[Display letter O card.]

The word “observe” begins with this letter. What is the name of this letter?

Letter O says /o/, just like in the word “observe.” /o/, /o/, observe. Let’s together say /o/, /o/, observe.

Who would like to tell us another word that begins with the letter O?

Now let’s read a book!

[See Week 3, Day 1 of Language/Literacy for a description and examples of how to approach today’s book reading. Key aspects are summarized below:

• Display book cover and encourage children to discuss what the book might be about.
• Explain that reading a book is a good way to learn new words. We will talk about some words each time we read the book this week. Remind children of the Words We Understand chart.
• Read title of book as you point to each word. Point to and say the names of the author and illustrator.
• Introduce and provide child-friendly descriptions of two novel words included in today’s book. Write words on the chart as you point to and say each again.
• Point to the first text word and explain this is where we begin reading the book. Read the book verbatim. Pause to discuss words, events, or characters that seem confusing to children. Point to and describe illustrations directly related to book text.
• After reading the book, engage children in recalling main parts of the book and novel words emphasized today:
  • What is our book about?
  • Who were the main characters?
  • What happened first? What happened next?
• Engage children in a brief discussion of novel words emphasized today. Display and discuss book pictures that pertain to each word.
  • What does each word mean?
  • How was each word used in today’s book?]

Please hold up a group of four fingers. Please show five fingers. Let’s show how we can hold up seven fingers.

Today we will do some more work with shapes. Each of you will get a shape to hold. When I give you a shape, please tell us the name of the shape if you know it.

[Give one shape to each child. Listen to and acknowledge the shape name identified by each child. If a child says an incorrect shape name, give the correct name and briefly describe its characteristics.]

• I am going to say some characteristics of a shape. A characteristic is something special about a living thing or a thing that is not living.
• If your shape has the characteristics I describe, please hold it up.
• I am looking for a shape that is round and does not have corners. If you have this shape, please hold it up! What is the shape? (circle)
• Let’s try another one. I am thinking of a shape that has three sides and three corners. It does not have curved lines. If you have this shape, please hold it up! What is the name of this shape? (triangle)
• Triangles can look different. Some have longer sides or different corners than others. If it has three straight sides and three corners, it is a triangle!

[Continue the game with a rectangle and a square as long as time and child interest allow.]

Today we listened to the characteristics of shapes and held up our shape if it had the characteristics I described. We are becoming shape experts!

We are learning about self-control. We know that self-control can help us make good choices. We practiced using self-control several weeks ago when we waited to pop bubbles. We also waited to make our instruments make sound. Was it hard to wait?

When we use self-control we make ourselves wait so we can make a good choice. Sometimes this can be hard.

Today we will learn to concentrate on our breathing and bodies. This can help us with our self-control. Concentrating on our breathing and bodies can also help our mind to be calm.

It’s hard to use self-control when our mind is full of thoughts. Our thoughts can seem noisy in our head when our mind goes too fast and we have many thoughts at the same time. When we calm our mind, our noisy thoughts get quiet.

When our mind is calm, we can think about things before we do something. A calm mind helps us use self-control.

We can concentrate on our breathing and feel our stomachs move in and out. Remember, when we concentrate on something we pay close attention to it. We pay close attention to air going in and out of our bodies when we concentrate on our breathing.

Today we will think about how our breathing makes our body feel inside. Concentrating on our breathing can help our body feel relaxed. Our body feels calm when we are relaxed. Our muscles can feel really tight when our bodies are not relaxed.

We are going to sit on the floor. This will help us feel more relaxed. We need our classroom to be very quiet. I will be the only one talking during our activity. The quiet will also help us feel more relaxed.

[Spread children out so they have their own personal space. Invite them to sit. When all children are arranged, dim or turn out the lights in the classroom, if possible.]

As you breathe in and out, put your hand on your stomach to feel how it moves as you breathe. Let’s practice breathing while feeling our stomach move in and out.

Let’s take a deep breath.

In, 1, 2, 3, out, 1, 2, 3.

If you want, you can close your eyes to help you relax.

Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.

In, 1, 2, 3, out, 1, 2, 3.

In, 1, 2, 3, out, 1, 2, 3.

When you breathe in, bring the air all the way down into your stomach.

In, 1, 2, 3, out, 1, 2, 3.

Your hand on your stomach should move up and down as you breathe.

In, 1, 2, 3, out, 1, 2, 3.

Keep breathing in slowly and breathing out slowly.

Feel your body starting to relax. Your eyes are feeling heavier and heavier as you keep breathing all the way into your stomach.

In, 1, 2, 3, out, 1, 2, 3.

Now we are going to focus on our hands and arms. Pretend that you have two small oranges, one in each hand. Pretend you are going to squeeze the oranges to make orange juice. Tighten your fists as much as possible. Pretend you are squeezing the oranges as hard as you can. Okay, there’s no more juice left in the oranges. Relax your hands.

Wow! Here comes a beautiful butterfly. He’s coming over to you. He’s flying around your head. Oh! He landed on your nose. Don’t touch our imaginary butterfly with your hands, because we might hurt him. Instead try to get the butterfly to move off of your nose by scrunching up your nose and face.

Squeeze your face up and move your nose around. Wrinkle up your face really hard. Now, relax. Our imaginary butterfly flew away. Feel the muscles in your face relax.

Now just relax and focus on how your body feels. Your face was tight but now it’s relaxed. Your fists were tight but now your hands feel open and free. Your stomach is now relaxed. Your whole body feels relaxed.

Now we will let go of our thoughts about how our body feels. Let’s pretend we are putting our thoughts on a big cloud in the sky. Let’s imagine we are watching our thoughts float away on a big cloud so our mind is quiet. Now we can think about our breathing again. Let’s breathe together again while we feel our stomachs go in and out.

Today we did a breathing activity and concentrated on making our bodies relaxed. How did it make you feel? Our mind can focus on things more clearly when we relax. A quiet mind can help us use self-control and make good choices.

We are learning how to be scientists. This week we will learn about some of the tools scientists use.

We know a tool is an item that helps us do something. Scientists often use different kinds of tools to learn more about things. We are learning how to use paintbrushes, sponges, and other tools to create art.

Today we are going to learn about a tool called a balance scale.

[Display a balance scale.]

This is a balance scale. It has two sides for holding things. Sometimes we want to compare two things to find out which thing is heavier. A balance scale shows us which thing is heavier.

Have you ever used a balance scale?

[Invite children to describe their experiences with a balance scale.]

Today we are going to look at some items and predict which one is the heaviest.

Who would like to remind us what it means to make a prediction? (to think about what might happen)

We use a balance scale to compare the weight of two things by putting one item on each side. The side that is lower holds the heavier item. The word weight means how heavy something is.

Let’s compare two toys. Which toy do you predict is heavier?

[Demonstrate how to use the balance scale by placing one toy on each side to compare the two toys. Point out that one side of the balance scale is lower than the other.]

• Which toy was heavier?
• Was our prediction correct?

[Continue to compare two items with the balance scale, following the format used for the above comparison of two toys. Encourage children to make a prediction before putting items on the scale. Invite volunteer children to place items on the scale and report which one is heavier. Compare as many items as time and child interest permit. Below are item comparison suggestions:

• paper and block
• button and rock
• straw and toy car]

There are many reasons we might want to know which of two items is heavier. If we found two rocks on a hike and wanted to know which rock was heavier, we could put one on each side of a balance scale to find out which rock was heavier.

Today we learned how to use a balance scale to compare two items. The balance scale shows us which item is heavier. The heavier item weighs the most.