Lesson plan: Sea life

                                                                         

Our plan for today!

Sea life

Key words: sea, beach, sand, fish, whale, shark, dolphin, turtle, octopus, urchin, jellyfish, eal, starfish, crab, lobster, shrimp, shell, stone

Learning objectives: tactile experiences with food that simulate the sea life, name sea animals and learn new, distiguish the animals that are similar like lobster-crab, match by shape, practise the scissors cutting skill, etc.

Materials/preparation: box/tray, spaghetti, blue food coloring, scissors, plastic animals/sea figurines, flashcards about fishes and sea, egg carton case, fingerpaints & acrylics, sea animals stickers

🌊Spaghetti sensory box

For this activity you need to hard-boil half package of spaghetti and let it cool. Put them in a zip bag and add at least five drops of blue food coloring and start shaking and lightly squeezing to spread the color. I also used a few shell pasta with brownish orange to be seashells-follow the same proccedure. Leave the pasta in open air to dry for two hours and they are ready. Decorate your sensory bow/tray with plastic animals or figurines you have related to the theme. Supply your children also with tods, chopsticks, etc. to grab and transfer the pasta into plates. Another great tool is scissors and this way they can practise their cutting skill with a different from paper object.

🌊Sensory play with water and semolina

Another idea for sensory play is to prepare two boxes, one with blue colored water for the sea and one with semolina you have in the kitchen to be the sand. Place the animal figurines on the enviroment they mostly live and let your children enjoy the fun and the mess to move from one box to the other.

🌊Flashcards/matching game

If it's easy for you to print, you can easily find online flashcards about sea life. There are too many creatures in the ocean that your children can learn about, so I suggest to talk about 3-5 per day according to their age in order to remember them. I also have a memory game so we used it for a matching activity with the flashcards and a blue cloth to be the sea. It is a super exersise for visual discrimination. Moreover, you can double print the flashcards to make your own memory game.

🌊Sea box craft

This craft takes a couple of day to finish but it worths it. Use a carton egg case to make the sea box and some blue acrylic color and a brush for your children to paint. Let it dry and the next day you can print their hand on the top of the case to make a fish. Use a bright color and decorate the fish. You can also stick some semolina on a small part of the case to have the feel of the sand or real sand if you can. This treasure box can be used to put in all the goodies you can collect from the beach and the sea like stones, shells, dried algae, etc. and examine them at home.

🌊 Match by shape

Here is an easy and funny activity to do on a piece of paper using either the animal figurines or sea animals stickers if you have, like I did above but it's harder to sketch. Place the animals on the sheet and sketch around them to reflect their shape. Then your children has to recognize the animal and match it with its shape.

''Enjoy your summer!''

SM

Lesson plan: My feelings

 Our plan today!    

😺😼😾😿🙀                   Emotions              😺😼😾😿🙀

''Dear children & parents,

The Covid-19 era is over floated with emotions and it is the perfect time to work on what we feel with our children. I chose five emotions -happy, sad, angry, scared, surprised-for the lesson that I think are the most common. I hope you like it.''

Key words: feel, happy, sad, angry, surpised, scared

Learning objectives: To name these five emotions, be able to identify them, match each of them with the right face expression and understand when we feel these emotions.

Materials/preparation: paper rolls, markers, cardboard, balloon, flour, spoon, funnel

😢Introducing the feelings

To open the subject you can question your child when he/she is happy, if it lasts for ever and what other feelings he/she might have felt. Then,  take a piece of paper and draw gradually the emotions we are working on one by one. Name them and try to describe  why the face expressions are like this ex. when we see/hear something shocking most of the times we open our mouth due to thesurprise or

we feel sad when we don't succeed to do something we want and try for. Then, ask your child to make his/her own faces that feel these emotion and name them.

😮Matching game

This a cute and easy game that can also work in a class. Cut in the middle those paper rolls you are saving and draw the 5 feelings. Cut out of cardboard small pieces that can fit in the rolls and draw the same faces. Give the pieces to the child and you keep the rolls. Call to find the happy face and put it in the right roll. Do the same for all of them. This way they have to identify and match the right face exression that escorts the emotion. 

Note💥You can dodouble cards and more emotions to create a DIY memory game.

😲Sing and dance

In the following link you can a find an action song that includes emotions and moves. You can add your own emotions and extra moves also ''If you are happy..''. Encourage your child to sing and move with you.

Lyrics:

If you're happy happy happy clap your hands(x4)

If you're angry angry angry stomp your feet(x4)

If you're scared scared scared say, ''Oh no''(x4)

If you're sleepy sleepy sleepy take a nap..(x4)

😀Pantomime 

It is time to act and imitate the faces on the rolls. Sit down with your child facing each other. The child should have the emotion card from the previous activity faced down. Pick one card at the time without showing it to you and imitate the feeling so you can guess. Then you can swap rolls and let your child guess and name the emotions you reflect.

😤Squeezy balloon face craft

 Use a funnel from your kitchen or make a diy from a plastic bottle like I did by cutting the top and you can use the bottom of the bottle to put the flour in and the child can transfer it into the funnel to fill the balloon. Sometimes you will have to push the flour down with a pencil. Pour flour until is full and tie it. Let your child decide which emotion is the one for the squeezy balloon and draw it with a permanent marker. 

Note: It's great idea for adults also to fight the daily stress.😉

Lesson plan: Seeds & plants

Our plan for today!

Subject: seeds and plants

Key words: seed, sprout, plant, flower, stem, leaves, roots

Learning objectives: Learn and name the parts of a plant, observe the stages of a seed's life, understand and be able to complete the sequence of the seed's life cycle. 

Materials & preparation: laptop/tablet, different seeds(lentils, chia, beans, etc.), cardboard, scissors, glue, markers

🌱E-book

Let's get in the subject flipping through a free e-book which introduces the parts of a plant. Plants 

You can also watch this video Seeds & plants that analyzes perfectly how the seeds are turned into plants and the parts of it.

🌱Agriculturists
We learn together about the part of a plant and how a seed is growing into a plant. Let's watch the videos and examine the different stages of life and the parts of a plant/flower.

🌻Seed

🌻Sprout/seedling

🌻Young plant

🌻Adult plant/flower

🌻Fruit

🌱Your plant
The results of this activity will come in time after days because a seed needs time to sprout and grow. However, it really worths waiting. You can choose any seed you want and follow the steps as in the video. You can keep a calendar to save the days and the changes your plant is having. 

🌱Seed mosaic
For this fine motor and tactile activity you can use any seed you have. Draw the picture you want according to the theme and fill it up with glue and the seeds. Use neccessarily cardboard and not a plain sheet of paper cause it will be heavy of the seeds. Remove the excess by tapping lightly and let it dry overnight. Your seed mosaic is ready!

🌱Seed's life cycle
This sequence activity is for the children to put  the stages of seeds' life in order .You can print this or make your own easily. After the previous activities the children should be able to complete which picture goes first, second, etc. It works as a revision.

🌱Flower's parts

Make your own puzzle with the parts of a flower. Draw and cut it into pieces. Then ask your child to put them in order and name each part.

''I hope you liked one more spring lesson plan. See you soon with more.''
SM

Lesson plan: Spring

Our plan for today!

Subject: Flowers

"Dear children & parents, 

the spring project begins and it's gonna be multi-layered. Have fun!🥀"

Key terms: spring, flower, petals, leaves, stem

Learning objectives: To realize that spring is the season of blossom, to see different types of flowers and work through them and to create artificial flowers.

Materials & preparation: tablet, printer(optional), bowl with water, flowers, scoops and strainers, cups, dice, newspapers/magazines, scissors, straw, double-sided tape/glue, colored sheets, markers

💮E-book
Following this link ''Now that it's spring!'', you will find a short e-book with spring images to welcome you to the project's theme.

💮Sensory water activity

As you will see in the video, we are making a fairy soup with petals, flowers and leaves, play with them and freeze them at the end▶️2nd video.
Pick some flowers and follow up! You also need a bowl with water, scoops and cups, ice cube tray or cupcakes.

  

💮Board game

You can download my DIY board game in this link→Spring's board game! You need a dice and you are ready to revise numbers and counting in a flowery version. If there is no printer, make your own handmade board game!

💮Flower crafts with easy materials

For the first craft you will need: coloured paper, scissors, double-sided tape and a straw. Watch the steps to make a lovely hyacinthus.

For the second craft you will need newspapers/magazines/brochures to draw on and cut out flowers. Then, paste them on a colored sheet and draw stem and leaves.  Simple but nice. You have so many flower choices.

💮E-games

Here are two memory games with spring images for your little one based one their age to play and exercise their memory and eye perception. 

Memory game for toddlers

Memory game for preschoolers

💮Practice fine motor and pre-writing skills

I forward you some worksheets for tracing lines and cutting by @motheringwithcreativity. You can find more on TeachersPayTeacher. These are great pre-writing activities to practise. Firstly, trace the line with the finger and then, use a marker. There are also spring themed sheets for scissors cutting.

Printable spring worksheets

"Stay tuned for more spring fun following!''
SM

Lesson plan: 4 Seasons

Our plan for today!

Subject: Four seasons

Key terms: four, seasons, spring, summer, autmn, winter

Learning objectives: Name the four seasons, familiarize with some facts of each season  and discriminate them by pictures.

Materials & Preparation: laptop/tablet, printer(optional), scissors, glue, brown cardboard, white A4 sheets, Q-tips, elastic bands, food coloring-flour-water if you do the DIY paints,

🍁Introduction

To lead the children in the theme, you can watch the following educational video where the four seasons are introduce, together with some basic words that match with each of them about heat and activities[ex.spring=warm, flowers/summer=hot, beach, etc.]. Also, at the end of the video there is a small revision, so the children can repeat the words and learn some new vocabulary.
🎥Four Seasons

🍁E-Book 

The children heard and saw about winter, spring, summer, autumn. Let's see more! If you don't have any flashcards or book about the seasons, you can flip through the one in the link. Short but good- includes colors, pictures and description about each season. There is also audio narration version.
🕮 Seasons_Ebook.

🍁Arts & Crafts

Let's make a craft-astic art project with four season trees. Follow the links to see how to make DIY edible paint, if you don't have, and how to create the four trees. The videos include clear instructios.

🔗How to make paint at home
If you have paints you can skip this↖ video and go straight to the craft↙.
🔗4 season trees craft
For the craft i used DIY glue. Here is the recipe if you wanna do it.
Simple No-Cook Flour Glue
1 cup flour
½ cup water
1/8 teaspoon salt

🍁Sorting activity

Having done the previous activities, it is time to test children's new knoledge. Here is a nice activity where kids have to match the pictures with the right season. I forward a link from the website teacherpayteachers.com, a great resource with free printables!⇀Season sorting

At the same time, children can practise on the scissors cutting skill.

Note: If you can not print, you can always make your worksheets with simple drawings.✎

🍁Action game
This time we are going to combine the seasons with the weather. That is why I suggest to have already gone through the Lesson plan: Weather. For this game you will need clothing and items according to seasons. It's a dress up game where the kids have to dress themselves up with the right clothes. For example, take shorts, t-shirts, flip-flops, boots, jacket, coat, jumper, dress, sunglasses, hat, umbrella, etc. Place them on the floor and ask ''What should you wear on a (windy) autumn's day?''. Like this ask for all the seasons. Don't forget that some clothes/items can be used for more than one season. I think your children are gonna love the transformation!
👚👗🌂👢🧥🕶👟

''I hope you liked the fun plan!😀''
SM

Lesson plan: Weather

Our plan for today!

☀☁☂☃
Subject: Weather

''Dear parents & children, 

this lesson fun plan is mostly based on videos and virtual learning. I hope you will like it!''

Key terms: weather, sunny, cloudy, snowy, windy, rainy

Learning objectives: Children will be able to discriminate the weather conditions using adjectives and pictures.

Materials & preparation: computer/tablet, jar, water, shaving foam, blue food coloring, papers and markers for the flashcards

➤ Introduction

Let’s see the weather flashcards together and name the different conditions. You can also make you own weather flashcards like I did: sunny, windy,cloudy, rainy, snowy.

↪Note: Flashcards I use mostly to introduce the subject and to test the new knowledge. Intoduce the different weather conditions to your children and encourage them to repeat. After, point at each of them one by one and check what they remember.

➤ Time to sing
Let’s sing together ‘What is the weather like?’. In this link you can find a very nice song →Weather song. You can use hand gestures for the weather words:

sunny: slowly spread your arms out

rainy: wiggle your fingers downwards like rain

windy: gesture wind blowing out of your mouth

cloudy: make cloudy shapes with your hands

snowy: wiggle your fingers downwards like snow and shiver

➤ Look outside

Can you look outside the window and tell me what is the weather like? Go go and see! Now choose from the flashcards which are suitable for the day and describe it.

➤ Yoga

Time for some yoga poses according to the subject. Come with me and follow the link->Yoga class 🙆

➤ Little scientists
Let’s make an experiment and put the rain in a jar. Follow up!

➤ Online game

This is a game you are going to love. The kids have to dress up an animal of their choice according to the weather. Enjoy! ➙dress_for_the_weather

SEE YOU SOON!