Rainbows and I Am Special

Books


The Crayon Box that Talked- Shane DeRolf, Illustrated by Michael Letzig

A little girl overhears a box of crayons arguing and being unkind to each other. She buys the box, takes them home and teaches them about how everyone is important.


I'm Special, I'm Me- Ann Meek, Sarah Massini

A little boy learns that his ideas are important and unique because they are his and that he can be whatever he wants.


Rainbow Rob- Joe Rigg, Simon Mugford

Rainbow Rob doesn't like being black and white so he imagines himself as different colors and discovers who he really wants to be!


Polar Bear and the Rainbow-Moira Butterfield, Illustrated by Sanja Rescek

Ben the bear wants to be a different color because he thinks white is boring, but he learns about the importance of being the color he is.


The Little Engine that Could- Watty Piper

The popular story of learning to believe in yourself.


I Like Myself- Karen Beaumont

Learning to like the qualities of yourself!

Music

• ROY G BIV- They Might Be Giants-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SF7H6v0h3c
• Do you Know the Colors of the Rainbow?- Signing Time- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVcJHv32i18
• The Rainbow Song- Nursery Rhyme- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aouC56MPOE&feature=related
• The Rainbow Connection- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSFLZ-MzIhM
• You are Special- Barney- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G17eL8z9Mo4
• Somewhere Over the Rainbow- The Wizard of Oz- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HRa4X07jdE
• The Rainbow Colors Song- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRNy2i75tCc

Crafts


Tissue Rainbow Craft

1. Cut a paper plate in half by folding and cutting on the line.

2. Cut a small semi circle out of the bottom.

3. Start with purple around the bottom!

Rainbow Rice

Share and Remember.

Rainbow Crayon Melt

http://megduerksen.typepad.com

Visual Aids-Easy to Make

Baking

Rainbow Cupcakes


Family Fun


The Crafty Crow   Plus at this site there are more rainbow ideas.


Our Experience

Teaching Writing

Here are a few good books to teach writing skills to young children.


If you were a Writer- Joan Lowry Nixon

Melia wants to be a writer just like her mom. She isn't sure about what a writer does or how they get their work completed. She learns how to start a story, how to make pictures with words, and how to find ideas.

Activities for this book
1. Pick out objects you see and name as many words as you can to describe the object.
2. Come up with "what if" ideas when situations come up. For example, if your honey goes missing, you could say, "what if a bear came in from the woods?"


Written Anything Good Lately?- Susan Allen and Jane Lindamann


This book has writing activity ideas from A-Z.


The Boy Who Loved Words- Schotter/Potter

This story is about a boy who collects words.  Each page of the book has a new, challenging word to learn.


Dear Mr. Blueberry- Simon James

A book that teaches letter writing


Dear Mrs. LaRue- Mark Teague

A comedy about a dog who writes letters to his owner from obedience school.  Another teaching tool for letter writing.


Detective LaRue Letters from the Investigation- Mark Teague

In this sequel to Dear Mrs. LaRue teaches more letter writing through examples and tells the comic tale of a dog who solves a mystery.

ASL- Write

www.lifeprint.com

Farm Animals

Farm Animals

Books



Old MacDonald- We have the book and CD but not the puppets. Use any stuffed animals.


Old MacDonald Had a Cow by Harriet Ziefert- This one is about how many animals drink the milk that comes from cows.

ASL - Farm


For a video on how to sign "farm" and "farmer" see http://lifeprint.com/ and click on the letter F.  Scroll down to the word "farm" on the left column.

Crafts



Worksheet from


Footprint horse craft from All Kids Network


Sheep craft from All Kids Network


Pig Craft from All Kids Network


Chick craft from All kids Network


Finger Puppet craft idea from Homemade Tip Junkie


Anyone up for this??  Cake Central

Music

• Old MacDonald Had a Farm
• Down on Grandpa's Farm
• Out in the Barnyard
• Shortnin Bread
• Here we Go Round the Mulberry Bush
• 5 Little Ducks
• This Little Piggy
• To Market to Market
• The Farmer in the Dell

Activities

• File Folder

This is a home made file folder. I used a picture in one of our books to draw the farm, but you can find pictures on google images and print those if you prefer not to draw.  This folder has baby animals on the picture.  Kids can choose to match the mother to the babies, the name of the animal or the name of the baby animal.  

• Visit a garden or explore one of your own.  Have kids plant fall veggies.
• Pretend to play farm.  Ride horses, milk cows, plow fields and more!

I Go to School

I Go to School

Books

Berenstain Bears Go to School- Sister is a little nervous about going to kindergarten but she learns about all of the fun things that are part of the school day.

Llama Llama Misses Mama- Little Llama does not feel happy at school until some of the other kids invite him to join them.

School Bus by Donald Crews- This book shows where school buses stay and goes through the whole route of picking kids up to dropping them off and going back to the bus barn.

Monster makes himself a clock at school but this one does not have numbers or hands on it. Instead he makes a schedule clock with pictures of the daily activities.

How Do Dinosaurs Go to School?

I Am Not Going to School Today- This little boy is nervous about not knowing who the teacher is, who is in his class, where things are and what the schedule is at school. He takes a pal along to accompany him and learns to cope with the "first day".

Every Morning at Play Group- Sesame Street- Emily's parents both go to work and her brother goes to first grade. She is going to play group and is not sure about going.

The Sesame Street gang talks about all of the things they like about school.

Tucker experiences a variety activities at his new school and learns how much fun it is!


ASL- Sign for School- from www.lifeprint.com

Crafts

Dog Puppet

http://www.allkidsnetwork.com/crafts/animals/dog-craft.asp

Personalized Lunch Box- Find at Crafts Kaboose


Decorate your notebook/journal- Find at Crafts Kaboose


Backpack Craft for a doll or stuffed animal- Find at Danielle's Place

Music

• The More We Get Together
• The Backpack Song- Learning Through Music- Kathleen Coleman, MMT, MT-BC with Prelude Music Therapy
• The Months of the Year- Greg and Steve
• Days of the Week- Tim Pacific or to the tune of Oh My Darlin

Activities

• Play school and use props such as backpacks, supplies, lunch boxes etc.
• Do a puppet show or act out one of one of the books.
• Stuffed animals go to school and learn to make new friends.

Coloring Pages


From My Coloring Pages Blog


From


From Coloring Pages Blog.138


From Big Activities


From Big Activities

DNA Model

Here is a project my husband did for himself to add to his knowledge about biology. This DNA kit comes from Hobby Lobby for a very reasonable price, I think maybe $9 or $12. It makes for a very hands on and fun lesson about DNA.

Ideas for Children to Survive a Parent Being Away

Ideas for Children When a Parent Travels Away

One of my parenting magazines had some suggestions for making a parent's temporary departure easier.

1. Count Down the Days- Make a tear-away calendar or something similar so they have something to help understand when the parent is coming home.

2. Look at the Lovely- Take along a stuffed animal or toy and photograph it doing cool things like flying or sightseeing.

3. Record your voice- Use the computer or smart phone to record a message, video, or story for bedtime.

4. Video Chat- Skype or gmail!

5. Start a Virtual Diary- familydetails.com has a free website for the family to write day to day activities, upload pictures and texts.

6. Create Together- If a parent is gone for a long time create a picture together. Start out with a single line on a page and mail it back and forth, adding one line or shape until you have a piece of art.

Here is an example of number 2


Mouse traveled with Daddy on his business trip.


Mouse went to the pool.



Mouse sleeps in.

Books About Behavior and Emotions

When I was little my mom had a series of books for me which discussed behavior and struggles that kids go through. The series was "Let's Talk About" and the author is Joy Berry. They were written back in 1982.

I discovered her website and saw all of the new books she has written for children. Some of the topics include, teasing, bullying, divorce, bath time, bed time, whining, trauma, organization, etc.

I loved reading these books as a child and Zachary has been enjoying them as well. We do not have any of her new books but they all look very helpful in explaining various situations to children.

www.joyberrybooks.com

Another series I learned about through my mother (and you might have guessed that she is an elementary school teacher by now) is a series by Cornelia Maude Spelman with illustrations by Kathy Parkinson called "When I Feel...".

The author is a former social worker and writes about "the importance of emotions and healthy relationships in the lives of children" (Spelman).

Some of her books include When I Miss You, When I Feel Jealous, When I Feel Good About Myself, When I Feel Sad, When I Feel Scared, When I Care About Others, When I Feel Angry, After Charlotte's Mom Died, Your Body Belongs to You, Mama and Daddy Bears Divorce, and Talking About Childhood Sex Abuse.

http://www.corneliaspelman.com/index.php/books/