Tomie de Paola may lack the true skills of a shepherd or garment manufacturer, but he makes up for it with the few, carefully chosen words he uses to enumerate the process of making a cloak. More so, his artistic talent does more to tell the story than his words. This story rides the fence between non-fiction and fictional picture book: It contains a whimsical lamb and playful mouse who entertain themselves and readers while Charlie works to shear, spin, weave and sew (all words defined in an end glossary). De Paola has been involved in the creation of over 150 books and has won numerous awards since this book was written, but it still stands out as a worthy read for children from 2 to 6 years of age.
Book Review: The New Kid on the Block
What is a Yubbazubbie, anyway? Jack Prelutsky creates poetry here that ranges from outlandish and nonsensical to more realistic or at least practical: A year of practice or an iron rear will get you far when cactus-sitting, for example. References to bodily functions and noises abound that children will also enjoy. Irreverent and sometimes eschewing authority (“I wish my mother wouldn’t make so many useless rules”) this is for children 6 to 10 who love the rhyme and creativity of Dr. Seuss but who may be ready to leave him to a younger, more conformist crowd. That younger crowd may get some enjoyment from the verse here, but some concepts may be beyond their understanding or they may lack knowledge necessary to make the joke work – knowing what a bully is and that one is frequently perceived to be male or that being a horse’s rear is a stab at self-deprecating humor. Simple, yet expressive and humorous illustrations complement each poem.
Book Review: The Forgotten Door
A child falls from a Utopian planet onto a selfish, war-loving, greedy Earth. And that’s just the first page. This story manages to suspend throughout. Its science fiction undertones, however, should not be a deterrent for the young reader (8 to 12) who may not regularly be drawn to this genre. Beneath the U.F.O.s and supernatural powers, Alexander Key manages to take a small valley and create a microcosm of the world, replete with ethical dilemmas and characters representing good and evil. Like Key’s other books, the children and a few trusted adults are the heroes, open-minded and wise, while most of the remaining characters (especially those in authority) come across like backwards buffoons. The book may be nearly four decades old, but the message will still ring true for readers today.
Paint Brushes Recalled
I know when I was responsible for buying for my centers or family child care, Discount School Supply often saved the day with their low prices. And I loved the BioColor line of art supplies. Some of you out there are probably like me, and if so be aware that some of their paint brushes have been recalled because of high lead paint content.
Three Men in a Tub Art
For nursery rhyme week, one of the art projects that you can complete goes with the nursery rhyme “Three Men in a Tub.”
First you’re going to want either white construction paper or light blue construction paper. If you choose white then you can use other pieces of construction paper to represent the ocean and the sky or you can have the children use crayons or colored pencils or markers to add these touches.
Second you’re going to want to either cut some brown “tubs.” You may not know this, but the tub that is in the rhyme is actually more like half a whiskey barrel rather than an actual bathtub.
Now, you can have each child place their hand on the larger piece of construction paper and you can trace around it or if they’re older they can trace around themselves — but don’t trace around the whole hand. You only want to trace around the three middle fingers.
The children can then glue the boat on top of the fingers, letting the top stick out just a bit since these represent each of the three men. They can then decorate their fingers with happy faces and hats or hair if they wish. And of course, they can add bits of construction paper or drawing to represent the ocean and sky.
Here’s my 5 second sketch of horrendousness, but it should look something like this:
Blank Lesson Plan for Pre-K
This lesson plan can be used for pre-k, preschool, kindergarten or homeschooling. It’s not a comprehensive form, more of a guide to keep yourself on track or to alert parents or administrators to your plans. I always like to post something like this on my wall so that all interested parties would have an idea of what we were doing in class that week and it was helpful to keep me on track as well.
The curriculum enhancement space is for those of you who may have “extras” that go on, like when your kids leave class for Spanish, Dance or Computers. On days when the children aren’t going anywhere outside the classroom, I usually would focus on sign language to teach and reinforce the letter and color of the week.
You can fill it out something like this:
Loading ...