Jan Brett Activities for Pre-School

Last week we began our Jan Brett Author Study in TK with activities inspired by "The Mitten", "Comet's Nine Lives", "Hedgie Blasts Off", "Trouble with Trolls" and "Annie and the Wild Animals".  We had loads of fun check it out...


Language and Literacy Activities:
Our TK'ers loved reenacting "The Mitten" as they pretended to be the various characters of the book with the help of animal masks downloaded from Jan Brett's website.  www.janbrett.com

We were asked to do this activity again and again!

Art Activities:
While Jan Brett's stories are compelling I noticed that the children were even more interested in her border artwork!  This inspired a brainstorming session about what kind of Border we would use if we wrote a story about snowmen.  This sparked some amazing comments from my students:

"A happy Snowman"

"A Snowman with tears"

"A Snowman dancing"

"A Snowman melting"

"A Snowman sleeping"

After our discussion, I gave them paper to bring their ideas to life! 


The next day, we read "Comet's Nine Lives" and I asked them to draw a picture of their favorite part of the story.  What I found most interesting about this project was how much my students have grown in the past few months.  Back in September, most of them could not draw representational drawings.   A few weeks ago in an attempt to make art less intimidating to my students I gave a mini art lesson before we sat down to draw.  As a child, I had absolutely no artistic ability at all!  In fact, it isn't until quite recently that I discovered how to do it!  It's really all about finding the shapes in what you see.  I gave this tip to my students as we discussed what our favorite parts of the story were.  One child mentioned that they liked the picture of the lighthouse and I explained that a lighthouse is simply a rectangle with a triangle on top.  Then, I told them that Comet's face is just a circle with 2 triangles for ears.  One child asked how they would make the waves from the hurricane.  I drew squiggly lines.  Then I gave them paper to work on their own.  I was AMAZED with the results!  So many of my students drew lighthouses with waves.  A few drew cats and even added themselves into the scene!  It was very exciting to see.

This boy not only drew the lighthouse and the waves

but began to draw a patterned border around his artwork, Jan Brett style!

Another great activity for older children is a 3-D Diorama.  My daughter did the one below for a school project about "The Mitten". She drew 3 separate pictures from the book and glued them to the inside of a shoe box.  Then she made an owl and the mitten (with animals inside) out of clay and added them!  My daughter is 10 years old, much older than my preschool students but it's a great project and I wanted to add it for inspiration.  She was also asked to write a short paragraph about what was shown.

Science Activities
"Annie and the Wild Animals" is another great story by Jan Brett.  It's about a little girl who leaves Corn Cakes near the woods in hopes of finding a new pet.  Last week for our Science unit we baked our own Corn Cakes but instead of feeding them to wild animals we ate them ourselves!  I just used Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix and they came out delicious!  (This is also a great Math Activity since it requires measuring)

Math Activities
1)  We played a game of concentration with character cards from various Jan Brett books.  These can also be found on www.janbrett.com

2)  I created a few Math Sheets.   This counting game was used after we read "Comets Nine Lives":

 This one was used after we read "Trouble with Trolls":

I'm also tried to recreate a page from "The Umbrella" for my sensory table.  This was a very popular station!

Fine Motor Activities
We made a class mural of Hedgie in outer space inspired from "Hedgie Blasts Off."  You can download the artwork from Jan Brett's website, www.janbrett.com  First we enjoyed finger painting with black paint on a large sheet of butcher paper.  Once it dried, we colored the artwork, cut them out and glued it onto the mural.  It turned out beautiful!

FREE WORKSHEETS:  If you would like any of my worksheets, simply become a follower and post a comment. I will mail them for free!   Offer ends January 31, 2013.

Yours in Learning!
Miss Michelle

Winter Curriculum for Preschoolers

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon a great book entitled "A Snowman Named Just Bob" written by Mark Kimball Moulton and illustrated by Karen Hillard Crouch. It's a rhyming story about winter, snow and friendship that my students absolutely loved! It inspired the following ideas for my classroom:

Language and Literacy Activities
1) Wordsearch - I drew a picture of a snowman that looked like Bob and made him into a word search.

2) Class Story - At circle time, we wrote a class story about Bob and what he would do if he visited us in Massachusetts. I began with the following sentence:

"Once upon a time there was a snowman named Bob who visited Massachusetts every winter. This year he came back on Christmas. That morning Bob and (students name) went _______________."

The story took off from there, with each student coming up with a different idea for where and what they would do if Snowman Bob visited their house. The best quote was:

"Bob played and sang supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!"

Fine Motor
Paper Snowflakes - We made snowflakes the old fashion way with a piece of white paper cut into squares and a pair of scissors. I was surprised by how popular this center was! I cut 30 squares and the kids went through all of them and even wanted more. This was a great Fine Motor excercise!!

Science
In Science, we posed the question “Why is it cold in the Winter?” and recorded our responses.  (The funniest answer was "It is cold because Ice Cream is falling from the sky.") Then with the help of a globe I explained that the earth is tilted away from the sun and the loss of sunlight during the day makes it colder this time of year.  We also, looked at pictures from other parts of the world and discussed what the weather was like there.

Art
Winter Scenes - During circle time I shared a book about Monet.  Together with the students we examined winter landscapes and discovered how many shapes we could find in each painting.  Before I asked my students to make their own pictures, I talked about how drawing is really all about finding shapes.  "A house is only a square with a triangle on top" and "The sun is only a circle."  Many of my students cannot create representational drawings yet, so I tried to make it as least intimidating as possible.  The results were phenonmenal!

About Me 

 Hello! My name is Michelle Berg and I live in Massachusetts.  I am a proud mother of two and I've been teaching for 4 years. I began my career in Advertising. I worked as an Account Representative, Print Production Manager and Copywriter. While I loved my job, becoming a parent changed everything for me. I became a stay-at-home Mom and I loved every moment I had with my kids. Most of all I loved finding new ways of teaching them. I went back to school and got a degree in Education. I am now a Lead Teacher for a Transitional Kindergarten class and I have never been happier! I started this blog years ago as a way of sharing great children's books and parenting information. I've decided to change it to curriculum ideas. Planning curriculum is my favorite part of my job and I feel that I learn something new every year usually from my co-teachers. So I am sending this blog out with ideas from my classroom in hopes that it will inspire others to do the same. I welcome your comments and feedback and hope that I can learn from others that have been in this field longer than me. This week I am starting a unit based on a book I found entitled "A Snowman Named Just Bob" by Mark Kimball Moulton and Illustrated by Karen Hillard Crouch. I'll let you know how it goes! Yours in Learning! Miss Michelle

Book Giveaway

ENTER TO WIN Froggy Boots Go With Everything

HERE’S HOW: Simply be a follower of this blog or become one! Then leave a comment to this post to add your name to the drawing. BE SURE TO ADD YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS SO I CAN CONTACT THE WINNER!

This giveaway will end on December 1st, 2011 The winner will be chosen by Random drawing from all valid entries submitted. The winner will be notified via email and will have up to 48 hours to contact me with their mailing address before another winner is chosen. Open world wide! No P.O Boxes please.

Little Nippers Review: As a Pre-School teacher, I am always on the lookout for new books for my classroom. I find that most of the books available in my Center just do not seem to capture the attention of my active little toddlers!

This month, I introduced Froggy Boots Go With Everything to my students and have been delighted to find a real treasure! We have been reading it consistently in my class for a few weeks. Today, I sat down with one student and began reading it. Once the other children heard which book I was reading, they stopped what they were doing and gathered around me to join in on the fun!

Froggy boots in rain.
Froggy boots in shine.
Froggy boots at your house.
Froggy boots at mine.

The book starts with short lyrical rhymes and ends with a fabulously fun game. On the last page the reader is invited to find a variety of objects on the preceding pages: A Froggy on every page; a boat blowing bubbles and a hose squirting water to name a few. My students love the repetition that this game provides:

“Is there a boat blowing bubbles on this page?” I ask.

“No,” they reply.

I turn the page and ask again, “Is there a boat blowing bubbles on this page?”

I continue in the same way until we find it. Then we look for the next item on the list. This is, indeed, their favorite part of the book. This afternoon, I observed one of my students holding the book and imitating me!

“Guys!” he said, “Can you help me find the froggy on this page?” Then he repeated his question over and again as he turned each subsequent page. It made me smile!

From a teacher’s perspective, this book helps build on Cognitive Skills, Language Skills and provides essential Social interaction. Conversely, the children listening to the story love the short rhythmic sentences, the soft illustrations and the interactive element.

Froggy Boots Go With Everything

Froggy Boots Go with Everything
By Jill Zabkar Martin
Illustrated by Kirsten Gaede Van Mourick

As a Pre-School teacher, I am always on the lookout for new books for my classroom. I find that most of the books available in my Center just do not seem to capture the attention of my active little toddlers!

This month, I introduced Froggy Boots Go With Everything to my students and have been delighted to find a real treasure! We have been reading it consistently in my class for a few weeks. Today, I sat down with one student and began reading it. Once the other children heard which book I was reading, they stopped what they were doing and gathered around me to join in on the fun!

Froggy boots in rain.
Froggy boots in shine.
Froggy boots at your house.
Froggy boots at mine.

The book starts with short lyrical rhymes and ends with a fabulously fun game. On the last page the reader is invited to find a variety of objects on the preceding pages: A Froggy on every page; a boat blowing bubbles and a hose squirting water to name a few. My students love the repetition that this game provides:

“Is there a boat blowing bubbles on this page?” I ask.

“No,” they reply.

I turn the page and ask again, “Is there a boat blowing bubbles on this page?”

I continue in the same way until we find it. Then we look for the next item on the list. This is, indeed, their favorite part of the book. This afternoon, I observed one of my students holding the book and imitating me!

“Guys!” he said, “Can you help me find the froggy on this page?” Then he repeated his question over and again as he turned each subsequent page. It made me smile!

From a teacher’s perspective, this book helps build on Cognitive Skills, Language Skills and provides essential Social interaction. Conversely, the children listening to the story love the short rhythmic sentences, the soft illustrations and the interactive element.

Next week, author Jill Zabkar Martin guest posts on Little Nippers as she describes the inspiration for Froggy Boots Go With Everything.

To purchase this great book, click on the link in the sidebar under Froggy Boots.

A month ago Little Nippers posted a review on A Kid's Guide to Being a Winner, a book which helps teach the meaning behind words such as Respect, Responsibility and Thoughtfulness, to name a few. Below, C.D Shelton author of this great book, writes about a few more important words: Stereotyping and Generalizations, as he shares a recent discussion he has with his 13 year old niece:



Stereotyping and Generalizations
by C.D. Shelton

By listening, you can learn a great deal from young people. My niece is thirteen and lives with my wife and I. She is entering the eighth grade. And, as one can expect, she is subject to peer pressures, which shapes her thinking and interests.

On the topic of class selection, and our recommendation that she select “Orchestra” as an elective, her response was “Orchestra” is for “Nerds” ergo, not for her. Patience is required in these kinds of exchanges. We explained that the interpretation of some words go through a sort of evolution as time passes, based on the usage. We explained, that years ago, the word “Nerd” referred to a person that was not particularly athletically inclined, not as, in today’s usage, a person who is intellectually adept. Not finished with the topic, we pointed out that labels that stereotype people are usually wrong. It places people in categories into which they don’t necessarily belong, (like, women are bad drivers or blonds are dumb).

Like “stereotyping”, broad, sweeping “generalizations” are usually wrong. For example, this conversation on the use of mascara, again with my thirteen your old niece. “But Aunt Dani, ALL of the girls are wearing it and they have their parent’s permission.”

As I mentioned earlier, if you listen to young people you’ll learn. You’ll learn what they don’t understand. “Orchestra and mascara” were the operative words that stimulated a discussion centered around the uniqueness of each person. By stereotyping or generalizing we place individuals into categories, to which, they may not belong. In other words, stereotyping or generalizing ignores the uniqueness of the individual.

It’s a tough lesson, but one we all need to learn at some point in our life. It’s a lesson better learned early, than later.

C.D Shelton is a College Professor who enjoys writing Action/Adventure novels. A Kid's Guide to Being a Winner is his first non-fiction and inspirational book for kids. See below for a Little Nippers review:



It’s a fact; when you ask a child to define the word respect many will become tongue-tied, however, if asked what a brontosaurus is most of them can answer! This is an interesting observation that I cannot take credit for. Fortunately, my two children attend Tae Kwon Do with a very insightful teacher who has not only made this observation but has taught them the meaning of the word respect.

Nevertheless, it is a tough concept for young children to grasp. Recently, however, I’ve discovered a book that can help parents teach the meaning behind this very important word along with a few others. A Kid’s Guide to Being a Winner by author C.D Shelton is written for the young reader and is an excellent resource. C.D Shelton knows how to reach kids! This book is straightforward and easy to read. And although it is not your typical story book it successfully captures the attention of its targeted audience. My children have asked to read it quite frequently.

Every spread has an illustration that corresponds to the text and teaches the meaning of the words: Responsible; Thoughtful; Respect; Gratitude and Positive Mental Attitude.

At my house, we read this book in an interactive way. At the beginning of each chapter I asked my children to try to define the meaning of the highlighted word and after every page I asked them to describe the illustration and find the meaning behind each. For example; after we looked at an illustration that showed 2 children holding baseball equipment in their hands, knocking on the door of a house with a broken window, I asked “How is this child being responsible?” The responses that follow usually initiate many more discussions.

I honestly cannot say enough about this book. Parents and teachers, I urge you to seek it out for your youngsters! It can be found on Amazon.

Thank you C.D Shelton for writing such an inspirational book that addresses the values I’m trying to instill in my children!

The Trouble with Being a Horse

This month I'd like to introduce a great chapter book for tweens and young adults. The Trouble with Being a Horse, written by Emily Edwards, is about a young girl who has a passion for horseback riding but seems to be struggling socially at school and with her peers. To make things worse, there are financial troubles at home which make her responsibilities so great that riding every week becomes an impossibility. Life for 11 year old Olivia sure seems unbearable! However, one day after making a wish she finds that she has mysteriously turned into a horse! Unfortunately, she learns that even horses do not have an idyllic life.

This book gives us a refreshing look at the struggles all children go through and is full of magical charm that is sure to entice young readers. Below, please take a look at what author and equestrienne, Emily Edwards, has to say about writing for an adolescent audience:


How to Write an Eleven Year Old Character
by Emily Edwards

When I first came up with the idea for The Trouble with Being a Horse I didn’t have to give much thought to who the audience would be as it was a natural fit with the pony book genre aimed at middle-grade girls. It made sense for the main character to be of the same age as the readers and it wasn’t until I sat down to write the book that I really thought about how to create an eleven year old character. I wanted Olivia to be as realistic as possible – sure, her situation isn’t very realistic but I wanted her thoughts and actions to be those a girl her age would recognize and agree with.

Having not been eleven years old for quite some time, I still have vivid memories of that age, probably because it was a happy time for me. I also seem to be able to recall childhood memories far more clearly than many adults I know, and perhaps all my “research” of books in this genre has kept my inner child alive for longer than normal! Whatever the reason may be, I felt up to the challenge of writing the character of Olivia, although in her moments of crisis (and there are several) I had to take care to make sure her logic and reasoning were that of a child and not an adult. When Olivia first wakes up to find herself in a horse’s body, it’s natural that she would panic and not know what to do—and that her first instinct would be to go home to her family. In the beginning of the story, Olivia is a very passive character to whom things happen, but as the book progresses she grows and changes quite a lot. Her specific situation of being a girl in a horse’s body forces her to make decisions and take actions that she would never have to in her regular life, and it is these turning points that bring her to a greater maturity, one that is probably much more advanced than a typical eleven year old.

By the end of the book, Olivia has grown quite wise and I felt that writing her that way made sense after all she’d gone through. In the end, I suppose I didn’t write Olivia with her age in mind so much as the ways in which she would develop and grow as a character as a result of her experiences. And in keeping with a prevalent theme in the pony book genre, it is their adventures with horses that help bring about personal growth in the main characters’ lives, to which Olivia is no exception.

Emily Edwards is from the small town of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, and has a PhD from Trinity College Dublin from the Centre for Gender & Women's Studies. She has wide-ranging writing experience and currently works as a Research Associate. The Trouble with Being a Horse is Emily's first work of fiction, and is published by Single Stride Publishing. She has been an avid equestrienne for over twenty years, participating in Pony Club and the Trinity College Dublin Equestrian Team.