'Q' is for Quarter

Happy 2011 everyone!! 

Jay is really into putting money into his piggy bank, he will actually raid my wallet just to get my change!  And it sure adds up in a hurry.  Last time we took his piggy bank to the bank, he had over $87 in change!!  I also firmly believe it is never too soon to start teaching your kids about money and fiscal responsibility.  If we don't teach them, how will they ever learn!?  So when I started planning the letter 'Q' lesson, I knew that I just had to do 'Q' is for quarter!  You can print and cut out paper quarters for some of the activities, but I would really recommend going and getting a few rolls of quarters from the bank to play with.      

This week we will cover:
The letter 'Q'
'Q' is for Quarter
The number 17
Circles
The color Silver
Empty and Full

Monday: The Letter 'Q'
-color a Letter 'Q' coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this, this, this, this, and this
-have your kiddo trace the Letter 'Q' on their coloring page with their finger
-glue your coloring page to a piece of Silver construction paper and hang it on the wall (if you do not have silver paper, paint or use a silver crayon to color the edges of a piece of white construction paper silver)
-make a set of Letter 'Q' memory cards (one with a Letter 'Q' on it, and the other with a picture of a Quarter on it)
-go through the Letter 'Q' section of Starfall
-print out this neat mini book to color and read (Page 1 and 2, Page 3 and 4, Page 5 and 6, Page 7 and 8, Page 9 and 10, Cover 
-play the 'Q' is for Quiet game (print and cut out a handful of letter Q's make them colorful and fun looking if you can.  Explain the quiet game to your kiddo so that they know what they have to do.  Play the quiet game, but for every 5 or 10 seconds your kiddo can stay quiet, give them a letter 'Q.'  See how many letter Q's they can collect!)
-make a Q-tip letter 'Q' (cut a letter 'Q' out of construction paper--use a thicker paper if you can.  Glue Q-tips all over the letter 'Q.'  You could also use printed out pictures of quarters or question marks.)
-make a letter 'Q' quilt (cut out squares from all different colors of construction paper.  Make the squares the same size.  Write a letter 'Q' on each square.  Be sure to write some capital and some lowercase 'Q's.  Have your kiddo decorate the squares.  Glue the squares onto a larger piece of paper in the shape of a quilt.)
Tuesday: 'Q' is for Quarter
-color a Quarter coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this and this
-glue your coloring page to a piece of Silver construction paper and hang it on the wall  (if you do not have silver paper, paint or use a silver crayon to color the edges of a piece of white construction paper silver)
-What is a quarter?  Use this fun facts page to teach your kiddo about quarters.
-4 Quarters in a dollar.  Use four Quarters and a dollar bill to teach your kiddo that one Quarter represents a fourth, or a quarter, of a dollar bill.  Count out four Quarters and talk about them being equal to one dollar.  This may seem advanced, but doing things like this now, even if your kiddo does not completely understand them, will help bridge the gap for fractions later on.
-make Quarter rubbings (get several different Quarters and put them under a sheet of printer paper.  Help your kiddo use the side of a crayon to color over the crayons to make rubbings.  If you are practicing cutting skills, you can even let your kiddo cut the rubbings out when you are done!)
-Play a quarter toss game (Write a large capital 'Q' on a piece of paper.  Tape the piece of paper to the ground.  Have your kiddo stand two or three feet away from the paper and try to toss quarters into the center of the letter 'Q'.)

Wednesday:  Fun Day!
-today we are going to take a trip over to the US Bureau of Printing and Engraving.  They do not make coins, but they do print currency and other things.  I am not sure if Jay will make it all the way through the tour, but they do have a fun activities area that he can play in!  If you are fortunate enough to have something similar in your area, try to take a trip to it!
-Does your kiddo have a piggy bank?  If not, go on a trip to the store to buy one (they usually have several at The Dollar Tree, and I bet you can find them pretty much everywhere.)  Talk about why they put money into their piggy bank.  Is it for college, their first car, their first house etc.
-Does your kiddo have a savings account?  Most banks and credit unions offer free bank accounts for kids, and it is never too early to start them an account.  If they don't have an account open yet, head on over to the bank to open one!!  You will be surprised how fast their money adds up!
-If you already have a savings account for your kiddo, take their piggy bank up to the bank and deposit the money they have saved in it!  Be sure to make a big deal about how well they are doing.  :0)   
-Also take some time to day to talk about empty and full.  Just use examples of things all over the house like cups, tummies, plates, pet food or water bowls, the mailbox, etc. 
-watch this, this, and this


Thursday: The Number 17
-color a Number 17 coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this, this, and this
-have your kiddo trace the Number 17 on their coloring page with their finger
-glue your coloring page to a piece of Silver construction paper and hang it on the wall  (if you do not have silver paper, paint or use a silver crayon to color the edges of a piece of white construction paper silver)
-counting quarters (count out 17 quarters with your kiddo.  See if you can stack all 17 quarters without tipping them over.  Count out how many dollars you can make with 17 quarters. etc)
-Can you stay quiet for 17 seconds?  (play the quiet game we played earlier this week, but this time count out loud while your kiddo stays quiet.  See if you can count all the way to 17 without them making a noise!)
-do this empty/full worksheet
-play the empty/full game (line several bowls up on a table.  Fill some of them with various things--quarters would be a great choice, but make sure to use several different things to fill them.  Leave some of the bowls empty.  Have your kiddo tell you which ones are full and which ones are empty.  Count the empty bowls, and count the full bowls.  Them fill the empty bowls, so that all of the bowls are full.)

Friday:  Circles
-color a circle coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this, this, and this
-glue your coloring page to a piece of Silver construction paper and hang it on the wall (if you do not have silver paper, paint or use a silver crayon to color the edges of a piece of white construction paper silver)

-make a pretend pizza
-make a paper chain (cut all different colors of construction paper into strips.  Have your kiddo help you tape the ends together to make them into interlocking circles)
-make a circle collage (cut circles out of newspapers and magazines, or just cut them out of construction paper.  Glue all of your circles onto a piece of paper to make a collage.)

I hope you had fun learning the letter 'Q' this week!  If you have missed a previous letter, you can find it by clicking on the ABC Lesson Plans tab at the top of the blog, and I hope you will check back next week for 'R' is for Rabbit!