Our School has a traditional curriculum based
on what has seemed appropriate for the ages of the children,
the season of the year, the holidays of our culture and
activities which have worked for us in timing and content.
The following is not intended to be all inclusive, but a
general guide.
Letter and number recognition is a part of every activity
and experience in our classrooms. We advocate an environment
rich in opportunities for speaking, listening and also rich
in print—where children are given opportunities to
make sense out of print and to express their thoughts both
orally and in print. In addition, the children play with
many manipulative toys and materials that are used in teaching
recognition of letters and numbers.
Units:
December Holidays:
Social Studies: Children will develop an awareness of
the traditions associated with Christmas, Hanukkah and
Kwanza.
Art: making a holiday gift for the family, candle in plaster
of paris with pine cones and glitter, dough ornament,
hand print wreath, pasta wreath painted gold, collage
using black, orange, green and yellow colors
Cooking: latkes
Literacy: children make a card, dictate a message to family
and sign name.
Math: Holiday patterns, count down to Christmas.
Read Aloud Books: Santa Mouse, Counting Hanukah, Kwanza,
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
Songs and Fingerplays: Must Be Santa, Dreidel Song, Jingle
Bells, Rudolph
Rhythm Instruments: Angel Band, Nutcracker Suite Excerpts
Winter and Snow:
Outdoors: Cold weather: the clothes we wear; follow sequence
chart for taking outer wear off; build a snowman, sledding
down the hill, hang bird feeders. Math: matching pairs
of mittens, symmetry in patterns on mittens
Science: observe winter and snow characteristics, observation
of snowflakes with a magnifying glass, discussion of animals
that hibernate, observation of water placed outside, with
discussion of temperature as it relates to freezing, look
for animal prints in the snow, make bird feeders.
Art: Snow sculptures, finger paint with shaving cream,
mix food coloring with snow, make matching pair of mittens,
white chalk snow pictures, winter scene class mural.
Language and Literacy: Sharing of a favorite winter
activity; write an experience chart, “I like Winter/Snow
Because…”
Read Aloud Books: White Snow, Bright Snow, The Mitten,
The Hat, The Snowy Day, The Big Snow.
Songs: Oh It Snowed Last Night, Up The Hill We Go, I’m
A Little Snowman.
Movement: Grandma Moses
The Store: Blockroom will be converted to a supermarket.
Thinking Skills: Classification of food items, matching
and grouping, seriated ordering, temporal ordering.
Math: Counting, graphs, money concepts ( money as a means
of exchange
Social Studies: Roles of employees (cashier, stockperson,
bagger, etc.) and shoppers.
Language: Identify foods by label, model language for
each role, auditory memory—remembering 2 or more
items on grocery list, identifying letters and words on
grocery list.
Writing: Writing grocery lists, cutting out coupons.
Science: Indoor planting of vegetable tops (carrots) and
potatoes
Read Aloud Books: At The Supermarket, Just Shopping with
Mom, Stone Soup, Bread, Bread.
Songs: Corner Grocery Store, Apples and Bananas, I Like
Potatoes, Let’s Go To The Market.
Winter Holidays:
Social Studies: Children develop an awareness and the
traditions of Valentine’s Day, Chinese New Year,
St. Patrick’s Day.
Information and facts about Martin Luther King, Jr., Ground
Hog Day, the Presidents and Postal service.
Art: Valentines, mobiles, bouquets and cards, tracing
shamrocks, making dough shamrock pin, shadow art.
Language and Literacy: Dictating Valentine message to
family, writing address on envelope, reading classmates
names to deliver cards, following sequence of recipe.
Math: Measurements for recipe.
Field Trip: Walk to the mailbox.
Cooking: Irish Soda Bread
Read Aloud Books: Never Mail an Elephant, The Lion Dancer,
Clifford’s Valentine, St. Patrick’s Day in
the Morning,
Music: Love Grows, The Magic Penny, A Bushel and a Peck,
Who Will Be by Friend Today, I Made a Pretty Valentine,
Michael Finnegan, I Am A Fine Musician.
Movement: Marching
Magnetism:
Science: Predict what is attracted to magnets, sort and
group magnetic items and non-magnetic items, collect different
size, shapes and strengths of magnets.
Language: Experience chart of findings
Art: Magnetic marble painting
Read Aloud Books: Micky’s Magnet
General Movement: Heel and Toe, The Old Gray cat
Shadows:
Science: Information on how shadows are produced, observing
object’s shape and shadow,using a flashlight children
will position it to make a shadow.
Art: Tracing body shadows on the playground surface, tracing
shadow of objects on paper using a flashlight, spatter
painting creating a shadow effect.
Read Aloud Books: The Ground Hog
Mother Goose Rhymes: Hey Diddle Diddle, Hickory Dickory
Dock
Five Senses:
Science: Each sense is approached separately. As children
learn to use their senses with precision, they will become
more aware of their environment and use senses to build
and determine concepts.
Activities: Sound: listening to taped sounds to determine
what the sounds are; Children are given items with textures
to match; Sample items with different tastes and smells;
looking at optical illusions.
Language and Literacy: Extend a sensory vocabulary.
“5 Senses” Museum, role playing, experimenting.
Art: Texture collages, rubbings, eye drop painting.
Cooking: baking emphasizing the smell and change in
ingredients.
Read Aloud books: Noisy Nora, Pat the Bunny, Whistle
for Willie, Too Much Noise
Movement: The Old Gray Cat, On the Bridge to Avignon
