Tag: hibernation

Bears Preschool Theme

Posted on by Addie

New this year I am adding a bear preschool theme, because it is something my daughter is really into right now. I’ve picked some of our favorite books (below) and we are ready to learn! This plan is for my 3 turning 4 year old who is working on mastering her letter sounds. I have also added some options for my 2 year old in case she joins us for learning instead of nap.

Books: Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear & Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See – Bill Martin Jr; Bear Says Thank You – Michael Dahl; Bear Snores On – Karma Wilson; Goldilocks and the Three Bears – Robert Southly; Teddy Bears Picnic – Jimmy Kennedy; Blueberries for Sal – Robert McCloskey; Where’s My Teddy? – Jez Alborough; We’re Going on a Bear Hunt – Michael Rosen

Religion focus: Pick a saint to read about each day

2 Yr Options: sort counting bears by color

Language Color the B worksheet Introduce Q; sandpaper letter; Goldilocks questions* & Qu worksheet Introduce K; sandpaper letter; K is for Koala worksheet Where is the bear? * 
Math Place 10 counting bears on each B from above, then do patterning 10 number sense worksheet – match the counting bears to the picture Use 2 piles of counting bears to practice greater, less, more, fewer, and equal Brown bear number practice 
Art/Sensory Bear cookie cutters – use them with play-do or paint stamping Go on a picnic with 3 bears and teach your child how to set a table Put a counting bear on a spoon and balance it across the room pouring it into a cup – repeat Bear bounce* 
S/G/H Learn about the different types of bears and find the countries they come from on a map Label the parts of a bear and research what they like to eat Koalas aren’t bears, they’re marsupials. Learn about what makes them different. Gummy bear science experiment 
2 Yr Ideas Sort counting bears by color 

Goldilocks questions – Use the story of Goldilocks to talk about different Q words. What questions were the bears asking? What was on the bears’ bed to keep them warm? Quilt. When Goldilocks fell asleep what sounds were in the house? It was quiet. How did Goldilocks leave the house? Quickly. 

Where is the bear? – Get 4 dixie cups and write a letter on each one. I will do B, Qu, K & one of my child’s weakest letters. Place a counting bear underneath one, and have your child say the letter sounds until they find the bear. Repeat as many times as you can before your child bores. 

Bear bounce – Place a small blanket on the floor with a teddy bear in the middle. With your child, grab a side of the blanket and toss it up in the air and catch it with the blanket. 

Groundhogs Day Preschool Theme

Posted on by Addie

Groundhogs Day is February 2nd, so what better week to have a groundhog & shadows theme. We’re working on the letter P and number 12 for my 2 year old. For my 4 year old we are continuing to talk about parts of a story as well as the sight word but. She’s also working on her addition skills.

 M T W Th F 
Religion Read Jesus Feeds 5000 Comprehension Questions* Paint worksheet with Qtips Doing the impossible activity Plan a picnic (indoor if its cold) 
Language (2) Sandpaper letter P P Dot marker sheet Letter P Binder Color by letter (will do the one with 4 – and do P with 2 other weak letters and a strong letter) P Miniatures 
Language (4) Introduce sight word – BUT – Build the letters with playdo Learn about the conflict of a story; Read a book or watch a movie and discuss the conflict Use sight word BUT to talk about the conflict or problem in a story – ex. Someone wanted something BUT XYZ Color by sight words  Practice sight words and CVC words using this game 
Math (2) Make 12 with playdo (can make numbers or do 12 balls) Create 12 with unifix or blocks on a piece of paper and trace around it Groundhog shadow matching Roll 2 dice and use counting bears to count the number rolled  Use a q-tip to paint the 12 poster 
Math (4) Color by sum Graphing groundhogs – then add them all up Addition BINGO Use counters to talk about place value and addition (example) Use dominos to create addition problems and solve 
Art/Sensory Draw your shadow (if too cold, trace your body) Crawl through a tunnel like a groundhog Flashlight play Shadow tracing (use a flashlight if it’s cold) example in here Groundhog puppet and song 
Science
Geography 
History 		Tell story of Punxsutawney Phil and groundhogs day – find PA on a map Talk about the habitat of a groundhog & hibernation Shadows are caused by objects blocking light – make shadows with flashlights and explore how they change based on position of light** Difference between transparent & translucent – does light shine through activity  Groundhog fact teller 

Comprehension Questions: 
Where did Jesus get the food for the crowd of people? 
What food did the boy have in his lunch? 
Jesus fed 5,000 people with just five loaves of bread and two small fishes.  Was there any leftover food? 

Shadow Position Change – Get a 2 liter or something and place it in the center of a piece of paper. Shine a light on it and trace the shadow, then change the position of the light and trace where the shadow went. Continue doing so until the concept is understood. 

Does light shine through activity – Get a variety of objects from around the house and use a flashlight to see if light shines through (Tin foil, dollar bill, plastic wrap, tshirt, paper, net etc…) 

Arctic Animals Preschool Theme

Posted on by Addie

(Updated 10/2023)

Following our winter theme last week, this week we are talking about arctic animals and hibernation.

For my 2 year old, we will work on the letter O and number 11; for my 4 year old characters of a story, the sight word have and addition practice. Thank you to Mrs. Plemons Kindergarten for providing a lot of ideas this week.

Make sure to scroll down for our 2023 plan – it’s geared toward a 3 turning 4 year old.

Some arctic animal books we like: Three Snow Bears – Jan Brett; The Antarctic Habitat – Molly Aloian; Penguins Love Colors – Sarah Aspinall; The Polar Bear and the Snow Cloud – Jane Cabrera; Way Up in the Arctic – Jennifer Ward; Arctic Fox – Katie Marsico 

 M T W Th F 
Religion read Jesus calls 12 disciples Comprehension Questions Color men from boat and men 12 Disciples worksheet Color boat from 12 disciples worksheet and then put together Play fishing game (we have something like this) 
Language (2) Sandpaper tracing Letter o dot work Letter O Binder Polar bear to fish line tracing O miniatures 
Language (4) Intro have What is the character of a story Read a book (preferably easy reader with ‘have’) and draw the character Tell a story about being in the arctic and then draw the character Color by sight word 
Math (2) Number matching 1-5 Intro number 11 – sandpaper numbers and count 11 clear pebbles like they are ice Which is different  Add 11 arctic/winter stickers to the 11 worksheet Count to 11 with ‘snowballs’ (cotton balls) 
Math (4) Adding Animals Penguin number bonds Feed the fish to the polar bear How many ways can you make 12 Math Mysteries 
Art/Sensory snow sensory bin*  penguin craft* igloo paint*  igloo stamp art* animal sort bin*   
Science
Geography
History 		Make fake snow*  learn about what hibernation is  Hibernate or migrate printable Find Antarctica on a map and learn a little bit about the continent Color and spray science* 

Comprehension Questions: 

Why do you think that Jesus needed helpers? 
How do you think Jesus’ friends felt when He told them that they would be fishers of men? 
What does a “fisher of men” do? 
When Jesus asked the men to “follow Me,” did the men finish what they were doing or immediately follow? 
What is a disciple? 
How can you be a disciple of Jesus? 
What does it mean to follow Jesus? 

Penguin Craft – On blue construction paper draw a penguin body (have the child do it – look at a picture and let them tell you the shapes they would need to make it). Glue cotton balls on for the belly. Then add google eyes, a beak and feet (which the adult can precut) 

Igloo Painting – freeze water in an empty fruit cup to make the igloo. Then let the child use watercolors to paint the igloo  

Make Snow – 1.5c baking soda + ¼ c conditioner 

Snow Sensory Bin – Add the fake snow you made to sensory bin with arctic animal figurines, blue/white stones and an empty fruit cup 

Igloo stamp art – On dark blue paper, press the hole part of duplo lego in white white paint and stamp it all around for a background. Cut out a light blue paper in the shape of igloo and glue it to the bottom of the dark blue page. Stamp the underside of the lego in the white paint and make brick layers on the light blue sheet to for an igloo. Add arctic animal stickers. 

Animal Sort – Make a 2 part sensory bin; one side with cotton balls for snow, and one with green grass. Get a bunch of animal figurines and have them put the animal in the correct habitat. You can do by arctic v non arctic as well as hibernation v migration 

Color Spray Science – Print an outline of an arctic animal and color it all (even white spaces). Make a spray bottle of water tinted blue and spray it on the paper. Watch the water glide off the page. Demonstrates how fur/feather keep water away from the body of the arctic animals. 

2023 Arctic Animal Plan

Religion focus: Learn the guardian angel prayer

2 Yr Old Options: 2 pt animal puzzles (p42-49); matching 3pt cards, animal size sorting & shadow matching, 

Language Introduce X (/ks/); Sandpaper letter; Trace the lines and use a dot marker Dot the letter with the correct color DGCOTJ letter match worksheet (Let child do cutting & gluing) P, W,R, S,I tracing & Beginning sounds 
Math Introduce 10; sandpaper number; count 10 blue glass flat marbles (like ice) 1-10 puzzle Measuring arctic animals Arctic animal clip & count to 10 
Art/Sensory Handprint arctic fox Arctic ice sensory bin Penguin craft* Use the snow you made to make a sensory bin with arctic animals, & blue/white stones 
S/G/H Learn about the difference between active, hibernating & migrating animals (p16-19;21-26) Circle the active, migrating & hibernating animals worksheets (p33-35) Color spray science* Make snow using 1 ½ c baking soda & ¼ c conditioner 

Penguin Craft – On blue construction paper draw a penguin body (have the child do it – look at a picture and let them tell you the shapes they would need to make it). Glue cotton balls for the belly. Then add google eyes, a beak, and feet (which the adult can precut) 

Color Spray Science – Print an outline of an arctic animal and color it all (even white spaces). Make a spray bottle of water tinted blue and spray it on the paper. Watch the water glide off the page. Demonstrates how fur/feather keep water away from the body of the arctic animals. 

Other Artic Animal Theme Ideas: 

Artic animals measuring