NURSERY RHYMES (Concept of "Time")
NURSERY RHYMES (Concept of "Time") Although I'm posting ideas below as often as I can, my very favorite "Concept of Time" activities have been reserved for my "NURSERY RHYMES" booklet under "Hickory Dickory Dock" (see the "Stormie's Stuff for Teachers" section of my website).
Wee
Willie Winkie Fun:
Group Discussion: Tell
children the meaning of "rapping at the window" and "crying through the lock."
Was it daytime or nighttime? How do you know? Why was he trying to
find out if all the children were in bed?
Creative
Drama: This one is fun to do outdoors. Children take turns being Willie
(or Willamina) Winkie running through the town, rapping at windows, crying through
locks, and asking, "Are the children all in bed, for now it's eight o'clock?"
Other children can be moms and dads who answer Willie's question from inside a
playhouse or a cardboard box house. Cut head and arm holes in a pillowcase
for a nightgown.
Naptime: If children
stay for nap at your center, you can ask at the appropriate time, "Are the children
all in bed, for now it's (your naptime) o'clock?"
*Going
over the classroom calendar reinforces the concept of time.
*Other
concepts of time:
-Morning, noon, evening
-Day
and night
-Then and now (historical themes are examples
of a concept of time -- like dinosaurs)
-Yesterday, today,
tomorrow
Make Sand Timers: Needs lots of supervision: Have children each bring two glass jars to preschool (baby food size). (I have never tried this with plastic jars but maybe it would work just as well since glass can break.) Remove the two lids from the jars and glue them together (top to top) using a very strong glue. After they dry, pound holes through the lids (a couple through each side) using a hammer and nail. Fill one jar with sand (or salt) and screw the double lid onto it. Screw the empty jar to the top. Children now have their own sand timers! (Or, you could make one large classroom timer.) (If you wish to have the timers represent a minute, you will need to play with the amount of sand in advance and time it as it flows through then add more sand or remove sand accordingly.)
>From
Donna Coffey
Watchmaker
Game: When the watchmaker says, "3 o'clock" (or 10 o'clock, 11 o'clock, etc),
children take that many steps. But when the watchmaker says, "12 o'clock,"
the children start running and the watchmaker has to catch them. If the
watchmaker catches a child, that child helps the watchmaker catch other children
by starting the game over again.
>From
D. L. Cummings, Hale Academy, Primary Learning Center, Ocala, Florida:
Concept of Time/Father's Day Idea:
Our Primary Learning Center is part of our private
school so we follow their school year calendar and are not in session for Father's
Day. In order for the K3's to better understand the concept of time, they
make calendars for their fathers. Each month they create a work of art (monthly
theme related) on the top half of a 12 x 18" piece of construction paper,
using the fine motor skills we have been working on (tearing, snipping, gluing,
glittering, etc.). I print out monthly calendars starting with June of the
current year through the next year's May. Holes are punched at the top of
the calendars, reinforced, and then rings are inserted (key type, or cable ties
can be used). The students decorate wrapping paper and I help them wrap
their calendars. It is a gift that shows not only how their small motor
skills and creative abilities have developed over the months, but also one that
can be enjoyed all year long! (Since
there are 12 months in a year but we are in session for only 10 months, the children
do 3 calendars in May.)
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Reminder
from Stormie: If you would like to begin collecting ALL my current classroom
ideas (each on a 4 x 6" index card), as well as new ones that I create, you
can do so by ordering my "Activity Cards." Click here
to check them out.
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