How Do I
BLAST Early Learning
Friends
Books:
Squish Rabbit by Katherine Battersby
A lonely little rabbit wants to make a friend.
Otis by Loren Long
When a big new yellow tractor arrives, Otis the friendly little tractor is cast away behind the barn, but when trouble occurs Otis is the only one who can help.
Your Pal Mo Willems Presents Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems
Leonardo is truly a terrible monster -- terrible at being a monster, that is. Despite his best efforts, he cant seem to frighten anyone. But when he discovers the perfect nervous little boy, will he finally scare the tuna salad out of him? Or will he think of something even better?
Open-ended Questions for Squish Rabbit :
• What does Squish look like he’s doing? (on the page where he’s sitting on a rock sewing)
• How do your friends make you feel special?
Return to the topSong:
So Nice To Be Here
It’s so nice to be here with my friends today
Shout hooray! Let’s all play.
It’s so nice to be here with my friends today
Be here with my friends today
Additional verses:
It’s so nice to swing with my friends today…
It’s so nice to clap with my friends today…
It’s so nice to jump with my friends today...
Action Song:
One Finger, One Thumb
One finger, one thumb keep moving.
One finger, one thumb keep moving.
One finger one thumb keep moving.
We’ll all be happy today.
Additional verses:
One finger, one thumb, one arm keep moving…
One finger, one thumb, one arm, one leg keep moving…
One finger, one thumb, one arm, one leg, a nod of the head, keep moving…
One finger, one thumb, one arm, one leg, a nod of the head, stand up sit down, keep moving...
Vocabulary Word:
bound: v. to leap
“The squirrel bounded on, and Squish’s heart skipped a little beat.”
(taken from Squish Rabbit by Katherine Battersby)
Activities:
Math
People Sort
(taken from The Complete Resource Book: An Early Childhood Curriculum by Pam Schiller and Kay Hastings)
Provide magazine pictures of people of different sizes. Invite the children to sort the pictures into groups.
Art/Craft
Body Tracing
(taken from The Complete Resource Book: An Early Childhood Curriculum by Pam Schiller and Kay Hastings)
Encourage the children to trace around each other’s bodies on butcher paper and then color in the details
Friendship Mobile
(taken from The Complete Resource Book: An Early Childhood Curriculum by Pam Schiller and Kay Hastings)
Provide paper circles. Invite the children to name a friend for each circle, then draw a picture of that friend inside. String the circles to make Friendship Mobiles
Science
Can Telephones
(taken from The Complete Resource Book: An Early Childhood Curriculum by Pam Schiller and Kay Hastings)
Make can telephones by removing the tops from two soup cans, then punching a hole in the bottoms. Thread a string through each hole; tie a know on the ends inside each can. Stretch the string and talk to a friend
Magnetic Maze
(taken from The Complete Resource Book: An Early Childhood Curriculum by Pam Schiller and Kay Hastings)
Draw a maze of roads and streets on a cookie sheet. Provide metal cars or glue small magnets to plastic cars. Invite the children to hold a second magnet on the backside of the cookie sheet and move the cars through the maze.
Literature:
by Chris Raschka
Two lonely characters, one black and one white, meet on the street and become friends.
Hondo & Fabian
by Peter McCarty
Hondo the dog gets to go to the beach and play with his friend Fred, while Fabian the cat spends the day at home.
Help!: A Story of Friendship
by Holly Keller
Mouse hears a rumor that snakes do not like mice and while trying to avoid his former friend, Snake, he falls into a hole from which neither Hedgehog, Squirrel, nor Rabbit can help him out.
by Eric Rohmann
Something always seems to go wrong when Rabbit is around, but Mouse lets him play with his toy plane anyway because he is his good friend.
