3-5 Supplemental Curriculum: Learning Centers

Caregiver and child talk about and decide if they live in a rural area, in a village, or a large city.
Caregiver and child describe the street they walk or ride on most. What do they see?
Cut copy paper (21.5 X 28 cm ) in half lengthwise.
Fold the white paper in half end to end. Cut out two squares or rectangles on the middle fold. (See illustration at end of Unit)
Fold it again so that it is in 4ths, and cut more squares and rectangles on the new folds.
Open up the paper and look at the “windows”-holes! Glue the white paper to the dark colored paper.
Talk about who might live in the buildings of the “city block” caregiver and child have made.
Count the number of windows.
Add faces of children and families looking out the windows with crayons and markers.
Add streets or sidewalks, trees and animals.

* Illustration, Evan-Moor Corp, 1996, Beginning to Read Directions EMC 563 (author’s resources)

Learning Center #2: Title: “Funny Bag Town”

Topic 1: This is My Community

Link to GRC: CO Yr. 1, #12, 14; CO Yr. 2, #23-24; PH Yr. 1, #41

Overall Topic Objective: Caregiver and child explore ways God has provided communities and services to support healthy lives.

Center Objectives:

1) Determine the types of businesses and buildings located in child’s community.

2) Identify key characteristics of any community.

Materials:

Recycled clean plastic and brown paper bags (each building is 2 brown lunch bags)
Markers or crayons
Recycled newspaper, wadded into balls to make stuffing for each building
Piece of large recycled cardboard for the base of the town
Scraps of paper to cut fold and glue for windows, doors, flowers, etc.
Safety scissors

Directions:

Child and caregiver talk about the buildings they see on the way to the Compassion project, school, market, or church.
Child uses words to describe and name some of the businesses in their village/city.
You will need 2 brown paper lunch bags per building. If possible, cut up recycled bags to make houses also. Draw on one bag and stuff the other bag with newspaper wads.
Slip the decorated bag over the stuffed bag. The bag should stand up on its own.
Place the decorated buildings on the cardboard box lid for a platform.
Add trees, flowers and more buildings to your town.
Recycled plastic bags can be used as trees shrubs. Color with markers.
Share your creations with one other caregiver and child.
If desired, combine ALL bag buildings created to make a large city for display.

Learning Center #3: Title: “Skyscrapers in the Sky”

Topic 1: This is My Community

Link to GRC: CO Yr. 1, 10-14; PH Yr. 1, #14

Overall Topic Objective: Caregiver and child explore ways God has provided communities and services to support healthy lives.

Center Objectives:

1) Define the word skyscraper.

2) Build a tower with blocks.

Materials:

Option 1: building blocks if available
Option 2: recycled clean boxes, cans, and cardboard tubes
Option 3: clean Styrofoam trays, Styrofoam “packing peanuts”, wooden toothpicks
Pictures of skyscrapers from large world cities

Directions:

Caregiver and child look at pictures of skyscrapers from around the world. Talk about how some people live and work in very high buildings.
Talk about how buildings can be built so high, and guess how many stairs might be in a building to get to the top.
Option 1: Create a ‘skyscraper” using building blocks. Take turns stacking the blocks. Count how many blocks you have used.
Option 2: Stack clean boxes, cans, and cardboard tubes as high as you can.
Option 3: Use a Styrofoam “tray” as the bottom of your skyscraper and connect toothpicks and packing peanuts to see how high you can make this “space-age” skyscraper.

Learning Center #4: Title: “I Am Looking Down My Street”

Topic 1: This is My Community

Link to GRC: CO Yr. 1, #14-15; PH Yr. 1, #11

Overall Topic Objective: Caregiver and child explore ways God has provided communities and services to support healthy lives.

Center Objective:

1) Observe and analyze the landmarks on child’s home street/road.

Materials:

Variety of cardboard stencils created in the shapes of houses, business buildings, trees, community landmarks, etc. (Example: simple outline of a gas station nearby)-create at least 5 or 6 different shapes for the entire group activity
Large mural paper or newsprint taped at the learning center for this activity to be added to by each caregiver and child as they complete the center
Markers or crayons

Directions:

This is a group project for the entire caregiver and child pairs. Each caregiver and child will contribute to making a larger scene of the community in which they all live.

Choose several stencils for caregiver and child to trace and color.
Caregiver and child talk about 2 buildings on their street that they see every day. Choose two stencils that represent those two buildings.
Trace around the chosen stencils on the large community mural. Color in the buildings.
Add trees and people on your street to the mural.
Talk with other caregivers and children about what they see on the street where they live.

Learning Center #5: Title: “Help is on the Way”

Topic 1: This is My Community

Link to GRC: CO Yr. 1, #35-36, 38; PH Yr. 1, #41-42

Overall Topic Objective: Caregiver and child explore ways God has provided communities and services to support healthy lives.

Center Objectives:

1) Identify different kinds of community helpers.

2) Role play a visit to the health clinic.

Collect and organize a simple first aid kit.

Materials:

2 or 3 stuffed animals
Simple pretend health worker’s equipment such as a pretend stethoscope, thermometer, flashlight, immunization needle
“Hospital” examining area
Cardboard chart of scrap paper stacked for the “patient’s medical chart

Directions:

Caregiver and child talk about their last visit to the health clinic. Why did the child go to the clinic? Who were the people working there who took care of her when she was ill? How do the caregiver and child feel about going to the clinic? Caregiver and child role play health care workers in a clinic.
Caregiver or child role play the “caregiver” with a “sick” (stuffed animal or doll) who came to the health clinic for help.
Child examines the “patient”, tells what she thinks is wrong with the patient, and tells the caregiver what she should do to take care of the ill “patient”.
Child and caregiver take turns pretending to run the clinic, give shots, take temperatures, etc.
Write on the “patient’s chart” the health worker’s ideas to make the patient better.

Learning Center #6: Title: “Jobs in My Community”

Topic 1: This is My Community

Link to GRC: CO Yr. 1, #36-38; PH Yr. 2, #18

Overall Topic Objective: Caregiver and child explore ways God has provided communities and services to support healthy lives.

Center Objectives:

1) Compare and contrast at least 3 different tools used in community occupations.

2) Role-play and pantomime different community occupations.

Materials:

Examples of Tools used in different community jobs such as:

Gardening and farm tools—shovel, spade, piece of fruit or vegetable
Baking pan, rolling pin--baker
Money and brief case -- banker
Comb and brush--barber/hairstylist
Books and paper—teacher
Hammer, nails—builder, carpenter
Police hat or picture of badge—policeman
Military hat or medals—government worker, soldier
Goat herder or shepherd—staff or walking stick
Fish net, or small toy boat—fisherman
Picture of computer –technical expert or other jobs that use computers

Directions:

Caregiver and child talk about the jobs that people in their household have in the community.
Toss a beanbag back and forth and name a different community job each time you catch the beanbag.
Place all the different “tools” in a large box. Caregiver and child take turns choosing a “tool” and role-playing the job that uses the tool. Ask questions: Why is this tool important to the worker?

What would be hard or easy about this worker’s job?
Caregiver and child choose one tool and make up a silly story about the tool and its worker. For example: “Today the hammer went out the door with its owner, Pedro.” Then it went in the cart with the builder to a new school being built”….etc.
Caregiver and child talk about the jobs that people had in Bible times. How are they the same or different from jobs today?

Learning Center #1: Title: “Land, Sea, Air Transportation”

Topic 2: Exploring My Community

Link to GRC: CO Yr. 1, #15, 21-22, 33

Overall Topic Objective: Caregiver and child will identify types of transportation which support communities worldwide.

Center Objectives:

1) Explain the meaning of the word “transportation”.

2) Recognize the differences between man-made and natural forms of transportation.

3) Classify and sort types of transportation.

Materials:

Cut -out pictures of different kinds of transportation including people walking and animals that carry people (See illustrations in Unit 4 Resource folder)*
Cardboard chart labeled in three vertical or horizontal columns: Land, Water, Air on one side. On the other side, make two vertical columns labeled with: Man-made and God-Made

Directions:

Caregiver and child talk about ways to get to places near and far. Ask questions: What kinds of transportation can we use to go to the market in our neighborhood? What kinds of transportation take us to … (name of province or city child recognizes) How do we go to see our cousins and grandparents? The health worker, the banker, etc.
Place the cardboard chart on a flat surface.
Look at the pictures of all the different kinds of transportation.
Sort the pictures according to :
- Transportation on land
- Transportation on water
- Transportation in the air
Turn the cardboard chart over to the other side. Now caregiver and child sort the pictures according to :
- Man-made transportation
- God-made transportation
List the kinds of transportation the child has used to go places.
Talk about his/her favorite kind of transportation and thank God for different ways to move around and go places.

*PDF Website: www.wordpress.com

Learning Center #2: Title: “Shape Trucks”

Topic 2: Exploring My Community

Link to GRC: CO Yr. 1, #21-22

Overall Topic Objective: Caregiver and child will identify types of transportation which support communities worldwide.

Center Objectives:

1) Practice fine motor skills and visual discrimination skills.

2) Identify at least two kinds of transportation in community.

Materials:

1 copy of “Truck Shape” worksheet per caregiver and child (See printout in Unit 4 Resource folder)*
Markers or crayons
Safety scissors, glue
Extra paper approx. 21.5 cm x 28 cm for gluing shape trucks

Directions:

Caregiver and child talk about how they arrived at the Compassion center today. Did they ride? Did they walk? Talk about all the different ways people travel from place to place.
Think of all the different kinds of trucks he/she has seen in the community.
Caregiver and child look at the worksheet of shapes. Name the different shapes you see.
Color together the different shapes and take turns using the scissors to cut out the shapes.
Arrange the shapes on the background paper to form a “truck”.
Glue the shapes on the extra piece of paper.
Use markers or crayons to fill in around the “truck” with other ideas—(trees, people, road, etc.)
Decide what shapes you would use to make a bicycle. If time remains, make your own shape bicycle by drawing shapes, cutting out, and gluing on the back of your truck paper.

Learning Center #3: Title: “On the Road”

Topic 2: Exploring My Community

Link to GRC: CO Yr. 1, #21-22; PH Yr. 1, #38

Overall Topic Objective: Caregiver and child will identify types of transportation which support communities worldwide.

Center Objectives:

1) Practice using small motor skills to push and pull.

2) Identify at least 3 different colors.

Materials:

Tape
3 or 4 different colors of yarn, tape, or ribbon
Colored toy cars, same colors as the yarn colors
Flat surface: floor or top of a large table

Directions:

Caregiver and child tape different colored yarn “roads” on the floor or table. Make some “roads’ straight and some “curvy”.
Choose a toy car to follow the road that matches that color. Example: red car goes on red “road”
Experiment with pushing the car to each other down the road and pulling the car with another cut piece of yarn. Match and use the different colors.

Learning Center #4: Title: “Let’s Drive”

Topic 2: Exploring My Community

Link to GRC: CO Yr. 1, #15, 21-22; PH Yr. 1, #38

Overall Topic Objective: Caregiver and child will identify types of transportation which support communities worldwide.

Center Objectives:

1) Describe different kinds of landforms and dangers that challenge drivers of various vehicles

2) Practice fine motor skills to strengthen the hand and arm muscles

3) Use comparison words: smaller, larger.

Materials:

Lid of recycled cardboard box
A variety of small toy vehicles
Sand or salt to place in the lid of the box
Large paper or plastic plate
Large box or chair for pretend vehicle

Directions:

Caregiver and child list the reasons why transportation is helpful in a community.
Caregiver and child talk about how a driver must be careful when driving because of possible dangers and unexpected surprises on the road. Name as many ideas as possible that might surprise a driver to be careful. (Example: cow in the road, big hole in the road, a flash flood, etc.)
Hold the plate in front of you like a “steering wheel”.
Take turns pretending to “drive” somewhere. Caregiver and child talk about:
- Where they are going?
- Who is with them?
- What they are going to do when they get there?
- Dangers and turning the steering wheel! Look Out!
- Arrive at the end and get out! Time to go home! Turn around and get back in the car to “drive” home.
With the lid of sand/salt; push and pull toy cars to “make tracks” in the sand. Talk about how mud and dust affect the driver and his/her car. Talk about the sizes of wheels and how tracks of different vehicles are smaller or larger than others.

Learning Center #5: Title: “I Can Move Too!”

Topic 2: Exploring My Community

Link to GRC: PH Yr. 1, #6-10; PH Yr. 2, #2, 42; CO Yr. 1, #21

Overall Topic Objective: Caregiver and child will identify types of transportation which support communities worldwide.

Center Objectives:

1) Promote spatial and body awareness.

2) Use body movement to promote healthy growth.

3) Practice description words.

Materials:

Safe area inside or outside to do body movements

Directions:

Caregiver and child learn how many different ways their bodies can move and provide self-generated transportation.
Caregiver and child take turns listening to each other and doing the following actions:
- Show me how small (tall, wide, thin, long) you can be!
- Point to the nearest wall: touch it and return to me.
- Stand in place and make your feet move: fast, slow.
- Stand in place and make your hands move: fast, slow.
- Show me how slow you can walk.
- Show me how fast you can walk.
- Pretend you are a: “tree, wall ball, river”.
- Close your eyes and point to the wall, door, outdoors, etc. without looking (Optional: use a blindfold for this activity).
Caregiver and child take turns doing the following activities together:
- Rotating your head
- Touching your toes
- Reaching up like a star on tiptoes
- Pretend you are a windmill or a fan with your arms
- Jump up and down with your whole body
- Jog in place
Caregiver and child do the following action song together:

“Can you reach up far?” (Go on tiptoes and reach to the sky)

“Can you touch a star?” (Reach for a star, wiggling hands like star)

“Can you touch your socks and shoes (or sandals???) (Bend over and touch toes)

“Can you whisper, “God Loves You!” (Whisper to each other and blow kisses)

Learning Center #6: Title: “Safety in My Home”

Topic 2: Exploring My Community

Link to GRC: PH Yr. 1, # 32, 37, 39; PH Yr. 2, #43

Overall Topic Objective: Caregiver and child will identify types of transportation which support communities worldwide.

Center Objective:

Identify at least 3 common objects in and around the home that are safe and unsafe to play with.

Materials:

Collection of safe household objects—activity supervised by caregiver

Examples: hammer, several toys, electrical cord, medicine bottles, scissors
1 Piece of bright paper per caregiver and child
Crayons or markers
Cardboard circle shape stencil for tracing (can use a small plate) approximately 13cm in diameter
Safety scissors

Directions:

Caregiver and child talk about safety rules in their home and community.
Caregiver and child trace two large circles on a piece of brightly colored paper using the cardboard circle stencil/small round plate.
Cut out the two circles.
Draw a “happy face” on one circle and a “sad face” on the other circle.
Caregiver shows the child objects from the collection of safe and unsafe household items, one at a time. The child decides if the item is safe or unsafe by holding up a “happy face” for a safe object or a “sad face” for an unsafe object to play with.
Once all the objects are displayed on the table, the child points to each object and tells his/her caregiver a “safety rule” for the unsafe items, using complete sentences. Example: “The hammer is unsafe to play with because I might hit someone or myself and get hurt.” Proceed to encourage the child to tell caregiver other reasons why some objects are unsafe to play with.
Child can be the leader and the caregiver can hold up a “happy face” or a “sad face” when the child points to one of the displayed objects.