Safari Safety

We finished up our first week with Mother Goose Time's safari theme by learning about safari safety.  Elli made foot print impressions in play dough using the safari animal counters. 

We used the safari cards from earlier in the week and an animal spinner to decide which animals would herd together for protection.  

Elli used binoculars, a magnifying glass and kaleidoscope to look at the animal cards up close.  

Elli made her own binoculars.  She was so happy to have her own, just like her big sisters set.

I hung the safari cards around the house and Elli used her binoculars to look for the animals on a safari hunt.  I would call out an animal and she would run around trying to find it. 

Elli worked on the oval page of her my little journal.  Her tracing is getting better every month.

When Addie came home from school the girls played wild animal chase.  They took turns spinning the spinner, and if it landed on the lion they got to chase the other "animal."  There was a blanket where the girls could herd together for protection from the lion.  They thought this game was great.

We talked about how it's important to stay on the path when you're going on a safari.  It's safer for you and the animals.  The girls practiced kicking a ball on the letter S path without hitting any cups.  So far they've been having so much fun with this months theme.  Next week we start learning about safari animals.

Safari Vehicles

During circle time Elli identified the yellow animals from this months manipulative bag.  Yellow is the color of the month, and it is reinforced throughout many lessons this month with Mother Goose Time.

Elli used the safari picture cards from yesterday to pick an animal she would like to see.  She drew a picture of herself and a gorilla on the cover of her my little journal. 

We looked at pictures of wild animal that live near us and talked about what we would do if we saw a lion in our yard.  Elli said she would hide.  Elli used the looking glasses to find different items on the monthly theme poster.  She always loves using these, and each month Mother Goose Time sends a new poster with magnifying glasses.

We talked about watering holes and I gave Elli a bowl of water and the animal manipulatives.  She gave each one a drink of water, complete with sound effects.  Once each animal had a drink she decided they all needed to go swimming at the beach.  She had so much fun with this that every morning since we did this she has asked for a bowl of water and the animals, so they can "drink" and "swim."  

Next we used the animals to work on counting to 9.  The counting cards that come every month work great to practice one to one counting

Elli loves playing in boxes, so we drew some windows and doors on one and she used it as a safari jeep.  We played a game called roadblock.  Elli pretended to be driving on a safari, but had to stop whenever an elephant got in her path.  The elephant stayed in her way until she was able to roll the number 5.  Tomorrow we wrap up week one with safari safety.

 

Game Reserve

Today we learned about game reserves.  During circle time I hid the animal manipulatives that came in this months Mother Goose Time box under cups with different colors on them. I would call out a color and the girls would lift the corresponding cup to find the hiding animal.

 

We read the board book that came in our box this month, Giraffes Can't Dance.  Both girls liked the book and when we finished reading it they both danced around the house for awhile.  

The girls each paid $9 for tickets to go on a safari.  Elli practiced counting to 9 and Addie worked on subtracting the right amount of money.  They each got a ticket and walked around the safari road, marking off animals on their cards as they saw them.  

Next the girls used the animal manipulatives to sort them by animal type, and then by color.  We talked about how animals group together for protection.

For the last activity I hid one set of animal cards around the room.  The girls took turns picking from the second set of cards and then trying to find the same hiding animal.  They LOVED this game and had me hide the animals 4 different times so they could keep replaying it.  After that they continued to hide the animal manipulatives as well as the cards and took turns finding them.

Packing Up

We continued our safari theme with Mother Goose Time by talking about packing up.  During circle time I introduced the letter S.  I helped Elli on her letter S hunt, she went around the house trying to find things that started with the  s sound.  

Elli had a blast making her own safari hat.  She used the provided tissue paper and also added pom poms and glitter.  She always has so much fun with the crafts that come every month with Mother Goose Time.

Elli used some bowls to make safari hats for her stuffed animals.  We looked at pictures of African animals and read Honda's Surprise.  This was the suggested book for today, and I'm so glad it was because both my girls loved it.  

Elli got a Dora the Explorer backpack for Christmas that she was able to use for some of today's lesson.  She used the included packing list to pack her bag, she also found the matching items around her room and added them.

She also worked more with the color yellow that was introduced yesterday.  She found yellow items in her room and then packed them up in her backpack.

We worked more with the letter S, which starts sock.  Elli tried to make the letter s with socks and also worked on matching pairs and folding.

An InLinkz Link-up

Passports

We started our new theme with Mother Goose Time for January. This month the girls will be learning about safaris. Day 1's topic was passports.  This actually was a perfect topic for the day, since we took Elli to get her real passport picture taken in the morning.

During circle time the color of the month was introduced.  Elli used the yellow paint brush to find yellow objects in the house and paint them.  She always has fun going on color hunts.

We sang I Need a Passport and then started the lesson.

 Mother Goose Time provides a new name tag every month.  I write Elli's name with a highlighter on these and let her practice tracing the letters.  This is great for reinforcing the letters in her name.

Elli got her own passport with each continent in it.  She would roll the continent cube, find the matching continent on the world map,and then stamp it in her book.  We talked about what colors the different continents were and what sort of animals live there.

Since Elli had so much fun stamping her passport, I gave her a bunch of African animal stamps for her to use.  

We continued working with the world map for our next game.  Elli threw a pom pom on the map and then used inchimals that we had to measure how far it had landed from Africa.  She had a lot of fun with this game and played it for a long time.  She loves using the inchimals.

I made a tape road for Elli and she used cars travel to other locations.  Elli had a great time starting the safari theme;  it's going to be a fun month.

An InLinkz Link-up

What's In The Box - January

Every month we receive a new Mother Goose Time box delivered right to our door, and it is packed full of goodies.  So what exactly comes in the box?  Take a look below if you want to find out what is in the January box.

The teacher tool bag has the monthly lesson plan book, a planning journal, gathering list, theme web, CD, skills overview, and manipulatives.  My girls are always excited to open the box and see what the new manipulatives are for the month.

In the circle time display bag you'll find a monthly calendar and pieces, theme poster, letter flags, hands on letters and numbers, global friends, friendly bees, number tree pieces, monthly shape, monthly color, and phonics cards.  If it is your first month ordering for the school year you will also receive a welcome kit with all the needed materials to create a circle time display as well as a planning book with ideas.

Each month comes with a bonus celebration pack.  For January the pack is about peace.  There is a detailed mini lesson plan book, game and snack ideas, crafts, and invitation cards.  My girls always love the celebration packs;  they have so many fun, engaging ideas.

Mother Goose Time provides a lesson plan book with ideas for 20 days.  Each day has a corresponding bag with everything you need to complete the lesson.  This month the theme is Going on Safari.  For week 1 the topic is getting ready for safari.  The 5 daily topics we will be covering are passports, packing up, game reserve,safari vehicle, safari safety.

Week 2 is safari animals:  lion, elephant, rhino, zebra, and giraffe.  I think this will probably be the girls favorite week sine they both love animals.  But the whole month looks like it will be super fun for them.

Week 3 covers life in the grasslands:  beads, hut, migration, music and food.

The final week will be backyard safari.  Daily topics covered will be grass, birds, water, beetle, and trees.  By the end of the month the girls will have worked on reading, writing, math, fine motor skills, gross motor development, science, geography, etc. etc.  Mother Goose Time makes learning fun by creating a comprehensive, complete curriculum all based on a monthly theme that's sure to delight preschoolers.  

There are even add on's available, such as the dance n' beats DVD.  My girls both love getting up and dancing to the songs they hear all month from the monthly CD.  It even comes with a book that has extra ideas to add to the lessons.

My 6 year old gets extra practice with math and writing with the more math and more literacy books.  Mother Goose Time also has a toddler supplement that I used to use, but my daughter does well enough with the regular curriculum now so we no longer get it.  

You can also add on the experience God pack, which is a Christian supplement that you can use alone or pair with the monthly curriculum.  They really thought of everything when they put this curriculum together.  I love that everything is included so you can just open the daily bag and go, with very little prep work.  My girls both love Mother Goose Time and constantly ask to "do school."  My 2 year old loves it so much that on Christmas, right after she finished opening her presents, she began asking to "do school."  She was quite upset when I told her we were taking a day off.  I am so happy that I found a curriculum that my kids love so much, one that has made learning so fun that they would rather spend the day doing school stuff than playing with brand new toys.