Family
Class Book
Submitted by Donna
Use tag paper to cut out a simple house shape. Cut
a "T" shape starting at the bottom of the tag to make a door. Glue
white drawing paper on the back of the house so when the "doors" are
open there is a drawing surface. The children draw their families
inside the house and teachers label the drawings. We add a title
to each house ie: (Child's name)'s Family. Bind all the houses
together along one edge to create a class book. Don't forget
to add a family comment page!
FAMILY BANNER
Submitted by AJ
One year we made a family banner. We
took a large triangle (banner shaped) and divided it into 3 parts. The
children drew three pictures. The first triangle was a picture
of their family playing together, the second working together and
the third was love.
ANOTHER BANNER IDEA
Submitted by Diane
I pre-cut banners from colored
oak tag. I send them home with a note
for the family to decorate it with pictures and things that are important
to their child. We stress that the children get involved in
decorating. Some parents are truly creative but to the children,
they are all wonderful.
FAMILY TREE
Submitted by AJ
One of our favorite activities is a family
tree. We send a note home to the parents ahead of time asking
for the names of all family members including grandparents. The
children cut brown paper to make a tree. On paper shaped liked
a leaf they draw pictures of each of their relatives. We make
a special point to ask them what color hair or eyes each one has
and for the most part they know. We help them place the leaves
on the tree. Then we ask the children to tell us something
about each of the people they drew. It usually comes out very
funny. Moms could be 14 years old and dads could be 300
years old. Last year they came out so good that we "framed" them
(painted oaktag) and used them for holiday gifts.
I LOVE ME BEST OF ALL
Some families are large.
(spread arms out wide)
Some families are small.
(bring arms close together)
But I love my family
(cross arms over chest)
Best of all!
BABY THEME
Submitted By Anita
Circle Time
Five Little Babies
Five little babies in the bed (hold up fingers & remove
one each time)
And the little one said, "Roll over, roll over." (roll
hands)
So they all rolled over and one fell out
There were 4 in the bed
And the little one said, "Roll over, roll over."
Continue until there is one baby left.
And the little one said, "Good Night!"
Circle Time Discussion
Ask open ended questions to children about
babies, such as:
* How do babies get around?
* What kinds of foods should babies eat?
* How do babies tell us what they want or need?
* What kinds of toys are good for babies? What kinds
are not?
* What do you remember from when you were a baby?
* Any kids with babies in their house can talk about
them.
Baby Picture Guessing Game
Have parents bring a photo of their child when
he/she was a baby (without child knowing). Mix them all up
and see if each child can pick out their own pictures. Have kids
discuss what they remember about being babies. Let them crawl around.
Perhaps they could even eat a jar of applesauce baby food (with a
little cinnamon added, of course!).
Poem For Baby
Little fingers,
Little toes,
Little mouth,
Little nose.
Little ears,
With which to hear.
Little baby,
So precious and dear.
Little Baby
Here is a baby so soft and small
His legs can't walk, so he must crawl
He drinks from a bottle and naps in a crib
He dribbles his food, so he wears a bib
When his pants are wet, he starts to cry
His mom will change them, so he'll be dry
Finger Play
5 little fingers on this hand (Hold up 5 fingers)
5 little fingers on that (Hold up 5 fingers
on the other hand)
A dear little nose (Point to nose)
A mouth like a rose (Point to mouth)
Two little cheeks so tiny and fat (Point to cheeks)
Two eyes and two ears (Point to eyes and then ears)
And ten little toes (Point to toes)
That is the way the baby grows.
Rock A Bye Baby
Rock a bye baby on the treetop (Make rocking
motion with hands)
WAAAAAA (sort of loud baby cry)
What's wrong with the baby?
The baby's hungry,
Let's feed the baby (make bottle movements to feed baby)
There, we fed the baby
Rock a bye baby on the treetop
WAAAAAA
What's wrong with the baby?
We fed the baby, Uh, Oh
We forgot to burp the baby (make burp
motion, putting baby on shoulder)
Okay, we burped the baby
Rock a bye baby
WAAAA
What's wrong with the baby?
Uh, Oh, baby smells
Let's change the baby (use motions for
changing diapers)
Now, let's see
Rock a bye baby - finish the song in a very
soft voice
ART
Baby Powder Finger Paint
Finger paint with pastel colored paint. Sprinkle
the paint with baby powder to give it a different feel and smell.
Baby Paintings
Have children paint with Quips and pastel tempera
on small pieces of paper. Frame their baby paintings on pastel construction
paper, very pretty.
Putting Baby To Bed
On white paper, have kids glue a cut out picture
(from magazine) of a baby to paper. Older kids may wish to draw their
baby. Then give kids small pieces of felt or fabric to
glue over baby as a blanket. You can also glue a picture of
a teddy bear or other stuffed animal for baby to sleep with. Now
baby is already for bed!
SENSORY ACTIVITIES
Bathing Dolls
Move the sensory table into the house corner
and have the children bathe dolls in the water table with soap and
wash cloths. You may add doll clothes, diapers, empty bottles of
power, baby toys. Etc.
DRAMATIC PLAY
Dramatic Play Prop Box: 1. Baby dolls; 2. Booties;
3. Sun hats and bonnets; 4. Doll bed; 5. Doll high chair; 6. Bibs;
7. Bottles; 8. Baby spoons; 9. Diapers; 10. Receiving blankets; 11.
Empty baby powder bottle (small); 12. Rocking chair;
Cross Curricular Ideas on Family Theme
All these ideas submitted by Carol
Concepts: family is generally made up
of adults and children.
They live together and care for each other.
Every member of the family is important.
Some families are single parent; some are 2 parent; some
have adopted children.
Some families are large and some are small.
The children bring in a picture of their family. They
take turns telling about who is in the picture. They each count
the people in the picture.
ART: Supplies: Magazine pictures
of families, glue, butcher paper.
Let the children work together in a group to glue the
pictures of the families on the paper. The caption should read, Everyone
in a family is IMPORTANT.
Display this on the wall where the children can easily
see it. They will talk about the different families.
BLOCKS: I tape pictures of mom, dad,
children etc... on different size blocks. The children then
build a house for their "block family". They enjoy doing this. You
find out alot about the child and their family this way. Just
listen.
LANGUAGE ARTS: We read the book "Are
you my mother" I believe it is by Eastman. I also have a rebus
story that I made up for the children. Its called The Baby
Chick. It is all about a baby chick who hatches. He looks
around the the first thing he sees is a bear. He thinks this
is his momma. He sees many other animals while looking for
his momma. Sadly he does not find his real momma, but the animals
in the story decide that they will all be a momma to him. They
will all be one big family. It does not matter that they are
all different, they can still be a loving, caring, warm family.
My kids love this story. They ask to hear it over
and over again.
PUPPET THEATER: I made stick puppets
of each animal in the story. The children re-enact the story
over and over again .
MOVEMENT: We play the farmer in the dell.
The children add other family members as we play.
SCIENCE: We do seed classification. The
children match the seeds from fruits to the pictures of the fruits. This
is always a fun activity.
Title: Send the Children to Bed With a
Kiss
(author unknown)
Submitted by Jill
Oh, mothers, so weary, discouraged,
Worn out with the cares of the day,
You often grow cross and impatient,
Complain of the noise and the play.
For the day brings many vexations,
So many things go amiss.
But, mothers, whatever may vex you,
Send the children to bed with a kiss.
The dear little feet often wander,
Perhaps from the pathways of right.
The dear little hands find new mischief
To try you from morning 'til night.
But think of the desolate mothers
Who'd give all the world for your bliss.
And as thanks for your infinite blessings,
Send the children to bed with a kiss.
For someday their noise will not vex you.
The silence will hurt you far more.
You will long for the sweet childish voices,
For a sweet childish face at the door.
And to press a child's face to your bosom,
You'd give all the world just for this.
For the comfort t'will give you in sorrow,
Send the children to bed with a kiss.
Title: Family Unit
Submitted by Maria
INTRO ACTIVITY
When doing a unit on families a nice way to
start is by having each child's parents or guardians write a letter
about what their family is like. This can be done by sending
home a letter of request or having a night of snacks where the parents
all write and talk together.
Both methods provide a great away to gain insight
into the kinds of families that your students are part of. This
gives a great springboard for making sure you include all the "types" of
families that are in your class and gives them a bit of ownership
in the unit.
FOLLOW-UPS
You can read one letter per day and talk about
the things in the letter that describe the family. Once a few
letters have been made you can begin to make comparisons and brainstorm
on what things all families have in common and what things make families
unique.
Students can then illustrate the letters that
were written about their family so that the work is shared with parents
and students
Students can dictate their favorite family memory and
these can be illustrated and hung around the room
Title: Family cross curriculum ideas
Following ideas submitted by Marylin
Manipulatives
I took face pictures of children, adults, seniors,
babies and cut them into 3 or 4 pieces each. Then I mounted
each piece onto cardboard and contacted each piece. I then
made sets of face puzzles. I did the same with pictures from
parenting magazines full pictures of children playing on the playground,
in bed, eating, etc. and again mounted and contacted.
I purchased two of the exact magazines and cut
out two of the exact same pictures of children doing an activity,
then I again mounted the pictures onto index cards and contacted
them. I then made my own memory game and/or matching pairs.
Literature
A B C I Like Me by nancy Carlson
About Me by Jane Belk Moncure
Here Are My Hands by Bill Martin Jr. and J.
Archambault
My Two Feet by Alice Schertle
I Am Me by Alexa Brandenberg
Music (frere jacque)
Look In the Mirror
Look In the Mirror
What do you see?
What do you see?
Someone very special
Someone very special
That is me!
That is me!
Title: There's no one like Me (Twinkle Twinkle)
There is no one who's just like me,
No one who know how to be,
me when I am happy,
me when I am glad,
Me when I am very, very sad,
There is no one just like me,
Me is who I am proud to be! |
