Morning ring
- Call the children together using their special morning ring signal
- Sing good morning to the children (the children join in)
- Say a short prayer of gratitude
- Tell the children that as it is Monday the Monday helpers have a turn to tell news
- Ask the children what the weather is like today – decide together what the weather feels like
- Say to the children that you are wearing something red today – can they see what it is? If they can, praise them. If the can’t, show them the red thing you are wearing. Ask the children to look around the classroom (still sitting down) for what they can see that is red. Some children may be wearing red clothes – point out the colour they are wearing. Show the children the red things on the table. Let the children take turns looking through the red "glasses" you have made
- Show the children the word "colour" on the theme posters
- Tell the children that you have put out red paint for them to paint a red picture
- To end: Let the helpers go to the main art activity first – the other children can go in groups to the other art activities
Art activities
Main activity: painting (put out red paint)
Other activities: playdough, chalk dipped in water, box-building with waste materials
Music: singing
Translate songs and poems into the language you teach in.
- Call the children using their special music signal (claps or songs, etc.)
- Ask the children if they have ever seen a rainbow. If they have, ask them what colours they remember the rainbow was
- Teach the children this song (try to translate all the songs into the language you teach in):
"Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple – these are the colours of the rainbow!"
(use any tune)
- Teach the children this little poem
I ride my little tricycle
I ride it to the shop
And when I see the big red light
I know I’ve got to stop
"Stop!" says the red light,
"Go!" says the green light,
"Be careful!" says the orange light
Blinking in between
- Teach the children any song that you know about colour in the language you teach in
-
To end: When you call them, the children who are wearing red go first, then the children wearing yellow and so on can go to the toilet and to wash their hands for tea
Outdoor play
Watch the children carefully. Children are often more "wild" on Monday mornings. Do not forget the water play – this can help children to calm down! Point out the different colours in your surroundings – the blue of the sky, the yellow of a flower, the green of a tree (talk to the children about whether a tree is light green or dark green and so on.) Encourage the children to do the interest/discovery activity of mixing colours if you have set it up outside. Encourage children to look for insects and to think about whether they are camouflaged well in their surroundings.
Indoor play
At the theme and nature tables, allow the children to experiment with the colour whirlies and the colour glasses. Show the Monday helpers the stacking/shape-sorting games you have.
Story time
- Call the children using their special story time signal
- Try to find and read stories about colour
- To end: Tell the children that when you touch their ankles they can go to the toilet and to wash their hands for lunch
Prepare for Tuesday on Monday afternoon
- Prepare and set out the art activities
- Make sure you know what to do for all the rings
- Wear something yellow today as you will be teaching the children about yellow.
- Organise 4 or 5 bananas