Letter O, Wrap-up

Theme: Ocean

Sound
o says /ō/
o says /ŏ/

Sample Words
octopus,opposite, otter, octagon, on, off, ocean, open, orange, over

Books
1-4 fiction and non-fiction books about any other ocean life or animals.
Ex: otters, sea lions, crabs, seals, sea turtles, sea shells, jelly fish
A House for Hermit Crab, by Eric Carle

Music/Movement
walk like a crab
play duck, duck, seal (as you would duck, duck, goose)

Craft
Make a paper plate crab from No Time For Flashcards.


Sensory Bin
Put sand, plastic Easter eggs and small plastic turtles and talk about how turtles lay eggs in the sand.

Dramatic Play
Set out balls and other toys that your child can practice balancing like a seal, on his/her nose or other parts of the body.

Handwriting
Practice writing the letter O. See tips at the top.

Snack
Apple Boats: 1/2 an apple for the boat 1 pretzel stick for the mast 2 mini marshmallows for the sail

Field Trip
Visit your local aquarium (or, as we did, our local Cabela's)

Letter O, Day 4

Theme:Octopus

Sound
o says /ŏ/

Sample Words
octopus, off, on, otter, octagon, opposite

Books
1-3 brightly illustrated non-fiction and fiction books about octopus. Share the pictures, pointing out the tentacles and suction cups.
Talk about opposites and give examples.

Music and Movement
Show how an octopus moves

Craft
Make an octopus out of an “o”
You’ll need:
letter “o” template (draw your own or print one out)
crayons
scissors
glue
tissue paper
blue construction paper

Let your child color the letter “O” then help them cut it out and paste it onto the blue construction paper. Pre-cut strips of tissue paper for the tentacles and let your child glue them on.


Sensory Bin
Talk about octagons and let them play with pattern blocks.

Handwriting
Practice writing the letter O. See tips at the top.

Snack
Swedish fish

Letter O, Day 3

Theme: Ocean

Sound
o says /ō/

Sample words
ocean
open
orange
over

Books
1-2 brightly illustrated non-fiction books about the whales, identify what is in the pictures
Water Beds, Sleeping in the Ocean, by Gail Langer Karwoski

Music/Movement
Choose 2 or 3-Underwater Songs and Fingerplays

Craft
Make a water bed

You'll need:
2 liter bottle
5 cups water, tinted blue
2 balloons barely blown up and tied

Blow up the balloons, put them in the bottle then fill with water, screw the cap on and turn on it's side.


*For an extension activity, use this Creative Minds flip book about marine mammals

Sensory Bin
Water whale scoop-cut the bottom of a milk jug so it resembles a whale's mouth and use it to scoop up foam fish (I traced my own and cut them out of foam sheets, you can also buy pre-cut foam fish). You can do this in a kiddie pool, the tub or a traditional sand and water table.


Handwriting
Practice writing the letter O. See tips at the top.

Dramatic Play
Play Going on a Whale Hunt as you would a bear hunt.

Snack
Swedish fish or whale-shaped crackers (Wal-mart brand)

Letter O, Day 2

Theme: Ocean

Sound
o says /ō/

Sample words
ocean
open
orange
over

Books
1-2 brightly illustrated non-fiction books about the ocean, identify what is in the pictures
Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister

Music/Movement
Choose 2 or 3-Underwater Songs and Fingerplays

Crafts
*Stringing Cheerios-This is a great fine motor activity. Tie a cheerio onto the end of a string or piece of yarn, then tape the other end so it doesn't fray. Demonstrate how to string the o's, then let your child do it. Talk about how the cheerios are shaped like the letter o and reinforce the sound. You can let them eat it after they are done or save it for snack.


*Make a Rainbow Fish

Sensory Bin
*Ocean in a bucket

You'll need:
foil
aquarium rocks or other glass rocks
water
blue food coloring
sea animals and plants

Put the foil in the bottom of your bin and put the rocks on top. Then add the water and food coloring and finally the sea life. Let your child explore each thing and prompt them with questions to help them remember what they have learned so far about sea life (ex: What lives in an anemone?)



(I just picked up this great deal at Target the other day for $5. It's called the Underwater Life Collection and there are 20 pieces included.)


Handwriting Practice
Practice writing the letter O. See tips at the top.

Snack
Oranges sliced width-wise to look like an "o"

Letter O, Day 1

Theme: Ocean

Sound
o says /ō/

Sample words
ocean
open
orange
over

Books
1-2 brightly illustrated non-fiction books about the ocean, identify what is in the pictures
Swimmy, by Leo Leonni

Music/Movement
Choose 2 or 3-Underwater songs and fingerplays

Crafts
Ocean animals coloring pages- color and cut them out to make a collage or put them on popsicle sticks for puppets.


Sensory bin
Letters in the sand-Fill the bin with sand and have your child(ren) practice writing the letter "O". When they're done writing, add props such as small shovels and buckets and let them play.

Dramatic Play
Snorkeling in the tub-fill the tub with warm water and add a bunch of plastic sea creatures and plant life. Give your child goggles and let them pretend to snorkel.



Today we learned that clown fish live in anemones,


and that seahorses hold on to seaweed while they sleep so they don't float away.


Handwriting
Practice writing the letter O. See tips at the top.

Snack
goldfish

Handwriting-Teaching the formation of letters

This information is adapted from the Spalding Method. I used it when teaching kindergarten.

Manuscript letters are made up of a circle, or parts of it, and straight lines. The clock face is used as a reference point for forming the following features: a circle, all letters that begin at two on the clock, and parts of letters.

The four points most often used are 2, 4, 8, & 10.

Introduce the term midpoint as the reference point for halfway and review top line and base line.

General Handwriting Rules
*All letters sit on the baseline
*For letters that begin on 2 on the clock, rounding conforms to the curve of the circle. Every round letter should fit on the same-sized clock.
*Lines begin at the top and are straight and parallel. All letters that go below the base line go the same distance below the base line as above it.
*Letters or parts of letters are of 2 sizes. They are either tall or short. Tall letters or tall parts approach but do not touch the line above. Short letters or short parts are half as high as tall letters. They begin at the midpoint between the height of a tall letter and the base line.
*Dots and crossbars are tiny, formed just above the midpoint; crossbars are formed in the direction in which we write.

Practice Paper-Here's some basic practice paper, you can find a variety online.

Clock face reference for handwriting

Writing the clock letters