Ireland

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Ireland
Written and Posted by Erin Hendrix, Owner of CAP for Kids
Must request permission to copy and duplicate.
The Creative Arts Program for Kids aims to teach to the 3 learning styles: visual (learns through seeing), auditory (learns through listening), and tactile/kinesthetic (learns through moving, doing, & touching). CAP for Kids achieves teaching to the 3 learning styles through providing educational experiences based in the Creative Arts, including: creative movement, creative drama, music, visual art, and creative writing. Each CAP student is provided the opportunity to explore weekly themes through seeing, listening, moving, doing, & touching.
To learn how your child can participate in this wonderful approach to education, visit www.thecapkids.com, email erinehendrix@yahoo.com, or call (801) 230-5493.
This week’s theme is filled with fun and educational activities that help children explore the theme “Ireland!”
“Ireland” Lesson Details: The “Ireland” theme is aimed to introduce children to the fantasy and fun of the Irish culture during St. Patrick’s Day. CAP for Kids will explore: St. Patrick’s Day symbols, including: the Shamrock (known as bringing good-luck), the Leprechaun (an Irish Fairy), and the color green (also, known as bringing good-luck when worn on St. Patrick’s Day, review movement in counts of 16, gather as raindrops in a cloud who break out and creatively move around the room to bring out a rainbow portrayed through streamers to the Irish tune Dance Above the Rainbow (it is said that when one follows the rainbow to its end, a leprechaun’s pot of gold will be found), pretend to be a leprechaun for his/her classmates, explore scissors/rainbow crayons, and enjoy a story about rainbows.
Hello Circle Game:
Who Took the Gold?
Adult: Who took the god for the leprechaun? (Child’s name) took the gold from the leprechaun!
Child: Who me?
Class: Yes You!
Child: Couldn’t be!
Class: Then who?
Child: (Child’s Name) took the gold from the leprechaun!

Math Extension:
Number: 16
Shape or pattern: Arc. /ark/. The arc of a rainbow.
Color: Green. Blue & Yellow mixed together make green.
Activity: Students will explore mixing blue and yellow to make green. Students will be encouraged to keep mixing the two colors until their desired green is achieved.
Language Arts Extension:
Letter/digraph/blend: G. G says /g/ for green, gold, goat, gate.
Syllabication: Ireland, Leprechaun, arc, green, rainbow, etc.
Rhyming/Word Families/Site-Words: the _ig family. Jig, big, twig, wig, fig, dig.
Science Extension: How is a rainbow made?
Social Studies Extension: The leprechaun myths of Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day symbols and celebrations.
Music Element or skill: Playing a whole note, making shapes with the body and holding the shapes for a whole note, identifying a whole note.
Movement Element or skill: Exploration of the movement card “tip-toe” to create light movements symbolizing raindrop hitting the ground.
Music: (Exploration of instruments and song lyrics enhances language development in individuals of all ages. Children receive many cognitive benefits when exposed to musical activities at a young age, including: learn sounds, expand their vocabulary, improve grammar, explore intonation patterns, imitate melodies, repeat syllables, and develop rhythms. Music has also shown a favorable impact on children learning to read and improving their reading skills. Music provides students to practice skills that are important to reading, including: “listening, anticipating, forecasting, memory training, recall skills, concentration techniques, and speed reading.” (www.childrensmusicworkshop.com/advocacy/studentdevelopment.html. Early exposure to music offers children a jump start on these cognitive benefits. Plus, it makes learning fun and engaging.):
Theme Introduction
Song 1:
He Lived Under a Rainbow (tune of B-I-N-G-O) w/percussion instruments
There was a little leprechaun,
He lived under a rainbow.
R-A-I-N-BOW
R-A-I-N-BOW
R-A-I-N-BOW
He lived under a rainbow.
*Add a clap for each letter as the verses proceed.*
Creative Movement: (Exploring concepts and the elements of time, space, and energy through natural body movements. All of CAP for Kids’ Creative Movement activities help to refine the following gross motor skills: crawling, cruising, down & up, standing alone, squatting, running, climbing, rolling, leaping, jumping, spinning, forward/backward, strong/light, large/small, etc.):
CAP for Kids Preschool students will explore moving their bodies after being introduced to many different animals ready to board the animal train, including:
Group Activity 1 (Integrated Science, Language Arts, Creative Drama, & Movement): The Rainbow. CAP for Kids students will enjoy this poem about rainbows. Students will creatively explore the sequence of events that create a rainbow in the sky. This activity integrates creativity and imagination as they will explore the myth of the leprechaun. Older students can be challenged to identify the rhyming words that are highlighted in bold.
The Rainbow
One day the sun was shining bright. (how can you use your body to show the sun shining brightly?)
But clouds came along, it was dark as night. (how can you use your body to move like a big stormy cloud?)
The rain began to sprinkle down. (how can you move your body like sprinkling rain?)
Soon it was raining all over town. (how can you use all of the space in the room to show “raining all over town.”)
But when the clouds had passed on by, (how can you show clouds passing by?)
A beautiful rainbow stretched across the sky. (how can you use your body to show an arc of a rainbow?)
At the end of the rainbow is a pot of gold.
And, perhaps a leprechaun, I have been told. (have some fun searching for the pot of gold!)
Group Activity 2 (Integrated Language Arts, Science, Creative Drama & Movement): Rainbow. CAP for Kids students will enjoy telling the story of how a rainbow appears through music & movement. Students will listen to 3 different songs, including: wind & thunder, raindrops, & percussion song. They will creatively move their bodies to tell the story of storm clouds rolling in, raindrops falling to the ground, & the sun coming out to make a rainbow. Students will use props, including: a big cloud blanket, a sun puppet, and rainbow streamers to tell this story through music & movement.
Group Activity 3: Review of shapes on the barres. Students will refine their gross motor skills and strengthen their muscles while creating shapes on the barres while reviewing their knowledge of the number 16. They will each have a turn to freeze in their shape for a count of 16.
Small group theme game: Puddle Jumping. CAP for Kids Preschool students will refine their gross motor skill of jumping when they place several vinyl shapes on the floor and pretend they are puddles. They can get creative as to how the move over or around the puddles to music.
Small group game: Raindrop music. Students are encouraged to make their own raindrop music with a variety of manipulatives, including: pots, pans, spatulas, rhythm sticks, drums, finger tips, etc.
Small Group Challenge (older students). Skill: n/a
Creative Drama (Exploring concepts through the mind, voice, and body. Creative Drama is also known as ‘Guided Dramatic Play.’ These activities provide the refining of skills, such as: learning to use objects and gestures for pretend, interacting with others, following a logical sequence, and sustaining play for a longer period of time.):
Refer to Group Activity 1 & Activity 2 for Creative Drama Activities.
Visual Art (exploring materials to create a unique piece of visual art. All of CAP for Kids Preschool Visual Arts activities are designed to be independent creative experiences that refine fine motor skills, encourage creativity & individuality.): The emphasis is placed on the process of creating their visual art piece, rather than the final product.
Visual Art 1 (Preschool): Colors of the Rainbow. CAP for Kids Preschool students will explore making all the colors of the rainbow through mixing the 3 primary colors. Once they have made 6 colors, they will be encouraged to listen to the rainbow song and paint their own rainbow in the order of the colors of the rainbow.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.
These are the colors of the rainbow!

Visual Art 2 (Preschool): Sprinkle Dots. CAP for Kids Preschool students will explore creating their own dot art to the sound of raindrops playing in the background. This visual arts activity is very process oriented. Students will be provided with glue and dots and are free to make their dot art to their liking.
Hour-Longs (Thursday from 12:30-1:30): Puffy Paint Dough. CAP for Kids Hour-Long students will enjoy creating a masterpiece with puffy paint dough. Flour, water, salt, and paint combine to make a soft dough that hold qualities of paint and dough. The colors can be squeezed onto their canvas and won’t even mix when they pool together. Once the masterpiece dries, it will have a puffy glistening quality from the salt ingredient.
Creative Choreography Movement Card: Review of all used up to date: jump, spin, slide, roll, Go, Stop, Soar, straddle, plié, backward, forward, swaying, skitter, forward, & backward. Introduction: tip-toe
Story-time/Skill Building: (enhances listening and comprehension skills, furthers the exploration of the weekly theme, sparks imagination & learning): Any of the following books may be selected for reading.
Rain Dance by Kathi Appelt
Rain Romp by Jane Kurtz
Raindrop, Plop by Cheyette Wendy Lewison
A Rainbow All Around Me by Sandra L. Pinkney
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
This lesson plan was created and written by Erin Hendrix. Must request permission to copy and duplicate.