Mindful Monday : Week 5 Lesson Plans

Aircraft are still in full force. This week we're going to focus on helicopters and space shuttles.

Monday: Helicopter pretend play, Helicopter books, helicopter song

Tuesday (Cleaning): Lego Helicopter, Helicopter Lacing, Helicopter Matching page, tearing paper for paper mache,

Wednesday (Laundry): Clay Helicopter, Help make a space shuttle out of a box and paper mache, decorate inside "controls", design rockets for balloon rockets

Thursday (Co-op Day) Pretend play with the space shuttle, toilet paper roll shuttles, Balloon rockets, freeze dried ice cream (astronaut food), dehydrating fruit (also a cutting exercise), Clay Shuttles.

Friday: Baby's Dr. Appt., Morning Errands, Talk about how astronauts have to stay healthy , R is for Rocket Alphabet Page, S is for Shuttle Alphabet Page

Also, I found that my big lesson planning chart was really cumbersome, took more time without payoff, and not necessarily helpful for what I am trying to do, so I've reverted to this simpler plan in the text of my blog entry.  Instead of reviewing each activity, I'll blog about the really notable ones (good and bad).

Mindful Monday: Week 4 Lesson Plans

The transportation theme is still going strong and engagement in the materials and activities is still high. We've had a busy couple of weeks with playdates and errands, so we're still talking about aircraft. I also realized that we haven't been doing a lot of letter and number recognition activities, so I'm trying to add more, starting with the A is for Airplane page that we did last week. Here's the plan for the week.

Monday - Errands and Cleaning Day. Airport/travel pretend play since we'll be finishing up the Laundry.
Tuesday - Playdate! I'm sure that Transportation vehicles will be out in full force.
Wednesday - Cardboard Lacing Airplane construction, H is for Helicopter Letter Page. Library Day - pick out more books about airplanes, helicopters, space shuttles, and boats. Build Helicopter out of legos.
Thursday - Co-op Day, maybe airplane and helicopter (and letter) sculptures after nap
Friday - Pool play date! Grocery shopping.
Weekend - Arrange Airplane Visit (?)

Mindful Monday: Week 4 Lesson Plans

Our Transportation Theme is transitioning between Trains and Airplanes.  We left all three railway sets open and added the airport to our microcosm, building on how all the transportation systems mesh. 

Here is a look at the general plan for the week.

Monday: Park by the Airport (and RR tracks) to see Airplanes flying over, Draw a transportation picture, How long is a diesel engine?, Plan City Play (with trains, roads, and airport)

Tuesday: Read Planes, Gliders, Helicopters and other Flying Machines (Terry Jennings), Balloon Experiment, The Airplane has Great Big Wings Song, Plan City Play (with Airport), Airplane Concentration

Wednesday: Paper Airplanes, Read Going on an Airplane, Sing I'm a little airplane, A is for Airplane (first page of Letter Book), Packing a Suitcase Activity (with Laundry Day), Airport Dramatic Play

Thursday: Co-op Day - no planned curriculum

Friday: Pilot on the Airplane Song, Oak Meadow Park (They have a full sized airplane for kids to climb around on), Other songs in the car, Banana Airplane Snack

Sunday: (Tentative) Go see a friend's airplane, Styrofoam or Paper Towel Roll Airplanes.

Want more detail?  Click here.

Mindful Monday: Week 3 Lesson Plans

This week is all about Trains.  This was a nice smooth transition from cars and trucks and buses thanks to our day trip to San Francisco yesterday, which included a ride on both buses and trains.  I plan on keeping the train sets out (He has three - the Plan Toys Road and Rail (wooden), a Fisher-Price Geo-Trax set, and a legos track for a lego Thomas train) the whole week.  Here's our general plan:


Monday: Follow up on our Transportation Fun in San Francisco, playing tourist on the way to the park, read a great detailed book about different kinds of trains, learn a song about drivers of different forms of transportation, and play with various train sets.


Tuesday: Picnic lunch and a working small scale steam engine.


Wednesday: Shapes train and Train Books.


Thursday: Co-op day and grocery shopping day - no curriculum


Friday: Measuring vehicle sizes, making train whistles, and painting signs that allow trains and cars to interact.

For more detailed lesson plans for the whole theme so far, click on this link.