P is the Popping Sound

During the month of November we are going to be working on the "p" sound or the popping sound.  We will be practicing using the "p" sound in words and phrases.  We will be singing songs, playing games, doing finger plays and reading stories that all have the "p" sound in them.

Some of the books we will be reading are Little Pea by Amy Krause Rosenthal, LMNO Peas by Keith Baker and 1-2-3 Peas by Keith Baker.  You can find each of these at the public library or you can also find video readings of these books on YouTube by searching the title.

Listed below are some things you can do to work on the "p" sound at home.

-Read the story of the Three Little Pigs and then act it out.

-Blow bubbles around the room and have your child pop them saying "pop" each time.

-Make popcorn and have your child say "pop" or "popcorn" to request some.

-Play "Peek-A-Boo" with your child.

-Pretend to make soup with your child.  Have them tell you what they "put" in the "pot.

-Pretend to "pet" some stuffed animals saying "pet" as you pet them.

Glad Monster, Sad Monster

This week for Large Group, we read the book Glad Monster, Sad Monster by Ed Emberley and Anne Miranda.  As we read this book, we looked at the pictures and talked about what we saw when we looked at the monsters faces.  We talked about how we can tell how our friends are feeling by looking at their faces.  After we finished reading the story we looked at some monster masks that show many different emotions.  We played a game to see if we could tell how each monster felt by what we saw when we looked at their faces.  We talked about things that make us feel happy, sad, worried, scared, silly or mad.  This activity helped us work on social and emotional development, being able to identify and name the emotions that we feel and recognize that others have feelings that might be the same or different than our own.  It also helped us learn about having empathy for our friends and how they are feeling.

You can work on this at home by describing how you are feeling and recognizing and verbalizing how your child is feeling based on their actions.

5 Little Monsters Hiding Under The Bed

This week for Large Group, we read the story 5 Little Monsters Hiding Under The Bed.  We worked on our counting skills.  We counted the monsters on each page and then,  as each monster "bumped their head, we "took away" a monster from our number so we would know how many were still hiding under the bed.  After we read the story we used a big sheet that the teachers held up to pretend that we were monsters hiding under the bed.  We counted how many monsters, or friends in our class were under the bed and then when we heard our name, we jumped up and "bumped" our head on the sheet.  We worked on our language skills as we all repeated the familiar phrases of the story like..."mommy called the doctor and the doctor said, no more monsters hiding under the bed".  We also used our math skills again to count our friends and as we bumped our heads, we "took away" one friend each time until we had counted down to zero.  

You can do this at home by acting out this story or any other favorite story or nursery rhyme.  This helps develop language comprehension and expression.  It also helps children express what they are thinking and feeling through pretend play.

If You're A Monster and You Know It

This week for large group we read the book If You're A Monster and You Know It by Rebecca and Ed Emberley.  This book is similar to the song If You're Happy and You Know It.  We worked on gross motor skills and identifying body parts as we moved the way the monsters moved in the book.  The monsters in the book snorted and growled, smacked their hands, stomped their paws, twitched their tails, wiggled their noses and gave a ROAR.  We worked on comprehension as we tried to remember some of the ways the monsters moved.  We also worked on using "ing" words as we talked about what the monsters were doing....smacking, stomping, twitching, wiggling, growling and roaring.  We sang and danced to the song If You're a Monster and You Know It. 

You can sing and dance to this song at home by downloading the If You're a Monster and You Know It song.  To download the song for free go to www.scholastic.com/ifyoureamonsterandyouknowit.

Go Away Big Green Monster

This week for Large Group we talked about the "m" sound or the monster sound.  We practiced saying some words that begin with the "m" sound and we learned how to use our pointer finger as a visual cue for the "m" sound.

We read the book Go Away Big Green Monster By: Ed Emberley.  When we were finished reading the book, Big Green Monster came to visit us.  We didn't want him in our class, so we worked together to get him to go away.  We thought hard about what we read in the book and tried to remember the order in which the parts of Big Green Monster's face went away.  We used our words to say "go away purple hair" or "go away sharp teeth".  As we said each one, Teacher Heidi would take that part of Big Green Monster's face off until he was COMPLETELY GONE! This activity helped us work on recalling events from the book, sequencing events, predicting events, answering "wh" questions,  and using 2-3 words to make comments and give directions.  This activity also helped us work on colors and using color words to describe things.

You can work on recalling and sequencing events from stories at home by reading stories together and then talking about what happened.  You can ask your child to tell you what happened first, next and last.  As you read together, you can also work on learning new words by asking your child to name or point to things they see in the pictures.  Have them repeat the names of things they see or point to or have them point to things you name. You can also work on some higher level cognitive skills by asking them to make predictions about what they think might happen based on what they see in the pictures.  Reading books together is a great language enriching activity.

Monster Sound "M"

This month we will be working on the "M" sound or the monster sound.  We make this sound by putting lips our together and using our voice to say "m".  We make the visual cue for this sound by using our pointer finger to move across our lips as we say "m".

This month we will be talking a lot about the "m" sound and practicing it by singing the songs and doing some fun monster activities.  Some of the songs we will be singing are:

Did You Ever See A Monster?, If You're a Monster and You Know It and Who's Behind the Big Monster?  

You can practice by "m" sound at home by doing some of the activities listed below.

-Share a snack with your child and practice saying m-m-m as you eat.

-While you are sharing a snack, give your child a few but hold the rest in view so he/she will have to use the "m" sound to ask for "more".

-Do a puzzle with your child.  Encourage him/her to use the word "more" to ask for more pieces.

-Play with toy cows in a farmyard.  Model and encourage your child to say the word "moo".

-Look through picture books of animals, dinosaurs or people.  Ask your child to find all of their mouths, saying"mouth" for each one.

-Play toy cars or trucks, encourage your child to say "move" each time the cars and trucks move.

-Make a cake or muffins with your child.  Let them "mix" the ingredients while practicing saying the word "mix".

-Hide a treasure and make a "map" of where to find it.

There are many monster books that you can read to your child that will provide many opportunities for them to hear the "m" sound in words.  Some of these books are listed below.  We will be reading some of them in our Large Groups this month.

Go Away Big Green Monster By: Ed Emberley

Sad Monster, Glad Monster By: Ed Emberley

If You're A Monster And You Know It By: Ed and Rebecca Emberley

There's A Monster At The End of This Book By: Jon Stone

Frank Was A Monster That Wanted To Dance By: Keith Graves

My Monster Mama Loves Me So By: Laura Leuck

Monster Munch By: Matt Mitter