Pre-K Families Unit - PreKinders

~ Ideas for learning about families ~

Books

Rhymes

There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe

There was an old woman,
Who lived in a shoe.
She had so many children,
She didn't know what to do.
She gave them some broth,
Without any bread.
She whipped them all soundly,
And sent them to bed.

Every Mouse and Bumblee

Every mouse and bumblebee,
Every squirrel up in the tree,
Every bird and ladybug,
Loves to feel his mother's hug.
Every bear so furry and funny,
Loves his father more than honey.

[Traditional rhyme; adapted]
The words "mother" and "father" can be replaced with grandma, grandpa, sister, brother, etc.

Song

All I Really Need PowerPoint
Raffi

All I Really Need
Song Book
Raffi

Amazon.com Widgets

Activities

Baby Blanket (or Family Quilt)

[Art]
Children glued small squares of fabric to a piece of felt to make a "baby blanket". Children used it with the classroom baby dolls to role play taking care of a baby. Or, if you prefer, you can call it a family quilt.

People Puppets

[Art]
Children used multicultural paint to paint a small paper plate, added yarn hair to match the color of their own hair, added wiggle eyes, and drew a nose and mouth. These were taped to a craft stick to make a puppet. On the stick, write: "[Child's name] is special." Or, if you're in a Christian program write: "God made [child's name]."

Paper Bag Puppets

[Art]
Children made a puppet of one of their family members using a paper bag.

Family Portrait

[Art, Social Skills]
Children drew a picture their family members.

Bear Family Play Dough Cutters

[Fine Motor]
Add bear family cookie cutters (made by Wilton) to the play dough area. Children use these to cut out the different sizes of bears to make the bear family.

Play Dough Family

[Fine Motor]
Children can make people with the play dough. Encourage them to make a family. Add Barbie shoes to the area for the children to add to the feet of their family. Be sure to include shoes for women, men, and children.

Word Card Game: There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe

[Literacy]
Print and cut apart the word cards for this game. Each child in the group should have a set to use. Call out the words for each card and have the children hold up each card (this familiarizes them with the cards). To play the game, slowly recite the nursery rhyme (you may want to pause at the key words). Each time the children hear one of the key words, they should hold up that card. Repeat the game as many times as the children are interested. When we play this game in my classroom, I have my own set of cards to use along with the children to help cue them when to hold up a card. Then, after they have seen me model the game a few times, I let them do it on their own.

Nursery Rhyme
Printable

Sequencing

[Literacy]
Print, cut out, and laminate the sequencing cards. Make sure the children understand what each picture represents. Have the children use these to sequence their morning routine. After they wake up, what do they do first? Eat breakfast or wash their face? Each child's sequence will be slightly different, according to their family's morning routine. This set has 8 sequencing cards. Older children should be able to sequence all 8 cards, but you may want to limit the cards to 4 for younger children. (I tried to find more multicultural photos for these cards, but these are all that were available.)

Sequencing
Printable

Animal Families Class Book

[Literacy]
After we read the book, Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?, by Eric Carle, we made a our own class book. Each page of our book says, "A ____ has a mother, too. Just like me and you." Children cut a picture of an animal from a magazine and glued it on the page. I found great animal pictures in Your Big Backyard magazine.

Classifying

[Math, Fine Motor, Social Skills]
Children cut out pictures from magazines, and glued them on paper divided into two sections: "children" and "parents". They decided which category to glue the people cut-outs. An alternate activity would be to classify the pictures as "boys" and "girls". I have done both.

People Object Graph

[Math, Social Skills]
We used the floor graph and people figures from the block center. We graphed how many boys and girls are in the class, each child placing a people figure on the graph to represent themselves. We counted and compared most/least/same. We made other graphs: Do you have sisters? Do you have brothers?

Bear Family

[Math]
The Bear Family printable can be used as a sorting mat for the plastic bear counters that come in three sizes.

Bear Family
Printable

Baby Toys Grid Game

[Math]
Children rolled the die, identified the numeral, and counted out that amount of mini baby toys to put on the grid. The object of the game is to fill the grid. Children can play alone or with other players. This grid game uses mini plastic baby toys found in any craft or hobby store. These are found with baby shower party favors. You can also make your own Baby Grid Game using baby photos of the students. (The photo to the left shows an older grid game I made using stickers of baby things.)

Baby Grid Game
10 Spaces

Baby Grid Game
20 Spaces

Counters: Mini Baby Toys

Gift for Family

[Cooking]

Children decorate a cookie or cupcake to give to a family member. Give each child a cup of white icing and allow them to stir in their choice of food coloring. Have a variety of toppings for the children to choose from: gummy bears, sprinkles, M&M's, dried fruit, etc. (They can make one for themselves and one for a family member.)

Absorption

[Science]
In a large group, ask children to guess how many cups of water a baby diaper will absorb. Try the experiment by pouring cups of water into the diaper while writing a tally mark for each cup on a chart. Continue pouring cups of water until it will not absorb any more. At small group, children can do an individual absorption experiment. Give each child an ice cube tray, a cup of water, and a medicine dropper. Have them drop a few drops of water into each section of the ice cube tray. Provide them with a variety of materials for the experiment, some that will absorb and some that will not. The children will place one item in each section of the ice cube tray to see which ones absorb water and which do not. Examples of materials to use: small piece of wood, facial tissue, tissue paper, writing paper, paper towel, Unifix cube, cotton ball, rock, etc.

Family Photos

[LARGE GROUP ACTIVITY, Social Skills]
Children brought family photos to school to share with the class. I added these photos to the children's portfolio notebooks.

Movement Activity

[LARGE GROUP ACTIVITY, Large Motor]
After reading the book, Jonathan and His Mommy, go through the book once more, and have the children walk in the same ways that Jonathan does.

Baby Care Prop Box

[CENTER ACTIVITY, Social Skills, Creative Play]
Include: Dolls, Doll clothes, Velcro diapers, Bottles, Baby blankets, High chair, Doll crib, Empty baby food jars, Baby spoons, Rattles, Small stuffed toys, Empty powder & wet wipe containers, Bibs

Baby Bath Prop Box

[CENTER ACTIVITY, Social Skills, Creative Play]
Include: Plastic dolls, Hand towels, Sponges, Dish pans or water table, Water smocks, Water, Liquid soap, Diapers

Block Center

[CENTER ACTIVITY]

Add people figures that represent different races and ages to the block center.

Resources