'E' is For Elephant

I hope you practiced your trumpeting skills because this week our lesson plan is all about Elephants!

This Week We Will Cover:
The letter 'E'
'E' is for Elephant
The color Red
The number 5
Octagons
Differences

Monday:  The Letter 'E'
-color a Letter 'E' coloring page
-have you kiddo trace the letter 'E' on the coloring page with their finger
-while coloring, watch this, this, this, and this
-Glue your coloring page to a red piece of construction paper and hang it on the wall
-make a set of Letter 'E' memory cards (one will have the letter 'E' on it, and the other one will have a picture of an Elephant on it)
-use pipe cleaners to make a letter 'E'
-talk about the different sounds the letter 'E' can make
-Sneaky Letter E's have invaded our yard!!  We are going to use our binoculars to go on a hunt for hidden letter E's.  (For this game, write the Letter E in all different ways and in all different colors on about 15 index cards.  Hide the index cards in your yard or in your home so that the letter E on each card is still visible.  Then hand your kiddo some binoculars and go on a hunt for them.)
-go through the letter 'E' section of Starfall
-sing the ABC song

Tuesday:  'E' is for Elephant
-color an Elephant coloring page
-while coloring, watch this, this, and this
-glue your coloring page to a piece of red construction paper and hang it on the wall
-talk about these Elephant fun facts (scroll down past the coloring pages)
-make an Elephant paper bag puppet (Use templates for the head and body.  And Use these instructions for assembly)
-do this fun Elephant puzzle online
-read an Elephant book like this
-sing "We went to the Animal Fair"

Wednesday:  Zoo Day!
-Go to your local zoo and check out the Elephants in person
-while at the zoo, be sure to look for other things that start with the letter 'E'
-watch this, this, and this
-talk about why the different item in each of the above videos is different from the others (also talk about the other items being the same)

Thursday:  The number 5
-color a Number 5 coloring page
-while coloring, watch this, this, and this
-glue your coloring page to a piece of red construction paper and hang it on the wall
-have your kiddo trace the number 5 on the coloring page with their finger
-make a set of number 5 memory cards (one with the number 5 on it, and the other with 5 stickers on it)
-sing "Five Little Monkeys"
-Play "One of These Things is NOT Like The Other" (Use household items like apples, buttons, cups, blocks, etc.  Lay out several groupings of items on a table.  Make three of the items the same, and one item different.  Have your kiddo find the one that is different, and then talk about why it is different.  Also make it a point to talk about the other items being the same.)
-read a counting or Number 5 book

Friday:  Octagons
-color an Octagon coloring page
-while coloring, watch this
-glue your coloring page to a piece of red construction paper and hang it on the wall
-have your kiddo trace the Octagon on their coloring page with their finger
-make a Penne pasta Octagon (put 8 pieces of Penne pasta on a pipe cleaner, and shape it into an Octagon)
-make a set of Octagon Memory cards (both cards with have octagons on them)
-Stop Sign Walk (walk to a stop sign in your neighborhood.  Count the sides on it, and talk about it being an octagon)
-Sticker Differences Game (Put three stickers on an index card.  Make two of the stickers the same, and one sticker different.  Make about 10 to 15 cards.  Have your kiddo point out which sticker is different.  Be sure to talk about why the sticker is different, and about why the other stickers are the same.)


An important thing to do:
Make sure that you take a few moments each week to review the previous letters, numbers, etc. that we have learned.  The numbers are easy...just count up to the current week's number.  For the letters, I usually go back and have Jay look at the letter coloring pages that we have already done.  I also take time to point out the letters we have already learned when we are reading.  And we typically read at least one alphabet book each week.  For the shapes, I just try to point out shapes while we are driving, or out on a walk.
It is just important to make sure that your kiddo does not forget the things we have already covered.  You, by no means, need to reteach them each week.  Just mention them and try to give your child little reminders each week.

Thanks for Learning 'E' is for Elephant with us!  If you have missed a previous week of the ABC lesson Plans, you can find it here.  And check back next week for 'F' is for Firetruck!