Assignments

Author Study: Marc Brown

Flipped Classroom Video

Class Presentation

Website Investigation

Family Literacy Backpack

Theme: New Baby

Target Ages: 3-8

Titles/Authors of included texts:

1.      1st Fiction book:

Shh! Don’t Wake the Baby by Perta Brown

Activity: Child(ren) create a sign for the new baby's room that reminds themeseleves and others that it is time to be quiet. While making signs, parents and child(ren) disscuss what kind of activities they could participate in that are quiet enough for nap time. Materials provided: construction paper, crayons, and markers.

2.      2nd Fiction book:

Will You Mind the Baby, Davy? by Brigitte Weninger and Eve Tharlet

Activity: Ask child what they are most excited about when it come to becoming a new big brother or sister. Using the fabric markers and shirts, child will design and add phrases (Ex: #1 Big Sister, One Cool Little Bro, etc.) to shirts and onesies for themesleves and their new sibiling. Materials provided: frabric markers, white onsie, and white child's shirt.

3.      3rd book-Nonfiction:

The New Baby by Fred Rogers

Activity: Using book pages provided child will make a book introducing their new sibling to their family. Including a picture of that family member (hand drawn or photo), and what they think is an important thing to know about that family member (Ex: This is Auntie Carol, she makes the best cookies!) Materials provided: book pages, construction paper covers, crayons, and markers,

ARTIFACT: Stuffed Elephant

I really enjoyed this project. As a preschool teacher I remembered parents coming to me often to let me know that their preschooler was soon to be an older sibling and they were expressing some issues with it. These books were always my go to response to help children grasp such an exciting new step in life.

I was really happy to find that the activities I provided worked well with the family my backpack was given to. The shirts, books, and door signs that the children came up with were adorable and you could tell that they put a lot of work into it. The journal entry was written by the oldest sibling and I was touched to know they enjoyed the backpack.

The revisions I made to my original bag were minimal. I exchanged one of the books and replaced it with a better non-fiction book. The original bag did not have a very solid non-fiction book (What Brothers/Sisters Do Best by Laura Numeroff), while it was cute the book by Mr. Rogers was a much better find. I also included clearer instruction page for the parents, I have forgot to include instructions to fill out the feedback form and so it was returned to me blank.

In the future the only thing I may do differently is change out one of the activities for a less budget heavy one. Though the shirt/onesie making activity is adorable and fun, it could get expensive to keep buying shirts and onesies on a regular basis. Overall I was very happy with my backpack and I think the family enjoyed it too if the products and journal were anything to go by. 

Self-selected Books Reading Log