COMMUNICATION

DEVELOPING COMMUNICATION
http://mihomeschoolfam.metrodetroitmommy.com/p/preschool-lesson-plans-directory.html

Develop great communication skills in your early education classroom by talking about it... explore ways and means in which people communicate, and then have students participate in the activities suggested here to reinforce the concept.

MATCHING MAILMAN
http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/1298.html

As well as practicing upper and lower case alphabet matches with this unique learning activity, you could also incorporate numerical and counting skills, matching numerals to dots, triangles, bars, etc. for the "addresses" on these special letters.

POST OFFICE FUN
http://www.everythingpreschool.com/themes/postoffice/art.htm

Students will be designing their very own special stamps, making postcards with magazine cut-outs, and creating a mail delivery bag as well. They will set up a post office booth by cutting an insert into a large appliance cardboard box. Place shoeboxes in and around the box with students' names on them, and have them also design their own "keys" to get their mail. Encourage students to leave postcards and notes and pictures in each other's mailboxes to promote early literacy skills.

PRESCHOOL EXPLORATIONS

OPEN ENDED ART ACTIVITIES
http://mihomeschoolfam.metrodetroitmommy.com/p/preschool-lesson-plans-di...

Car track art - it sounds like something the modern artists have tried as well! Find ideas here for open ended art activities with your early ed students, from Balloon Prints, to Torn Paper Art, Lego Prints, and of course Car Track Art.

LEARNING SKILLS

PRE-LITERACY EXPLORATIONS
https://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/earlylearning/index.html

From playing with funny sounds, to having rhyming games, or acting out verbs in familiar stories, there are numerous, excellent activities listed here to engage students in developing strong early literacy skills.

ONE TO TEN, GUESS AGAIN
http://www.inklesstales.com/stories/one23/

It's a special day in this online story, where students can count along with a little boy about to celebrate his birthday. You could also print out each page of this story and have students label the numbers for each item related in the story.

ACTION ABCS

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=918

Students will explore the power of verbs with this literacy unit for K-2. They will be creating their own books, with a handout Alphabet Organizer and a Sentence Writing Worksheet, encouraging a strong foundation for literacy skills.

INTERACTIVITIES

KIDS' SPACE
http://www.kids-space.org/

Explore everything this site has to offer, billed as an international site for kids. Try Hop Pop Town under Special Projects, where students can make music and sounds with interactive karaoke. Students can also submit their artwork, or view art from other classes around the world. International costumes are explored through games and stories, along with a Message Marathon, where students can write in a message for the 21st century.

BUILD A SHAPE
http://www.inklesstales.com/games/shapes.shtml

Students will play online with triangles, circles, squares, and rectangles, using them like building blocks to make their own creations. Print them out when they say, "Done".

COLONIAL CARD CREATOR – Great for Thanksgiving and Christmas
http://www.history.org/kids/games/cardCreator.cfm

These cards are great fun to create and print out. Students will select their choice of scene - buildings, people, children, animals, or trades, add a message such as "Thank you", "Happy Thanksgiving", "Merry Christmas", etc., print them out, and add in their own text to create a Colonial America card.

ALPHABET FISHING
http://www.kizclub.com/activities/alphabetfish.pdf

Print out these alphabet fish in both upper and lower case letters, cut the cards apart, attach magnet strips to the back, and then go fishing! Let students make their own fishing lines with sticks, string, and a magnet attached, split them into teams, and then call out a letter and have them go fishing for it.

NATIVE AMERICAN COLORING BOOK
http://www.apples4theteacher.com/coloring-pages/native-americans/

Select any of the pictures included here, depicting traditions and daily living of different cultures of Native Americans in history, from collecting berries, to skinning hides, or grinding corn.

FARMSTAND
http://www.kidsplaypark.com/games/farm/

Early elementary students will go shopping down on the farm, adding up each item to find the total checkout price. They will need to pay attention to how many apples are in the barrel for 1 cent each, multiplying that amount before adding it up with the eggs, for instance. The rooster will crow with delight when they get the right total.