River – A Day With Mother Goose Time

The kids and I are thrilled to be starting our new Mother Goose Time theme: Bubbles, Boats and Floats!  This month promises to bring lots of water play and outdoor fun. We just completed our first day of thew new theme and learned all about rivers. 

Calendar

We started the day with our brand new calendar. This month the calendar features an A-B-C pattern. The simple inclusion of this calendar in our daily routine has had an amazing effect on the kids ability to understand seasons months, days of the week, and numbers. They never let me forget the calendar. “Hey, Mom, we forgot to do the day of the week” is a common refrain in our home.

Concept Introduction: Purple

We played the traditional game of “I Spy” based on colors. We each took a turn saying “I spy with my little eye something (_color__). We would each take turns guessing what the other had seen. Since Ladybug’s favorite color is purple, her outfit was a prime candidate for spying that color. Owl found lots of blue items and I did my best to round out the rainbow by spying objects of various other colors. 

Opening Song

The classic version of “Row Your Boat” was sung as we completed some coloring sheets provided through online resources and practice saying river in Spanish:  . We then used the song as a transition throughout the day. For example, we substituted the words “go to get your shoes” for “gently down the stream” when it was time go outside and play.

River of Names

Discuss

Would you rather be in the river or on the land beside the river? Why?

Ladybug would like to be in the river, because she wants to swim. Owl is happy to stay on land, because he’s tired and would like a cookie.  LOL 

Explore

The kids worked together to keep a ball on a blanket while shaking a blanket up and down. They had a blast with this activity. The first ball we used, chosen by Ladybug because it was purple was too small for their hands to manage so they upgraded to this beach ball style globe ball and finally had success keeping it in the air. 

Play

Find the letters to your name.

Using Jumbo Bananagrams the kids searched for the letters to their name and fished them out of the river. Ladybug is working on understanding the order of the letters in her name and Owl is working on recognizing the letters to make up his. We got our bananagrams from Timberdoodle Company, but you can also find them on Amazon. 

River Collage

Discuss

How does a river flow through the Earth?

The kids had no idea. We discussed some basic concepts like gravity, water supply, and currents. 

Explore

We created a river using sand and dirt. The kids dug out paths in the sand and then slowly squirted water into the path with a turkey baster. Well, Ladybug squirted gently. Owl did some water dumping instead of using the turkey baster. We were able to observe the water being absorbed by the sand until it was saturated and then watched the water level in our pretend river rise. Thanks to Owl we also learned what happens when there is a flood 🙂

Create

Using construction paper, tissue paper, sand, crayons, and glue the kids constructed their own craft version of a river.  They drew curved lines for the river. They experienced the joy of having tissue paper stuck to your hands because of glue. They worked with the sand to cover the glue path they had made for the bank. Sand is a FABULOUS alternative to glitter!  

River Food

Discuss

What type of food is in the river? 

Ladybug said fish and plants. Owl was silent. 

What kinds of animals eat fish? 

Ladybug said bears and other fish. Owl said “me” 🙂 

Explore

We set out fish cards and shape links and the kids walked on all fours like a bear gathering them.

The kids rolled the foam die and took that many steps towards the fish that matched their shape link.

The kids were both able to count to six and spent a lot of time working on putting together and pulling apart the shape links. 

Reflect (I found this fascinating!)

The Mother Goose Time Teacher Guide says that “A bear’s back legs are longer than its front legs so a “bear walk” is with hands on the floor with straight legs. This movement increases blood flow and helps some children focus after performing it.”

Closing Reflection

Have you ever caught a fish? Tell your fish story!

Neither child has officially been fishing just yet. But, we have caught plenty of duckweed and other crazy things in the pond at the park using our trusty tree limb created fishing poles. Last summer Daddy also caught a fish in a tide pool at the beach in his bare hands – this of course is their favorite fishing story! 

Celebrate

“Flow, Water, Flow,” track one on the Bubbles, Boats, and Floats CD has a powerful beat and we danced quickly or slowly to match the song. The music is inspired by children’s Latin music and is so much fun. We listen to the CD all day long. The children are especially found of having the CD playing in the background during coloring time and when eating lunch. 

What are you learning about in your home school today?

 

 

 

 

As a blog ambassador for Mother Goose Time, I am happy to share preschool curriculum ideas, activities, and crafts with my readers.  Mother Goose Time provides our family the opportunity to use their curriculum free of charge in exchange for honest and authentic stories based on our personal experience.