Curriculum

I have carefully created a curriculum that will be beneficial for all types of learners.  Each week we will focus on a letter of the alphabet along with a theme for the week.    

Example:

week 1 :    You are special/Names

week 2:     Letter A/Planes, trains and automobiles

week 3:     Letter B/Bugs

week 4:     Letter C/Colors

week 5:     Letter D/Dinosaurs

week 6:     Letter E/Days of the week

When your student arrives at school there will be an introductory activity.  

Example:  week 19     Letter S/Senses

1.  Introductory activity:   sifting through sensory bins of beans and rice to find objects that begin with the letter S

2.  Morning routine

• Reviewing the alphabet and focus letter for the week
• Counting to 20 (we will be counting to 50 by the end of the year)
• Calendar
• Spanish word of the day
• Student of the week will share their "Buddy Experience"
• Song of the week

       The Morning routine will involve movement. Example:  Clap while we count, march while we sing etc.

3. Active Learning Activity

         Secret Super Spies-  follow clues and navigate through obstacles using all of our senses to locate all of the "S objects"

4.  Stations

         There will be 5 stations that correlate with the theme.  

          Example:  The senses stations are:   

• Sight: the students will look at objects at different distances, look at a model of the eye and look in a mirror to see their eye color and then color a picture of an eye their eye color (after stations we will make a eye color graph of the class.
• Smell: the students will identify objects (Orange, chocolate, pine cone, cookie etc) only using their sense of smell.   
• Touch:  The children will sort objects into bins by texture (soft, rough, squishy, hard, smooth, slimy)
• Taste: The students will taste different foods and decide if they are sweet, sour, salty or bitter.
• Sound: The students will try to identify sounds that they hear.

5. Outdoor play (if weather permits) or creative play

6. Snack Time
        We will have a bathroom break, wash hands and have a healthy snack.

7. Art Project

     decorate a letter S like a snake using paper, crayons, stickers, and stars.

8. Story time  

       Students will sit on the rug and listen to a book or books that correlate with our letter or theme.

       Example:    "Look, Listen, Taste, Touch, and Smell: The amazing body"  by Pamela Hill Nettleton
                         " I Wish a were a Snake"  by Dan Jackson
                     

9. Review

      We will review the things that we have learned  and do a review game or activity.

       Example:   Dance like a:   snake, shark, salamander, stick etc. while making the "S" sound

Other Items:

Show and Tell:   Show and tell will be every Thursday.  The students will be encouraged to bring one item from home that relates to the letter or theme of the week.   The children may bring a favorite toy, picture or book that does not relate to the theme instead, the important part is that your child is excited about the item they bring to share with the class.

                            The students will stand up with their item in front of the class and say  

                            My name is ______________, today I brought ___________________ because                                         ___________________________.

                      You may want to practice this with your child until they are comfortable with sharing things in front of the class.

Buddy Bag:

                We have a classroom "Buddy"  (stuffed animal)  that will go home Tuesday with the Student of the week until class on Thursday.  There will be a buddy journal in the bag that the child/parent will use one page of to write a sentence and draw a picture about what the student did with Buddy.                 

   Example: "Buddy and I went to the park"   "Buddy ate dinner with my family"  Your child will then share with the class what adventure they had with Buddy.  

Student of the Week: Each student will have a turn to be Student of the week.  I will give them a paper to fill out that will include a picture of the student or drawing as well as listing their favorite color, food and activities.  This paper will be displayed for the week and shared with the class.  The Student of the week will get to lead the class in activities and choose the phonics game each day that week.