F is for Frog

I decided that for now we'll learn one new letter a week. So on our second day of preschool we continued learning about the letter F and learned all about frogs. Frogs were a hit with Ethan! Especially tree frogs. 

We started our morning by reading Fish is Fish by Leo Lionni, a very cute story about a fish and a tadpole. Ethan got to learn about metamorphosis and the difference between fish and frogs.

We learned more about frogs by going to the National Geographic kids website. This is a great website that has all kinds of audio, pictures, videos and information on different animals. Ethan loved this part of our morning and wanted to watch the tree frogs over and over. We learned about American Bullfrogs and Red-Eyed Tree Frogs.

Then we had some fun with some silly frog songs:

Little Green Frog Song

  (action song) 

Mm, Mm went the little green frog on day,

  (stick tongue out on 2nd "Mm")

Mm, Mm went the little green frong,

  (stick tongue out on 2nd "Mm")

Mm, Mm went the little green frog on day, 

  (stick tongue out on 2nd "Mm")

And they all went Mm, Mm, Aahh!  

  (stick tongue out on 2nd "Mm" and open mouth wide for Aahh!)

The Bullfrog Song

Ethan and Owen both enjoyed the singing time.

Next we reviewed the letter F and the sound he makes while working on a coloring page.

Next, we worked on the Frog Life Cycle craft. This was a simple craft using construction paper, bubble wrap (to make the frog eggs), markers, and glue. Ethan got to learn how to use glue for the first time and he did a great job.

I introduced the book basket. Each week the basket will fill with books starting with or relating to the letter of the week.

We finished the morning with an activity that required Ethan to identify toys that started with the letter F. He then helped me label the toys. This required my help but got him introduced to what the words look like. Then he had fun playing by himself with some toys he hasn't touched in a while.

F is for Fish

On our first day of preschool  we learned about the letter F and fish. I'm not sure why I picked F first, it just seemed like a fun letter. We started our morning by reading Swimmy by Leo Lionni.

Then we watched a PowerPoint presentation about fish. Ethan enjoyed seeing the pictures and talking about the characteristics of fish.

We followed our discussion about fish with some fun songs and finger plays:

One Little, Two Little, Three Little Fishes
  (to the tune of One Little, Two Little, Three Little Indians) 
One little, two little, three little fishes  
Four little, five little, six little fishes  
Seven little, eight little, nine little fishes  
Ten little fishes in the pond. 


Five Little Fishies
Five little fishies, swimming in a pool 
  (Wiggle five fingers)
The first one said, "The pool is cool."
  (Show one finger, then wrap arms around body)
The second one said, "The pool is deep."
  (Show two fingers, then hands measure 'deep')
The third one said, "I want to sleep."
  (Show three fingers, then rest head on hands)
The fourth one said, "Let's take a dip."
  (Show four fingers, then hands 'dive' into water)
The fifth one said, "I spy a ship."
  (Show five fingers, then form scope with hands to peer through)
Fisher boat comes,
  (Form 'V' with fingers, then move hands away from body)
Line goes kersplash
  (Pretend to throw fishing line)
Away the five little fishies dash
  (Wiggle five fingers away)

Next we learned about big F and his buddy, little f. We discussed the sound F makes while working on a coloring page.

We followed snack time with a sticker activity and a giant fish floor puzzle. Ethan stuck with the puzzle and completed it by himself with just a little help from me.

We ended our first morning of preschool with the Loaves and Fish Bible lesson. We read Matthew 14:13-21 and learned about how Jesus fed the crowd of 5000. Then we used grocery bags, construction paper, markers, staples and tape to make the following craft:

Ethan enjoyed carrying his basket around while driving his truck. Before too long he discovered how fun it was to fill and dump the truck with his loaves and fish. :)