Eight Red Apples (pages 6 to 9)
- Introduce this story by explaining that one character can read and one cannot. Ask your child to listen for clues to decide who can read and who cannot.
- After reading the story, ask your child to use the pictures to retell it.
Learning how to find and identify the first letter of a word is an important early-literacy skill. Duck looks for words that begin with the letter A. He found "arugula" and "apple." Ask your child to look for other words in the story that begin with the letter A, and then hunt for words that begin with the first letter of your child’s name.
Literacy: Alphabet Knowledge (Identifies at least 10 letters of the alphabet, especially letters in the child's name.) *Literacy: Book Knowledge & Appreciation (Demonstrates progress in abilities to retell and dictate stories from books and experiences, to act out stories in dramatic play, and to predict what will happen next in a story.)
You Can Paint Flowers (page 24)
- Painting can be messy! To help keep things neat, place small paint cups on a cookie sheet and put paper on a flat, even surface.
- Children can use the tray as a palette for mixing colors. Add a water container and a sponge to the tray so children can wash their brush before dipping it into a new color.
- Gluing the pieces of paper on the page to make the center of each flower will help young children organize the space.
Encourage children to try mixing colors on the tray or the paper.
*Creative Arts: Art (Gains ability in using different art media and materials in a variety of ways.) *Approaches to Learning: Engagement & Persistence (Shows growing capacity to maintain concentration over time on a task.) *Science: Scientific Knowledge (Shows increased awareness and beginning understanding of changes in materials and cause-effect relationships.)
Tracks in the Sand (page 32 and 33)
- Help your children identify which object made each set of tracks.
- Talk about what else you might see on a beach.
After talking about this illustration, try this. First, collect some objects. Then put sand, flour, or cornmeal in the bottom of a shallow pan. Ask children to close their eyes as you press an object into the sand. Then have them open their eyes and try to decide which object made the mark. Take turns pressing and guessing.
*Science: Scientific Skills & Methods (Begins to participate in simple investigations to test observations, discuss and draw conclusions, and form generalizations.) *Language Development: Speaking & Communicating (Develops increasing ability to communicate information, opinions, and ideas.)
*Early-childhood standards based on the U.S. Head Start Child Outcomes Framework.