Today we are going to learn more about the letter I.

[Display letter I card.

If a child(ren) whose name begins with the letter I 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 I when you say the name.]

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

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

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

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

What is our word that begins with the letter I? (inch) Remember, the length of the space from one number to the next number on a ruler is called an inch.

The letter I says /i/, just like at the beginning of the word “inch.” /i/, /i/, inch. Let’s say that together: /i/, /i/, inch.

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

[Hold up one picture card, and invite children to identify the item in each 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 insect. The letter i 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 I and write them on our chart. Remember, the letter I says /i/, /i/.

[Help children by suggesting other words that begin with i. Examples: inside, it, internet, infant.

Invite one or more volunteer children to find the letter i 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 I on your chart paper.]

We use three lines to make an uppercase I. We begin by making a straight line down, then a straight line across the top, and a straight line across the bottom.

[Give each child his/her letter journal.]

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

Today we learned that the letter I says /i/, just like at the beginning of the word “inch.” We made the uppercase (big) letter I in our letter journal. Let’s say together the sound the letter I makes. (/i/)

Offer the Week 32, Day 3 activity to review adding and counting on.

Engage children in adding numbers written on slips of paper to determine how many children are attending a pretend birthday party. This option includes counting on.

Be Prepared: Prepare seven index cards (or slips of paper) with one numeral from 1–7 on each. Add the corresponding number of dots at the bottom of the card.

Explain that two different groups of children are attending the same birthday party. We want to know how many children will attend the party.

Display two cards of your choice. Explain that each card shows the number of children in one of the two groups that will attend the party. We will add together the numbers on the two cards to determine the total number of children who will attend the party.

Invite a volunteer child to count aloud the number of dots on the card (or say the name of the numeral shown on the card). Invite a different volunteer child to do the same with the second card you display. Invite all children to point to the card with the larger number of dots. Remind children that we count on by starting with items in the larger group and continue our counting with the number of items in the second group.

Explain that we are having different birthday parties. Each party may have a different number of children who attend. Repeat the process described above, encouraging each of two children to pull one card from the set of seven cards. Continue until all children have an opportunity to choose a card and count.

We know that when we move to a new home, we may stay in the same neighborhood or in the same classroom. We can still play with our friends.

Many times we are in a new neighborhood or community and in a new child care center when we move. We say goodbye to our friends. We need to make new friends.

Let’s talk today about how we can make new friends. Remember, a friend is someone we like. Friends do things together.

[Display prepared chart paper.]

I will record our ideas on our chart paper. Then during center time, you might want to draw some pictures on our chart. The top of our chart says Making Friends.

We can make friends by being friendly and helpful to other people. We know that being friendly means being nice to someone. We can also help someone who is feeling shy about being in a new place with new people by being friendly to them.

What are some ways we can be friendly and helpful?

[Below are examples to include in your discussion with children:

• Offer a compliment, such as saying “nice job” when someone catches a ball.
• Help someone clean up an area or carry something.
• Scoot/move over for someone who wants to join a group or sit at a table.
• Ask “Can I sit next to you?”]

We also can make friends by asking someone to play with us. We know some ways to ask someone to play.

[Display three pictures as you briefly discuss each:

• Hand a toy to a child and ask “Would you like to share this toy with me? We can play together.”
• Take the hand of a friend, and ask to go to a play area/center.
• Say “Let’s play together!”]

• Have you tried any of these ideas for asking someone to play with you?
• What happened?
• How else can we ask someone to play?

We can make friends in a new classroom. We might feel nervous about making new friends. Remember, we may feel nervous when we are worried about something.

Have you ever felt nervous about making new friends?

Let’s talk about where we can make friends when we move to a new neighborhood or community. I will record these ideas on our chart, too.

Where could we meet other children when we move to a different place?

[Below are examples to include in your discussion with children:

• your new neighborhood
• a park or playground
• a swimming pool
• sports teams/groups]

Let’s pretend that a new child goes to a park where other children are playing a game with a ball together. The new child wants to play, too.

What are some ways the new child could join the game?

[Below are examples to include in your discussion with children:

• wait on the sidelines and maybe cheer for players (“nice job”)
• help get a ball if it goes out of the area
• when there is a break in the game, ask “can I play, too?”]

We talked about some good ways to make friends when we move to another place. Our chart can remind us of our ideas.

[Point to and read ideas listed on chart.]

Offer the Week 16, Day 4 activity to review throwing a ball up into the air.

Engage children in throwing large and small balls in the air with both hands and arms, and also throwing a small ball up into the air with one hand and arm.

Be Prepared: Secure the assistance of another adult. Develop a plan for safely managing children’s experiences in throwing a ball into the air, including procedures for retrieving balls.

Remind children that one of the ways we can move a ball away from us is to throw it straight into the air. Invite a volunteer child to demonstrate how to throw a large ball in the air, using both hands and arms. Emphasize the use of both hands and arms.

Give each child a large ball, and encourage practice in throwing the ball into the air with both hands and arms. Children should retrieve balls after all balls have been thrown. After several throws with both hands and arms, gather all large balls and demonstrate throwing a small ball straight up into the air with both hands and arms, and then with one hand and arm. Give each child a small ball. Invite children to throw a small ball straight up into the air with both hands and arms, and then with one hand and arm. Again, children collect balls after all balls have been thrown.

Collect all balls. Encourage discussion of experiences. Which size ball was easier to throw? Did the small ball go higher when thrown with both hands compared to when it was thrown with one hand?