Adaptations on Musical Chairs

Queridas maestras -

Ha sido un placer venir a cada Pine Village a traves estas dos semanas (me falta ir a JP, pero voy el lunes!).  Uds. me recibieron con mucho amor y quiero agradecerles por la bienvenida tan bonita!  Lo pase muy bien y vi muchas cosas increibles en las escuelas. 

Para repasar, estos son algunos de mis papeles como Directora de Educacion:

•  Estoy aqui como recurso para uds. para ideas.  Me encanta planear "fuera de la caja" asi que si uds. estan "stuck" y no pueden pensar en algo que tiene que ver con tu tema, o para adaptar la idea para tu grupo (o sea mas facil para toddlers o sea mas de un desafio para los ninos mas grandes) les puedo ayudar! 
• I am available to help in lots of ways!! 
• email  me for brainstorming ideas- pvpjacie@aol.com
• put my number in your address book now so you can call me during work hours on my cell phone and we can brainstorm together-  781-710-2348
• one on one meetings - call or email me to set up a time- I can come to your school!
• staff meetings - I can come and assist with curriculum planning as a school and/or do mini-trainings
• classroom time for sharing ideas
• clase de musica once a month - a great way to implement mas canciones en espanol
• I plan on recording a CD this year of PVP songs!  Stay tuned!
• online tutorials will be sent out
• Weekly emails for inspiration including lesson plan ideas, short videos of cool things that I see in the schools, Spanish Immersion techniques, songs, bulletin board ideas, portfolio assistance, transitions, parent communication, curriculum ideas,  sensory table ideas, diversity in the classroom and MORE!  (And this is the first one!!)  :-)
• Putting together an interactive Manual of Inspiration for Curriculum!! 
• Any feedback that you have, please send it to me!  I really hope that I can be of assistance to you and if you  have any other suggestions or ideas, please send me a note!  GRACIAS!

Esta semana, pido que me envien sus "websites" favoritos que usan para buscar ideas de curriculo!   Quiero hacer una lista como recurso para todos!  GRACIAS!!

Lesson Plan of the Week:

Ahora que hace frio y el invierno casi esta aqui, queria compartir una actividad

que cada clase puede usar con su grupo!  Espero que les guste!

Musical Chairs by Names

Objectives: (as noted in the Guidelines for Preschool Learning Experiences from EEC (Here is the link!)  http://www.eec.state.ma.us/docs1/research_planning/guidelines4preschool.pdf

• Develop familiarity with the forms of alphabet letters, awareness of print, and letter forms.  LITERACY
•  Build body awareness, strength and coordination through locomotion activities.  GROSS MOTOR 

Preparation:

-  Write the names of your children on cardstock or paper.  You may want to laminate for durability.

-  Set up the chairs (or have the kids help you) in the middle of the room back to back.  (Or if you have a large space to work with, try putting the chairs in a big circle facing the center of the room.)

Materials Needed:

Upbeat Spanish music

CD Player

Chairs for each child

Nametags

 Activity:

1.)  Explain the rules of the game to the group.  If you have a small space to work with, you may want to encourage walking, marching or even teach them how to dance "el merengue" since it is so similar to walking and also a part of the Spanish culture!  Or if you have more room, running around the chairs may work for you to help them echar su energia!  Be sure to let them know that when the music is playing, they can move, but when the music stops, they need to find their name and sit on top of it!

2.) Review the nametags as a group with the class.   "De quien es este nombre?" 

3.)  Start playing the music!  While they are moving around the chairs, place the nametags on the chairs. 

4.)  Pause the music after a few minutes.  That is the signal to the children to find their name and to sit.  Be sure to congratulate them for finding their names successfully!  If they struggle with it, have them ask for help from a friend or from you!

5.)  Start up the music again.  REARRANGE the nametags to different seats each time you play the music. 

Lots of adaptations for varying abilities and skills you'd like to enhance:

• For older children, have them write out their own nametags. 
• If they already can easily recognize their first names, try using their last names!
• For Toddlers, put their photograph along with their name
• Try making it into a matching game to enhance your unit!  So if you are studying Outer Space, have the child wear an outer space picture (i.e. sun, planets, rocket ship etc...) and place the matching card on the chair.  Be sure to move them around to make it more tricky for them!   
• Give them categories of things to say once they sit on the chair!  (Words that begin with the letter "A", words that rhyme with "car", Words that begin with the first letter of their name, types of fruit, etc.)

Have fun and please don't hesitate to reach out to me at any time!

Jacie 

Jacie Feinberg, Education Director
Pine Village Preschool
214 Lincoln Street Suite 112
Allston, MA 02135
www.MyBilingualPreschool.com
781-710-2348 (cell)