Theme: All About Me!

Focus of the Week: Our theme series focuses on one letter, one shape and one color each week. I put together and printed this printable mostly for my two. I hung it in our craft room and would often point to the letter, shape and color for him to identify throughout the week.

September Themes: My boys (ages 2, 3) go to preschool twice a week, so I planned our activities for the off days - Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I printed a monthly chart as a way to keep organized and stay on track. Here's the first week at a glance:

MONDAY:

Shape (Star): I am a Star. Show your child the star and tell them that "a star" is a way to tell someone they are extra special. On the lines, discuss and write various ways your child is a star. Have your child color the star afterward. 

Letter (X): X-ray Craft. You'll need black paper, chalk, glue and q-tips. Before this craft, we talked about our bones and looked up different x-rays (hand, foot, skull, dog, snake, etc.) on my phone. Trace your child's hand and place glue where the bones go. Have your child glue the bones into place. Write a letter X at the top of the page. Note: My two (left) wanted his foot and hand. My three (right) wanted only his foot with LOTS of bones. He was in charge of the glue. The mark on the left was his attempt at an X. 

Gross Motor: Teach your child Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes. This youtube made it more fun and interactive for us to learn the song. 

Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes

Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes

Eyes & Ears & Mouth & Nose

Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes

Sensory (Salt Dough Handprints): You'll need salt, flour, water and play dough tools. Have your child help you make the salt dough. We added items that go along with our theme this week - star cookie cutter and X play dough stamp. Another day, we used Mr. Potato Head items to make little people - we talked about parts of the body. You can also make these salt dough handprints, but we ran out of time. To make salt dough, add these ingredients into a bowl and mix until the dough forms. Add more or less water if needed:

• 1/2 cup salt
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup water

WEDNESDAY:

Art (Life-Sized Me): You'll need Ikea Paper Roll & Crayons. Have your child lay on a long sheet of paper and use a crayon to outline his body. Invite your child draw eyes, ears, nose, mouth, etc. or simply color his body. Note: See fine motor activity below.

Fine Motor (Body Part Stickers): You'll need star stickers (check out Dollar Tree). Once your child has complete coloring his life size me, pass him some star (point out the shape!) stickers. Call out a body part or have him draw a body part card and have him place a sticker on the life-size me. This is a great vocabulary building activity.

Numbers (Picture Puzzles): Print a picture of you child(ren) and cut it into pieces. Tell your children you have a puzzle of something that's very special to you. Have your child put the pieces together, with or without help. Note: I cut our picture into four pieces for my two and eight pieces for my three.

Outing (Home Videos): Have an indoor outing and watch home videos. You could even set up a picnic in the living room as you watch. As you watch the videos talk about how great your children are to you. We watched old videos on my phone. 

FRIDAY: 

Science (Fingerprints): You'll need ink, paper and a magnifying glass. I was initially planning on doing "parts of my face," but thought my kids would enjoy learning about fingerprints instead. We talk about fingerprints and how all fingerprints are different - no matter if we're brothers, in the same family, or even twins. Fingerprints can be found all over. We also talked about how detectives use fingerprints to identify people. Learn more at kce adventures. Here are a few options to make and examine your own fingerprints:

• Inkpads & Paper
• Pressing fingers into salt dough (as made earlier this week)
• Flour & Packing Tape

Colors (Star Color Match): Print two copies of the stars below - card stock will be the most durable. Leave the first copy as is and cut out all the stars on the second copy. Have your child draw a cut out star and match it to the correct star on the first copy. Review all the colors, making note of the color pink.

Nursery Rhyme (Jack be Nimble): You'll need building blocks and a tea candle. My boys both loved this activity! They helped me make a candlestick from legos and they took turns jumping over the "candle." If the candlestick was too high, I would help them jump over it and they thought that was so much fun. Afterward, they used the legos as ice skates and skated around the room.

Treat (Child's Favorite): This week we made our family favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. The boys helped me add all the ingredients and scoop the cookies on the tray. Yum!

All About Me Booklist: And of course, we read often throughout the week. We mostly read before our quiet times each day, but we occasionally read during a meal or random time during the day. I placed these books on hold at our local library and we enjoyed reading them this week as we learned All About Me:

• Dem Bones by Bob Barner
• From Head to Toe: The Amazing Human Body and How it Works by Barbara Seuling
• From Head to Toe by Eric Carle
• I Like Me by Nancy Carlson
• Me and My Amazing Body by Joan Sweeney
• On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman
• Sleep if For Everyone by Paul Showers
• Your Body by Usborne Books

Note: I'd also like to focus on beginning sounds, hand writing, cutting and beginning reading for my three (he'll be four in a few weeks). I will incorporate more of these ideas in this series, but also love this beginning reading program.