Theme for the Day:
With the advance of computer technology, more and more people have computers in their homes. Most people are surrounded by items that include computer chips to make them operate. These computer chips make life very convenient. Computer programs make many aspects of our lives easier.
Early Morning Explorations:
Abacus Challenge
The first mechanical calculator was an abacus. The Babylonians are thought to have been using abaci as far back as 300 BC. The children will be captivated by the sliding beads on a classroom abacus. Help the children to count and compute using the abacus. Even the youngest children can move the beads back and forth to make simple calculations.
Touches
The children will have to use soft hands as they decide which of the tablets feel the same. The children will quickly see the difference between the sensation between a soft and hard touch.
Food for Thought:
The children will find it funny to learn that computers can have worms. Give each of the children a small cup. Help the children measure 2 tbsp of instant chocolate pudding and 3 tbsp of cold milk into their cups. Let the children stir the mixture well. Set aside. Give each child an Oreo cookie in a small resealable bag. Let the child smash the cookie into crumbles. Pour the cookie crumbes on top of the pudding and add a gummi worm. The children will love eating this dirty snack.
- instant chocolate pudding - 2 tbsp per child
- cold milk - 3 tbsp per child
- Oreo cookies - 1 per child
- gummi worms -1 per child
- resealable bags - 1 per child
- plastic cups and spoons
The following questions in addition to information taken from the Theme of the Day should be used to stimulate discussion with the children while they are having their snack.
- What is a worm?
- Where do you find worms?
- What is a computer worm? Click HERE for more information on computer worms.
Exploring Grace and Courtesy:
Take this week, with its introduction to computer equipment, as an opportunity to remind the children how to respect their environment. Encourage the children to be gentle with the materials in the classroom. Remind the children to use soft touches as they work through the week's explorations. The children will remember to show their appreciation for the toys they explore.
Yoga: Shoulder Shrugs
Shoulder shrugs are a great way to relieve the tension in the upper back, neck, and shoulder muscles that occus while working for extended periods at the computer.
- Sit cross legged on your mat.
- Inhale; relax your arms and lift both shoulders up toward your ears.
- Exhale; release them down again.
- Repeat several times until the tension is released from the shoulders, back, and neck.
- From Kid Yoga, Fun with a twist ISBN 1402715064 Sterling Pub
Reading Adventure:
Imagination Station Addition:
Put a doctor puppet in the Imagination Station: Puppet Theatre. The children can pretend to diagnose computer virus and create solutions. A lab coat and stethoscope will be great additions to Imagination Station: Broadway. The children can take turns being the doctor.
Morning Primary Exploration: Washy Washy
Handwashing is a person's first defense against germs and illness. Hands touch hundreds of objects each day that have been touched by hundreds of other people. Washing hands with soap and water is the best way to kill germs and prevent the spread of disease.
Help the children learn how to wash their hands properly. Place a few small basins of water on the table for the children to practice with. Have the children get a squirt of soap on their hands and begin rubbing them together. Show the children how to wash both the palms and backs of their hands. Show the children how to wash between their fingers. Give the children small nail brushes to use on their fingernails. The children will love cleaning their nails. Talk with the children about the importance of washing their hands this way before they eat, after using the restroom, after painting, etc. Let the children practice washing their hands several times.
Supplies you will need:
- small basins of water
- soap
- water
- small towels
- nail brushes
Morning Art Exploration: Environmental Art
Edward Kienholz is a Pop Artist that worked during the 1970's. Kienholz like other pop artists created artworks that imitated real life. Kienholz used real objects to create life size environments. These environments always had a message or theme that make the viewer think. What made them so successful was their large size.
The children should work together to create a life size environment using Kienholz as inspiration. The children could choose to create something simple like the entrance to a house or perhaps a bedroom. The children can use cardboard and other props from the classroom to make their environment as life like as possible. Help the children choose a theme that can be walked through. The children could create a computer lab or maybe a doctor's office. Start by using cardboard to make the large parts of the environment. Walls, doors, tables, and windows should all be cut out of cardboard. Remember that the environment should be lifesize so that the children can walk through it. Help the children to secure the environment's pieces together. Wide masking tape will work well for this as it can then be painted. Staples or brads might be helpful as well. Let the children sketch out the details on the environment's walls, etc.
Supplies you will need:
- large cardboard from appliance boxes
- pencils or markers
- scissors
- masking tape
Morning Outdoor Adventure: Program, Program, Virus
The younger children will love playing program, program, virus. Play following the rules of duck, duck, goose. This favorite children's game is great for developing large motor skills and learning to play together rather that parallel to one another.
Connecting to the World: Plopp Art
Have the children continue to explore Plopp. The children will be quite skillfull at creating and manipulating environments now. Encourage the children to try and draw their own environment using the drawing features in the program. This will be challenging for most children and help them develop motor skills. The children will take pride in seeing their artwork plopp onto the computer screens.
Afternoon Primary Exploration:
Supplies you will need:
Afternoon Secondary Exploration:
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Afternoon Outdoor Exploration: Goin' on a Worm Hunt
A computer worm, like a virus, is really just a computer program. A worm is programmed to be able to copy itself from one computer to another. Worms are harmful because they use up computer time and network bandwidth when they are replicating. People who program worms usually have some sort of mischief in mind. Worms usually move around and infect other computers through computer networks. Using a network, a worm can expand from a single copy incredibly quickly. Worms have been responsible for bringing down whole network systems.
Hide some plastic or paper cut out worms on the playground. Tell the children that the playground has been infected with a worm. Explain briefly to the children what a computer worm is and how it works. Challenge the children to find all the worms on the playground. Tell the children the number of worms that you hid. As the children bring the worms to you, help the children count to see how many have been found. Then subtract to find out how many more are still hiding.
Supplies you will need:
- plastic or paper cutout worms
Teacher Resources:
