Introducing Monday Madness

Every Monday I will post a fun activity, craft, cooking experiment, etc. that you can do today with your little guys. Check in every Monday for this...and be the best mom ever on Mondays. I actually train my little boys to say this to me. If they want a piece of candy, I make them say, "your the best mommy in the whole world." It may be rehearsed, but it still makes me feel good when they say it. And sometimes...they say it without me asking...

So this week do something simple and fun with you little kids. Have a counting party. Count how many stairs you have in your house, how many windows, plants, etc. You could make a chart with pictures and fill the information out as you go...or just go with it! Happy counting.

Coming Soon: Toddler Class!

Note to Parents
Planning for the Fall Semester

There seems to be an interest in a toddler class for the fall. This would be for children under 3. I am thinking one three hour class once a week. My charge for this class would probably be $75 a month. It will be held either on Monday or Wednesday mornings. Daycare parents, if you are interested there would of course be no daycare charge the morning of the class, but $75 would be added to your bill at the end of the month. I will let you know within the next month if this class will be taking place. If you are not interested, obviously, I will be unable to do daycare that morning. Please let me know if you are interested. I have 5 spaces available, since my own son would benefit greatly from this sort of organized play and learning. My thoughts for this age group’s curriculum will most likely be focused on the following:

Colors and Shapes
Letter and number recognition
Counting
Nursery Rhymes
Music and Movement
Lots of stories-using flannelboards and puppets to engage their attention
A different pretend center each week-dr.’s office, spaceship, farm, etc.-to encourage organized play
Learning about feelings and how to be a good friend (behavior)

Please see www.grasshoppergarden.blogspot.com for 1 sample lesson plan.

Sample themes:

September- Us-Our Bodies and Taking Care of them
Week 1- Our Eyes and Ears
Week 2- Eating food with our mouths
Week 3- Hands feel different textures and Noses Smell
Week 4- Taking care of ourselves-brushing teeth and hair
Washing hands, Getting dressed-zippers, snaps, buttons, etc.

October- Our Feelings
Week 1-When we are happy
Week 2- When we are mad and frustrated
Week 3- When we are sad or scared
Week 4- Manners-“Excuse Me”, sharing, “Sorry”, following rules
Week 5- Pumpkins and Halloween festivities

November- The Great Outdoors
Week 1- Leaves on our trees
Week 2- What is in our garden?
Week 3- Class on Monday-turkeys and Thanksgiving
Week 4- What is our weather? Sunshine, Wind, Rain and Snow

December- Winter
Week 1- Snow and snow activities
Week 2- The Mitten
Week 3- Christmas activities
Week 4- Off for Christmas!
Week 5- Off

January- The World Around Us
Week 1- Our community- the grocery store
Week 2- Our community- the library
Week 3- Our community-the restaurant
Week 4- Our community-the post office and mailmen

February- Our Community Heroes
Week 1- Firefighters and fire trucks
Week 2- Policemen and police cars
Week 3- Visiting the doctor and dentist
Week 4- Construction workers and trucks

March- Our Animal Friends
Week 1- Pets
Week 2- Farm Animals
Week 3- Birds
Week 4- Fish

April- Wild Animals
Week 1- Jungle Animals
Week 2- Off-Spring Break
Week 3- Ocean Animals
Week 4- Forest Animals
Week 5- Reptiles

May- Our Sky
Week 1- The Sun and daytime activities
Week 2- The Moon and Stars and sleeping
Week 3- Clouds
Week 4- Rainbows and class party

Each class will have correlating literature, simple games, pretend centers, music and movement. We will have numbers and alphabet review every class. My hope for toddlers is for them to improve social behaviors, learn classroom manners and that they gain an early love for learning!


Schedule Plan for Fall toddler class
9:00-9:30 free play- make animal puppet for each letter
9:30-9:45 Circle Time- stories and short lesson focus
9:45-10:00 Game to help introduce weekly theme
10:00-10:30 Organized free play-play as a group to accomplish a task- dramatic play
10:30-10:45 Snack time
10:45-11:00 Story time and short lesson focus
11:00-11:15 Music and Movement
11:15-11:30 File folder games, puzzles,
11:30-12:00 Craft, coloring, prewriting practice, and free play

Sample lesson plan for toddler class- September Week #1

9:00-9:30 Free Play- Put together alphabet puppet-alligator
9:30-9:45 Circle Time Our Eyes
Song: Who has blue eyes?
Who has brown?
Book: Brown Bear Brown Bear-flannelboard picts
Going on a Bear Hunt
Discussion: Different things our eyes can see…
In the classroom…
Outside
In the car…
At the zoo..
When I am looking at you…
9:45-10:00 Toilet paper roll binoculars and we go on a bear hunt
10:00-10:30 Organized free play – using our eyes to be pretend artists- finger paint-continue bear hunting
10:30-10:45 Snack time-Listen and watch it pop
10:45-11:00 Storytime- our Ears
Guess that sound
Book: Polar Bear Polar Bear What do you hear? Flannel board
The Ear Book
11:00-11:15 Music and Movement
Old McDonald Had a Farm… (animal sounds)
Sing a song loud and soft
Introduce instruments for children to play
11:15-11:30 File folder games, the Letter A recognition- color all the A’s
And apples with the color red
Matching
11:30-12:00 Craft- Sound shakers with red A’s on them

Letter of Reccommendations

August 9, 2007

To Whom It May Concern:

I have been asked to recommend Lindsey Mendenhall, a request that I feel confident in responding to. I have known and worked with Lindsey in both a college classroom, and a professional setting. Her behavior and contributions in both cases are worthy of recommendation.

My first experiences with Lindsey were in the college classroom at UVSC. She was a student in both my EDEC 2640 (Literacy and Literature for Early Childhood) class (this is a required class for those seeking endorsement for Early Childhood certification), and my EDEL 3150 (Children’s Literature) class. As a student, she was always prompt, enthusiastic, and genuinely interested. She was thorough in all that was required, and consistently went the extra mile, which not only benefited her efforts, but also added to the experience of her peers. She received an “A” as a final grade in both classes, as well as on every assignment submitted. She set a standard in preparation and presentation for others to follow.

Lindsey had a sincere desire to learn as much as she could, and she wanted practical experience in the classroom. She asked if she could come and observe and assistant in the private preschool which I owned. I was anxious to have her work with my children because I had seen her potential in the college setting. She immediately gained the confidence of the children and soon became a valued member of the team. She was very confident, and spontaneously provided enhancements which added to the children’s experience. The children responded to her caring nature, and enjoyed their one-on-one academic tutoring. Her efforts were to assist me, but she took the opportunity to learn all she could in preparation of her dream to someday have a preschool in her own setting.

I can securely recommend Lindsey to you with the confidence that she has planned well for her Grasshopper Garden Preschool (that name should tell you a great deal about her!), and that she is qualified to work with young children. She, of course, will continue to learn with experience, but her energies for this first year will be worthy for your consideration.

Respectfully,

Julie Clark

Julie Anderson Clark, M.Ed.
Utah Valley State College &
Miss Julie’s Learning Tree Preschool May 6, 2008


To the Parent of a Preschooler,
My son was lucky enough to attend Grasshopper Gardens Preschool this past year. As he is my third child, we have been to a couple of preschools over the years and have had many different teachers. These experiences made us realize what a truly special experience Grasshopper Gardens is. The teacher, Lindsey Mendenhall, provided a warm and loving environment for the students. Her curriculum is very organized and well thought out to allow the children to learn both academically as well as socially. I can’t believe how much my son learned! We loved the smaller group environment because it allowed for a lot of hands on learning and individual attention. Every morning that I dropped my son off he was so excited and I knew he was learning and having fun. I would highly recommend Grasshopper Garden to any parent. It is a wonderful opportunity to allow your child to grow in a positive, creative atmosphere.
Best regards,
Chris Johnson

Summer Camp-Sign Up Now!

Gus’ Time Machine Travels!
Come to Grasshopper Garden Preschool Summer Camp and travel on a trip through time! Learn new languages, art, games, eat new food, and continue learning shapes, colors, numbers and letters. Every day we will read books that correlate with the theme, have a math and or science activity, a simple writing or coloring activity, an art project, and a literacy activity. The kids will forget they are learning because we will be having SO much fun! As long as weather permits, I plan on doing the majority of activities outdoors so the children can enjoy the sunshine and we can utilize the sandbox and get wet!

Join Summer Camp and receive a Grasshopper Gus T-shirt and get ready for the fun! This and all crafts, prizes, snacks, and activities are included with registration payment of $25. Tuition for the seven week camp is $150. (Total cost for the summer per child is $175) Please see me for sibling and referral discounts. Class size is limited. Please let me know as soon as possible if you are interested since I am also planning on advertising in local newsletters at the end of April. Registration payment is due by May 15th. Payment in full is due by June 17th. Classes are offered Tuesday mornings 9:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m.

June 10th - First stop in time…
The Stone Age
Come and learn about our early ancestors. Let’s make a cave drawing from different colors of dirt on the walls of our class cave. What do you think caveman children played with? We’ll sample some caveman cuisine and go on a mammoth hunt with our own weapons we make.


June 17th- Second stop for Gus…
Ancient EgyptWant to learn about mummies and pyramids? Please bring your favorite stuffed animal today so we can mummify it! We will play ancient Egyptian games like statue and leap frog. We will also make our own paper and learn about how the Egyptians wrote with pictures called hieroglyphics. As a class, can we find the treasure of the pyramids by following the symbols? We will eat Egyptian palace bread and make beaded jewelry like they wore

June 24th – Next stop…
Ancient Greek Olympics
After all the children put on their togas, we will read some Greek mythology. What do you know about Zeus and Poseidon? You might get wet when they get angry! Wear your swimsuits today! Have you ever heard of the Midas Touch? We will read the story and do a fun activity. Next, we will participate in our own Olympics! We will throw the javelin, do a relay race, and compete in some activities that will test our number and letter recognition. Come ready to play and earn a medal!

July 1st- Fourth stop in time…
Medieval Times
Hail all knights and princesses! After each student dons his appropriate helmet or crown, we can all enjoy a feast of real medieval jam tarts inside our real cardboard castle. Let’s have fun together making our own shields with a family crest. Did you know there are still castles standing today? Let’s build our own ice castle while we review our colors. And each student can create their own marshmallow castle to take home.

July 8th- No Summer Camp to celebrate July 4th!!

July 15th – Gus’ next stop…
Pirates and Sea Trade
Decorate your own treasure chest and follow the treasure map to find your booty! Make your own pirate costumes before we walk the plank. You might get wet Matey so you better wear your swimsuit today! Today will be a fun number review as we recognize numbers and count our treasure!

July 22nd- Nearing the end…
The Age of Exploration- (Discovering New Worlds-Columbus and the Indians)

We will set sail from our homeland of Spain, off on an adventure to settle the Americas. Will we find gold, glory, and God? We will make three-cornered hats and a ship in a bottle. We will learn about the Indians Columbus found in the Americas and do some Native American activities. We explorers will row our boats (scooters on wheels) and search for land. Today we will do a phonics matching game with sails and ship hulls. And we may just eat the Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria. We will race our boats in the pool and might get wet.

July 29th – Final Stop…
The Wild West!
We will sit around the “campfire” and sing songs from the frontier while we eat some trail mix! Everyone will get a turn to ride the covered wagon. We will play horse shoes, pin the tail on the horse (a hay bale), rope the cow, and practice tying VERY simple knots. We will even milk a cow and race our ponies. Let’s enjoy eating a cowboy boot. We will make a cactus and learn about desert animals. We will pan for gold nuggets!

Daily Schedule

8:30 -8:50 Free Play (Dress up, toys, puzzles, reading tub)
(12:30-12:50)

8:50-9:30 Circle Time
(12:50-1:30) Grasshopper Share
Pledge of Allegiance
Grasshopper Garden Theme Song
Letter of Week
Song
Activity
Alphabet Story

9:30-9:45 Snack time!
(1:30-1:45)

9:45-10:30 Center time (writing, math, science, (1:45-2:30) reading) Organized group play
Explain activities-demonstrate
2 groups of 3
Work with 1 child at a time on flash cards or any skill needed
Each child will do each center once a week



10:30-11:30 Lesson time –introduce theme goes with (2:30-3:30) letter
Songs
Games
Stories
Art project with theme or letter

SAMPLE LESSON

The letter D- the room will have overhead leaves like a jungle-

Week 5 Day 1: Opening Exercise


Circle Time: introduce letter-Big D little d
Practice on individual chalkboards
Phonics
Sign
Different D words
Whose name starts with D
D Song
Flannel board action song “Six little Ducks”
Game: objects in a box-in turn child pulls out object and says hat it does it start with the d sound?
Flannel board story: Debbie Dragons Difficult Dinner-use helper of the day
(talk briefly about dishonesty in story)
Optional-on time- Lets Dance for “D”!

Snack time: dill dip and veggies

Center Time: organized group play
Math: Dozen-egg cart with numbered Dogs match numbers 1-12 (visually)-put each dog in his home

Dramatic play-dog, duck and dinosaur puppets

Writing table- D worksheet and trace the D cookie cutters (fine motor skills)

Reading- D books- books on tape available today

Science- D animal shadows match the dog figurine with his shadow pasted on the table

Manipulatives- Blocks

Lesson Time- D is for Dinosaur Theme
Herbavores and carnivores
Dinosaur Dinosaur game
Where did the dinosaurs go?
Short nonfiction book
Flannel board Five Big Dinosaurs
Five little Dinosaurs
Big and little with figurines and pictures
Art- Dinosaur sponge painting