CHANGES IN THE CURRICULUM

I often get requests for hard copy versions of the theme resources, however, I think the trend is moving towards new curriculum development becoming delivered online. I have seen this move within my school. Last year we implemented a new Social Studies curriculum and the majority of it is delivered online. Teachers (especially in my age range) have been very slow at becoming familiar with it because they are not accustomed to this new format. It takes time to browse, navigate and retrieve the information. One of the positive features of having the resources online is the use of video. I was able to take the children to a live version of children that live in another country. Pictures in a book could not immerse them like the video did. Whether we like it or not, I believe this will become the trend.

It would be impossible to offer the resources found on kinderplans.com for the current price, if it were presented in a hard copy format. Initially that was the plan, until we learned of the costs involved in producing it in hard copy. Shipping costs alone (depending where the resources were shipped to) were the price of the membership (because there is over 2,000 pages of materials). My web development company suggested that I offer them as e-books. To be honest, I didn't even know what an e-book was. I needed some educating in this area. It has been a growing and learning process for me but I can see an increasing trend in this direction and I do see the benefits. One of the biggest benefits is the ability to add and revise materials and keep them current.

Yes, teaching methods are changing. This can be a very positive move. I have seen many changes in my many years of teaching. I tend to allow the children dictate to me if it is a positive move. For example, I rarely use worksheets. I prefer hands-on type activities such as learning games. I have increasingly used the computer as a valuable learning tool. This has been a positive move because the children are far more involved in their learning and this makes me excited. Let me know your thoughts on this issue by commenting below.

Literature for the Weather Theme

In the links below you will find literature suggestions for the Weather theme. Click on the title of the book to read the review
1. It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw
1. Maisy's Wonderful Weather Book by Lucy Cousins
2. What Will the Weather Be? by Linda Dewitt and Carolyn Croll
3. Oh Can You Say What's the Weather Like Today: All About Weather by Tish Rabe and Aristides Ruiz
4. Emma's Cold Day by Margriet Ruurs
5. Who Likes the Rain by Wong Herbert Yee
6. The Umbrella Party by Janet Lunn
7. The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins
8. A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman
9. Caps, Hats, Socks and Mittens: A Book About the Four Seasons by Louise Borden
10. The Cloud Book by Tomie DePaola
11. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
12. Come on Rain! by Karen Hesse

Weather theme activities can be found in the link below:

Preschool and Kindergarten Activities

Preschool Kindergarten Activities - Transportation Theme

Transportation Theme Literature Connection
Listed below are a few suggested books that can be used with the "Transportation Theme". If you click on the title of the book, it will give you a review of the book and where you can purchase it.

1. One Yak Called Jack by Darcia LaBrosse
2. The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
3. Airport by Byron Barton
4. All Aboard ABC by Doug Magee and Robert Newman
5. The Big Red Bus by Judy Hindley
6. Car Wash by Sandra Steen and Susan Steen
7. Cars by Anne Rockwell
8. Freight Train by Donald Crews
9. I Love Trains by Philemon Sturges
10. Lisa's Airplane Trip by Anne Gutman and George Hallensleben
11. Nest Stop Grand Central by Maira Kalman
12. Planes by Anne Rockwell
13. Round Trip by Ann Jonas
14. School Buses by Dee Ready
15. Trains by Ann Rockwell

More activities related to the transportation theme can be found in the link below:

More Preschool and Kindergarten Activities - Transportation Theme

Ocean Theme Literature Books

Below is a list of books that can be used for the Ocean theme. If you click on the titles you will find reviews of the books.

1. Rainbow Fish and the Big Blue Whale by Marcus Pfister
2. The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

The Ocean and Other Sea Creatures

3. Commotion in the Ocean by Giles Andreae
4. Over in the Ocean: In a Coral Reef by Marianne Berkes
5. A Swim Through the Sea by Kristin Joy Pratt
6. The Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry
7. Clumsy Crab by Ruth Galloway

Fish
8. Swimmy by Leo Lionni
9. Fish is Fish by Leo Lionni
10. Fidgety Fish by Ruth Galloway
11. Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark by Will Grace

Sharks
12. Smiley Shark by Ruth Galloway
13. Surprising Shark: Read and Wonder by Nicola Davies
14. Shark in the Park by Phil Roxbee Cox

Octopus
15. How to Hide an Octopus and Other Sea Creatures by Ruth Heller
16. Good Thing You're Not an Octopus by Julie Markes
17. My Very Own Octopus by Bernard Most
18. Tickly Octopus by Ruth Galloway

Whales
19. Humphrey and the Lost Whale by Wendy Tokuda, Richard Hall and Hanako Wakiyama
20. Whale of a Tale: All About Porpoises, Dolphins and Whales by Bonnie Worth and Aristides Ruiz

Phonemic Awareness

In the past, educators took for granted that children had the ability to distinguish sounds. Over the past few years there has been a better understanding that not all children have this ability. These children greatly benefit in being given assistance in this area and the push towards phonemic instruction was adapted. Phonemic awareness does not relate to identifying letters but a child's ability to distinguish sounds. I attended a session where a school gave a presentation on how they have included phonemic awareness instruction daily with their kindergarten class. They devoted 10-15 minutes every day to this. They noticed an increase in the children within their school being more successful in learning to read.

I often refer to the site that you will find in the link below because it provides you with a wealth of information on this topic and a video demonstrating instruction in this area. However, in the session I attended the children were given little hand mirrors to observe how their lips and tongue moved when they made the different sounds. They would also hold their hand close to their lips and feel the air movement as they made different sounds. This gave the children an understanding of how and why different sounds are produced.

I have included the link below for more information on this topic. Maybe you can start thinking about using little mirrors in your own phonemic instructional period.


Phonemic Awareness

Five Senses Literature Books

Below you will find a list of books that can be used in conjunction with introducing the theme "Five Senses". Click on the titles if you wish to read the reviews and purchase.
Library - Some Suggested Books:

1. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? By Eric Carle
2. Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr.
3. Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young
4. My Five Senses by Aliki
5. You Can’t Taste a Pickle With Your Ear by Harriet Ziefert
6. You Can’t Smell a Flower With Your Ear by Joanna Cole
7. The 5 Senses by Nuria Roca
8. Smell by Maria Rius
9. Touch by Maria Rius
10. Hearing by Maria Rius
11. Taste by Maria Rius
12. Sight by Maria Rius
13. The Listening Walk by Paul Showers

Shared Writing

Shared Writing
Modeling the writing process is similar to modeling the reading process. The children learn about the writing process by watching the teacher being involved in doing it. The teacher begins the writing by gathering the students around an easel and starts a discussion about a shared experience--it can be related to the focus theme. The teacher introduces the topic of discussion. The children share their ideas while the teacher records them on chart paper. As the teacher writes he/she verbalizes the skills he/she wants the children to learn about writing. She/he might verbalize the following:

1. How writing moves from left to right and top to bottom.
2. Review the formation of certain letters.
3. Stretch out sounds of words to model how they can do the same when they are attempting to spell words.
2. Make use of the words that are posted in their environment when trying to figure out how to spell them.
3. The use of capital letters and stop marks (periods, question and exclamation marks).

It is important that the children be actively involved in helping present ideas and attempting to spell new words.

Writing Center
This model can be posted in the writing center for the children to use in their own writing. This would need to be modified according to the group you are working with.