Weekly Theme  (Start Monday, continue with the theme all week)

This week's theme is JUNGLE.  ~Jungle Picture/Printout~

The vocabulary word is vines - vines are plants with long, thin bendable stems; they grow along the ground or climb up trees, etc.

Books to read aloud that support the theme:

Who's in the Jungle? by Dawn Bentley
Rumble in the Jungle by Giles Andreae
The Tallest, Shortest, Longest, Greenest, Brownest Animal in the Jungle by Keith Faulkner
(Eye Openers) Jungle Animals by Angela Royston
Slowly, Slowly, Slowly, Said the Sloth by Eric Carle
Hug by Jez Alborough
The Loudest Roar by Thomas Taylor
Jazzy in the Jungle by Lucy Cousins
Guess Who's in the Jungle by Naomi Russell
Splash! by Flora McDonnell
The Monkey Who Wanted the Moon by Anne Mangan
The Bird, The Monkey, and the Snake in the Jungle by Kate Banks
Through the Heart of the Jungle by Jonathan Emmett
Piece of Jungle by Sarah Weeks

Poems that support the theme:

Jungle Adventure
by Katrina Lybbert

Creeping through the jungle, one hot summer day,
I saw a lot of animals pass by my way.
(Tiptoe around the room and pretend to look through binoculars.)

Monkeys swinging from vine to vine, (pretend to swing on vines)
Parrots fluttering in colorful design, (pretend to fly like a parrot)
Tigers, lions, and elephants too, (stomp around the room)
A tall giraffe like I saw at the zoo. (reach way up high)

Creeping through the jungle, one hot summer day,
I saw a lot of animals pass by my way.
(Tiptoe around the room and pretend to look through binoculars.)

Songs that support the theme:

Songs from Disney's Jungle Book such as:
The Bare Necessities
I Wanna Be Like You
That's What Friends Are For

The Lion Sleeps Tonight
 

Gross Motor Skills Activity:  (Monday)

Create a jungle obstacle course by using cushions, pillows, chairs, blankets etc.  Put on some music... a great selection is Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns... and act out different jungle animals according to the sound of the music.  Loud music can be for elephants and tigers, and soft music can be for birds and monkeys.

Fine Motor Skills Activity:  (Friday)

Find a printout of your child's favorite jungle animal.  Create thin strips of green construction paper to represent grass.  Let your child glue the "grass" strips onto the printout to hide the animal in the grass.
 

Shape/Color  (Tuesday)

This week you will teach the color green.

• Introduce the color by coloring in the square (previous week's shape) on your learning poster with a green crayon.
• Put on a green article of clothing.
• Point out objects around your home of the color green.
• Add the color to a meal by choosing a green food, or using a plate, cup, or utensil of the color green.
• Let your child color in a coloring book or on a printout using a green crayon.

The letter this week is the letter B.

• Give your child a printout of the (capital) letter B to color.  ~Letter Printouts~
• Teach your child to trace the shape of the letter B using his finger.  You can trace in pudding, finger paint, a shallow tray (cookie sheet) filled with rice or beans, etc.
• Point out the letter B in signs, cereal boxes, etc.
• Post the letter B on your learning poster.

The number this week is the number 2.

• Show your child 2 objects to count, or eat 2 crackers, 2 cheerios, etc.
• Show your child the written symbol (numeral) for 2 and put on your learning poster.
• Add 2 stickers to your counting book.
• Show your matching index cards for the number 2 to your child.
• Draw 2 squares on a piece of paper and count them with your child.
• Walk around your home counting 2 of many different objects.

The nursery rhyme this week is I Had a Little Nut Tree.  Recite often!

I had a little nut tree, nothing would it bear,
But a silver nutmeg and a golden pear;
The King of Spain's daughter came to visit me,
And all for the sake of my little nut tree.