Ladybugs Theme

Ladybugs Theme

 TALK:
Show pictures of ladybugs or collect a couple of real ladybugs and talk about their appearance- size. color, do they have wings? 


 Share some of the Ladybug Facts
Ladybugs are helpful to farmers because they eat smaller bugs like aphids who ruin crops.
All ladybugs are born black.
Ladybugs are a type of beetle.
Ladybugs hibernate for the winter.
Ladybugs are commonly known to be red with black spots, but they can also be found as orange with black spots or black with red spots.

* Please Note more bug related themes are to follow- bugs, bees, spiders, caterpillars and butterflies, fireflies and lighting bugs.**

 

READ BOOKS:
Yoo-hoo Ladybug By Mem Fox
The Grouchy Ladybug By Eric Carle 
Ten Little Ladybugs By Melanie Gerth
Lara Ladybug By Christie Florie
On My Leaf By Sara Gillingham
Lady Bug Girl Series By David Soman
Counting with a Ladybug By DK
The Very Lady Ladybug By Isobel Finn &Jack Tickle
Look Out Ladybug By Jack Tickle 
Bug on a Bike By Chris Monroe
Lots of Ladybugs: Counting By Fives By Michael Dahl
 Are you a Ladybug? - Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries

SONGS/ RHYMES:

 Ten Little Ladybugs
Sung to Ten Little Indians
1 little, 2 little 3 little ladybugs
4 little, 5 little, 6 little ladybugs
7 little, 8 little, 9 little ladybugs
10 little ladybugs flying in the air.
Credit Storybook Stephanie

Ladybugs Fly - sung to "Three Blind Mice"
Fly, fly, fly.
Ladybugs fly..
Fly over here.
Fly over there.
They fly up high and they fly down low.
Around and around and around they go.
They fly fast, and they fly-fly slow.
Oh, ladybugs fly.
Credit Stepbystepchildcare.com

Found a Ladybug - sung to "Oh, My Darling Clementine"
Found a ladybug, found a ladybug,
Found a ladybug just now.
Just now I found a ladybug,
Found a ladybug just now.
It was red, it was red,
It was red just now.
It was red with black spots,
Red with black spots just now.
Credit Stepbystepchildcare.com

Ladybug - sung to "The Muffin Man"

Lucky ladybug has two spots.
Has two spots, has two spots.
Lucky ladybug has two spots>
Lucky ladybug. 
 Credit Stepbystepchildcare.com

Ladybug Rhyme
Ladybugs all dressed in red
Strolling through the flower bed.
If I were tiny, just like you
I'd creep among the flowers too.
Credit Stepbystepchildcare.com


Five Little Ladybugs
Five little ladybugs climbing up a door
One flew away then there were four
Four little ladybugs sitting on a tree
One flew away then there were three
Three Little ladybugs landed on a shoe
One flew away then there were two
Two little ladybugs looking for some fun
One flew away and then there was one
One little ladybug sitting in the sun
She flew away and then there were none
Credit Stepbystepchildcare.com

See the Ladybug - sung to "Frere Jacques"
See the ladybug, see the ladybug.
Watch it crawl, watch it crawl.
See it crawling higher,
See it crawling higher.
Watch it crawl, up the wall.
See the ladybug, see the ladybug.
Watch it crawl, watch it crawl.
See it crawling lower,
See it crawling lower.
Way down low, to my toe.
Credit Jean Warren Preschool Express

PLAY/ LEARN/ EXPLORE:

Ladybug Invitation to Create (Credit fantasticfunandlearning.com)

One morning I also set  up this invitation to create. The kids used glue and the materials below to create different collages. I always enjoy seeing their creations!
Materials

• Card stock
• Tissue paper squares
• Red jewels
• Assorted ribbon pieces
• Small pompoms
• Confetti 
•  
• Thumbprint Ladybug crafts-- see picture 
• credit gift of curiousity
  

Ladybug Counting Mats Printable FREE from Totschooling

Ladybug Scissor Skills Practice Worksheets FREE printable from Itsy Bitsy Fun.com

Grouchy Ladybug Free Craft Printable from buggy and buddy.com

 Ladybug Pre & K Printable Pack from itsy bitsy fun.com

10 little ladybugs counting stick activity (using a paint stick and pom poms, glue dots and black marker or black paint. Picture credit schooltimesnippets.com

 

Seeds Theme

Seeds Theme:

Teaching Concepts with Seeds: 
Here are some thoughts --Sizes, shapes, colors, of seeds along with these ideas too.

• What foods come from seeds
• What seeds look like and how they compare to
  
  others
• Seeds we eat and seeds we don’t eat
• What happens when you put different seeds in water
• How long it takes different seeds to sprout
• What different seeds look like as plants

READ: Books

The Watermelon Seed By Greg Pizzoli
The Carrot Seed By By Ruth Krauss 
Summer Supper By Rubin Pfeffer

Anywhere Farm By Phyllis Root
The Tiny Seed By Eric Carle
Plant The Tiny Seed By Christie Matheson
Little Seeds By Charles Ghigna
 The Surprise Garden By Zoe Hall
Rooting for You: A Moving Up Story By Susan Hood
Seeds, Seeds, Seeds By Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
Wonder Bear By Tao Nyeu
The Bad Seed By Jory John
The Small Seed By Judith Nicholls
What Will Grow? By  Jennifer Ward
So Happy! By Kevin Henkes 
A Handful of Seeds By Monica Hughes
Plant a Little Seed By Bonnie Christensen
The Dandelion Seed By Joseph Anthony (ages 4-10)
Sophie's Squash Goes to School By Pat Zietlow Miller
If You Hold a Seed By Elly Mackay
Miss Maple's Seeds By Eliza Wheeler
How to Grow Seeds By Helene Jordan
One Bean By Anne Rockwell
Jack's Garden By Henry Cole

SONGS/ RHYMES:

Planting Time 
Sung to: "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"
Credit Preschool Education

Dig, dig, dig the earth
(make digging motion)
Then you plant your seeds
(pretend to drop seeds)
A gentle rain
(Flutter fingers down)
And bright sunshine
(Circle arms above head)
Will help your flowers grow
(Hold one arm parallel to ground and move other arm up behind it with
fingers extended to represent a flower growing)

  I'll Plant A Little Seed 
 
Sung to: "I'm A Little Teapot"
Credit Preschool Education

I'll plant a little seed in the dark, dark ground.
Out comes the yellow sun, big and round.
Down comes the cool rain, soft and slow.
Up comes the little seed, grow, grow, grow!

The Seed Cycle

Sung to: " Farmer in the Dell"
Credit Preschool Education

The farmer sows his seeds.
The farmer sows his seeds.
Hi Ho the dairy-o,
The farmer sows his seeds.

other verses:
The rain begins to fall...
The sun begins to shine...
The seeds begin to grow..
The plants grow big and tall...
The farmer cuts his corn...
And now the harvest is on

PLAY/ EXPLORE/ CRAFT:

Holding Seeds Art

Materials Needed: paper, crayon, scissors, tissue paper or seeds, glue
The children trace their hands and cut out.
They then glue rolled up pieces of tissue paper or actual seeds into their "hands". This is a follow up to The Tiny Seed story. Credit Preschool Plan It

Seed Mosaic
 
Materials Needed: Clear contact paper, marker, seeds
Draw flowers on the clear contact. Let the children draw their own flowers!
Remove the backing. Children they use seeds to decorate the flowers.
Extension: Let the children create their own art work by placing the seeds where they want for a very creative design! They can place them on the contact paper or glue them onto paper!Credit Preschool Plan it

Make a seed letter craft- use different seeds choose a letter and glue seeds down to it.

Counting and sorting activity using all different types of seeds- sort by size, shape , color, and count them in groups 1-5, 1-10 etc.

Sprout a bean seed using a wet paper towel and a ziplock baggie and a bean seed.

Get the small biodegradable single pot from a garden store or sometimes can be found at the dollar store and potting soil and flower or veggie seeds and plant them in. let them sprout and then plant in a bigger pot or in the ground.  

Talk about the seeds that come inside fruit and try fruit that has seeds, kiwi, watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, papaya, grapes, apples.  

Music & Musical Instruments Pre--Up

Music & Musical Instruments Theme:

 




READ: BOOKS

Music Everywhere by Maya Ajmera



Every Little Thing by Cedella Marley
Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle
ABC Animal Orchestra by Donald Saaf (musical Instruments/ Orchestra )
Hey Diddle Diddle By Eve Bunting ( animals/ Musical Instruments)
Meeow and the Pots and Pans By Sebastien Braun (Musical Instruments)
Zin! Zin! Zin : A Violin By Lloyd Moss (Musical Instruments/ Orchestra)
Let's Play By Gabriel Alborozo ( Musical Instruments/ Orchestra)
Ellie in Concert By Mike Wu ( Animals /Musical Instruments/ Orchestra)
 If You’re a Monster and You Know It by Ed and Rebecca Emberley
Amazing Me! Music By Carol Thompson 
Old Macdonald Had a Woodshop by Lisa Shulman


The Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort
Ten in the Bed by Jane Cabrera
Farmyard Beat By Lindsey Craig


Row, Row, Row your Boat By Jane Cabrera
Itsy Bitsy Spider By Iza Trapani
If You're Happy and You Know It By Jan Ormerod
The Soup Opera By Jim Gill 
Play This Book By Jessica Young (Instruments and interactive playing of the musical instruments) 2018
 If You' re Happy and You Know It By Jane Cabrera
Tanka, Tanka Skunk by Steve Webb
The Croaky Pokey By Ethan Long 
Never Play Music Right Next To the Zoo By John Lithgow
Violet's Music By Angela Johnson (K-3)
Music, Music for Everyone By Vera B. Williams 
Pete the Cat: The Pete's Go Marching By James Dean
Ah, Music By Aliki (K-5) 
M is for Melody: A Musical Alphabet Book By Kathy Jo Wargin

 
(Grades 1-3)






Squeak, Rumble, Whomp!Whomp!Whomp! By Marsalis Wynton
Jazz Baby By Lisa Wheeler   

Traditional Songs Series- Illustrated Song books- She'll Be Around the Mountain, I've Been working on the railroad, wheels on the bus,The ants go marching, clementine, the farmer in the dell, I know and old lady, Old Mcdonald had a farm) In many libraries these are either in J easy picture books or some can be found in J Easy 782.42162 section. 

Songs and Rhymes:


Laurie Berkner CD’s- (I Really Like to Dance Song, Jump in my Soup Song, We Are The Dinosaurs Song)

Jim Gill CD’s (Five Finger Band Song, Hands are Clapping Song , Silly Dance contest Song, Tempo Marches On Song, I Took a Bath in a Washing Machine Song, Color Song, List of Dances Song, May There always be sunshine)

The Wiggles CD’s ( Monkey Dance, Fruit Salad)

Dr. Jean Feldman CD’s – (Cool Bear Hunt Song, Mama Fish Song, )

The EIEIO Band…
Mrs. (your name) had a band eieio
And in her band she had a drum eieio
with a boom, boom, boom here and a boom, boom there
here a boom there a boom.
Mrs., (your name) had a band eieio.
Continue with other instruments.
Credit: Nuttinbutpreschool 

The Finger Band…
(Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush Tune)
The finger band has come to town, come to town, come to town. The finger band has come to town so early in the morning.
This is the way we play the drums (insert instrument of choice), play the drums, play the drums. This is the way we play the drums so early in the morning.
Change the instruments and act out how to play them.
(This is the last verse) The finger band has gone away, gone away, gone away. The finger band has gone away so early in the morning. Credit Nuttinbutpreschool

Instrument Song…
(This Is The Way We Wash Our Clothes)
This is the way we play our [flute]
Play our [flute]
Play our [flute]
This is the way we play our [flute]
When we’re in the band.
Act out playing the instrument as you sing. Substitute other instruments for the instrument in brackets [ ] and change actions accordingly. Credit Nuttin But Preschool

Boom Bang (Original Author Unknown)
Boom, bang, boom, bang! (clap hands like cymbals)
Rumpety, lumpety, bump! (drum thighs like a drum)
Zoom, zam, zoom, zam! (slide hands back and forth)
Clippety, clappety, clump! (stomp on the floor)
Note: Repeat verse going progressively faster or slower for a fun variation
Credit Kidssoup.com

Song : “The Ants Go Marching”
The ants go marching one by one, hurrah! Hurrah!
The ants go marching one by one, hurrah! Hurrah!
The ants go marching one by one,
The little one stops to suck his thumb,
And they all go marching down, to the ground, to get out of the rain.
(two, tie his shoe; three, climb a tree; four, shut the door; five, take a dive)
Credit: Childhood & Storytime Katie

Song : “Apples and Bananas”
I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas
I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas (Repeat with other vowels sound)
Credit: Childhood & Storytime Katie

Song : “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”
Twinkle, twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky
Twinkle, twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are
Credit: Childhood & Storytime Katie

CRAFT/EXPLORE/ PLAY:

Musical Fingers

Select a variety of music to play. Give the children large pieces of paper with spoonfuls of fingerpaint placed in the centers. Play the music and let the children fingerpaint to it. Encourage them to move their fingers and hands to the rhythms and tempos of the different kinds of music. Credit A to Z Kids Stuff 

Play Musical Chairs- set up a group of chairs and then play music from CD player or your phone app like pandora and then kids move around the chairs until the music is stopped and they must find a seat. Take a chair away each time and one person will end up not finding a seat each time too.  

Make shakers using plastic easter eggs either plain or with a design on them or even dessert size paper plates that have been pre -glued or stapled at the edge 1/2 to 3/4 quaters of the way around. Add a small amount of beans or rice to them and then seal shut with wide tape or glue. shake to classic songs like itsy bitsy spider, abc song etc or shake to music!

Paper Plate Banjo- - materials a sturdy paper plate, stickers, rubber bands and a paint stick handle. I would suggest cutting a couple small slits at edge of plate on both side where the rubber bands are going to go to make sure your plate doesn't curl up from the weight. 
Picture credit fun family crafts.com