Opposites: Part 3

For our third Opposites study we used pgs 132-143 in the Comprehensive Curriculum of Basic Skills for Preschool.

First, we read the book Quiet, Loud by Leslie Patricelli. After, we looked for some of the items in the book to see for ourselves how quiet and loud they were! So for quiet we gathered a pillow, teddy bear, books and crayons. They are quiet indeed! And for loud, J did some screaming, burping, singing, sneezing, banging pots & pans and acting like a monkey, dog, rooster, firetruck! Phew! My ears are still ringing!

Secondly, we emptied out two bins and sorted toys that were quiet and loud. J initially wanted to sort them by hard and soft since we did that a few lessons ago, but soon saw that some soft toys were also loud if they crinkled or made sounds. 

Opposites: Part 2

For our second Opposites study we used pgs 122-131 in the Comprehensive Curriculum of Basic Skills for Preschool.

We read the book Opposites by Sandra Boynton then we headed to the playground and practiced our opposites! I gave J the first word to demonstrate and she had to tell me the opposite and demonstrate that as well. Over the playscape/ under the playscape, down the slide/ up the slide, high on the swings/ low on the swings, Up on the monkey bars/ down from the monkey bars, heavy/ light on the see saw, run fast/ go slow, etc.

Opposites

For our first Opposites study we used pgs 113-121 in the Comprehensive Curriculum of Basic Skills for Preschool. 

First, I emptied out two toys bins and designated one for soft toys and one for hard toys. If you are working on reading as well, you can go ahead and put "soft" and "hard" signs on your bins. Once you have your bins, let your kiddo collect things until they're sick of the game! J actually ended up doing this one for a really long time plus she made a pile in between the two bins for items that were both soft and hard! Bonus!

For our second game we basically did a Simon Says with Opposites. Go "in" the bedroom (have them go) then ask "what's the opposite of in?" "Out!" "Out" of the bedroom (have them go out). Keep going: "Under" the table/ "over" the table, find a "big" stuffed animal/ find a "little" stuffed animal, find a "loud" toy/ find a "quiet" toy, stand "up"/ sit "down", "open" the door/ "close" the door, this wash cloth is "dry"/ now get it "wet", turn lights "on"/ turn lights "off", etc. 

Long & Short

For our Long & Short study we used pgs 104- 111 in the Comprehensive Curriculum of Basic Skills for Preschool.

First, we simply arranged pieces of paper from shortest to longest. If you want to make it a little more interesting you could use rainbow colors or slice up a picture from a magazine that will be revealed once placed in the right order.

For our next game, I put some painters tape around a tile and had J try to push the cars into the square. Depending on where it ended up, we'd say "too short" and "too far." We didn't use the word long but it was a good exercise in distance, length and fine motor skills.

Short & Tall

For our section on Short and Tall we used pgs 96-103 in the Comprehensive Curriculum of Basic Skills for Preschool. 

We did a house-wide tour to practice spotting things that are shorter or taller than J. Doorways, counters, furniture, baby brother, toys on the floor... anything goes! Plus you'll find the occasion item that is the same size. 

Before J could eat her fruit by the foot snack she had to arrange it from shortest to tallest. A little sweet motivation never hurts!

Big, Small & Same Size

The section for Big, Small and Same Size is found on pgs 88-95 in the Comprehensive Curriculum of Basic Skills for Preschool.

We arranged the food containers from bigger to smaller and then from smaller to bigger. I also used three different types of containers per set: glass, aluminum and plastic. You can talk about the differences between the containers like how glass is breakable, how you can squeeze the plastic and how you can dent the aluminum. This would be a lot of fun for hands on teaching!

Our second project we used different sized plastic cups which we again order biggest to smallest and smallest to biggest. Once finished we poured water into the smallest cup until it was full. Once it was full, we poured the water directly into the next bigger cup to show how this cup is not full from the same amount of water. You can then add more water from your water container and once that cup is full pour into the next cup and so on. Once the largest cup was full I let J pour all of the water into the small cup and see how much it overflows! You can't beat making a mess! If the weather isn't warm enough where you are, you can always set up shop in the bath tub!

Shape Review

For our Shape Review we used pgs 84-87 in the Comprehensive Curriculum of Basic Skills for Preschool. We traced, colored and matched shapes.

For our shape review craft J made some shape monsters! I cut out multiple shapes in different sizes and colors out of left over construction paper (you could also do with felt so it's reusable) Then cut out large shapes to make up the monster body. Let your kiddo glue to their hearts content! (You could use googly eyes if you're realllllly fun.)

Secondly, we simply collected one item of each shape from around the house.

Another idea you could do is Shape Simon Says. If the weather is nice you can draw shapes in chalk on the sidewalk and do it that way or you could tape paper shapes onto the ground inside.