Trinity Preschool Activities for Friday, Nov. 21, 2014

Oak Room: Pre- K class

Thanksgiving Day - by Anne Rockwell is the story we read about the first Thanksgiving.

We made place mats for our feast. The children drew pictures and snipped the edges.

Maple Room:

We read "Arthur's Thanksgiving" by Marc Brown

We corn muffins and butter (from heavy cream )from scratch to eat at our Thanksgiving Feast .
We had oil pastels and used them on dark colored paper at the easel.

We read "Thanksgiving Day Thanks" by Laura Elliott too.
We played Color and shape Bingo.

The Maple Room kids and the Oak Room kids joined together to have a special Thanksgiving Day feast- the children each brought in food like Cheerios, Gold Fish Crackers, chocolate chips, etc to make a mixture we could all share.  The children in the Maple Room had made costumes and dressed like Native Americans and the children in the Oak Room made costumes and dressed like Pilgrims.  We all sat at the table together.  We had corn muffins, butter we made from heavy cream by shaking it in small jars. We all joined together for music time.

Willow Room:

We read "Thanksgiving at our house" by P.K. Hallinan

We painted as a group across the table as we danced to music.  We made our brushes dance to the music too.

We baked pumpkin muffins to have at snack today and we shook heavy cream in small jars to make home made butter.  We had some of the "Friendship Mix" from the Maple and Oak Rooms for part of our Thanksgiving Day feast in our room with our muffins.

We did "Please pass the peas", We danced with feathers to the song "Shake something" and we did "The turkey Hop" for music today.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Thursday, November 20, 2014

Willow Room:

We read "Thanksgiving at our house" by P.K. Halliman

We painted as a large group to music using fun sparkley colors of paint as we danced around the table.

We had magnetic letters and magnetic sticks at the easel.

We did The turkey hop, Please pass the peas, and we danced with feathers to the song "Shake something"

We made pumpkin muffins from scratch today.  The children helped mix the ingredients and we ate them for snack today along with some other special foods for our "Thanksgiving feast".

We also made our own butter by shaking cream in small bottles until it turned into butter.  We had it on our muffins today.

Oak Room:

We read "One is a feast for a mouse- a thanksgiving tale" by Judy Cox

We made turkeys using pine cones and feathers.

We had small turkey stencils and dab a dot markers at the easel.

We did "This old man" and had pictures of actions with rhyming words and we used bells to do "I know a chicken".

We asked the children "Does your name have the letter K in it?" and graphed the results.

We played ABC Bingo today as a small gorup game.

Maple Room:

We read 10 black dots" by Donald Crews

Each child was given 10 black dots to make their own picture.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Willow Room:

We read "Thanksgiving FEast" by Quinlin B Lee

We used cookie cutters and paint to make wrapping paper for presents.

We had magnetic 3 D shapes at the easel.

We did a 5 little turkeys sitting on a fence rhyme.

We did "Turkey pokey", "Travelin' Turkeys" and "Over the deep blue sea" for music today.

Maple Room:

We read 5 silly turkeys

We did marble painting at the table with blue and purple paint.

We had water colors at the easel.

We skyped today with someone living in Nairobi,  Africa.  It was exciting to hear about the animals they have there.

Oak Room:
"Many ways" by Shelley Rotner, a book about family traditions and "Thanks for Thanksgiving" by Julie Markes

We read the letter K book.

We played an ABC Bingo game- the kids loved it.

We worked in our journal notebooks on the letter K - we practiced writing it, wrote words that start with the letter K and drew pictures.

We did "The turkey hop", and "Can you dance?" (using just our eyes, nose, lips, etc.)

Stay and Play:  We read "Don't worry Douglas!" by David Melling

We drew with markers on paper towel, coffee filters, and paper.  Then we applied water with a brush over each to see what happened.  We compared the differences in how the water absorbed and the effect of the water on the markers on each type of paper.

We did "You gotta sing" and "Inky Dinky Doo" for music time.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Willow Room:

We read "Thanksgiving feast" by Quinlin B Lee

We made wrapping paper for our presents for our parents by dipping holiday cookie cutters in paint and pressing them down onto white paper.

We had magnetic 3 D shapes at the easel.

We did a 5 little turkeys sitting on a fence rhyme

We have ground up corn husks in our sensory table.

We did "Travelling Turkeys", "The turkey Pokey" and "Over the deep blue sea" for music time.

Oak Room:

We read "Run turkey, run" by Diane Mayr and "Who will carve the turkey this Thanksgiving?" by Jerry Pallotta

We painted with feed corn on the cob.  We will turn them into a turkey shape.

We did "Deep in the jungle" , Pass the turkey" and "One little pumpkin" ( a song about happy, sad, angry)

Trinity Preschool Activities for Monday, November 17, 2014

We read "Countdown to Thanksgiving" by Jodi Huelin and "5 silly turkeys"" by Salina Yoon

We cut out feather shapes, strung beads on a string with the feather shapes.  The children told us what they were thankful for and made a "I am thankful necklace".

We made our pilgrim "bibs" by putting fall stampers on them at the easel.

We did "Come and buy a pumpkin" and "Couch potato pokey" for music today.

Maple Room:

We read "Turkey Trouble" by Wendi Salvano

We made handprint turkeys.  The children painted their hands with various colors of paint.  Brown on their palm and thumb, and red, yellow, green, etc. on their fingers.  Then they pressed it onto paper to make a turkey.

We had corks and dab a dot painters at the easel.

We did letter P activities, learned the song, the motion that goes with the letter P .  Read the book and did the alphabet monster box of items that start with the letter P.

We did "The November song,", and "Turkey feathers" (using letters)

Willow Room:

We read "If you give a cat a cupcake" by Laura Numeroff

We painted a cup cake shape paper using a mixture of shaving cream and glue.  Then we added confetti to look like sprinkles.

We did a group art project where we painted a big sheet of paper green using various painting tools.  We will turn it into a big Christmas tree for our classroom.

We did a counting cookies rhyme.

We did "Late last night", "Can't sit still", and "Put your hands up in the air" for  music time.

Stay and play:

We read "Bear says Thanks" by Karma Wilson WE also read Bear Wants more" by Karma Wilson Then we talked about the books and made comparisons and contrasts between them.

We did an experiment with water colors, baking soda and vinegar.  Each child got a tray with baking soda sprinkled on it.  Then we gave them water colors made with vinegar and eye droppers to drip the water colors on top.  It bubbled and was fun to watch the reaction.

We did "Picking leaves" (a number recognition game), Hide turkey hide, and "If you are thankful" for music time.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Friday, November 14, 2014

Willow Room: MWF class

We read "Sneeze big bear, sneeze! by Maureen WRight

We painted with dish scrubbers and tempra paint.

We had chalk boards and colored chalk at the easel.

We did "clap if you want to", 2 little blackbirds" and Turkey hop" for music today.

We did a 5 little turkeys rhyme and the teacher wore a turkey finger puppet on each finger!

We traced each child's hand and arm and so it looked like a tree.  The children added colored leaves with glue.

Oak Room:

We read "10 little rubber ducks" by Eric Carle

We painted a water scene on a large piece of paper and gave the children each 10 yellow paper ducks to add.  They had markers to draw faces on the ducks if they wanted.  They glued the ducks to their paper to illustrate the story.

We made a list of words that begin with the letter J, we wrote the letter, and words on dry erase boards.

We did "The bean bag alphabet rag", and Turkey hop for music time.

Maple Room:

We read "Franklin's Thanksgiving" by Paulette Bourgeois

We used stampers and paint on grocery bags that we cut to make a vest.  The children will wear them for our Thanksgiving feast.

We had dab a dot painters and turkey stencils at the easel.

We did letter I activities.

Stay and Play:

We read "Grisswold" by Syd Hoff

We did a group painting project to various tempos of music. The children had paint brushes and walked around the table to various styles of music.

We did a partner switch at music time.  When the music stopped, we do a specified action and then switch partners.

We did some bear rhymes while each child was holding a bear.

We played with cars and a large rug tube.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Thursday, November 13, 2014

Oak Room:

We read "The grouch ladybug" by Eric Carle and we also read "Rhyming dust bunnies" by Jan Thomas

We made a clock to illustrate the grouchy lady bug story. The children cut out a circle shape, stamped numbers on it, and a lady bug stamp shape.  Painted them with water colors.

We had a lady bug number matching game out today and we played "ring around the rosie" using different actions.

We did a graph about "Does your name have he letter J in it?"

Willow Room: Terrific 2's and 3's class

We read "Stuck in the mud" by Jane Clarke

We painted using dish scrubbers and tempra paint.

We had chalk boards and chalk at the easels.

We did "Clap if you want to", 2 little blackbirds" and "The turkey hop" for music today.

We did a 5 little turkeys rhyme with the teacher wearing a turkey finger puppet on each finger.

We drew each child's hand and arm to make a tree and they glued on paper leaves.

Maple Room:

We read "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day"

We played a game with the alphabet mystery box:  Each child pulled out an object from the box and had to figure out what the beginning letter for that item is.

We did "The November song", "Face the facts" and "There is a dog in school" for music time.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Willow Room:

We had storytime from one of the librarians at the Mount Prospect library today.

We glued feathers on a turkey shape paper.

We painted leaf stencils with roller brushes at the easel.

We talked about animals in the winter and how they hunt for food.  We hid paper nuts around the room and went on a hunt for Mr. Squirrel to help him find the nuts.

We did "Rhythm in my fingers", "Animals Exercising" and "Tap your toe and follow me" for music today.

Maple Room:

We read "One is a feast for a mouse" by Judy Cox

We did spool painting, using thread spool ends dipped in paint.  We made headbands for our Thanksgiving feast.

We had turkey shapes and glue with feathers at the easel.

We had the librarian visit us today and do a special story time.

We did "The November song", "Bean Bag Boogie", "Put that bean bag", and "If you are thankful" for music time.

Oak Room:

We read "The mixed up Chameleon" by Eric Carle

The children glued a chameleon shape to paper and then painted over it so it blended in with the background.

We did "Turkey feathers" and we acted out a variation of Brown Bear, Brown bear with our pictures and names.  We also did "Autumn colors" for music time today.

Stay and Play:

We read "The big wolf and little wolf- the little leaf that would not fall" by Nadine Brum- Cosme

We painted with a mixture of shaving cream and glue

We did "Musical spots"  when the music stops, you find a spot and put a body part on it that is called out ( like elbow, foot, knee, etc.) We  also played a magic hats game.  Which color disappeared?

Trinity Preschool Activities for Tuesday, November 11, 2014

We read "Secret Birthday Message" by Eric Carle and "Slowly slowly, slowly, said the sloth", also by Eric Carle

We worked in our journals on words and pictures with the letter J.

We had the Mount Prospect Librarian come and do a story time with the children today.

We did "Turkey in the brown straw", "List of dances", and "Please pass the peas" for music today.

Willow Room: Terrific 2's and 3's class

We had the librarian from the Mount Prospect library come today to do story time for the children.

We glued feathers onto a turkey shape.

We painted with real feathers at the easel.

We talked about winter animals ( we hid pretend nuts around the room and helped Mr Squirrel find the nuts )

We did "Animals exercising", "tap your toe and follow me" and "Rhythm in my fingers" for music.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Monday November 11-10-14

Oak Room: We are starting a series on books and art by Eric Carle.

We read "Walter the Baker" by Eric Carle and "Rooster's off to see the world" by Eric Carle

We used special rollers that have designs on them to roller paint over an apron shape paper, then cut out an apron pocket shape and glued it onto the apron shape.


We did "Turkey in the brown straw", "Silly dance contest", and Alphabet Sounds" for music time.

Willow Room: MWF

We read "Franklin's Thanksgiving" by Paulette Bourgeois

We made turkeys using water colors and eye droppers on a coffee filter.

We painted using feathers instead of paint brushes (long, large feathers)

We did "I'm a little leaf rhyme" We did leaf rubbings at the free art table.

We talked about sharing and how they shared in our story.  We shared paint today.

We did "Put your finger on", "Bean Bag Boogie" and "Bean Bag Pretend" for music today.

Maple Room: MWF class

We read "The great turkey race" by Steve Metzger

We made place-mats for our Thanksgiving feast, we did weaving.

We had water color pencils at the easel.

We did letter I activities, the letter I song, learned the motion that goes with the letter, we did the letter I book and the looked at the things that start with the letter I in the "monster letter box".

We did The November song, 5 little turkeys, and Turkey feather song with letters on them.

Stay and Play:

We read "Mr. Murry and Thumbkin" by Karma WIlson

We painted on water colors on tin foil and then pressed paper on top to make a print.

We did "Tommy Thumb" "Herman the Worm", and we played musical instrument chairs ( we put musical instruments on a chair and when the music stopped, they played the instrument on that chair.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Friday, November 7, 2014

Maple Room;

We did the story "I know an old lady who swallowed a pie" by Alison Jackson and we used the Old lady puppet to tell the story.

We used bubble wrap to make prints with paint that we will turn into corn for our bulletin board.

We had acorn shapes at the easel with yellow foam circle painters.

We did letter T activities, we asked the children "Do you have the letter T in your name" and graphed the answers.

We practiced writing the letter T on our dry erase boards.

We did The November song, and 5 little turkeys smiling song.

Oak Room:

The little house" by Virginia Lee Burton was our story today.

We glued packing peanuts on a paper plate- making a 3 D building.

We did a syllable tap- we used rhythm sticks to tap out the syllables in words and in our names. ex: outside has 2 syllables. house has one, umbrella has three.

We did Row, row, row your boat and used the rhythm sticks as oars.

We made a list of words that start with the letter I, we wrote the letter I on dry erase boards.

We put shingles on the roof of our group house we have been making.

Willow Room:

We read "Dora's Thanksgiving" by Sarah Wilson

We cut the edges with little snips on leaf shapes to make our turkey decorations.

We had magnetic letters at the easel.

We did The turkey hop, Turkey freeze dance, and The turkey on the farm ( to the tune of wheels on the bus)

We did a guessing rhyme of Who am I?

We made little turkeys and worked on our fine motor muscles by putting small feathers in holes to make a turkey.

Stay and play:

We read "Too tall houses" by Gianna Marino

We made salt clay dough ( equal parts salt and flour with 1/2 part water)

After we made the dough, the children used beads, pipe cleaners, and other items to decorate the clay.

We did Ways to move and I changed my mind for music and we danced with scarves to the music.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Thursday, November 6, 2014

Oak Room

We read "In a people house" by Theo Lesieg and "Come over to my house" also by Theo Lesieg

We cut out a house shape from paper that also opened.  We glued magazine pictures of things you might find in a house.

We did Can you clap, and mack chicken dance for music time.

We asked the children "Do you have the letter I in your name? and made a graph

We did a group project by gluing paper tubes to a box to make a log cabin.  We drew inside the big box we painted.

Willow Room: Terrific 2's and 3's class

We read "Fall, leaves fall" by Zoe Hall

We colored on paper towels with markers and then sprayed them with water ot make the colors run.

We matched numbered corn husks with the right number.

We did Leaves on the move, I like my hat, and sticky bubble gum for music today.

We did a 4 little leaves rhyme

Maple Room:

We read "The perfect Square" by Michael Hall

The children were each given a piece of paper in a square shape  and made their own creation.  Like the story.

We read "The doorbell rang" and used the story as a jumping off point for a math activity.  We divided 12 cookies up.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Oak Room

We read "The three little pigs" and architectural tale by Steven Guarnaccia

We worked in our journal notebooks on the letter I words and pictures

We did a 5 little houses rhyme, I can dance, and Zip i de do dah using different beginning letter sounds for the song.  "B- Bip i be bo bah", etc.

We glued red paper bricks on a large box for a house.

We glued yellow rectangles (to look like windows)  on a group of boxes stacked on top of each other to look like a sky scraper.

Willow Room: MWF class

We read "Fall, leaves, Fall" by Sarah Wilson

We colored paper towels with markers and then sprayed water on them with mister bottles to make the colors spread.

We worked on matching magnetic numbered corn husks and putting htem in correct numerical order.

We did :eaves on the move ( tune of wheels on the bus), I like my hat, and sticky bubble gum for music time today.

We did a 4 little leaves rhyme

We looked at leaves, some big and some small and made a chart of the sizes.

Stay and Play:

We read "Bear has a story to tell" by Philip Stead

We made prints by using stockings filled with beans dipped in paint and raised and lowered onto paper.

We did little fish and who stole the cookie from the cookie jar for music time.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Willow Room_ Terrific 2's and 3's class

We read "Sixteen Runaway Pumpkins" a story on a CD

We painted using mini pumpkin halves and pumpkin cookie cutters dipped in orange paint.

We painted leaves on a paper with a tree outline on it by using our finger tips dipped in fall colors of paint.

We did The silly dance contest, face the facts, and give me a clap for music today

We did "down around the corner at the pumpkin patch" today.

Oak Room:
we acted out the story of the Three little pigs today using puppets and props.

We did a group painting project.  They used rollers to paint on a large box for one of the pigs houses.

We did "Rock and Roll Freeze dance", 5 clean and dirty pigs and I can hammer for music today.

We have a construction zone in our room with large blocks, construction hats and construction signs.

We read How a house is built by Gail Gibbons too.

Trinity Preschool Activities for Monday, November 3, 2014

Maple Room-

We read "Thanks for Thanksgiving" by Julie Markes

We cut out feather shapes for our class "We are thankful" turkey decoration.

We painted with feathers at the easel.

We did letter T activities, we learned the motion, the song, and did the alphabet monster (it has items in it that start with the letter T).

We did The November song, The Alphabet song, and Turkey feathers for music today.

Oak Room-

We read "The three little pigs" by Rochelle Larkin and "The Napping House" by Audrey Wood

We cut out 3 house shapes and glued them onto paper.  Then they glued sticks on one, straw on one, and paper bricks on the third. We used a stamper shaped like a pig to add pigs to each one.  Some of the children wanted a wolf stamper, so we found one that was an animal track like a wolf.

We did musical chairs today to the song Three little pigs.

We did rock and roll freeze dance, 5 little pigs in a house, and the letter I song for music today.

Willow Room: Mwf class

We read "Sixteen Runaway pumpkins" a story on a CD by Diane Ochitree

We painted using mini pumpkin halves, pumpkin foam shape stampers and pumpkin cookie cutters with orange tempra paint and orange glitter paint.

The children used the tips of their fingers to add paint to paper with a tree shape on it.  It looked like fall leaves.

We did "Face the facts, silly dance contest, and give me a clap, for music today.

We did the "Down around the corner at the pumpkin patch" today.

Stay and Play

We read "A friend for all seasons" by Julia Hubery

We did squish painting" with paddles, popscicle holders, and round blocks, and containers....all circle shapes.

We did Tap your toe and follow me and a fall, What is missing game for music today.