the baby's desire to communicate. Parents can also model the use of literacy in the home by having reading and writing materials available for the child and to talk about various topics in the home.

Parents can make reading aloud part of a routine and be a good model for reading. When the home is filled with books, parents will establish good reading habits and read themselves. When children see their parents read, they are better able to engage in book literacy and maintain reading interest through developing years.

Reading with the baby is called emergent literacy. Enjoy finding all the fun baby books and of course because they are only small for a while, use your local library!