Day 3

Circle Time: Where Are The Nuts?

You will need: Real walnuts (still in shell) or the acorn file, brown paper lunch bags (one for each child) and a tissue box.

Read the story "Busy Little Squirrel" By Nancy Tafuri if you don't own this story you may be able to borrow it from your local library.

Explain to the children how squirrels and chipmunks gather up food for the winter. Hide some walnuts (in the shell) or print out the acorns, cut out, laminate and hide these around the room (in plain sight).

Have the children pretend to be squirrels looking for the nuts. Give each of the children a small paper lunch bag to collect the nuts and after they have found all the nuts, have them take turns dropping the nuts into the hole in a tissue box.

Print out the squirrel picture (see song/rhyme time), color the picture or print it onto colored paper, cut out the squirrel and tape it to the front of the tissue box. Have the children find the nuts and after they find the nuts have them drop the nuts into the hole in the tissue box.

Song/Rhyme: Colored Squirrel Song
You will need: Small squirrel file, cardstock paper (green and white paper).

Where is green squirrel? (Hold up the green squirrel)

Where is green squirrel? (Point to the green squirrel)

Here I am, (Wave the squirrel slowly from side to side)

Here I am (Hold it up a bit higher and continue to slowly move it back and forth)

Show me if you can, show me if you can.

Where is green squirrel? (Point at the green squirrel your holding)

Where is green squirrel? (Point at the green squirrel your holding)

Directions: Print out the small squirrels onto green and white cardstock paper. You will need 1 squirrel from each color for each child. Hold up the green squirrel as you sing the song above; encourage the children to hold up their green squirrel. Repeat with the white squirrel.

Art Time: Soft Squirrel

You will need: Large squirrel file, soft items such as cotton balls, pieces of felt, pieces of fake fur, chunky thick paint brushes and glue.

Print out the squirrel picture onto cardstock paper; print out one picture for each child, or use the picture as a pattern and cut out each child the shape of the squirrel from heavy paper such as white cardstock paper or craft paper. Give the children some soft items to glue onto their squirrel. Have them use cotton balls, pieces of felt, piece of fake fur, etc.

Learning Time: Animal Letter Match Up

You will need: Animal letter match up file, white cardstock paper, and clear contact paper.

Print out the A, B, Y and Z animal letter match up onto white cardstock paper, print out two, one will be the game board and the cut apart pieces will be the game board pieces.

Activity: Set the uncut animal letter card (game board) onto the floor next to teacher or onto a low table, place all the animal letter cards (that have been cut apart) into a small cloth bag or pillowcase, have the children take turns picking an animal letter card from the cloth bag and see if they can match it to the same animal on the game board, have them match up the animals on the game board, be sure to point out the letters on the cards as the children are matching them to the game board; such as, Shelly, you have the sheep that starts with S, do you see the letter S on the card, repeat with each child, as soon as the game boards fill up, remove the cards, put them back into the cloth bag and continue until everyone has had a turn.

Directions: Print out two of the animal letter match up cards; be sure not to cut both of the matching game cards apart, leave one un-cut (this will become the game board) and then cut the other set apart to be the game cards. Print these out onto heavy paper such as white card stock paper for best results.

Letter/Number Time: Sort The Blocks

You will need: Two tissue boxes, the fox print out and some white and green mega blocks

Print out the fox onto white and green cardstock paper or print it out on white paper and color one of the foxes green. Cut out the foxes. You may want to laminate them or cover them with clear contact paper to make them durable. Tape the white fox to one tissue box and the green fox to the other tissue box.

Place the white and green mega blocks into a small cloth bag and have the children take turns picking one block from the bag and matching it by color to the fox, have them drop the mega block into the tissue box by matching up the color of the block to the fox, repeat with the rest of the children.

Special Activity: Fun With Forest Animals

You will need: Sturdy plastic forest animals, sand table or dishpans and rice.

Set up a sand table or dishpans with some rice and hide the forest animals in the sand table as the children feel around in the sand they will find the forest animals. This is a fun sensory activity for young children.