Go Away Big Green Monster

Go Away Big Green Monster

This week for Large Group, we read the story Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley.  As we read the story about Big Green Monster's eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth and hair, we pointed to our own eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth and hair.  We helped teacher Heidi read the story by telling Big Green Monster's body parts to "go away".  When they had all gone away, we told Big Green Monster to "go away" and not come back until we said so.  We made Big Green Monster disappear.  

We had our own Big Green Monster in our class and we took turns putting the parts on his face and then telling them to "go away" and taking them off.  

We talked about the parts of our bodies and identified our own eye, nose, mouth, teeth, ear and hair as we were reading the story.  When we were finished readying the story, we stood up and sang Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes using a "monster" voice.  We also sang the song fast, slow, in a loud voice, in a whisper voice and with no voice.

We learned another song called If You Ever See a Monster.  When we sang this song we made some scary faces and said the word "BOO" at the end.

You can sing this song at home with the following words to the tune of Did You Ever See A Lassie:

If you ever see a monster, a big ugly monster.

If you ever see a monster then here's what you'll do.

Make this face (make scary faces) and that face and this face and that face.

If you ever see a monster, make sure you say BOO!

"M" the Monster Sound

"'M" the Monster Sound

In the month of October, we will be working on the "M" or Monster Sound.  To make the "M" sound we press our lips together and use our voice to say "M".  The visual cue for the "M" sound is to move our pointer finger across our lips while saying "M".

In October, we are going to have a lot of fun with Monster Activities.  We will be reading the book, Go Away, Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley.  We will also be talking about other books by Ed Emberley like If You're A Monster And You Know It, There Was An Old Monster and Glad Monster, Sad Monster.

Some other fun books about monsters are:

Five Little Monsters Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow

Frank Was A Monster Who Wanted to Dance by Keith Graves

My Monster Mama Loves Me So by Laura Luck

Some things you can do at home to practice saying the "M" sound are:

-Have a good treat and practice saying "mmm".

-Ask your child questions that can be answered by using the word "me".  For example:  Who's is (child's name)?  Who is wearing a (color) shirt?

-Share a small snack.  Give the child some but then hold the rest in view.  Encourage your child to use the word "more".

-Play with farm animals, have your child say "moo" for the cows and "meow" for the cats.

-Have your child help you make something. Use the word "mix" as you do it.

Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

This week for Large Group, we continued to work on saying the "B" sound in words by singing the 

Bouncy, Bouncy, Bouncy Song

When we sing this song, we stand up and bend our knees and bounce.  We also use our hands to sign the words stop, wait and go while we sing.  

We also played the game Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.  This activity helped us work on math because we counted how many "monkeys" (kids in the class) were jumping on the bed.  We also used math to determine how many monkeys were left after one fell off the bed.  We worked on answering "wh" questions and using "ing" words in phrases.  We also were given opportunities to make choices by choosing what action the monkeys were going to do on the bed.  We didn't just jump, we ran in place, marched, clapped, shrugged, skipped, twirled and hopped.  We each had a turn to choose an action.  If we couldn't think of one on our own, we used the GoTalk to help us.  

After we fell off the bed, we got to help the doctors tell Mama,  "No more monkeys jumping on the bed."  If we weren't able to say the whole phrase, we could use the Big Mac switch to help us.

You can play the Monkeys Jumping on the Bed game at home with family or friends.  The monkeys don't just have to jump on the bed, they can twirl or hop or skip.  You can take turn choosing the action. You can help your child with math skills by having them count how many monkeys are jumping and how many are left when one falls off the bed.  You can also help your child use short phrases by having them repeat the words of the game.  

Billabee Ballabee

This week in Large Group, we sang the song Baby Blowing Bubbles.  It's a fun song to sing that helps us work on using the "B" sound in words.  The song uses just a few simple words; baby, blowing, bubbles and up.

We also use our hands while we are singing to make some signs for baby, bubbles and up.

Ask your child if they know the song.  I bet they will be able to sing it for you.

To continue to work on using the "B" sound in words and phrases, as well as, learning our names and the names of our classmates, we played the game Billable Ballabee.

We sang this song using the "B" sound to replace the initial sound of our classmates names and then we had to guess which friend we were singing about.  We talked about how the name we used "rhymed" or sounded like the real name of our classmate.  We also got to choose if we were going to sing about a "bunny" sitting on our classmate or a "bear".

We played the game by singing the song like this;

Billabee Ballabee Beidi, a bunny sat on Heidi.

We then would guess which classmate had a name that "rhymed" or sounded like "Beidi".  We then got to choose if we were going to sing about a bunny or a bear and then moved on to singing about another classmate.

You can play this game at home with any stuffed animal and any sound.

Who Stole the Baby From the Baby Bed

This week for Large Group, we continued to work on recognizing and using our names and our classmate's names.  We also worked on saying the "B" sound in words and phrases and answering yes/no and "wh" questions.

We sang the song Baby Blowing Bubbles.  We learned some actions to do with our hands while we sing the song.

We played the game Who Stole the Baby From the Baby Bed.  Teacher Heidi told us that when she came to school today, she noticed that someone had stolen her baby from the baby bed.  We played a game where we closed our eyes and teacher Heidi hid the baby behind one of us and when we opened our eyes, we guessed who stole the baby.  We taps our knees to the beat while we chanted...

"Who stole the baby from the baby bed?"

We took turns guess who we thought was hiding the baby.  If we couldn't say the name of our classmate or if we forgot, we used our picture board with our class pictures on it and pointed to the person we thought might have the baby.  We then tapped our knees to the beat while we chanted...

"Heidi stole the baby from the baby bed."

If we had the baby, we would say "Yes, I have the baby."  If we didn't have the baby, we would say "No, I don't have the baby."  We had a lot of fun guessing who had the baby and at the end of the activity, we finally returned the baby to her bed so she could take her nap.

You can work on asking and answering questions at home by playing the game or a variation of it with your child.  You can also work on answering "wh" and "yes/no" questions by asking your child questions about things they see while on walks, at the store or in pictures when reading books. 

Bumblebee Bumblebee Will You Say Your Name to Me?

Last week in Large Group, since it's a new school year, we worked on learning our names and our classmate's names.  We also worked on saying the "B" sound in words and phrases.  We sang the song Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee.  

Teacher Heidi brought a stuffed bumblebee to class and we all took turns holding the bumblebee.  When it was our turn to hold him, the rest of the class patted their knees to the beat and chanted, 

"Bumblebee, Bumblebee will you say your name to me?"

We then told the class what our name was.

We played another name game where we were able to get up and move.  We also took turns choosing how the rest of the class would move.  We sang a song to the tune of If You Are Happy and You Know It, but we used the following words....

If your name is Heidi clap your hands.

If your name is Heidi clap your hands.

If your name is Heidi.

If your name is Heidi.

 If your name is Heidi, clap your hands.

We were given opportunities to choose who in the class we were going to sing about and what action we were going to do.  If we couldn't say or remember the name of our classmate, Teacher Heidi let us point to a picture.  Since we are just learning, we have pictures of all of our friends on a board so we can choose if we forget a name.  We chose to clap, march, twirl, shrug our shoulders, wiggle, run in place, blink our eyes and touch our toes.  

It was fun being able to move our bodies while learning the names of our friends in class. 

You can work on the "B" sound at home by singing the song Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee. Have your child show you the actions we use when singing this song.  Try not to get stung!!

You can also help your child learn to recognize and say his name by playing a "Simon Says" game at home with siblings or friends.  Ask a specific child to do an action by saying..."Simon Says Heidi should touch her nose."  You can also have your child be Simon and use the names of siblings or friends to tell them to do an action. 

"B" The Bouncing Sound

The Bouncing Sound

"B" is the Bouncing Sound

This month we are going to be working on the "B" sound or the bouncing sound.  We have practiced saying the "B" sound while moving our arms like bouncing a ball, while moving our knees bouncing up and down and while jumping up and down.  

We have talked about different objects that start with the "B" sound and practiced saying them.  We are going to play some games this month that help us practice saying the "B" sound in words and phrases.  We are also going to sing some songs with the "B" sound in them like, Baby Blowing Bubbles ,  Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee and Bouncy Bouncy Bouncy. 

Some activities you can do at home that will give your child many opportunities to practice using the "b" sound are:

-Play with stuffed animals or dolls and have your child say "bye" to each animal or baby.

-Set up a play store by finding objects around home you can "sell".  Ask your child to shop by saying "buy" for each item he or she chooses.

-Roll or toss a ball to your child.  Have him or her say "ball" as they catch it and again as they toss it or roll it back.

-Play toy cars or trucks with your child.  Encourage him or her to say "beep" every time your vehicle gets in the way of his or her car or truck.

-Read the story Goldilocks and The Three Bears or read the book The Wheels on the Bus.  While you are reading talk about what you see, ask your child what he or she thinks will happen as they look at the pictures.  Name the things you see in the pictures emphasizing the "b" sound.