Basic Concepts to teach:

Summer is one of the seasons of the year. It comes after spring and before fall. Many changes happen in the summer. In summer it doesn't rain as much. It is hot or warm every day. When there is no rain, the earth can get very dry and hard. In some places where people live, there is a danger of fires when the forest or fields get too dry.

Thunder and lightning storms happen more often in the summer. In the United States the sun shines longer in the day and we have fewer hours of darkness.

The hot weather makes us want to wear less clothing.

Summer Vocabulary:

summer sprinkler fan hose cool

water thirsty hot

ice wet dry

plant flower fruit air conditioner

shade sun screen sunburn visor

Take a walk and look for the signs of summer: sprinklers turned on, dogs panting, people wearing light weight clothing. flowers blooming, noisy insects.

Snacks:

Make lemonade to drink outside in the shade. (Taste with and without sugar)

Set up a lemonade stand (work on math skills as you measure ingrediants, make change) Melon-tasting offer cantalop, honeydew, watermelon (Compare size, shape, color, odor, taste)

Berry tasting: set out blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries (Compare size, shape, texture, taste, color)

Make ice cream

Make popsicles using juice in dixie cups and inserting a craft stick. These work best if made a day ahead so they can freeze hard.

Clothing/Dress Up:

Set out a variety of beach hats, sun visors, beach towels, thongs, summer sandles, sunglasses, swim fins. Talk about the types of clothing we wear in the summer because it is warm/hot outside.

Visit a radio station or tv station and talk to the weatherman. Many stations will setup a field trip so the children can see the radar, weather maps and watch a "newscast with the weather report"

Songs:

Tune: Farmer in the Dell

In the summer it is hot

In the summer it is hot

Oh, when it's hot, I (activity) a lot

In the summer when it's hot.

(Let each child name his/her favorite summertime activity to sing in the song)

You are my sunshine.

Bright, yellow sunshine.

You bring me sunlight

All through the days

You help the seasons go

You make the plants grow.

Please be my sunshine always.

Basic Facts about the sun:

The sun is a star. It is our daytime star.

The sun is very big. You can demonstrate this by drawing a circle with a 15 ft diameter and place a golf ball in the center of it.

The sun is far away. It would take 17 years to fly to the sun in a jet plane.

The sun is very bright. (Warn the children to never look directly at the sun.) Safely observe the activity of the sun with a pinhole camera. Cut a 2 inch square from the end of a large box and tape a sheet of aluminum foil over the opening. Make a small pinhole in the center of the foil. Tape an index card inside the box on the side opposite the foil. Take the box outdoors and place it over your head so that you are looking at the index card and the pinhole is facing the sun. DO NOT look at or through the pinhole. Observe the image of the sun on the index card.

The sun is hot.

Demonstrate how the sun heats up the land and water by placing a cup of

soil and a cup of water in the sun and a cup of soil and a cup of water in the shade. After a few hours feel the water and soil. (You could talk about sunburn at this point and how important it is to wear suncreen or sunblock.

The sun is the center of our solar system.

The Earth and other planets orbit around the sun. We can not feel the Earth moving in its orbit because it moves so slowly. It takes a whole year to go around the sun. Simulate the Earth's orbit around the sun, using children as models.

The sun is always shining.

We maynot be able to see it, but it is always shining. Demonstrate the principle of night and day with a globe and light bulb. Place a small piece of tape on the globe where you live. Rotate the globe slowly in front of the light bulb (sun).

Books:

The Sun by Seymour Simon

Welcome Back Sun by Michael Emberly

*music*

Three Little Fish

Sung to the tune of "Three Blind Mice"

Three little fish, three little fish

(hold up three fingers)

See how they swim, see how they swim

(make swimming motion with arms)

Round and Round and fast they go

("swim" fast - sing fast)

Now they are going very slow

("swim" slow-also sign slow)

Three little fish, three little fish

(hold up 3 fingers again)

(This song teaches matching words with actions, Auditory skills, and

motor

skills (fine and gross))

*Arts and Crafts*

HAIRY HARRY

What you need:

styrofoam cup or paper cup (recycle) :)

scissors

construction paper

markers

glue

buttons (or cut them out of paper for young children)

potting soil

rye grass seed

Steps:

1. Have the children cut eyes, ears, mouths, nose, etc...out of construction paper and glue in place on their cup. Let them also use markers to color on the cup. Let them use buttons to embellish or anything else you may have lying around.

2. Have the children fill their cups about 2/3 full of potting soil. Then plant the rye grass seeds in the soil. Place the cups in a sunny place and water regularly.

3. Hairy Harry will begin to grow "hair" in about seven days.

* WINDSOCKS

styrofoam cup large one works great- i think about 16oz

crepe paper streamers- 6 colors

yarn

glue

sharp pencil

take the cup and poke 6 holes in the end of the cup.... Cut strips of streamers about 15 ins long. Roll the end to make a pointed tip.. Poke throw hole and put glue on tip and stick to inside of cup. Do this will all six color strips. Poke a hole on the side to cup and put another hole opposite to that. Take some extra crepe paper and glue on outside cup-- doesnt matter what it looks like... tie yarn through holes on side and fly cup when dry!!

* With a pre-k class I put down light blue const. paper to make the water and edged it with tan for sand. After my ocean was done each child drew fish in the ocean . I put paper fish that had a letter on the front and attached paper clips to the back, in our ocean. I made four fishing poles with magnets for hooks. We went fishing and when they caught a fish they had to give use a beach word that began with the letter on the fish.  We did oceans during Feb. as a contrast to the weather but we still all wore our beach clothes. We played with beach balls and served snack in pails. A few posters from AAA were hung on the walls to give us a warm feeling. Our craft was sand pictures.

* We had the beach theme this week. We made beach in a bottle. The children all brought in plastic water bottles. They put in about 1 inch of sand, some crushed or small sea shells, They then used a funnel to add water and then colored the water blue. A fish shaped fishing lore was added and we glued the caps on. The kids really enjoyed this. We did edible aquariums using graham crackers, colored cream cheese, goldfish and cheerios. We cut fish out of poster board and then the children used watered down modge podge and attached tissue papeer squares. Magnets can be added to the back. They're beautiful. I also read Curious clownfish, rainbow fish. Our show and tell consisted of bringing beach items, we got quite a variety.

* Cut a large fish pattern from two peices of colored cellophane, and punch holes around the edges. Stuff with small peices of hollagram or shiney paper, and "sew" around the edges with ribbon. Very cute!

* Beach Concentration Game (Matching Game)

Make up several cards about the beach. For example, coral reef, beach,  clam, wave, starfish, island, surf board, dolphin, beach ball, umbrella, etc.

* Make a Plaster of Paris mini beach

Need: Paper bowl, one cup plaster of PAris, 1/3 cup sand (plus extra), water spoon, tiny seashells (twigs and other nature objects), small fabric for towel, and miniature umbrella.  Put the plaster and sand in the bowl, add water and stir with spoon until mixed. Create a beach scene on top of the plaster by sprinkling with the extra sand. Add tiny shells (and other nature objects), 'beach towel' fabric scrap and umbrella. Let it dry. Remove it from the bowl and use it as a paperweight.

* Make Sunglasses

Cut sunglasses shape out of cardboard. Glue on colored saran wrap to make lenses.

* Sand Castles

If you have a sandbox, wet down the sand and build sand castles.

* Pretend to be swimming in the ocean.

Jump over imaginary waves, pretend to surf, listen to Beach Boys while doing this. Don't forget the sunblock!!

* You could put shells in the sandbox and have them dig for the shells as if  they were at the seashore. While playing in the sandbox if you could make  a tape of the sounds of the ocean to play in the background for mood music  it may help. Another important element of the beach theme would be to  talk about water safety as well as wearing suntan lotion to protect our  skin from harsh rays.

* Another cute fish idea is to take bubble wrap and cut out two fish shapes and glue both pieces together leaving an opening to stuff. Fill the fish with colored tissue paper and then seal the opening. Hang these from the ceiling and you have a room full of beautiful rainbow fish!

* Today our kids made pails out of styrofoam cups and pipe cleaners. They  decorated the outside with cut-out ocean animals and a little glitter.  Tomorrow, I am going to bring shells for them to clean and let them take  a few home in their pails.

* you could make an aquaruim... Take 2 paper plates and cut the inner circle out... tape blue cellophane to on to the inside of each plate. Glue or tape fish and seaweed to inside and then tape outside paper plates together thus making an aquarium.

* Buy fish stamps... We made ocean pictures using fish stamps on construction paper..

* Eat gummy fish for snacks

* make a sand castle - buy shovel and sand pails and let them play in the sand.

* I saw in a magazine where you get a large pan and put sand in it an then have the child put either their foot print or hand print in the sand, then pour plaster paris in the print the child has made . This needs to set for about 25 minutes also they can collect sea shells and let them paint designs in them.

* another idea is take the blue jello and put gummy sharks and fishies in it and top with cool whip. or You take Pepperidge farms goldfish crackers,peanut butter and pretzel sticks. put peanut butter on pretzel an try to catch a cracker fishy.

* I Went Swimming in the Ocean (Tune: I've Been Working on the Railroad)

I went swimming in the ocean

On a summer day.

I went swimming in the ocean

And kicked, and splashed and played.

Ofter lunch we looked for seashells

I found three or four

You can hold one up to your ear

And hear the ocean roar.

Hear the ocean roar

Hear the ocean roar.

You can hear the ocean

Roar, roar, roar.

Hear the ocean roar

Hear the ocean roar

Hear the ocean roar, roar, roar.

*Sandy Numbers

Print hollow numbers on squares of paper. Have kids fill in with glue & sprinkle with colored sand. Then have kids close their eyes & feel numbers to try & name it.

* Go Fish

Make 6 inch fish from construction paper & write different numerals on each.  Attach a paper clip to the nose of each fish. Tie a magnet to a 3 foot string which is tied to a clip. Spread out fish & fish. Variation: Punch a hole in the front of each fish, pass a twist-em through the hole, and bend it into a loop. Can use table as dock or big box as a boat.

* Beach Ball!

Write a different numeral (using a permanent marker) on each section of an inflated ball. Toss or roll ball to a child. Have him name & show one of the numbers & give an activity - such as clapping, jumping, ect. for the group to do. Another idea is to have each child name the two numbers closest to his hands. Write them on a board, count out the manipulatives, decide which is grater, or add them together.

* Dramatic play - (this center, often called "housekeeping" will probably be the focal point of the room.) Bring a small wading pool into the classroom, and add lounge chairs (kid-size, preferably), empty sun screen bottles, a cooler with cups for pretend drinks, life preservers or "floaties", and a beach umbrella, stuck in sand in a 5-gallon bucket. Add sea shells to the top of the sand in the bucket. The children can pretend to be at the beach, and swim in the "ocean"...with life jackets on, of course!

* Water table - add plastic boats and fish to the water table. Tint the water blue with food coloring.

* Sand table - put sandbox sand in the sand table along with sea shells. Let the children play in dry sand one day, and wet the sand the next. Add scoops and buckets so the children can sort and count the sea shells.

* Block Area - put a large piece of blue bulletin-board paper on the floor to make a pond. Have the children build "docks" out into the water with the blocks. You can add a home-made fishing game with construction paper fish (make them different colors for a color identification activity, or put numerals or letters on them for number or letter identification for older children.). The fish should each have a paper clip for a mouth, and the child will have a dowel rod with string attached to the end. On the other end of the string, attach a magnet. The children can catch the fish out of the pond. Watch out for fishing rods being used as weapons, however! If this might be a problem, just  give the children a piece of yarn with a magnet on the end to use for their fishing.

* Book corner - Fill it with seasonal books.....SPOT GOES TO THE BEACH, JUST GRANDMA AND ME, SWIMMY, BIG AL, etc., etc.

* End the week with "water play day" outside. Take the pool outside and put water in it, take the water table outside and put bubble solution in it with a bunch of wands, let the children bring squirt guns, and set up a sprinkler in the grass....don't forget to slather on the sunscreen before, during, and after all their play, and don't attempt this without LOTS of adult supervision.

* Theme: Fun in the Sun

Letter: Rr

Number: 15

Shape: Circle (Sun)

Projects: Xeroxed copies of fun things to do @ the beach.

Wash the doll clothes.

Paint the fence with brushes & water.

Sun Fading, put toys on dark blue contruction paper and put in the sun.  When you remove the object the paper under it will have stayed dark and  the paper will be faded. This usually only takes an hour or so depending on the sun.

Sun Collage: have the children cut out pictures of people doing things  out in the sun.

* Graham cracker aquariums (snack)

Ingredients:

graham cracker squares (1 per child)

peanut butter

celery

cheerios

pepperidge farm Goldfish Crackers

materials:

waxed paper

knife or spoon to spread the peanut butter

sharp knife (for adult use only)

Give each child a square of waxed paper to work on. Next, give each child a graham cracker square, about a tablespoon of peanut butter. Have the kids spread the peanut butter all over one side of the cracker.  While they are doing this, have an adult use a sharp knife to cut the celery into about 3 in. lengths. Now, slice the celery long ways into very thin 3 in. pieces. This will be used for seaweed in the aquarium.  After the kids have finished spreading the P.B. give each of them about 1/4 c. of cheerios. Have them crumble several cheerios and press the crumbles along the bottom of the cracker square so that they stick in the P.B. This will make the sand.  Now give each child about 10 Pepperdige Farm goldfish crackers. Have the children stick the goldfish on their sides into the P.B. on the cracker. Add some extra P.B. to the goldfish if needed to make them stick.  Now, take a few cheerios and stick them onto the P.B. above the goldfish to make air bubbles. Next give each child several thin sticks of celery to stick onto their aquarium to make seaweed.

*Eat some ocean!

Using a new clean glass aquarium for your dish, mix and prepare enough blue-colored jello to fill the bowl at least 3/4 full. When partially set, you can mix in or arrange, some new clean aquarium plastic plants or other safe decor (the jello is intended for eating so be sure anything you mix in is compatible and SAFE for having in food!), and some different shapes of gummy fish ... When you are inserting and mixing in these things, it slighly unsettles the jello and looks even more realistic

*My Ocean theme last year was combined with the color blue, which the activities to follow will show some overlapping.

~Seashells

~Built sand castle creatures using elmer's.

~Painted blue "oceans" using our feet.

~Dramatic Play:

Using a large applianhce box, throughout the month we created and played in an ocean. Each day as we added a new "creature" act out where it may like to sleep, swimming, hiding, etc.

~Science/ Cooking:

-Fish shaped jello mold.

-Snack-dunk fish (goldfish crackers) into the ocean (blue colored cheese-spread).

-made our own waves using rubbermaid tubs outdoors watching fish and boats moving about.

-Octopus pretzels.

-Made starfish sandwiches (cookie cutter).

-Created algae as a source of food for fish.

-Made blue playdough.

-Baked a blueberry pie.

~Discovery table:

Offered:

-different seashells, real seahorse, horseshoe crab.

-tub with water, various sea-life plastic animals.

-sand with various measuring utensils.

~Special days:

Had a "blue" day. Everyone wore something blue, we ate blue snacks during the day, to include blue milk as a surprize.

Field trip-blueberry picking.

~Creative Movement:

1. Wiggle across the floor, using no arms-pretend to swim like a whale.

2. Using wading pool swim like a fish.

3. Imitate blow hole of whales using sprinkler, run through before he spays again.

4. Using props made by children, wiggle an eel from the corals back to home.

5. inside a pillow case, squirm like an eel.

6. Act out ocean poems.

~Creative Art/ Activities:

Sealife placemats.

Seashore hidden pictures

Seek and find

Beach scene

Seahorse silhouette

Crab pattern color

Crab cut out

Whale

Sand Starfish

Octopus

Seashells