'M' is for Moose

I hope that you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year!  This week, we will be learning all about the letter 'M' and about a family favorite for us, Moose!  Jay's papa's nickname is Moose, so they have always held a very dear place in our hearts.  :0)

This week we will cover:
The letter 'M'
'M' is for Moose
The number 13
Crescents
The color Gray
Right And Left

Monday:  The Letter 'M'
-color a Letter 'M' coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this, this, this, this, this, and this
-have your kiddo trace the Letter 'M' on their coloring page with their finger
-glue your coloring page to a piece of Gray construction paper and hang it on the wall
-make a set of Letter 'M' memory cards (one with a Letter 'M' on it, and the other with a picture of a Moose on it)
-go through the Letter 'M' section of Starfall
-do this Letter 'M' worksheet
-Letter 'M' book hunt (go through your stash of children's books with your kiddo and look for things that start with 'M' (You will be surprised at how many things you find!  Mountains, muffins, magnets, movies, mirrors, men, monkeys, etc)
-talk about right and left hands.  Did you know that your left hand makes the letter 'L' when you hold it up?  Show your kiddo that their pointer finger and their thumb make the letter 'L'.  Your right hand is the one that goes over your heart when you say the Pledge of Allegiance. 

Tuesday:  'M' is for Moose
-color a Moose coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this and this and this
-glue your coloring page to a piece of Gray construction paper and hang it on the wall
-work this cute online Moose puzzle
-make a Moose paper bag puppet (print the head and antlers and body templates, let your kiddo color the pieces, and follow these directions for assembly)
-right and left hand print poster (trace your kiddos left hand onto a piece of green construction paper and their right hand onto a piece of red construction paper. Cut out the hand prints and glue them to a piece of construction paper, making sure that the hand prints are in the correct order of left and then right. As your kiddo decorates the paper, talk about left and right.  On your poster, the left hand is green because you start at green and the right hand is red because you stop at red.) 
Hang your hand print poster somewhere on the wall where it is easily visible!

Wednesday:  Fun Day
-have fun with your kiddo today!  You can take a trip to the zoo to watch some Moose if the weather is nice, or watch a movie with Moose in it, like Brother Bear, and snack on some Moose Munch.  Or if you are fortunate enough to live in an area that has Moose in it, go on a nature hike and look for one.  Be creative, and, regardless of what you do, make it fun!
-learn this fun rhyme:

This is my left hand, I'll hold it up high,
(Raise left hand high.)
This is my right hand, I'll touch the sky.
(Raise right hand high.)
Left hand, right hand, roll them around.
(Roll fists over each other.)
Right hand, left hand, pound, pound, pound.
(Pound fists on each other.)

Thursday:  The Number 13
-color a Number 13 coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this, this, this, and this
-have your kiddo trace the Number 13 on their coloring page with their finger
-glue your coloring page to a piece of Gray construction paper and hang it on the wall
-count to 13 game (choose an item like leaves, toy cars, blocks etc and put them into a basket or bucket one at a time.  Count them as you go, and stop when you get to 13.  You can do this with several items.  If the weather is nice, we'll probably head outside to collect leaves, rocks, sticks, and pecans.)
-make a 13 point set of moose antlers.  (draw a set of moose antlers with 13 points on them and let your kiddo decorate them.  You can even turn them into a hat by attaching them to a strip of construction paper formed into a circle.)
-talk about and practice left and right again

Friday:  Crescents
-color a Crescent coloring page
-have your kiddo trace the Crescent on their coloring page with their finger
-glue your coloring page to a piece of Gray construction paper and hang it on the wall
-What can you think of that is Crescent shaped!?  How about the moon!  Talk about the moon with your kiddo.
-Moon craft (cut out a crescent shape in yellow construction paper and let your kiddo decorate it.  You can then glue it to a piece of black construction paper, or hang it from the ceiling!)
-Read Goodnight Moon

I hope you have fun learning the Letter 'M' with us!  If you have missed letter, you can find past lessons under the ABC Lessons tab at the top of this blog.  And remember to check back next week for 'N' is for Nail.