Week 8: On the Farm

Day 1

Letter of the Week: H

Introduce the letter H. Write a uppercase and lowercase H. Talk about what sound the letter H makes. Create the letter H in play dough.  Pick out books at the library that start with the letter H or have the letter H in them frequently. Find the letter G in the book and practice making the sound.  Talk about the words that start with the letter H.

Theme Book: Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown

This is a cute book about the life of animals on the farm. Make the animal sounds, move like the animals, talk about how each do different things.  Lots of fun can come from this book! Singing Old Mac donald Had a Farm will probably come up.

Day 2

Scripture Story: The Creation

Focus on day five and six when God created the fish, birds, and all other animals. Talk about how God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the garden and instructed them to take care of it.  Talk about how we can take care of animals and plants too.

Primary Song: The World is So Big

Sing the song and do the actions (via):

The world is so big and, oh, so round (form a large circle with arms),

And in it God’s creations are found;

Mountains (put hands in mountain shape over head)

And valleys (put hands palms down in front of body)

And trees so tall (stretch arms up tall),

Animals big (reach up)

And animals small (reach down).

Stars shining brightly through all the night (straighten and wiggle fingers),

Sun in the day so warm and so bright (form a large circle with arms).

The world is so big and, oh, so round.

God loves us all; our blessings abound (grasp arms and hug self).

Day 3

Activity 1: A Farmer's Job and Planting Seeds

Draw a farmer on a large piece of paper. List all of the things a farmer does (maybe while looking at a farm book): milk cows, plants seeds, water crops, collect fruit, feed the animals, cut the wheat, collect eggs from the hens, shear the sheep, brush the animals, plow the fields, etc.  Choose a few activities to act out together or actually do (such as feed a pet).  

Plants herb seeds and talk about how they need sunlight and water to grow and that it is important to take care of them so we can use it for food, just like farmers. Have the child find spots in the house where there is sunlight for the plant and put it in a safe location.

Day 4

Activity 2: Stick Horse (via)

What You Need:

Wrapping Paper Tubes
Cardboard
Paint/Markers/Crayons
Yarn

What You Do:Ask your parents to donate some Christmas Paper Rolls (if you can not get enough use rolled up newspaper instead). Cut out horse's heads (leave a neck to go inside the tube) from cardboard and let your children design their horse. They can paint them and use yarn for the mane and halter. Help your children attach them with glue and tape. No go out Ridin'!

ASL

Signing Time Vol. 7: Leah's Farm

Week 7: Shapes

Day 1

Letter of the Week: G

Introduce the letter G. Write a uppercase and lowercase G. Talk about what sound the letter G makes. Create the letter G in play dough.  Pick out books at the library that start with the letter G or have the letter G in them frequently. Find the letter G in the book and practice making the sound.  Talk about the words that start with the letter G.

Scripture Story: The Lord Leads the Jaredites to the Promised Land

Use this scripture reader to tell the story of the Jaredites building barges in preparation for going to the promised land. Point out the shape of the barges, the holes for air in the barges, and the stones the brother of Jared made to give light.

Day 2

Theme Book: Perfect Square by Michael Hall

This is a fun read about a square being changed into all sorts of other shapes. If you can't find it at the library, check out this video of the story being read.

Primary Song:  Meet the Shapes

This isn't a primary song, but it is a cute song introducing all of the shapes. You can print out the PDF of it for free!

Day 3

Activity 1: Painting Squares

Take a sturdy piece of paper or cardboard and tape off square sections.  Pull out lots of different paint colors and let your toddler paint in each square.  The original idea suggests one color per square, but I'm thinking that won't be too realistic. I'm going to try using painters tape so I can pull off the tape and leave a nice square pattern.

Day 4

Activity 2: Find the Shapes

This game looks super fun and simple to set up! Print out the shapes (another free pdf printable!) and cut them out. Lay the shapes around the floor and call out different ones. Have your toddler run and jump on each one. Make it exciting and play along too. Let them call out the shapes.  There are so many options if they are enjoying the game!

Week 6: Space

Day 1

Letter of the Week: F

Introduce the letter F. Write a uppercase and lowercase F. Talk about what sound the letter F makes. Create the letter F in play dough.  Pick out books at the library that start with the letter F or have the letter F in them frequently. Find the letter F in the book and practice making the sound.  Talk about the words that start with the letter F.

Day 2

Theme Book: Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

This book doesn't have too much to do about outer space, but it does have a moon in it! Make sure you point out the moon each time you see it. 

Primary Song: I am Like a Star

Sing the primary song and talk about how stars "shine" in the night sky.

Day 3

Activity 1: Sun Paper Plate Craft

Make a sun out of a paper plate and pipe cleaners. Get yellow plates (or white plates and just paint them yellow), punch holes around the circumference of the sun, and attach yellow pipe cleaners all around! I'm planning on keeping it that simple, but you can do more like this tutorial suggests. 

 

Day 4

Activity 2: Solar System Fruit and Yogurt Plate

Using different food items, create your own solar system! Get the full tutorial here. I guess this one is a little out of date since Pluto is on there, but it won't hurt to talk about Pluto and how it used to be considered a planet, but is not anymore.

Week 5: Autumn

Day 1

Letter of the Week: E

Introduce the letter E. Write a uppercase and lowercase E. Talk about what sound the letter E makes. Create the letter E in play dough.  Pick out books at the library that start with the letter E or have the letter E in them frequently. Find the letter E in the book and practice making the sound.  Talk about the words that start with the letter E.

Day 2

Theme Book: The Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tifuri

Find all the changes that are happening in the book for the fall.  Talk about how it is a time to prepare for winter and how we prepare for winter too.

Primary Song: It's Autumntime

Sing the primary song after talking about how the leaves change colors. This could be fun to sing as you are driving or walking around town and finding changing colors.

Day 3

Activity 1: Fall Guess Bags

Gather fall items and put them in separate bags with the word "Fall" on each bag.  Some suggestions: acorns, pinecones, leaves, wool socks, an apple, etc.  Have your toddler describe how they fill: bumpy, smooth, soft, pokey, and crunchy and then guess what is in the bag.

Day 4

Activity 2: Fall Leaf Painting

Collect the colorful leaves and bring a few inside.  Put a small roll of tape onto each leaf and let have toddler press them onto a piece of paper. Squirt some red and yellow paint into a cup and let your toddler mix the paint as they go, talking about how the colors mix to create orange.  When they are done painting, lift up the leaves so you have white leaf shapes.

Week 4: Body Parts

Day 1

Letter of the Week: D

Introduce the letter D. Write a uppercase and lowercase D. Talk about what sound the letter D makes. Create the letter D in play dough.  Pick out books at the library that start with the letter D or have the letter D in them frequently. Find the letter D in the book and practice making the sound.  Talk about the words that start with the letter D.

Scripture Story: David and Goliath

Use this resource to help tell the story.

Talk about how our bodies are different from each other (some are big, some are small!) 

Talk about how David used his arms to sling the rock, and how our body parts can do amazing things- especially paired with a lot of faith!

Additional scripture: Romans 10:15 

Day 2

Theme Book: From Head to Toe by Eric Carle

Follow along from head to toe and do all of the actions described. Definitely check this one out from the library if you don't already have it. Super cute book! 

Primary Song: Head Shoulders Knees and Toes

Touch each body part as you sing the song. Sing it over and over, each time a little faster.
Bonus Song: The Hokey Pokey
Come up with as many silly body parts to "put in" the middle. Don't forget to do your whole self! 

Day 3

Activity 1: Give the Face some Features!

Print out the blank face and the facial features found here. (You have to download the file, then print it).
Cut out the eyes, nose, and mouths, and then glue them to the correct places on the face.

Day 4

Activity 2: Rubber Ducky Foot Art

Use your feet to make some art! I love all the cute little craft ideas out there using little hands and feet. This is the one we are going to do. But feel free to search "kids hand and foot art" on Pinterest for other fun ideas.

Food: Apple Smiles

Make these cute apple smiles using sliced apples, peanut butter and mini marshmallows. 

Have a fun week! 

Week 3: Weather

Day 1

Letter of the Week: C

Introduce the letter C. Write a uppercase and lowercase C. Talk about what sound the letter C makes. Create the letter C in play dough.  Pick out books at the library that start with the letter C or have the letter C in them frequently. Find the letter C in the book and practice making the sound.  Talk about the words that start with the letter C.

Scripture Story: Jesus Calms the Tempest 

Watch the Bible Video of Jesus calming the tempest.

Read the story with pictures and coloring page.

Day 2

Theme Book: The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Read the book looking for all the ways we can experience snow using our senses.  Peter saw the snow - what does it look like? Where does it come from? Talk about snow feeling cold and how Peter dressed to stay warm outside.  When you see his footprints, talk about being able to hear snow crunching under our feet. 

Primary Song: Once There Was a Snowman

Talk about making a snowman out of snowballs and sing the song.

Day 3

Activity 1: Dressing up Bear for the Weather

Print out the bear with all of his different clothes and weather clouds.  Talk about the different weather (hot and sunny, cloudy, rainy, snowy) and dress up the bear for the weather outside.  Talk about how we use umbrellas to keep us dry from the rain and hats to protect our faces from the sun, mittens to keep our hands warm in the snow, etc.

Day 4

Activity 2: Rain Comes from Clouds 

Start with jumbo cotton balls (or as big as you have), explaining that they are clouds. Put the cotton ball in a small cup of water (it is filling up with water and getting so heavy) and then squeeze the water out - rain!  Probably a good outside activity.

Food: Rainbow

Make a rainbow out of colored fruit loops.

Week 2: Under the Sea

How did week 1 go for everybody? Personally I had a blast with my girl. I forgot to take pictures throughout the week, but I did snap a few on day 1.  I will admit, we completely skipped a day, AND we crammed a whole activity into the 15 minutes before bedtime at least once.  I realized that if I don't schedule the time to make these things happen, then they just won't! So this week, my goal is to schedule the time each day to do the activities, that way it's not as rushed. Here is the schedule for week 2. Enjoy!

Day 1

Letter of the Week: B

Introduce the letter B. Write an uppercase and lowercase B. Talk about what sound the letter B makes. Create the letter B in play dough.  Pick out books at the library that start with the letter B or have the letter B in them frequently. Find the letter B in the book and practice making the sound. Talk about the words that start with the letter B. Draw pictures of things that start with the letter B. 

Scripture Story: Jonah and the Whale

Resources on LDS.org for telling this scripture story: https://www.lds.org/children/resources/topics/jonah?lang=eng

Go the extra mile and make these cute flannel board characters: http://keepinglifecreative.com/freebie/jonah-and-the-whale-story-printables/

Day 2

Theme Book: The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

Read The Rainbow Fish. Look for all the different sea animals (mostly fish). Talk about the different parts of a fish (body, fins, gills). 

Primary Song: Follow the Prophet vs. 7 

Review the story of Jonah and the whale

Day 3

Activity 1: Octopus Toilet Paper Roll Craft

Make an octopus out of a toilet paper roll. Start with an empty tp roll and using scissors, cut 8 slits on the bottom of the roll. Press down on the table so the legs will spread outwards. Paint or color the outside of toilet paper roll. After the paint dries,  glue on some googly eyes and draw a smile with a black marker. Optional: add sequins or stickers to the legs. To see pictures and more detailed tutorial, head over to this blog. 

Day 4

Activity 2/Food: Under the Sea Graham Crackers

Make these adorable under the sea themed graham cracker treats! 

Coloring Pages: Under the Sea. 

Print out a few of the many free sea related coloring pages found here.

Field Trip

If you have an aquarium nearby, this would be a great week to go! Or save a few bucks and head over to the local pet/fish store. For those in my neck of the woods, Neptune's Tropical Fish off of University and County Line is an awesome store with TONS of fish to ooh and ah over. 

The beauty of this program is that you can pick and choose what you want to do and when you want to do it! If you have a crazy week, pick a few things that you want to do and cut out the rest. Or if you get a week behind, no worries! You will always be able to access each week's lesson plans, so you can start on week 1 at any time, or take a one week vacation and pick back up where you left off.

If you do any of these activities with your children, we would love to hear about how it went! Leave a comment with your successes as well as your not so much's.

Have a great week! 

Week 1: Things that Go

Day 1

Letter of the Week: A

Introduce the letter A. Write a uppercase and lowercase A. Talk about what sound the letter A makes. Create the letter A in play dough.  Pick out books at the library that start with the letter A or have the letter A in them frequently. Find the letter A in the book and practice making the sound.  Talk about the words that start with the letter A.

Scripture Story: Nephi Builds a Ship

Resources on LDS.org for telling this scripture story: https://www.lds.org/children/resources/topics/nephi-builds-a-ship?lang=eng

Day 2

Theme Book: Go Dog Go

Read Go Dog Go. Look for all the different things that go in the book. Make a list with pictures or words. Act out using the different transportation methods or show how they work(skates, stroller, bike, scooter, unicycle, walking, cars, roller coaster, arms and legs (swimming), helicopter, houseboat, ferris wheel, boat, skis, blimp, swings).

Primary Song: Do As I'm Doing

Act out driving a car or flying a plane or other transportations from Go Dog Go.

Day 3

Activity 1: Red Light Green Light Craft and Game

Make a red, yellow, and green sign. Have them glue bits of colored construction paper onto a paper plates or paint plates with each color.  Use the plates to teach green means go, yellow means slow down, and red means stop.  Have them run for green, walk for yellow, and stop for red.  

Food: Banana and Apple Racers

Make apple racers by cutting an apple into slices and attaching grapes for wheels with tooth picks.  

Make banana racers by adding four banana slices to a full banana with toothpicks and a grape on top as the driver. You could draw lines on a paper plate to make a track to drive the apple racers around.

Day 4

Activity 2: Floating Boats

Make boats and float in bucket of water outside. You could use aluminum foil, styrofoam, plastic cartons, or any other recyclable items. Fill with sticks, leaves, rocks, etc. and talk about how boats transport things and people.

Coloring Pages: Transportation

Print out a few of the many free transportation related coloring pages found here.