Engaging Preschoolers with Music

Shake, Rattle, and Roll: Rhythm Instruments and More for Active Learning by Abigail Flesch Connors contains hundreds of ideas for singing, moving, listening, and playing music with young children.

Activities using rhythm sticks, shakers, bell, sand block, tambourines, drums and other rhythm instruments such as the xylophone, ukulele, guiro, triangle and lollipop drum. Music and movement ideas include activities about body parts, animals, scarves, Spanish words, American Sign Language, and inner listening skills among others.

Music, a way of life for the young child by Linda Carol Edwards

This book explains the rationale and techniques for using music with infants, toddlers, and young children through the age of five as well as the developmentally appropriate stages for its introduction. Coverage is built on a strong foundation of research and theory, incorporating findings in the field and the suggestions of users. The authors take a developmental approach to the role of music in the life of the young child, and offer a sound program for successfully bringing music into the early childhood educational environment.

Musical children : engaging children in musical experiences.

The book presents 25 strategies for engaging children who are learning music based on the latest Music Educators National Conference (MENC) standards. It includes reproducible student activity charts, a song selection of 40 notated melodies, a collection of chants, and resource material.

 

 

 

Winter Olympics

Clifford’s Sports Day by Norman Bridwell

Dunk Skunk by Michael Rex

Elympics by X. J. Kennedy with pictures by Graham Percy

Koala Lou by Mem Fox

Loudmouth George and the Big Race by Nancy Carlson

Max and Marla by Alexandra Boiger

The Mud Flat Olympics by James Stevenson

Ten on the Sled by Kim Norman and illustrated by Liza Woodruff

Tacky and the Winter Games by Helen Lester

Rhinos Who Snowboard by Julie Mammano

Little Red Gliding Hood by Tara Lazar and pictures by Troy Cummings

Science activities

Ski Jumping Straw Rockets

https://jdaniel4smom.com/2018/01/cool-science-projects-ski-jumping-straw-rockets.html

Magnetism for Kids- Making a Figure Skater Skate

https://jdaniel4smom.com/2018/01/magnetism-kids-making-figure-skater-skate.html

Penguins and Preschool

One Day on Our Blue Planet: In The Antartic by Ella Bailey

This is a beautifully illustrated picture book with a fun storyline. The story follows an Adélie penguin chick from her nest to the open ocean where she searches for food and swims among whales, seals and other animals. While at sea she avoids predators and rests on floating ice under a sky filled with stars and the southern lights.

Penguins and Their Chicks by Margaret Hall

Beautiful photographs of penguin chicks and how they grow accompany easy to understand facts making this a  nonfiction book that preschoolers will really enjoy.

Puffins Climb, Penguins Rhyme by Bruce McMillan

This charming nonfiction book explores the both puffins who live at the top of the earth in Iceland and penguins who live at the bottom of the earth in Antarctica. Preschoolers can observe,  compare, and name events of the natural world.

Penguin Problems by Jory John & Lane Smith

Life in Antarctica is not easy for penguins! It’s very cold and penguins have a lot of natural predators. Can you imagine trying to find your mom in a big crowd of identical penguins?! This is a very humorous picture book for preschoolers.

Playful Little Penguins by Tony Mitton, illustrations by Guy Parker-Rees

You can ask the children to join in the actions and sounds of the story. Preschoolers will enjoy jumping, swirling and whirling and imitating sleeping penguins in a happy huddle.

Blue Penguin by Petr Horáček

Blue Penguin is a beautifully illustrated picture book about being different and making friends. Blue Penguin doesn’t fit in because he looks different from the other penguins. He sings beautifully and he ends up teaching the other penguins a valuable lesson: that one should never judge others by how they look, but by how they are on the inside.

Face to Face with Penguins by Yva Momatiuk and photographs by John Eastcott

Although this book is geared to elementary aged students, there are wonderful photographs and fun questions and answers such as “What’s the Scoop on Penguin Poop?” (It changes color depending on what they eat!) or “Penguin Talk” which explains their honking, whistling, barking and growling, and what each sound means.

For more in depth information read The Great Penguin Rescue: Saving the African Penguin by Sandra Markle.

Preschool science activities including penguin measuring, sensory habitat and ice exploration can be found here: https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/learning-about-penguins-ice-melting-activities/

Learn how penguin feathers stay dry with this printable activity using way crayons.  http://raisinglittlesuperheroes.com/penguin-feathers-science-experiment/

Fun penguin rhymes and finger plays can be found here: http://stepbystepcc.com/animals/penguin.htm