How Do I
BLAST Early Learning
Mice
Books:
Inside Mouse, Outside Mouse by Lindsay Barrett George
Two mice, one who sleeps inside the house in a clock and one who sleeps outside the house in a stump, fellow complicated by strangely parallel paths and meet each other at the window.
Alphabet Under Construction
by Denise Fleming
A mouse works his way through the alphabet as he folds the "F," measures the "M, " and rolls the "R."
Of Mice And Rats by Allan Fowler INFORMATIONAL TEXT
Contrasts the characteristics of a wide variety of mice and rats.
Return to the topRhyme:
The Mouse Ran
The mouse ran around the room.
(make circling motions with arms)
The mouse ran around the room,
The mouse ran around the room,
And what do you think he saw?
He saw a great big cat.
(Raise arms and make a large circle)
He saw a great big cat,
He saw a great big cat,
So what do you think he did?
The mouse ran into his hole,
(squat down)
The mouse ran into his hole,
The mouse ran into his hole,
Safe and sound at last.
(cover head with arms)
Song:
Little Mouse
I’m a little mouse, gray or brown,
Sometimes I’m up, sometimes I’m down.
I can run in and then run out.
I’ll squeak hello, and never shout.
Vocabulary Word:
Kink: 1. to twist something straight such as rope, string, or wire
Example: "Kinks the K".
(taken from Alphabet Under Construction by Denise Fleming)
Activities:
Alphabet Construction
Provide materials for children to create alphabet letters and alphabet letter people, animals and objects (e.g., play dough, pipe cleaners, alphabet stencils, Popsicle sticks, string, paper, markers, crayons, paint). Talk about the shapes, "big and small" (upper case and lower case), names, and sounds of the letters.
Letter Search
Bury plastic or foam alphabet letters in sand and have children hunt for the letters. Encourage children to name the letters they find.
Alphabet Animal Collage
Provide children with scissors, glue, paper, markers, crayons, paint, etc. and magazines that have pictures of animals (e.g., zoo books, National Geographic). Encourage children to find (or draw) pictures of animals that start with a particular letter of the alphabet. Children can cut out or tear pictures and glue them to paper to make the collage.
Cheese Tasting
Provide your children with a lot of different kinds of cheese and have them taste test. Some good cheeses to use include Cheddar, American, Swiss, Monterey Jack, Parmesan, etc. Graph out which cheese is the favorite.
Mouse In a Jar
Give your children a piece of paper with a pre-drawn (or have them draw one) jar on its side on it. Then have them use an inkpad to make fingerprints inside the jar, and then let them add the mouse features (eyes, ears, whiskers, arms, legs, tail, etc) to it. http://www.everythingpreschool.com/themes/mice/art.htm
Paper Plate Mouse Mask
Have the children paint a paper plate brown. When dry, have the children add facial features and ears made from construction paper. Cut out holes for the eyes and add a popsicle stick to the back of the plate near the bottom with glue. www.paonebook.org
Literature:
Mouse Views: What The Class Pet Saw
by Bruce McMillan
Photographic puzzles follow an escaped pet mouse through a school while depicting such common school items as scissors, paper, books and chalk. Readers are challenged to identify the objects as seen from the mouse’s point of view.
Julius’s Candy Corn by Kevin Henkes
As Julius awaits the arrival of his guests for his costume party, he has a hard time resisting the candy corn decorations on his mother’s tasty cupcakes.
Mouse’s First Summer by Lauren Thompson
Mouse tries many new things when he and Minka celebrate summer by enjoying a picnic in the park.
Sweet Dreams, Maisy by Lucy Cousins
Ideal for bedtime reading, this sweet book tells the story of Maisy and her friends having a long day at play, but soon it’s time for Maisy to sing and read to Panda and snuggle in her cozy bed.
