Welcome! If this is your first time here, I am sharing lessons I teach my 4-year-old each month. Each week I choose two books, have two discussions and we create two crafts that go along with one character trait. I use a variety of resources online to put together the lesson plans. Here are the lessons from Month #1. Enjoy!
Week #1 Self-Esteem
Read: Unique Monique by Maria Rousaki
Discuss: What does the word unique mean? How come Monique was always bringing different accessories to school? Take a look at you and I, what makes US unique?
Make: A self-portrait of yourself. What makes YOU unique?
Read: Carla’s Sandwich by Debbie Herman
Discuss: Carla liked to eat different kinds of foods. What kind of food do you like to eat that others might think is different? How do you think Carla felt when her classmates were making fun of the food she ate? Do you think eating different foods is a bad thing? What happened at the end of the story?
Make: Your own unique sandwich for lunch. Let your child go into the fridge and come up with their very own crazy concoction!
Week #2 Courage
Read: Tacky The Penguin by Helen Lester
Discuss: What does the word courage mean? Let’s think of ways that you and I have shown courage. Remember the time…. How did Tacky show courage in the book? He needed to be courageous to be himself because he was different! Let’s talk about the importance of being yourself!
Make: A penguin craft by No Time For Flashcards
Read: Leap Back Home To Me by Lauren Thompson
Discuss: Little Frog is very scared in the story. What is he afraid of? Who helps him? How does Little Frog show courage in the book?
Make: A paper plate frog craft by No Time For Flashcards
Week #3 Kindness
Read: The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle
Discuss: What does it mean to be kind to someone? Give an example of a time you did something kind for someone else. What examples of kindness can you find in this book? Have you ever felt lonely like the firefly? What if you saw a friend who was lonely, how could you use kindness to make that friend smile?
Make: Band-aid Fireflies by No Time for Flashcards
Read: The Very Fairy Princess by Julie Andrews
Discuss: How does Geraldine show kindness as a princess in this book? Can you think of three examples? Let’s brainstorm three things we can do for others to show kindness. I will write them down and we can work on completing these acts of kindness together!
Make: The shape princess craft. This is a great craft to help your child with their find motor skills (cutting and pasting) along with following step-by-step directions to put the princess together!
Weeks #4 and #5 this month focused on Fall and Halloween books. My daughter picked them out at the library and we picked out some crafts to make from my Pinterest Boards together. Head over to my boards to get some ideas today!