Are You My Mother?. P.D. Eastman.
Songs:
Once I was a baby, baby, baby
Once I was a baby, small, small, small
Now I'm getting bigger, bigger, bigger, bigger,
I'm getting bigger, tall, tall, tall
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My fingers are starting to wiggle,
My fingers are starting to wiggle,
My fingers are starting to wiggle,
Wiggle all around.
(My hands, arms, head, are starting to wiggle, etc.)
My whole body's starting to wiggle,
My whole body's starting to wiggle,
My whole body's starting to wiggle,
I guess I'll just sit down.
from here.
"Tune: The Bear went over the Mountain"
"If You're Happy and You Know It"
"Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes"
first few days of school song) instructions: one child stands up while song is being sung
(Where is Thumbkin tune)
where is ___name____ where is ____name____
there he/she is there he/she is
how are you today sir
very well I thank you
sit right down , sit right down.
Hokey Pokey!
Fingerplays:
Where is Thumbkin?
Project Time:
Alphabet Cereal- Provide a card with the student's name spelled out. The students will find as many letters as possible in their name to glue in the correct order.
from here
Newspaper Names- Students will use newspapers to locate the letters found in their names. They will cut and paste the letters in the correct order to form their names. from here
These may be individual books, one about each student. Pages for the booklets may be prepared ahead of time with captions on each page. The teacher may wish to ask a parent volunteer or some older students to assist with collecting and recording the information. Topics for each page might include the following:
- My self-portrait (self drawn picture)
- A baby picture of ___(photograph from home)
- My hands (Draw outlines each hand.)
- My feet
- My thumbprints (To be really authentic, finger printing solution may be available from the local police station.)
- Measurements (I am ___ cm tall. My waist measures __ cm. My left arm is __ cm long. I weigh __ kg. My longest hair is __ cm long. My nose is __ cm long.)
- I am really good at__________. (Have students illustrate the statement.)
- When I grow up I want to be_______.
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When learning "all about Me" I bring in my bathroom scale and some heavy objects, such as a red brick, a cinder block, a feather, etc. We weigh all the items separately. Then each child gets the opportunity to be weighed. We also have each child lay down on the floor and I use a piece of yarn to measure them from head to toe. I place these pieces of year onto a large piece of brown paper with their name on the top of each piece. They can then visually see who is taller or shorter. I place their weight next to their yarn string. from here
During the first weeks of school is great time to do this activity. Have the children work in group of three or four. They will need string small sandwich Ziplocs and scissors. Let the children measure one another. Demonstrate with a small group first. Someone needs to lie on the floor. One child should hold the string at the bottom of the shoe of the person lying down. Another should stretch the string to the top of this person's head. The third (you'll need an adult to supervise) should cut the string at this time. The children can hold up their string and say "Fe fi fo fum, look how tall I have become!" I then place this poem in a Ziploc bag and the children can take home this string and share it with there family. from here
Do finger prints
Shadows
Life Size Portraits on Butcher Paper
Sandpaper Gingerbread Men- Sensory Activity
Cut out "5" gingerbread men (a cookie cutter works great) - trace shapes out of sandpaper for each child. Rub each set with (1) lemon (zest only); (2) peppermint extract; (3) onion; (4) baby powder; and (5) cinnamon. Let the kids use their "nose" to discover what scent is hidden on the sandpaper gingerbread men. from here
Circle Time:
Introduce the “All About Me” Theme. Talk with the preschoolers about how there are things about each of them that are the same and there are things about each of them that are different. Explore some of the things that are the same about the preschoolers in the class. Have all preschoolers with blond hair stand up. Have all preschoolers who are wearing something blue stand up. Have all preschoolers who have brown eyes stand up
Have each preschooler bring an item from home that tells something about themselves. This can be done by adding a note on your monthly calendar or sending a note home with each preschooler at the beginning of the week. Give each preschooler a chance to stand up and tell a little bit about the item that they brought. Allow other preschoolers to ask questions about the item.
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Make me boxes and return with 5 items about themselves.
