Wake up! It's Spring! Lesson created by Erin Hendrix & Amber Luker

Wake-up! It’s Spring!

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 “Wake-up! It’s Spring!”

“Wake up! It’s Spring” Lesson Details: The “Spring” theme is dedicated to exploring the signs of spring, including: warmer weather, rain, vegetation budding & blooming, animals/insects waking up from hibernation or being born.

Hello Circle:
Song: Jambo
Warm-Up: Walking, stretching, posing
Name Game: Name & something about spring.

Math Extension:
Number: 17
Shape or pattern: pentagon
Color: n/a

Language Arts Extension:
Letter/digraph/blend: review of /s/ & /p/. Introduction: Two-letter blend /sp/.
Syllabication: spring, flowers, butterflies, wind, rain, robin, bushes
Rhyming/Word Families/Site-Words: N/A

Science Extension: The earth is tilted more toward the sun during spring. The days are warmer and receive longer periods of sunlight. Flowers bloom, animals, wake-up from hibernation, animals are born, like: rabbits, fawns, or birds. Geese, whales, or butterflies migrate back to warm areas.

Social Studies Extension: Humans plant seeds for their garden, wear different clothes, feel excited for the warmer weather, and start planning for holidays during spring.

Music Element or skill: Review of whole note. Introduction of half note.

Movement Element or skill: size: tiny, big body shapes: curved, round (closed)

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:

Spring Is Here
(Sung To: Are You Sleeping)

I see robins,
I see bird's nests,
Butterflies, too!
Flowers, too.
Everything is growing,
The wind is gently blowing.
Spring is here, spring is here.

*Students will be encouraged to make the song their own by inserting other signs of spring they know of. For example: green grass, tadpoles, bears, etc!*

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.):

Creative Movement Concepts: Energy: Strong & light (waking up for spring)

Metamorphosis: the Springtime awakening of insects, breaking out of cocoons, tadpoles are found in ponds, chicks hatching from eggs, birds return north, flowers and plants sprouting, gardens being planting, and animals awakening from their caves, and shedding their winter coats.

Group Activity 1 (Integrated Science, Language Arts, Creative Drama, & Movement): Ten Little Leaf Buds. CAP for Kids students will enjoy this poem about leaf buds. The students will explore this Science related poem through: creative drama & movement.

Ten Little Leaf Buds

10 little leaf buds growing on a tree (Assign each student a number. As each child’s number is called they may take their position on the floor of a little leaf bud growing on a tree.)
Curled up as tightly as can be (movement elements: curved, closed, little)
See them keeping snug & warm
During the winter’s cold & storm (how can you show snug and warm during the winter’s cold & storm?)
Now along comes windy March (how can you show tiny buds moving to the winds of March?)
With its breath now soft, now harsh! (how can you use your body to show the opposites: soft & harsh?)
First he swings them roughly so. (how can you show being pushed around roughly by March’s wind?)
Then more gently to & fro (how can you show being pushed around gently by March’s wind?)
‘Til raindrops from the skies
Falling pitter-patter-wise
Open wide the leaf bud’s eyes. (how can you show a bud opening up?)

Group Activity 2 (Integrated Language Arts, Science, Creative Drama & Movement):

What the Robin Told. CAP for Kids will creatively explore the awakening of Spring by reenacting animals, insects and birds waking up from hibernation. Students will use their bodies to learn the sequence of events of specific animals and/or plants hatching, waking up or sprouting. A poem, such as ‘What the Robin Told’ will be read as students reenact each: the hatching of a chick from an egg, a flower sprouting and a bear waking up from his/her cave. After reading the poem, students will get to choose what they want to act as and explore the musical elements piano & forte. For example: Each child in the group chooses to be something different to act of, the first students wakes up to tell another student its’ spring (piano), then that students goes to next and tells the next student it’s spring (piano). Once all the students have awoken they all get to use their forte voices to shout, “Wake-up, wake-up! Spring time is here!”

What the Robin Told

The wind
told the grasses,
And the grasses
told the trees.
The trees
told the bushes,
And the bushes
told the bees.
The bees
told the robin,
And the robin
sang out clear:
Wake up!
Wake up!
Spring is here!

*After all the students having awakened, they will be encouraged to expressively move throughout the room they acted as during the reading of the poem.*

Group Activity 3. Climbing Barres (number knowledge, core, arms, legs strengthen, refining of gross motor skills, encouraging creativity: 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 17. They will each have a turn to freeze in their shape for a count of 17. They will enjoy trying new ways to move on the barres to these songs:
Can you Move with Me? (Tune of: Do your ears hang low?)

Can you hang very low?
Can you twist? Can you swing slow?
Can you stretch your body out?
Can you make a great big shout?
Can you rise up high?
Stretch your body to the sky?
Can you move with me?



Can you wiggle like a worm?
Can you squiggle? Can you squirm?
Can you flutter?
Can you fly like a gentle butterfly?
Can you crawl upon the ground?
Like a beetle that is round?
Can you move with me?

Can you flip? Can you flop?
Can you give a little hop?
Can you slither like a snake?
Can you give a little shake?
Can you dance like bee?
Who is buzzing round a tree?
Can you move with me?

Small group theme game: Sun Rays. CAP for Kids Preschool students will explore movement in a group as they come together to form a circle, representing the sun. They will: hop, walk, run, leap, and scoot as a group.

Small group game: Sun & Earth. Students are encouraged to explore the sun as a stationary star that heats the earth while one student moves around the sun spinning and tilting toward the sun.

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): Rock Art. CAP for Kids Preschool students will be provided with a rock and the Creative Arts boxes. They will be encouraged to use their canvas (rock) and their mediums to create a unique looking rock that can be placed anywhere to welcome spring!

Visual Art 2 (Preschool): Rock Art. This is a 2 day project. Day 1 is painting, day 2 is decorating.

Visual Art 3 Hour-Longs (Thursday from 12:30-1:30): Wind Blown Art. CAP for Kids Hour-Long students will enjoy moving watered down paint across three different types of papers with straws to create unique designs. They will be encouraged to observe how the paint moves on different canvases.

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, tip-toe. Introduction: Gallop

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.

Spring Things by Bob Raczka
Splish, Splash, Spring by Jan Carr
The Twelve Days of Springtime by Deborah Lee Rose
The Rain Stomper by Addie Boswell
This lesson plan was created and written by Erin Hendrix. Must request permission to copy and duplicate.

*Extra Poem*
Plant A Little Seed
I plant a little seed in the cold, cold ground (Squat down pretend to plant)
Out comes the yellow sun, big and round (Put arms above head like sun)
Down come the raindrops soft and slowly (dancing fingers)
Up comes the flower grow, grow, grow (jump as flower emerges)