Unit For A Day: For Preschool/Kindergarten

          If you aren’t sure about planning your own unit studies, or if you’d simply like to have some extra fun with your children, a “unit for a day” is a great idea.  Here are some ideas to get you started.  One is “just for fun”, and the other incorporates more serious learning:

 Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs Day

 ~Music:  Sing the Song, “On Top of Spaghetti”:

Tune:  On Top Of Old Smokey

On top of spa-ghetti,  All covered with cheese, I lost my poor meat-ball,

When somebody sneezed (ker-choo!)  It rolled off the ta-ble,  And onto the floor,

And then my poor meat-ball,  Rolled out of the door.  It rolled in the gar-den,

And under a bush,  And then my poor meat-ball,  Was noth-ing but mush.

So if you like spe-getti,  All covered with cheese,  Hold on to your meat-ball,

And don’t ev-er sneeze. (ker-choo!)

~Book:  Read the book, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

~Art:  Cook spaghetti and let cool completely.  Let children “sculpt” with noodles on dark-colored construction paper or better yet, tagboard.  Let dry.  When dry, the noodles harden again, and make a 3-D picture.  (Note:  If you let the children pile the spaghetti up too high, it will take too long to dry and will rot.  Encourage children to make line shapes or tiny (not thick) sculptures.

 ~Lunch:  Spaghetti and meatballs, of course! 

~Movie:  I haven’t seen the movie, so use your own judgement

Duck Unit Study (one or two days)

 ~Finger plays: Five Little Ducks.  (I like Raffi’s version better.  Raffi also sings the song, 6 Little Ducks That I Once Knew; another good musical choice.)

 ~Books:  Fiction:  A Story About Ping, by Marjorie Flack   and/or Make Way for Ducklings, by Robert McCloskey; non-fiction: Ducks Don’t Get Wet  by Augusta Goldin and/or  The Little Duck by Judy Dunn.

~Science Activity:  Explain to your children that ducks don’t get wet because their feathers are covered with oil that repels water.  To prove that oil repels water, put some water in a glass.  Add some baby oil or vegetable oil and observe the result:  Does the oil and water mix?  No. The oil repels the water.

 ~Fishing Game:  We can’t catch fish the way a duck can (we don’t have beaks!),  but people do like to go fishing!  You can pretend to fish, and teach some preschool “facts” while you do it. 

 What you’ll need:  A short dowel; yarn; doughnut shaped magnet; paper clips; construction paper.

 What to do:  Tie the magnet onto the yarn, and then tie the yarn around the top of the dowel.  (You may need to tape it or use a dab or hot glue to hold it in place.)  Cut fish shapes out of construction paper and put a paper clip over each fish’s mouth. 

How to play:  Place the fish on the floor in front of a chair.  Have your child sit in the chair, and then “drop” his/her “line” into the pretend water and try to snag a fish.  When s/he does, have him tell you the color of the fish (or you tell him.)  If your child is older and has begun to learn his letters or numbers, write a different letter or number on each fish; put a star on a few of them.  If s/he catches a star, it’s a freebie (automatic keep.)  Whenever a letter or number fish is caught, your child should name the letter/number in order to “keep” the fish.  (Warning: Stay with your children during this activity.  One of my boys broke a window by swinging a tiny magnet….not to mention what a magnet could do to an eye…also, magnets and paperclips are dangerous if swallowed.)

 ~Snack:  Fish (tuna fish or fish sticks—Ping loves fish), or Goldfish crackers; peanuts (Mr. and Mrs. Mallard love peanuts.)

 ~Art:  Paint using feathers as brushes

Portions of this post are excerpts from the book, “Homepreschool and Beyond”; used with permission. 

© 2010 Susan Lemons all rights reserved.