|
After sharing a version of The Three Little Kittens with the children they will be excited to make and dress their own little kittens. To make a kitten each child will need appropriately sized construction paper circles, triangles and mittens (depending on the ability of the children these supplies may be prepared in advance or traced and cut out by the children). Glue the circles and triangles together to make a kitten, then draw the facial features on the kitten's face. Attach a crafty stick to the back of the kitten. Punch a hole in the left and right side of the kitten and in the wrist area of each mitten. From the back of the kitten, poke a length of yarn through the holes, then attach a mitten to each yarn end. As you reread the story, have each child pull his/her kitten's mittens up and down and "meow" according to the story.
After reading the book to the children they will enjoy making their own classroom quilt. Give each child a six inch white construction paper square and a white construction paper page of various shapes for the child to cut and use. (Depending on the child's ability you may choose to have a collection of precut white shapes available for the children's use). To make a quilt have each child color and then cut out the shape patterns he/she will use in their quilt design. Have the children glue the shapes he/she colored onto their six inch square to make a pattern or design. Then glue each child's square to a large sheet of bulletin board paper to resemble patches on a quilt.
Before you read either of these books to the children, cut out a wide variety of colorful construction paper shapes. Then share The Color Zoo with the children. Discuss each of the animals, colors and shapes in the book. At another time read and discuss The Color Farm to the children. Afterwards make 2 charts, 1 titled "Zoo Animals", the other titled "Farm Animals". Have the children recall animals that should be listed in each f the 2 charts and the possibility of any animals that could be listed on both charts. Then make farm and zoo murals by attaching a long sheet of bulletin board paper to a wall. Label 1 part "farm" and another part "Zoo". Encourage each child to create animals for the farm and/or zoo from the precut shapes provided. Each child should attach his/her animal(s) to the appropriate part of the mural, sharing with the class the animal's name and where it lives.
Read the book aloud to the class discussing the pictures and story as you read. Reread the book asking children to remember what the triangle did as a 3 sided shape. list the responses on chart paper. Ask children to suggest other things a triangle can do and add to the list. Repeat this activity for each shape that the triangle became. Share with the children that they will be making a mural of a geometry kingdom that is similar to the greedy triangle's home. Each child will need to choose a different shape and activity from the lists on the chart. Then the child will use provided materials (shape templates, construction paper, glue and markers) to create the chosen shape and the activity the shape was engaged in from the chart. Display the completed mural.
|
