We are learning a lot about the sounds of words. Today we are going to focus on sounds in the names of some farm animals.

[Display and clearly say the name of each pictured animal (cow, pig, duck, cat, dog, goat) as you place each picture in a paper bag.]

I am going to sing the song “Old MacDonald Had a Farm.” Each time I sing the song, I will say the name of a farm animal in a special way. Try to figure out which animal I am singing about. Let’s try it!

[Pull an animal picture from the bag, being careful not to show children the picture. Sing the song as you emphasize the onset and rime segments of each animal name. Example:

“Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O. And on that farm he had a /c/-/ow/, E-I-E-I-O!”]

What animal did old MacDonald have on his farm?

[After children have figured out the animal you were singing about, show the picture of the animal. Repeat the name of the animal, giving emphasis to the two sound segments. Continue singing the song as you pull a new animal picture out of the bag, one at a time. The two segments (onset and rime) of each word are listed below:]

Let’s learn more about the letter N.

[Display letter N card.

If a child(ren) whose name begins with the letter N was identified on Day 2, invite the child(ren) to again pop up. Say the first name of the child(ren). Emphasize the sound of the letter N when you say the name.]

Maybe someone in our group has the letter n somewhere else in their name. The letter might be in the middle or at the end of their name. It will be a lowercase n, and it will look like this.

[Point to the lowercase n on the letter card.]

Pop up if you have the letter n somewhere else in your name (not at beginning).

[If a child has the letter n somewhere else in his/her name, point to the name and to the letter n on the list of children’s first names so all children can see the name and the letter n.]

What is our word that begins with the letter N? (number)

The letter N says /n/, just like at the beginning of the word “number.” /n/, /n/, number. Let’s say that together: /n/, /n/, number.

I have two pictures of things that begin with the letter N. I wonder what they could be?

[Hold up one picture card and invite children to identify the item in the picture. After children have an opportunity to guess or say the pictured item, point to and say the word written at the bottom of the card. Example: “This word says nest. The letter n is at the beginning of the word.” Repeat this procedure with a second picture card.]

Let’s think of some other words that begin with the letter N and write them on our chart. Remember, the letter N says /n/, /n/.

[Help children by suggesting other words that begin with N. Examples: nervous, neighborhood, nice, night.

Invite one or more volunteer children to find the letter n in words on the chart. Children may point to the letter at the top of the chart and then find it in one of the words below.

Demonstrate and describe how to mark the uppercase letter N on your chart paper.]

We use three lines to make an uppercase N. We begin by making a straight line up, then a slanted line down, and then another line up. Remember, a slanted line is a line that leans a bit to the side.

[Give each child his/her letter journal.]

Now we are going to write the letter N in our letter journal. Please write the uppercase (big) letter N in your journal. Write as much of the letter as you can.

Today we figured out what animal I pulled out of a bag by listening to me sing the name of the animal in a special way.

We also learned that the letter N says /n/, just like at the beginning of the word “number.” We made the uppercase (big) letter N in our letter journal. Let’s say together the sound the letter N makes (/n/).

We are learning to use a chart to organize and present information.

Today we will use our own chart to organize some pom-poms. We will work with a partner.

[Place children in pairs. Give each pair one provided chart. Point to parts of the chart as you describe them.]

The title of our chart is How Many Pom-Poms? There are three different colors at the bottom of our chart. You and your partner will get three different colors of pom-poms in one cup. The colors are red, green, and blue.

[Display each color as you say its name.]

You and your partner will have a different number of pom-poms in your cup. Some of us may have more blue pom-poms, and some of us may have more green pom-poms.

[Give each pair of children a cup of pom-poms.]

We will take our pom-poms out of our cup one at a time. Then we will put our pom-pom above the same color on the chart. Let me show you first.

[Take one pom-pom out of a cup.]

What color is this pom-pom?

I will place it above the (color) rectangle on the chart.

[Put the pom-pom above the corresponding colored rectangle on your chart.]

You and your partner will take turns choosing a pom-pom from the cup and placing it above the correct color on the chart. When both of you have finished, count the number of pom-poms above each color on the chart.

[Observe children as they take turns removing pom-poms from the cup and placing them on the chart. When each pair has finished, encourage them to count the number of pom-poms above each color on their chart.]

Now we will take turns presenting our information. We can present our information by telling what we learned from our chart. Please tell us which color on your chart had the most pom-poms and which color on your chart had the fewest pom-poms.

[Call on each pair one at a time. If time permits, ask each pair to lead children in counting together the number of pom-poms above each color. Members of the pair can take turns pointing to each pom-pom.]

Today we completed our own chart. We used our chart to organize and present information. What information did we learn by using our chart? (which color had the most pom-poms above it and which color had the fewest pom-poms above it) We organized our chart by placing our pom-poms above the same color on the chart. Then we presented the information by sharing what we found.

Each of us makes lots of choices every day. What do you think it means to make a choice? (pick something, decide what to do)

We pick between two or more things when we make a choice. We might make a choice about what we would like to eat for breakfast or what clothing we would like to wear.

Each of us makes a choice about what we want to do during center time each day.

We need to think carefully about the choices we make. Let’s talk about why someone might choose to play in the block area or in the housekeeping area.

• Why might someone choose to play with blocks? (he/she likes to build, he/she wants to make a zoo with animals)
• Why might someone choose to play in housekeeping? (he/she wants to pretend to make lunch, he/she wants to play with dolls)

Let’s pretend that blocks and housekeeping are the only two areas open for play. Everyone needs to make a pretend choice between blocks or housekeeping.

Please raise your hand if you would choose to play in the block area.

[Invite children to put their hands down.]

Please raise your hand if you would choose to play in the housekeeping area.

[Invite children to put their hands down.]

We just pretended that two choices were available to us. What were our two choices?

Let’s make another choice. We are going to make a special kind of choice called a vote. People make a choice together when they vote. The choice we make with our votes will affect everyone in our group.

We are going to vote on the book we would like to read. We need to pick one book because we will have time to read one book only. I have two books for us to choose from.

[Display each of the two books. Briefly describe each book. If time permits, pass around both books and encourage children to look through each.]

We are going to vote by standing near the book we want all of us to read. The book that gets the most votes is the book we will read. Remember, there will not be time to read two different books today. That’s why we need to make a choice about which book we want to read. Each of us gets to vote for one book only. We cannot vote to read two books.

[Identify two nearby, but separate areas, where children can stand near the book of their choice. One area is for Book A voters, the other area is for Book B voters. Place the book on a table or stand so it is visible to children.]

Please stand near (Book A) if you would like us to read (Book A) today. Please stand near (Book B) if you would like us to read (Book B) today.

Please help me count the number of children in each of our two groups.

[Lead children in counting the number of children in each of the two groups as you point to or gently tap each child. On the chart, write the number of children who voted for Book A before counting the number of children who voted for Book B. Explain that you are writing the number of votes for each book on the chart. Describe the chart’s two columns and how the numbers tell the number of votes. Children are not expected to know or recognize two-digit numbers.]

Let’s look at our chart. Our chart tells us that more of us voted for (book name) than (book name). (Book name) is the book we will read.

Sometimes the thing we voted for does not win. We may feel disappointed if our choice does not win. Remember, when we feel disappointed, we are sad because something didn’t work out the way we would have liked.

Is anyone disappointed that the book you voted for is not the book we will read today?

Sometimes when we are disappointed about the results of a vote, it helps to think of some good things about our voting. The book we will read today may have nice pictures or tell us things we did not know. We may be able to read the book that didn’t win some other time.

Today we learned about making choices and voting. We talked about how it is important to think about why we want to vote for one thing or another. We learned that voting in a group means our vote affects everyone in our group. How did our voting about a book affect everyone in our group? (this is the book our group will read today)

We are learning how to move our bodies by walking, marching, hopping, and galloping. Today we will play a game that uses some of the movements we are learning.

Our game is called Moving Through a Forest. We will pretend we are going through a forest. Last week we learned about a forest. Remember, a forest is a habitat covered with trees and other plants.

• Does our classroom look like a forest?
• What might we add to our classroom to help us pretend it is a forest?

We could add some pretend trees to our classroom. There are lots of trees in a forest.

[Display several cones or bottles.]

Here are some (cones or bottles) that we can pretend are trees. We can put our pretend trees in our activity space. Please help me decide where to put our pretend trees in our activity space.

[Guide children in putting some “trees” close together, but not touching, and some further away from each other. Provide sufficient space for children to move between and around the obstacles.]

We want to move through our forest by going around the trees. We go around something to avoid bumping into it. There are different ways to go around something. We can move to the side of something to avoid bumping into it. We can move in a big circle around something.

[Demonstrate or invite a volunteer child to demonstrate each way to go around a “tree.” Describe how each of your movements avoids hitting the “tree.”]

Let’s first go through our pretend forest by walking. You may move in any direction you like. We want to watch out for people around us to make sure we do not bump into someone.

[Provide verbal guidance as appropriate and necessary.

After several minutes, ask children to stop walking and invite them to move in one of the ways listed below. Offer an additional movement if time and child interest permit.]

• March around the trees
• March with a partner around the trees
• Hop around one tree.

Today we practiced some different ways to move through a pretend forest.

• What ways did we move through our pretend forest?
• How did we avoid bumping into a “tree”? (moved around it)
• How did we avoid bumping into each other? (looking carefully at people near us)