Letter E!

The Plan

Books

Chew, Chew, Gulp! by Lauren Thompson
Elmer by David McKee
First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Five For a Little One by Christ Raschka
I Drive a Fire Engine by Sarah Bridges

Extension Activities

Flannelboard Puzzle: “Letter E”

Flannelboard: “Elephants in the Bathtub”
One elephant in the bathtub going for a swim
Knock, knock (clap twice)
Splash, splash (slap knees twice)
Come on in! (motion with both hands)
…
Five elephants in the bathtub going for a swim
Knock, knock (clap twice)
Splash, splash (slap knees twice)
They all fell in! (knock the felt pieces down)

Action Rhyme: “Hurry, Hurry”
Hurry, hurry, drive the fire truck (pretend to turn wheel)
Hurry, hurry, drive the fire truck (pretend to turn wheel)
Hurry, hurry, drive the fire truck (pretend to turn wheel)
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding! (ring bell)
Turn the corner (lean over to one side, then the other)
climb the ladder (pretend to climb)
spray the water (pretend to spray a hose)
Credit: Childhood

Fingerplay: “Eat an Apple”
Eat an apple (bright hand to mouth)
Save the core (close hand in fist)
Plant the seeds (touch the ground)
And grow some more (extend arms up)
Credit: Best Kids Book Site

Craft

I came up with this idea on my own. All of the elephant crafts that I found were adorable, but not practical given that I only have access to crayons and glue at the daycare. So, I decided to spice up a regular coloring sheet by turning it into a puzzle! The kids really enjoyed the puzzle aspect and a lot of them colored their own version of Elmer.

How It Went

Nearly the whole daycare was sick this week, so the kids were very quiet and not their normal boisterous selves. "Elmer" was probably the biggest hit as this group of kids LOVES naming colors. I got the kids to be absolutely silent during "Five for a Little One" as we listened with our ears to hear what we could. It was so quiet, we could hear the clock ticking the seconds down!