Curriculum Planning

Being that I'm a certified elementary school teacher and not using my skills currently in the classroom, I have an inner need to plan curriculum. It's pure joy for me to sit with my laptop in the Curriculum Library (Smith Hall) surrounded by textbooks and teacher guides, brainstorming and creating lesson plans.

My first project is to create weekly plans at a Kindergarten level (the very basics of knowledge). So far, I have completed four quarters (year-round school) of Kindergarten Math and Music Appreciation. It's fun stuff -- no homework or assignments. Just interactive, hands-on exploratory LEARNING! I'm so excited about it.

I'll share with you just a few weeks worth to pique your interest and get your creative juices flowing:

MATH

Week Seven:
-Read aloud: “Penny the Pilot Goes to Town”
-Sing “If You’re Happy and You Know It” emphasizing patterns in verses
-Clap/tap/snap a pattern and have your partner repeat it
-String beads in a pattern ABAB or ABBA
-Color cube patterns

Week Eight:
-Using different sized squares of paper, model an ABC pattern
-Put different sized blocks in order from smallest to largest
-Make patterns with different shapes
-Use different kinds of pasta to make patterns

MUSIC

Week Seven:
-Listen to ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’ by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and ‘Flight ‘76’ by Walter Murphy. Make up your own bee dance!
-Watch a movie of a bee dancing and learn why they dance like that (science connection)

Week Eight:
-Listen to ‘Little Bird Dance’ (Traditional) and dance faster when the beat gets faster
-Listen to ‘Waltz No 3’ by Amy Marcy Beach and see if you can feel one strong beat and two weak beats. Stomp and tap with the music.