I Can Be Helpful: Day Two

Clean and Dirty--Part One

Children will understand the difference between clean and dirty and practice ways of cleaning things up.

Book:

Ten Dirty Pigs/Ten Clean Pigs: An Upside-Down, Turn-Around Bathtime Counting Book [Hardcover]

Carol Roth Jurgen Philip Philip Philip Kevin Kevin P Geneen Philip Philip Philip Marie (Author), Pamela Paparone (Illustrator)

Activities:
Clean Hands vs. Dirty Hands

Glitter Germs

Need: glitter, paper towels, hand lotion, bucket (to catch glitter)
Note: cinnamon can be used in place of glitter.

Put a drop of lotion on each child's hand and have them rub their hands together to spread the lotion out evenly. Sprinkle over a bucket a small amount of glitter into each child's hand. Have the children make a fist with the hand that has glitter on it. Have them spread their fingers. What do you see? Have each child press his hands together and pull them apart. What do you see?

Give each child a piece of paper towel and have them wipe their hands. Is the glitter all gone?
After using the paper towel, have the children wash their hands with soap and water. Did the glitter come off?

Discuss that the glitter represents germs (pretend germs). Germs make our hands dirty and can make us sick. What happened when they tried to get the glitter off with paper towels? What happened with they used soap and water? Why is it important to properly wash your hands?

Germs Away

Need: bowl, water, pepper, liquid dishwashing soap. Sprinkle black pepper in a bowl of water (the pepper represent germs). The pepper will float on top. In the center of the bowl add a few drops of dishwashing soap and watch the soap "scare the germs away"! Discuss the imporantance of using soap when washing hands.

Spreading Germs
Need: Spray bottle, food color, water, white paper, tissue

Show how germs spread with a spray bottle. Add green food coloring water in a spray bottle. Squirt the water (sneeze) onto white paper to show how germs spread when you sneeze. Then take a tissue and cover the nozzle of the spray bottle. Spray again (sneeze). When you cover your mouths the germs go on the issue instead of all over.

Hand Washing/Slippery Soap: Practice proper hand-washing technique. Let children play with a bar of soap. Rub slippery soap through his fingers and let him try to hold on to the soap! When hands are all soapy, talk about how we need to get our hands CLEAN. Sing a song, like the ABC song, or this one:

This Is the Way
(Tune: "Here We Go 'Round The Mulberry
Bush.")
This is the way we wash our hands,
Wash our feet, wash our hands.
This is the way we wash our hands,
so early in the morning.

Let's Get Dirty--Let child play with something messy, such as dirt, mud, or pudding. Say "Let's get dirty," and help him cover both sides of his hands. When he's finished playing, say, "your hands are SO dirty, let's wash them." Washing hands very well and make a point of saying, "Wow! You're hands are SO clean now!"



Veggie Wash--Have child help you wash dirty vegetables like carrots or potatoes with water and toothbrushes. Reinforce "clean" and "dirty."


We can be helpful by keeping things clean!

I Can Be Helpful: Day One

I Can Be Helpful

Even though I am small, there are things I can do to help others.

Book:
Let's Be Helpful--P,K. Hallinan

Songs:
Where we're Helping, We're Happy--LDS Children's Songbook 198b

Activities:
Ask children about all the things that need to be done around the house.

Show a picture of a family working together, whether in a garden, cleaning up a room, cooking, etc.

Make a poster, writing down all the ways your child helps you around the house and all the things they can do. Talk about how helping others makes us and others happy.




Find a blank picture of a boy or a girl. Have child color it and glue it into the middle of the poster under the title of "I can be Helpful." (Or glue in a photo of the child.)


For the rest of the day, have children help you when tasks that they can do need to be done.

Grandparents: Day Five

Grandparents Party Celebration

Invite grandparents over or celebrate from far away:

Here are several ideas of way to pay tribute to grandparents. If they live far away, interview them over the phone or have them mail something special for the child to have as answers.

Share pictures of when they were babies or young children, and photos of where they used to live.

Have grandparents play a game with the children from their own childhood (or bring a toy from when they were kids).

Have grandparents teach the children a song from their childhoood days.

Have grandparents tell children a story their parents used to tell them.

Ask for volunteer grandparents to come and make a special food project or snack with the children.

Musical Show-N-Tell: If the children in your class only know of the "CD world," have grandparents bring a record player to school and play a record for the children.

Have children dance to the music of their grandparents.

Mini-Geography: Here's a way to allow children whose grandparents live far away to still feel special and involved during this unit: Speak with the child's parents and find out where the grandparents live and ask for a photo of them. Then, on a map, highlight the route from where the child lives to where the grandparents live. Using the tiniest piece of tape, attach the grandparent's photo at the end of the route. Leave the map out on a table and allow that child to show others where his/her grandparents live by tracing the route with their fingers. Also, if time, play video or audio of the child's grandparents for children to see/hear.

If grandparents live nearby, let your child help make cookies or decorate cupcakes to present to Grandma and Grandpa.
Honor far away grandparents by serving your child a special snack that you enjoyed with your own grandparents.

Grandparents: Day Four

You Are My Sunshine

Book:
Grandparents!--Elizabeth Kennedy

Song:
(Adapted from " You Are My Sunshine")

You are my sunshine
My only sunshine
You make me happy
When skies are gray
You never know { --------- }
How much I love you
So please don't take my sunshine away!

*fill in the blank with grandparents' names

Grandparents light our lives like the sun gives us light.

Glue pictures of grandparents into a drawing of the sun Put child's picture inside the circle.


Another idea.

Make cookies and decorate like suns.

Grandparents: Day Three

Gifts of Love

Part of Grandparents Day is reminding us to show our love and respect for our grandparents. One way to do this is with cards, gifts, and simple demonstrations of love.

Books:
The Gifts of Being Grand
by Marianne Richmond

Grandparents
by Roser Capdevila

Grandparents Day
by Nikki Tate, Benoit Laverdiere

Grandfathers are Like Gold
by Janet Lanese

Funny, You Don't Look Like a Grandmother
by Lois Wyse

Songs:
I Love {Grandma, Grandpa, Granna, Gramps}
{He/She} loves me.
We're a happy family.
With a great big hug, and a kiss from me to you
Won't you say you love me, too!


Activities:
Cards--make a card that shows grandparents how much the child loves them. Our card has a flower on the front and says, "A grandparent's love helps us grow. Happy Grandparent's Day! Love, Kyle and Ryan." Then, we glued pictures of the boys on the inside. The flowers are made by cutting different sizes of circles out of paper that Kyle painted on with watercolors. We glued them on and dew in a stem, leaves, and grass.


Here's another idea for a similar flower card made from muffin cups.

There are numerous ideas for cards made by folding paper in half. Just having children decorate it and tell you what to write makes a wonderful card. Make a hand print or thumbprints for the child to decorate and turn into bugs, animals, flowers, etc.

Another idea:

The children paint their fingers a "flowery" color(s) and their palms green. They then place their hands down on white construction paper creating "handprint flowers." They then glue this to a larger piece of construction paper (their choice of colors) and glue a paper heart to the center. (Some may be able to cut out the hearts themselves.) This poem is then glued to the "card":

A Piece of Me (written by Kathleen Lademan) A piece of me I give to you: I painted this flower to say "I Love You" The heart is you, the hand is me To show we are friends, the best there can be I hope we'll save it and look back someday At the flower we shared on your special day. HAPPY GRANDPARENTS DAY!

Homemade Gifts--

Packet Gifts: Gather everyday items and attach clever sayings. Wrap them all together in a cute bag, box, or other container, such as a flower pot.

Grandparents Gift Packet

Hand Lotion - to remind you that babies need lots of soft touches
Safety Pin - to help remind you to be safe
Lifesavers - to remind you that grandparents can be lifesavers
Small hand mirror - to remind you that you play a very important roll in the life of your grandchild!
Wipes - for cleaning up those little messes
Candle - to remind you, you will be the light of that child's eye
Peppermint - to remind you that you are worth a mint
Brag Book - so you will always have your grandchild near
Sweet & Sour Candy - to remind you that every child can be both at any given moment
Clock - to remind you that time passes to quickly...enjoy every minute
Mounds Bar - for the mounds of wisdom you will pass on to your grandchild
Starburst - for that extra burst of energy when you wear out but they don't.
Hershey's Hugs & Kisses - because you deserve them~!

PAPER WEIGHTS For this gift, you will need a small clear jar. Have your child fill the jar with layers of dried beans and seeds. Provide your child with colorful options such as red kidney beans, green peas, yellow corn, etc. Secure the lid and turn the jar upside-down to use as a paper weight.

FRAMES Make or buy small cardboard frame inserts. Have your child glue old buttons around the frame. Tape a recent photo of your child in the frame. Tape a pop can pull on the back top to use for a hanger.

HAND -SOME BOOKMARK Have your child lay their hand and part of their arm on a piece of light weight cardboard, while you draw around it with a pencil. Cut out the shape and let your child decorate the shape with marking pens or crayons. Have your child write their name on the back and /or tape a small picture of them on the back. Cover the bookmark with clear self-stick paper on both sides and cut around the edges.

SEASONAL BOOKMARKS Have your child collect small colorful fall leaves and/or small flower petals. Provide her with a 5"x8" piece of clear self-stick paper (sticky side up). Have her place her leaves and petals on the sticky paper, then cover it with another piece of self-stick paper. Have your child press across the paper to remove any air bubbles created. Trim the paper down to a 2"x7" strip. You may be able to make two bookmarks from their art work.

Closing:
Once you've made your cards or gifts, help child wrap/address them. If grandparents live far away, mail the gifts. If not, talk to child about how exciting it will be to give the gifts to his grandparents on Grandparent's Day!

Grandparents: Day Two

Our Family Tree

Child will understand the relationships and connections in a family and how his grandparents are related to him. (Grandparents are my parents' parents!?) He will also learn how to recognize grandparents and name them from their pictures.

Books:
I Loved You Before You Were Born-- by Anne Bowen
Grandparents are Special--Lucy Mead

Songs:
A Happy Family--LDS Children's Songbook p. 198
I Have a Family Tree--LDS Children's Songbook p. 199

Activities:

Make a Family Tree--On a large piece of paper, trace a tree shape. Work with child to fill in the names of the people in his family. Glue (or draw) pictures of each person in the correct space, starting with child (and siblings.)


Fun with Photos--
1) Look through photo albums and identify pictures of grandparents. Talk about any special names that child calls each family member.
2) Print out matching pictures of each grandparent. Play Memory.
3) Make a book by gluing photos onto index cards. Include grandparents' names, where they live, and something special about them.



Grandparent photo greeting--
For each portrait, purchase a cardboard photo mat, available where picture frames are sold. Give your child a piece of paper cut to fit the frame and ask her to draw a picture of Grandma or Grandpa or both together. Let her decorate the frame with such items as glued-on magazine pictures, yarn or rickrack pieces, or stickers. Tape your child's drawing to the back of the frame so that the picture shows through the opening. Then let her give the portraits to her grandparents on their special day.

Closing:
Remind child that his grandparents are very special people and are important to his family history. They make up the branches of his family tree.

Grandparents: Day One

Grandparent's Day History

Learn about why we celebrate Grandparent's Day and understand a little bit of the importance of knowing about our grandparents' histories, showing them respect, and letting them know what they mean to our lives.

Book:
That's What Grandparents are For--by Arlene Uslander
The Grandparents' Treasure Chest: A Journal of Memories to Share with Your Grandchildren--Edward Fays (or similar)
Grandpa's Song--Tony Johnston

Song:
Grandparents are Special Friends
(Mary Had a Little Lamb)

Grandma is my special friend,
Special friend, special friend.
Grandma is my special friend.
I love her, yes I do.
Grandma likes to play (swim, read, visit....etc) with me,
Play with me, play with me.
Grandma likes to play with me,
And says she loves me too.

Heather McPhail

Sing the song again, substituting "Grandpa" for "Grandma."

History:
Visit the Grandparent's Day Website. Learn how, where, and why the holiday began and find activities and resources.


Activities:

Interview your Grandparents: Let children ask questions to learn more about their grandparents' histories. Record the answers and keep in a grandparents book, along with pictures and other mementos. If grandparents live far away, print questions on paper, have children draw a picture and write a little note to grandparents asking for their answers, and send it in the mail. Have children help you stuff and address the envelopes, talking about where grandparents live. (You can also use a journal-type book to let grandparents record their answers.)

Sample Questions:

1. Where were you born? What year? 2. What are the names and birthdates of your brothers and sisters? 3. Did you have a pet when you were growing up? 4. Did you get an allowance? 5. Who was more strict, your mom or dad? 6. What were your favorite games and activities? 7. What chores were assigned to you? 8. What did your house look like? Is it still the same? 9. Did your house have electricity when you were young? 10. What traditions did your family have? 11. Did your family have big reunions? 12. Did you like school? What kinds of grades did you get? 13. What were your favorite subjects? 14. When you were a teenager, what time did you have to be home at night? 15. How old were you when you met grandma/grandpa? 16. How old were you when you got married? 17. What was your first job? 18. Tell me about my mom/dad when he/she was growing up. 19. What makes you proud of my mom/dad? 20. Have you accomplished what you wanted in life? 21. What do you think the President should do for the country now? 22. What advice would you like to give me?

"My Hand in Grand's": Trace or paint/print your child's hand. Let grandparents trace their hand around the smaller hand print to symbolize grandparent and grandchild, hand in hand. (Variations: Grandparent can print hand first in lighter color, then have grandchild's hand print on top in darker color. Or...press hands into plaster/clay; cut hands out of fabric and stitch together.....)



Name that Grandparent: Let children look through pictures of family members. Ask them which ones are grandparents and have them call them by the names they use. Talk about where each lives and how much we love them. Discuss that Mom's mom and dad are your grandparents (and same with Dad's side.)

Throughout the week, you will learn more about grandparents and do more activities to show respect for and strengthen the bond between grandchild and grandparent.