Lesson Plan-Ayuko's 3AM Classroom
Week of October 3rd
Ayuko Lead Teaching
Overview: The children are slowly learning the routines of the classroom and are increasingly comfortable separating from their parents in the morning. We will continue to focus on building relationships among children and teachers by getting to know each others' names and finding a common thread through all forms of play. There will be few activities that incorporate the children's photos and names to encourage interaction among them and help us create a sense of community in the classroom. The play areas continue to be arranged to promote these goals and encourage the development of positive relationships with classmates and teachers.
Expressive Arts
**Materials: Scissors, crayons, markers, stickers.
Rationale: To promote fine motor skills of cutting and snipping.
Skills: fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, persistence, creative expression.
**Materials: Red and yellow paint, paint brushes, white paper, leaf visuals.
Rationale: To explore the changing colors in their surrounding environment. Leaf visuals will be attached to the art easel to provide representation, imagery, and inspiration. To explore mixing of the two colors as well as different design elements including brush stroke, paint application, and pattern making.
Skills: Fine motor skills, creative expression, imagination, problem solving, curiosity, decision making, sensory input, observation, and comparison.
**Materials: Cinnamon-scented play dough, play dough tools (cookie cutters, muffin trays, garlic presses, rolling pins, pizza cutters, mixing bowls, wooden spoons),visuals of people baking pies, pizzas, cupcakes, and muffins at eye level near the play dough table, and pretend oven
Rationale: To promote ideas of baking and eating. To add materials specific to baking and enhance children's imaginary play. To give the play dough a more realistic scent by adding cinnamon.
Skills: Symbolic representation, Fine motor skills, familiarity with play dough and its properties, Observation, Creative expression, imagination, Social skills, turn taking
Sensory
**Materials: Blue water, basters, and a variety of containers
Rationale: To promote experimentation with cause and effect and how the children can use the basters in the water. To explore what happens when colored water is added to clear water.
Skills: Observation, familiarity with materials, math skills (volume and spatial relations), comparison, prediction, and fine motor.
**Materials: Four noise sticks.
Rational: To promote experimentation with sound and how to produce sound. To challenge children's thinking while creating a satisfying trial and effect game with teachers and peers.
Skills: Physical coordination, observation, and sensory input.
Science
**Materials: Our Turtles, Tuck and Rainbow. Magnifying glasses.
Rationale: To observe the turtles in the terrarium using magnifying glasses. To continue discussing how to care for these pets as a class: What do they eat? How do we hold them? How do they clean themselves?
Skills: Observation, prediction, ideas, try out, and comparison.
** Materials: Gourds and squash that vary in color, size, shape, and texture, Tomatoes that vary in color, size, and shape, Various colors of maize, Magnifying glasses, Visuals of gourds, tomatoes, and squash
Rationale: To continue interest and curiosity in tomatoes after discovering both ripe and unripe tomatoes in the garden on the playground. To spur interest in fall season and harvest items, such as gourds and pumpkins. To explore the different colors, sizes, shapes, and textures we see in different varieties.
Skills:Observation skills, Comparison skills, Classification skills, Expressive language skills, Scientific and higher level thinking skills, reason, and problem solve
Dramatic Play
**Materials: Animal smocks and scarves.
Rationale: To encourage creative expression and role play. To explore and discuss different textures of fabric.
Skills: Sensory input, creative expression, and role play.
**Materials: Baby dolls, baby items (clothes, bottles, rattles), pets (puppies and bunnies), dog food tray, dog food, and visuals of pets and babies.
Rationale: To stimulate pretend play with familiar household pets. To encourage social interaction between peers and teachers. To provide opportunities to learn about caring for another living animal. To support cooperative play.
Skills: Communication, social skills, role play, symbolic representation, and cooperative play.
**Materials: Familiar household kitchen items, furniture, plastic food, gourds, tongs, puffballs, and bowl.
Rationale: To support pretend play, symbolic play, foster social interaction and cooperative play. To simulate snack time experience and practice using tongs to grab snack.
Skills: Communication, cooperation, turn taking, role play, symbolic representation, Fine motor skills and independence
**Materials: Wooden cars, dump trucks, and street signs.
Rationale: To support pretend play, symbolic play, foster social interaction and cooperative play.
Skills: Communication, cooperation, turn taking, role play, symbolic representation, and social skills.
Math and Manipulatives
**Materials: Face matching games, seriation and color stackers, and puzzles.
Rationale: To promote fine motor development, facial recognition, shape and color differentiation, and hand-eye coordination for spatial awareness.
Skills: visual discrimination, turn taking, fine motor control.
**Materials: Leaves of multiple varieties and colors, color coded sheets of construction paper.
Rationale: To observe the differences and similarities between the leaves. To sort the leaves by color and discuss some of their identifying features.
Skills: Problem solving, collaboration, color recognition, sorting, grouping, following directions, mathematical thinking, reasoning.
**Materials: Baskets with color lining, visual color representation, written color name.
Rationale: To provide opportunitites to lean how to clean up and help sort items in the classroom. To learn color recognition and classification skills and provide direct instruction and visual aids.
Skills: Color Recognition, Grouping, Sorting, Self help skills, problem solving, reasoning.
Language and Literacy
**Materials: Signs, questions, storylines, and related books posted in various curriculum areas and a variety of books on the book shelf. Books relating to caretaking and vehicles.
Rationale: To support their development in beginning role play, experience the basic components of language systems, and support understanding the changes of the season.
Skills: Listening, speaking, phonological awareness, observation, vocabulary expansion.
Blocks
**Materials: Hollow and cardboard blocks and pictures of children building with blocks.
Rationale: To support mathematical skills, social interaction, and collaborative building. To be incorporated into buildings or roads for the vehicles located nearby.
Skills: Communication, collaboration, large motor, expressive creation, mathematical and scientific concepts.
Large Motor
**Materials: Indoors - Climbing equipments, A-Frame Ladder, slide, and jumping donut. Outside - Natural materials such as grass, plants, and trees, wooden house, picnic table, slide, rakes for raking leaves, wheel barrows, and tools for digging and molding sand.
Rationale: To support basic skills such as jumping, climbing, balance, coordination, and upper and lower body development and promote social interaction and role play.
Skills: Perceptual Motor Skills (spatial, temporal, directional, and body awareness) and physical fitness (cardio vascular endurance, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and agility).
Large group
Materials: name songs, fall songs, books, fingerplay, discussion about taking care of self - hand washing.
Rationale: To begin a routine, familiarize the children with each other's names, and promote a beginning sense of group, community, and collaboration.
Skills: fine motor development, hand eye coordination, listening, speaking, patience, taking turns, communication, and social skills.
Music - Music will be apparent throughout the day to support transitions and encourage participation.
Materials: Piano, drums, tone blocks, and shakers.
Rationale: to promote exploration of sound, volume, rhythm and social interaction.
Skills: turn taking, fine motor development, and mathematical concepts such as beats and patterns.
Snacks:
Monday: Graham crackers and milk.
Wednesday: Apple sauce and milk.
Thursday: Birthday snack, pretzels and milk.
