Spring is a marvelous time of year. The birds are chirping, flowers are blooming, and the air is crisp with renewal and hope. It is also a great time for educators to enhance their curriculum with story-time books and activity resource books that celebrate the spring season.
Spring Story Books for Preschool Children
Fisher-Price Little People Lift the Flap Book Spring is Here! by Reader’s Digest [Reader’s Digest, 2008] is an interactive, colorful introduction to the wonders of spring. Children can lift over 40 fun flaps and learn about not only about the spring season, but shapes, colors, and numbers.
Spring by Gerda Muller [Floris Books, 2004] is a vibrant, non-text board book. Its fun, lively illustrations present small children engaged in Spring-time activities such as planting seeds, decorating Easter eggs, and playing with lambs.
It's Spring by Samantha Berger and Pamela Chanko [Cartwheel, 2003] features delightful animals like deer, ducks, rabbits, birds and bears spreading the news that spring has arrived. Enchanting watercolor illustrations by Melissa Sweet are sure to captivate young children.
Easter Bugs: A Springtime Pop-up by David A Carter [Little Simon, 2001] is an interactive and appealing board book which incorporates the themes of both spring and Easter. Carter, an innovative paper engineer, allows children to lift vivid colored eggs on each page revealing the bugs in different costumes.
Spring Activity Books for Educators
Daycare providers and preschool teachers can never have too many activity ideas. Early childhood educators can find plenty of ideas to supplement their springtime curriculum from the following excellent resource books:
Everything for Spring: A Complete Activity Book for Teachers of Young Children: Activities for March, April, and May [Gryphon House, 1997] by Kathy Charner and Joan Waites is chock full of springtime activity ideas sorted by month and category. Charner and Waites provide fingerplays, poems, songs, and games as well as art, circle time, dramatic play, language, math, music and movement, cooking, and transitions activities. Each month ends with book and audio recording suggestions.
Bulletin Board-in-a-Book: Spring by Ann Richmond Fisher [Teaching & Learning Co., 2001] provides everything teachers need to build a customized bulletin board for spring. Fisher also offers easy to use lessons, colorful clip art, and stimulating spring-themed activities.
With the appropriate resources at hand, celebrating spring and planning daycare and preschool level activities with a spring theme can be fun and stress-free.
For free daycare and preschool lesson plans available on the internet, see Online Preschool Lesson Plans.
 |
