WELCOME TO THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!
Today is our first official day of preschool. In our house, Tyler is starting his online public school today, so the little boys and I are starting preschool today, too. Today will be mostly a day of "getting to know you" as we help our preschoolers learn about school, what it is, what we do, and what kinds of things we'll be learning this year. Don't panic if things move slowly, or don't go according to plan today. Getting used to a new routine takes time. And don't panic if you aren't able to complete everything. I tried to over-plan a bit in hopes that our preschoolers will be occupied for more than ten minutes. But, remember, while we do have goals in mind for the year, the most important thing is loving our children, so relax and have fun.
I've tried to make things fun and easy this week. This is more of an assessment week, a chance to clarify in our minds what exactly our preschoolers know and what we need to work on this year. Next week we will start our Letter of the Week program.
Below is this week's complete plan. You can print it by using the "Print Friendly" button at the bottom of the post. You can also click on the links at the bottom of the post to print a PDF of the materials list, preparation guide and lesson plan seperately.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8
MATERIALS
- An American Flag and/or a copy of the Pledge of Allegiance
- A Bible and a copy of the Pledge to the Bible
- Alphabet Puzzle , also numbers, colors, and shapes. Wooden puzzles are the best because they are easier to grasp and they have durability. Melissa & Doug makes amazing puzzles, but I've also found some at Dollar Tree, so don't hesitate to look there.
- One piece of black poster board or four pieces of black construction paper taped together to form a large square
- Tape
- Bookmark Craft template and instructions. (The bookmark craft is in the right panel.)
- Scissors
- Crayons or Markers
- Glue
- Small string or ribbon
- Books for Storytime
PREPARATION
- If you are using a flag, pick a place to display it or a way to bring it into the room every day. A small flag on a stand is perfect.
- Print out the Pledge of Allegiance poster, if needed, and affix it to the wall in your school area or to a piece of display foam for easy portability. Do the same with the Pledge to the Bible poster.
- Put up the Alphabet Line or affix the Wall Chart to a piece of display foam.
- Gather puzzles.
- Have ready black poster board or construction paper square, colored pipe cleaners, and tape.
- Print out the Bookmark Craft Template and instructions. Gather crayons or markers, scissors, glue, and ribbon or string.
- Gather books for storytime.
LESSON PLAN
ACADEMICS
- Pledge of Allegiance
- Show your child the flag and the Pledge of Allegiance poster. Explain that the flag is a symbol of our country and that to pledge to the flag is a promise that we make and a reminder to to ourselves to respect our country and do our best to be good citizens. (Click here for more ideas on explaining the Pledge to young children) Tell your child that we will be reciting the Pledge of Allegiance every day.
- Model the Pledge (click here if you need help) for your child (stand up with right hand over your heart) and have them copy you as you slowly say it.
- Pledge to the Bible (as desired)
- Show child the Pledge to the Bible poster. Explain that saying this pledge is our promise and our reminder to respect God's Word and to hide it into our hearts. Tell your child that we will be reciting the Pledge to the Bible every day.
- Model the Pledge (click here if you need help) for your child. Help them to put one hand on either side of the Bible and have them copy you as you slowly say the Pledge.
- Show your child the Alphabet Line or Wall Chart
- Tell your child that this is called "The Alphabet". These are the letters that we use when speaking English to talk, read, and write, and that they will be learning what each letter is, how it sounds, and how to put them all together!
- Sing the "Alphabet Song"
- Point to each letter on the Alphabet Line or Wall Chart while singing to show the child what each letter looks like as you sing it.
- Play with Puzzles: Alphabet, Numbers, Colors, Shapes
- As your child is doing each puzzle, ask your child to identify the pieces. This will help to assess how much they already know. You may be pleasantly surprised!
- If your child can identify most of the pieces, place them randomly on the floor or table and ask them to pick up a piece as you call it out. This will help them learn to differentiate when given choices.
- Make an Alphabet Sign (from home-school-coach.com)
- Our children might need a lot of help with this activity as they may not yet be familiar with the shape of each letter. This is an excellent foundational activity and a great way to get in some fine motor skills work.
- Using pipe cleaners, help your child form each letter of the alphabet.
- Tape each letter in order onto a piece of black poster board or four pieces of black construction paper taped together to form a large square.
- Hang the poster somewhere in the school room, or affix it to a piece of display foam. This could even be your alphabet chart!
- Make a Pledge of Allegiance Bookmark (from first-school.ws)
- Template and Instructions found here, in the right panel
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| Bookmark Craft from First-School.ws |
STORYTIME
THURSDAY, AUGUST 9
MATERIALS
- American Flag and/or Pledge of Allegiance poster
- Bible and Pledge to the Bible poster
- Alphabet Line or Wall Chart
- Two sets of Alphabet Flash Cards, printed out, cut into individual cards, and laminated
- Construction Paper or Felt in various colors
- Markers
- White Poster Board
- Glue
- Googly Eyes, Pipe Cleaners, etc to make the caterpillar's face
- Books for Storytime
PREPARATION
- Gather flag, Bible and display boards as needed.
- Print out two sets of Alphabet Flash cards, cut them out into individual letter cards, and laminate them.
- Cut out circles in different colors and sizes, using construction paper or felt. Write one letter of the alphabet onto each circle, A-Z. Leave one circle blank for the caterpillar's head.
- Gather a piece of white poster board, glue, and the materials that you will be using for the caterpillar's face.
- Gather books for Storytime.
LESSON PLAN
ACADEMICS
- Pledge of Allegiance
- Pledge to the Bible
- Sing the Alphabet Song
- Play the Alphabet Matching game
- Prep: Print, cut out, and laminate two sets of Alphabet Flashcards.
- Give the cards to your child and ask them to put all of the matches together.
- Play Memory with the cards. 52 cards can be a bit much for this young age, so work together.
- Play Simon Says
- One of the most important lessons that children need to learn is listening to the authority figure and following directions. Playing Simon Says with them will help to strengthen their listening skills, their ability to follow directions, and their ability to understand the concept "What would the authority figure think about my action?" Use the game to get physical and assess your child's gross motor skills, such as hopping on one foot, running, and marching in place.
- You can use the Elmo Says book listed below for a fun twist.
CRAFTS
- Alphabet Caterpillar Craft (adapted from dltk-kids.com)
- Prep: Cut out 27 circles in different colors and sizes, using construction paper or felt. Write one letter of the alphabet onto each circle, A-Z. Leave one circle blank for the caterpillar's head.
- On a large piece of white poster board, help your child to make a caterpillar by putting the letters in order. Incorporate color and size identification, such as "Now we need the letter 'G', which is on a large, green circle."
- Attach the caterpillar's head to the body. Let your child make the face by drawing, adding googly eyes and pipe cleaners, or doing anything else that sounds fun!
STORYTIME
FRIDAY, AUGUST 10
MATERIALS
- American Flag and/or Pledge of Allegiance poster
- Bible and Pledge to the Bible poster
- Alphabet Line or Wall Chart
- At least 26 paper plates
- Marker
- Sharpened Pencil, preferably with a triangular shaped pencil grip
- Play-dough, either store-bought or homemade
- Play-dough tools, like a rolling pin, a plastic knife, a fun factory, and cookie cutters
- Books for Storytime
PREPARATION
- Gather flag, Bible and display boards as needed.
- Write one letter of the alphabet on each paper plate, A-Z. You can also use numbers, colors, shapes, and sizes.
- Print out the Tracing Lines Worksheets Set 1.
- Sharpen a pencil or two.
- Make play-dough if you will be using homemade. Gather play-dough tools.
- Gather books for Storytime.
LESSON PLAN
ACADEMICS
- Pledge of Allegiance
- Pledge to the Bible
- Sing the Alphabet Song
- Play the Letter Hope game (adapted from here)
- Prep: Write one letter of the alphabet on each paper plate, A-Z. You can also use numbers, colors, shapes, and sizes.
- In a large space, such as the living room with all the tables moved out of the way, scatter the paper plates around, writing side up. You will want to make sure that each consecutive letter is within hopping distance.
- Play games with the paper plates
- Have your child hop from one plate to the next, in alphabetical order.
- Call out a letter, etc, and have your child hop to it.
- Work on the Tracing Lines Worksheets
- As I mentioned in last week's Following the Plan Friday post, Jason does not yet know the concept of tracing a simple line rather than coloring in the line. So today we are going to work on these worksheets to strengthen the fine motor skills and the concept of simple lines.
CRAFTS
- Play with Play-dough
- Play-dough is awesome for strengthening fingers. Kids love to play with it. Tired teachers love to sit down and watch them play!
- This is an awesome homemade play-dough recipe. We made ours about a month ago and it's still working great (keep it in a sealed container). I even took it to our church nursery one night and it kept my nursery kids busy for an hour.
- Specialized Play-dough sets are great fun, but the best tools are a rolling pin, a plastic knife, a fun factory, and cookie cutters. Let their imagination go!
STORYTIME
Click here for a Printable PDF of the Materials List
Click here for a Printable PDF of the Preparation Guide
Click here for a Printable PDF of the Lesson Plan
*********************See how our week went here
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| Our Alphabet Caterpillar |
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