Georgia's Pre-K Program teacher newsletter, Vol. 2, Issue 2 (Oct. 2005)

October 2005

PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS IDEAS

Bright from the Start www.decal.state.ga.us

LISTENING
Group Games:
Where is That Sound?
As children sit in a circle, have them to close their eyes. Walk to a corner of the room and use a musical instrument to make a sound. See if the children can point in the direction of the sound they hear.
Who Said That?
Select a child to be the listener. Have him/her sit in a special chair in front of the group. Blindfold the child as you ask them to close his/her eyes. Point to

another child in the group who will be the mystery voice. The teacher needs to choose the one word the child will say. Use something simple like "hi" or "hello". Does the listener recognize the voice of the friend? If not, let the speaker say another word and try to recognize. You can continue play until all children have had a turn being the listener or the speaker.
Copying Sound Sequence
Ask children to close their eyes and listen to three sounds. (musical instruments work well for this we suggest one set for you

and one set for the child guessing. We also suggest you do this in smaller groups.) See if the child can repeat the sequence of sounds using the same three instruments. Play variations of this game by changing the source of the sounds (tap pencil, crumple paper, click your tongue, shake a rattle, snap your fingers, smack your lips, etc.). This could be implemented as a small group activity.

Volume 2 Issue 2
October 2005
Special points of interest:
Phonological Awareness Activity Content Standards Checklist Fall Ideas Pumpkin Ideas Class Book Ideas Halloween Ideas

Contact information:

CONTENT STANDARDS CHECKLIST REVISED

Consultant of the Day

404-656-5957

The Content Standards Checklist from our agency has been revised and placed on the website. You can find it by going to Pre-K/Teachers/Content Standards. You will notice that the new content standards and indicators have been added and the checklist has been reformatted. Please note that the checklist now has a place for teachers to put a rating for Winter and Spring. You will

find this in the gray area with each content standard. You will only be rating the content standard and not each performance indicator. It is up to each project director as to the dates they choose for the two rating periods. The instructions at the beginning of the checklist explain each rating and how to rate individual children. Please understand that we don't expect you to have collected something for every single performance indicator. What we expect to find are portfolio

artifacts that show growth and development of your children. We understand that this will be different for each child. If you should need additional help, please do not hesitate to contact your consultant or the Pre-K Consultant of the Day. Please don't wait to ask important questions for clarification--go ahead and find out the answers now!

888-4GA-PREK
Suspension/Disenrollment Meghan McNail 404-463-0009 Meghan.McNail@decal.state.ga.us

FALL CHANGES TO YOUR LEARNING AREAS

Fall is here! What a beautiful time of year! Children can't help but become interested in fall because of all the changes they notice outside: weather is getting cooler, days are getting longer, the leaves are falling off the trees, the grass is dying, etc. This is a perfect time to introduce fall and point out all the changes your little ones notice. Here are some ideas and many more can be accessed on our website. Go to PreK/Teachers/PQA Resources/Planning/Fall changes to the Learning Area
Science Area:
Add pumpkins of all shapes and sizes
Add pictures of pumpkins
Explore pumpkins and gourds
Add small pumpkins along with water to your sensory table. Do they float???
Add nuts (in their shells) and seeds and

acorns for exploring and sorting. Math Area: Add different size pumpkins for seriating Scales for weighing pumpkins and gourds Leaves for matching, patterning, and/or sorting Language/Writing: Add pumpkin vocabulary and fall words: pumpkin, vine, ribbed, hard, orange, seeds, round, gourds, apples, scarecrow, fall, autumn, leaves, jacket, cool, sunflowers Block Area: Small real and/or plastic pumpkins Photos of pumpkin patches Art: Orange, green, brown, red, yellow paints Corncob painting Leaf rubbings

Suggested Books for Adding: Pumpkin, Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington It's Pumpkin Time by Zoe Hall The Pumpkin Patch by Elizabeth King Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert Barn Dance by Bill Martin, Jr. Why Do Leaves Change Color? by Betsy Maestro Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell Scarecrow Pete by Mark Kimball Moulton Autumn Is For Apples by Michelle Knudsen The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall Patty's Pumpkin Patch by Teri Sloat Autumn: An Alphabet Acrostic by Steven Schnur Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper How Do Apples Grow? By Betsy Maestro

THE IMPORTANCE OF CHANGING LEARNING CENTERS

Young children are active learners who touch, feel, experiment, and create. The effective center is designed to relate to the world of active learners and planned to encourage their involvement. Young children are interested in the world in which they live; centers are a symbolic representation of what is going on in their world (inside and outside of your classroom). To make connections,

children need to have activities and materials related to what is going on around them. It is of great importance that you document the changes you can make to enhance the children's learning. To score Meets on PQA item B1, you must change your learning centers to reflect your current topic and interests. Now you know why! Please know your consultant will be looking for documentation of these changes.

"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away." Unknown

CREATE A PUMPKIN PATCH

This is found in PQA item B5 in the Exceeds column --Multiple settings are provided in the dramatic play area throughout the year. Be sure to document the changes you make. You might want to snap a picture so you can show your consultant and more importantly... remember what you did for the next school year.
Remember when you change your dramatic play area, you are still responsible for having the basic equipment and supplies for PM and M of B5. This is in addition to those materials.

Start by creating a list of things parents could donate or let you borrow to create the pumpkin patch. Make yourself a to do list and so you can check off items that are completed. The look on the children's faces is a wonderful reward for all your hard work!
These are things you can add to create the pumpkin patch: (1) A sign with the name of your pumpkin patch (2) a cash register and play money (3) a market stand (you can use your puppet stand or create one from a cardboard box) (4) a price list for pumpkins (5)

real and/or plastic pumpkins or ones made from stuffed, painted paper bags (6) a hay bale or table for displaying pumpkins (7) aprons, overalls, gloves, straw hats (8) a scarecrow (9) rolled green tissue paper vines (10) scales for weighing pumpkins (11) a small wheelbarrow (12) large produce baskets (13) books about pumpkin patches.
You could also add: sunflowers (real or plastic), gourds (real or plastic), baskets of apples (real or plastic), indian corn, corn stalks, boiled peanuts for tasting (check for allergies). Have fun!

Volume 2 Issue 2

Page 2

THE DOUBTFUL PUMPKIN SEED--A flannel board story

One spring a little pumpkin seed was planted in some dirt. The pumpkin seed thought, "How can I, a little pumpkin seed, grow into a nice, big, round, orange pumpkin? I don't think it can be. Just look how small and flat I am."
Many days went by. Some days the sun shone and some days it rained. And one day, a tiny green plant grew from the pumpkin seed. The pumpkin seed thought, "Oh, I knew it! I knew I couldn't grow into a big, round, orange pumpkin. I was a little seed and now I'm a little plant. Well, I guess I'll have to be satisfied with that."
Many more days went by. Some days the sun shone, and warmed the earth. Some days it rained. And the little tiny green plant grew a little bit each day until it had one long green vine. Then after many more days another long green vine had grown. The little pumpkin seed thought, "Oh-no, I'm not just a little green plant, but I'm a tiny seed that has grown into a long green vine. Well, I guess I'll have to be satisfied with that."
More days went by and sometimes

the sun shown down and sometimes it rained. And one day, many bright yellow flowers appeared on the vine. "Well, I'm not a big, round, orange pumpkin but I have many bright yellow flowers so I really don't mind at all. Look how pretty they are!"
The flowers didn't last long. After a few days, they wilted and dried up. It made the pumpkin seed sad to have all the pretty flowers gone and he wasn't at all certain if he liked being a plain green vine.
The sun shone for many days and other days it rained. One day some tiny dark green balls appeared on the vine. The pumpkin seed was more puzzled than ever. He wasn't a tiny green plant, or a long vine with yellow flowers, instead, he now had tiny green balls. He couldn't understand it at all.
Many, many more days went by, and sometimes it rained and many times the sun shone. The little tiny green balls grew and grew very slowly until one day, the pumpkin seed was surprised to find a small orange pumpkin growing on the vine. Soon more and more orange pumpkins were on the vine. The pumpkin seed was very,

very happy! The doubtful pumpkin seed wasn't
doubtful any more. Now he knew that a pumpkin seed does grow into pumpkins--not into tiny plants or a long vine, or yellow flowers-- but into many big, round, orange pumpkins!
To use this story, cut pieces from flannel to go along with the story as you read it. Suggestions: pumpkin seed small green plant green vines yellow flowers dark green balls small orange pumpkins larger orange pumpkins rain drops sunshine dirt

THE PUMPKINS ARE HERE
Ahead of time, cut out pumpkin shapes and glue to popsicle sticks. Le the children use these as props when you sing the song.
Sung to the tune of "The Farmer In The Dell" The pumpkins are here, the pumpkins are there. The pumpkins, the pumpkins are everywhere. The pumpkins are up; the pumpkins are down. The pumpkins, the pumpkins are all around. The pumpkins are in; the pumpkins are out. The pumpkins, the pumpkins are all about. The pumpkins are low; the pumpkins are high. The pumpkins, the pumpkins all say, "Good-bye".
Assessment tip: You can assess listening skills and who knows directionality words while singing this song. Prepare a simple checklist ahead of time so you can check off these skills as you sing.
Volume 2 Issue 2

"A teacher affects eternity: he can never tell where his influence stops."
Henry Adams
Page 3

CLASS BOOK IDEAS

Guess Who?
"What are you going to be for Halloween?" That is a popular question for this time of year. Create a lift-the-flap book to give your children a chance to reveal their costumes. Gather pictures of children's costumes or career related costumes from newspapers, sale flyers, catalogs, etc. To prepare the pages for the book, program a sheet of copy paper with the open sentence, "Guess who wants to be a ________________." Duplicate the programmed page on a sheet of construction paper for each child. Then glue a photocopy of a different child's school photo to the center of each page, and write that child's name below the photo.
Invite each child to choose a picture of a costume he/she likes. Have him/ her glue the picture to a half sheet of construction paper. Assist him/her in stapling the half-sheet of paper over the school photo on his/her book page.

Fill in the blank with his/her dictation. Bind the students' pages between construction paper covers. Read the book to the class, lifting the pictures to reveal each child's identity (Mailbox, October Ideas, Preschool).
Follow-up with dress-up fun. Collect a variety of hats, wigs, masks, clothing, costumes, etc to add to your dramatic play area. Have your camera ready to click their fun creations of costumes...this might lead to another class book!
Signs of Fall
Go on a scavenger hunt outside to look for signs of fall. Have children gather items they could bring back to glue into a class book. Talk about the changes they noticed after returning

to the classroom. Have pages for a class book ready. Title the book, "Signs of Fall." Let children glue or tape on items they found or color a page to show a change they noticed. Record students dictations on the pages. Bind it together and read to the class. Be sure to place in the book area for all to read.
They might find: leaves changing colors, acorns, grass dying, leaves falling, seeds or nuts falling from trees.
They might draw about: cooler weather, longer days, etc.

Halloween Ideas

Hookey Spookey Sung to the tune of "Hokey Pokey" Cut one 14-inch orange and one 14-inch black crepe paper streamer per child. Either loosely tie on each wrist or have the child hold one in each hand. You could also tape the streamers onto popsicle sticks for easier holding. You could also tie one to each child's ankle
Put your orange hand in, Put your orange hand out, Put your orange hand in and shake it all about. You do the Hookey Spookey and you turn yourself around. That's what it's all about. Repeat: Black hand... Orange leg... Black leg... Whole self.

Boo Brew: Find a large kettle shaped pot or improvise and cut-out a large black kettle shape and glue to the front of a cardboard box. Get an oversized spoon or ladle to use as well. Have each child in a small group search the room for the ingredients of your brew by giving instructions such as, "Bring something red," or "Bring something that starts with the /s/ sound," or "Bring something that is square." As each child places his item in the pot, give him/her a turn to stir the brew. After everyone has contributed, gather the children around the pot to take an imaginary sip of the mixture. Then, start on a new brew! Idea taken from Mailbox, Preschool, October Ideas. Sing this along with Boo Brew while you stir: Stirring and stirring and stirring my brew Ooo--ooo, Ooo--ooh Stirring and stirring and stirring my brew Ooo--ooo, Ooo--ooh Tip--toe, tip-toe, tip-toe BOO!

Some Halloween titles you might find: Trick or Treat, Little Critter by Gina and Mercer Mayer Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman Trick or Treat, Danny! By Edith Kunhardt Harriet's Halloween Candy by Nancy Carlson Mouse's First Halloween by Lauren Thompson Rattlebone Rock by Sylvia Andrews It is Halloween! By Laura Appleton Smith The 13 Days of Halloween by Carol Greene Does a Cow Say Boo? By Judy Hindley Go Away Big Green Monster! By Ed Emberley Halloween Parade by Joanne Mattern Arthur's Halloween by Marc Brown Skeleton Hiccups by Margery Cuyler