We are learning about letters. We know that a letter is a special mark used to make words. In the past few weeks we have learned about letters X, S, P, E, and H.

[Display letter cards X, S, P, E, and H. Point to and name each uppercase and lowercase letter. Example: “Remember, this is an uppercase S and this is a lowercase s.” After you name a letter, invite children to pop up if the letter is in their name.]

Today we will use a letter mat to help us remember the letters we are learning.

[Display letter mat.]

Our letter mat contains the uppercase and lowercase letters we have learned so far. We will each use our own letter mat for this activity.

[Pass out a letter mat to each child.]

I am going to mix up the letter cards and then show them to you one at a time. When we see a letter card, we will point to the same letter on our letter mat.

[Hold up letter card X.]

Let’s find this letter on our letter mat.

[Lead children in looking for, pointing to, and saying letter X on their letter mat. Explain how you found the letter X. Example: “This letter has two straight lines that cross each other. It looks just like the uppercase letter on our letter card.”]

The letter X says /ks/. Let’s together say the letter sound: /ks/.

Now let’s find another letter!

[Hold up remaining letter cards, one at a time. Invite children to first point to the matching letter on their letter mat. Then ask children to repeat the letter name and the letter sound.]

Today we learned more about letters X, S, P, E, and H. We used our letter mats to find the letter that matched our letter card. Then we said the name and sound of the letter.

We are learning to make simple patterns with words and sounds. Let’s try a word pattern. Let’s say, “up, down, up, down. . . .”

[Lead children in saying the word pattern. Then invite children to point up and to point down while saying the pattern. Slow the pace when you add pointing to the pattern so children can coordinate movement and words.]

Please watch carefully as I use some beads and circles (counters) to make a simple pattern. My simple pattern will be circle, bead, circle, bead, circle, bead. We know that a simple pattern uses two things that repeat themselves.

[Place the counters and beads in an ABAB pattern in front of you for all children to see. Point to each bead and counter as you invite children to say the pattern with you.

Lay out bowls, each containing one type of small counting items. Example: buttons in one bowl, small blocks in another bowl, etc.]

Let’s use the items in these bowls to make patterns. We can use any items we’d like to make a simple pattern. We need two kinds of items to make a simple pattern. Let’s each choose two kinds of items and place them in a simple pattern.

[Observe and help children as each makes an ABAB pattern. After each child has made an ABAB pattern, encourage the child to say his/her pattern while pointing to each item.]

Now we are going to make other kinds of patterns with our items. Please watch carefully as I make another kind of pattern.

[Make an AABAAB pattern. Name each item as you place it in your pattern.]

Let’s together say the pattern.

[Lead children in saying the pattern as you point to each item.]

Let’s each of us practice making a pattern just like this one.

[Guide children as they choose the same types of items used in the AABAAB pattern. Encourage children to copy your pattern. Help if necessary.]

We each made the same kind of pattern. Let’s point to the items in our pattern as we say the pattern together.

[Lead children in saying the pattern as they point to each item.

Next to the AABAAB pattern you created, form an ABAB pattern with the same items used in the AABAAB pattern.

Ask children to compare the two patterns and describe what is different. Review the differences by saying and pointing to items in each pattern. Example: “This pattern is: bead, circle, bead, circle. Our other pattern is bead, bead, circle, bead, bead, circle. There is an extra bead in our second pattern.

If time permits, make another AABAAB pattern as described below.]

Let’s try another pattern. Please watch carefully as I make another pattern.

[Make another AABAAB pattern with items not used in the first AABAAB pattern. Name each item as you arrange it in the pattern.]

Let’s together say the pattern.

[Lead children in saying the pattern as you point to each item.]

Now let’s make a pattern like this one using the same kinds of items.

[Guide children as they choose the same types of items used in the second AABAAB pattern. Encourage children to copy your pattern. Help if necessary.]

We each made the same kind of pattern again. Let’s point to the items in our pattern as we say the pattern together.

[Lead children in saying the pattern as they point to each item.]

Today we used items to make our own patterns. We can make simple patterns and other kinds of patterns!

Today we will play a game we’ve played before that will help us to be good listeners and remember what to do. We will need to listen carefully. What part of our body do we use to listen? (ears) The game will help us practice how to remember things. We know that when we practice something, we do it many times so we can get better at it!

The game is called Drum Beats. Remember, beats on the drum will tell us how to move our body.

Who remembers what we did when we played this game several weeks ago?

I am going to beat this drum with my hand. We will clap our hands while I beat the drum. But when I stop beating the drum, we should stop clapping our hands.

Let me show you.

[Ask another adult to help. Beat the drum, then pause as the other adult claps his/her hands. Then say “stop” and have the other adult stop clapping. The drum beats and claps do not need to be in unison. Continuous clapping is fine.]

Now let’s try it together.

[Beat on the drum as children clap their hands. Then stop and wait for children to stop clapping. Continue with several rounds of beating the drum and stopping, while waiting for children to clap and stop clapping on cue. Shorten or lengthen the amount of time you beat the drum, based on how quickly children respond to the start and stop prompts.]

Now we will change our game a little bit. This time when I beat the drum two times, we will clap. Keep clapping until you hear me beat the drum three times. When we hear three drum beats, we will begin to stomp. When I say “stop,” we stop. Watch as I show you.

[Ask another adult to help. Beat the drum two times as the adult claps. Then beat the drum three times and pause and wait for the adult to stomp. Alternate between two beats and three beats as the other adult claps and then stomps. Say “stop” when you are finished with the demonstration.]

Now let’s try it together!

[Beat the drum two times, then pause and wait for children to clap. Then beat the drum three times and pause and wait for children to stomp. Then say “stop” and pause and wait for children to stop. Continue alternating between two beats and three beats as the children clap and then stomp. Say “stop” to indicate that children should stop clapping or stomping. Shorten or lengthen the frequency of prompts (two beats or three beats) depending on how quickly children change their actions.]

This time we will walk when I beat the drum. Let’s stand up.

When I beat the drum slowly, we will walk slowly. Keep walking slowly until you hear me beat the drum quickly. When I beat the drum quickly, we will walk quickly (but not too fast). Remember, we are walking, not running. Let’s try it.

[Beat the drum slowly, then pause and wait as children walk slowly. Then beat the drum quickly and pause and wait as children walk quickly. (Help children remember that we are not running.) Alternate between beating the drum quickly and slowly for several minutes. Say “stop” to indicate that children should stop walking.]

Let’s change the game one more time.

When I beat the drum slowly, we will walk quickly. Then when I beat the drum quickly, we will walk slowly.

• How will we walk when I beat the drum slowly? (quickly)
• How will we walk when I beat the drum quickly? (slowly) Let’s try it.

[Beat the drum slowly then pause and wait as children walk quickly. Then beat the drum quickly and pause and wait as children walk slowly. Alternate between beating the drum quickly and slowly for several minutes. Say “stop” to indicate that children should stop walking.]

Today we practiced listening carefully so we would know what to do. We also practiced remembering what to do. In our game, we listened for drum beats. What did we need to pay attention to with the drum beats? (whether the beat continued or stopped, whether there were 1, 2, or 3 beats) What did the drum beats tell us to do? (clap our hands, stomp, remain still, walk slowly, walk quickly)

Yesterday we drew a picture of ourselves as a baby in our science journals. We know that people change from when they are babies to when they are children your age. This is part of our life cycle. Remember, a life cycle means a living thing is growing and changing over time.

• How has your hair changed since you were a baby? Do you have more or less hair now? Is it the same color?
• How much bigger are you today than when you were a baby?
• How have your teeth changed? (fewer as a baby)

Today we will talk about how two animals grow and change over time.

The first animal we will talk about has fur, a long tail, and whiskers. Some people have this animal as a pet in their home.

Can you guess the animal? (cat)

Pop up if you have a cat in your home or would like to have a cat as a pet!

We know that you were a baby and now you are a child. Cats change over time, too.

• What is a baby cat called? (kitten)
  [Display picture of a cat and its kitten. Point to each as you ask the following question.]
• How is the kitten different than its mother? (smaller)

Cats have a life cycle. A kitten gets bigger as it grows into an adult cat.

Now let’s talk about a different animal.

[Display picture of a dog and its puppies.]

Pop up if you have a dog in your home or would like to have a dog as a pet! Dogs also change over time as they grow.

What do we call a baby dog? (puppy)

The bigger dog in our picture is the mother of the puppies. The mother dog (“mommy dog”) is an adult.

• How are the puppies different than their mother (larger dog)? (smaller)
• Have you ever seen a puppy grow to become an adult dog? How did the puppy change as it got older?

Kittens and puppies become adults much quicker than a baby person becomes an adult. It took a long time for you to change from being a baby to a child. It took even longer for me to change from a child to an adult. Kittens and puppies become adults much faster than a baby person becomes an adult. Some living things grow and change faster than other living things.

Living things grow and change over time. This is called a life cycle. Today we talked about how we have grown and changed since we were babies. We also talked about how kittens and puppies become adults. Does it take longer for a kitten or puppy to become an adult or a baby person to become an adult?