Hess International KindergartenOpen House Activities

Rainbow Toddlers: My BodyOPTION A:Materials Needed:

Flashcards: “Smaller Body Parts” “Bigger Body Parts”Hippo or Rainbow stickersA puppetRainbow Adventures 2 CD Song: “Hokey Pokey”Flashcard: “AAA-aaa an apple” Flashcard: “BBB-bbb a ball”Balloons (2)

Steps Time1. With the puppets—sing the “Good Morning” song or substitute “Hello” if it is in the afternoon and

“Good Evening” if it is in the evening. (Or you can sing the “Long Time No See” song.)2. Get your HRT/CT to sing with you as well. 3. Use big, clear actions.4. Teach word for word, “How are you?” “Fine, thank you!” 5. Put a puppet on your hand and ask each child, “How are you?” Help them, but don’t expect them

to answer, reward them with a sticker/high 5. (Try and get the children to focus on the puppet and not you, they may feel intimidated by you).

Most importantly, get the kids to follow your actions/gestures.

Min.

6. Using the flashcards, teach the kids the vocabulary words and have them point to each body part.

7. Whenever the students show great actions or say the answer loudly make sure to reward them.8. Teach the “Hokey Pokey” song together with the actions.9. Sing the “Hokey Pokey” together.

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10. Review the body parts with the actions. Repeat the words. Play some movement games:11. Copy the Movements: Make a movement and ask the students to copy it. For example, kick

your leg in the air. Make a second movement and ask the students to copy you again. This time, flap your arms like wings. Combine the two movements and ask the students to copy you. Add as many movements as the children can remember.

12. Shake it Up: Have the students identify different parts of their bodies and shake that part. They can shake their hands, feet, arms, etc.

13. Silly Moves: The idea of this game is to touch one part of the body to another. For example, touch your elbow to your knee; touch your nose to your toe; touch your head to your leg, etc.

14. Review the words and actions.

15. Take out the “AAA-aaa an apple” and “BBB-bbb a ball” flashcards. 16. Teach the letter, the sound and an action for apple. Jump up and down chanting. Repeat with B.17. Write an A and a B on two balloons. Pass them around (from you to a student), chanting “AAA-

aaa an apple” and “BBB-bbb a ball”.

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18. Write the number “1” on the whiteboard. 19. Jump up and down, say “1” and show 1 finger.

Fun Time: A Handy Book

Materials Needed:

Construction PaperScissorsPaint or stamp padsPaper plates (1 for each table)Pens or pencils or markers

Steps Time

1. Show the “hands” flashcard again. Ask, “How many hands do you have?” Encourage the students to answer, “I have two hands.”

2. On a piece of folded construction paper trace a child’s hand. Cut out the hand, leaving the fold uncut. You will end up with a hand-shaped booklet that will open up. Help each student to make a hand booklet. (Ask your HRT to help you)

3. Place small amounts of paint in paper plates.4. Let the children decorate their handbooks by dotting their thumb or fingers with paint.5. Print each child’s name on the outside of the book.6. Variations: 1. Use stamp pads instead of paint. 2. Let the students add little arms and legs to their

thumb prints/finger prints with a pen or pencil to make a silly looking person. 3. Use fingerprint combinations to make funny people: an index-finger head, a thumbprint body and a pinky-finger hands and feet. 4. Less to do: Trace and/or cut out hand-shaped booklets for the students ahead of time. Let the students concentrate on cutting and/or making fingerprint and thumbprint decorations.

7. When the children finish, reward them with a high five and encourage them to say, “How many hands do you have? I have two hands.”

8. Wrap it up by singing the “Hokey Pokey” one more time 9. Say “Goodbye” and “See you later!”

Optional: Read the Rainbow Adventures 2 Storybook: “Good Night, Captain Pete”

Hess International Kindergarten Open House Activities

Rainbow Adventures 2: My Body OPTION B:Materials Needed:

Flashcards: “Face” “Smaller Body Parts” “Bigger Body Parts”Hippo or Rainbow stickersA puppetRainbow Adventures 2 CD Song: “What Can You Touch?”Flashcard: “NNN-nnn a nose” A toy hammerToys (2)

Steps Time1. With the puppets—sing the “Good Morning” song or substitute “Hello” if it is in the afternoon and

“Good Evening” if it is in the evening. (Or you can sing the “Long Time No See” song.)2. Get your HRT/CT to sing with you as well. 3. Use big, clear actions.4. Teach word for word, “How are you?” “Fine, thank you!”5. Put a puppet on your hand and ask each child, “How are you?” Help them, but don’t expect them to

answer, reward them with a sticker/high 5. (Try and get the children to focus on the puppet and not you, they may feel intimidated by you).

6. Most importantly, get the kids to follow your actions/gestures.

Min.

7. Using the “Face” flashcards, teach the kids the vocabulary words and have them point to each facial feature while repeating the words after you.

8. Whenever the students show great actions or say the answer loudly make sure to reward them.9. Teach the “What Can You Touch?” song together with the actions. Sing the song together.

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11. Use the flashcards to review the body parts with the actions. Repeat the words. Play some games:12. Body Movements: Play a follow-the-leader game with the children. Ask the children to watch very

carefully as you move different parts of your body. The children then imitate your movements. Make each movement four or five times before changing to the next movement. Try nodding your head, lifting your shoulders up and down, swinging your arms back and forth etc. While playing the game ask the students the question, “What can you touch?” If they can touch the body party, have them answer, “I can touch my ___.”

13. Speak With Your Body: Explain to the students that they will play a game in which they will answer yes and no with different parts of their bodies. Practice saying yes and no with your arms, shoulders, knees, toes, etc. Ask questions like, “Do you have one nose?” “Do you have three eyes?” Ask them to answer with a specific body part.

14. Back to Back: Put the children in pairs. Recite the following chant: “Hand to hand. Boom ti ada boom, boom. Hand to hand. Boom ti ada boom, boom.” As the children say the chant, they open their hands and touch palm to palm. Repeat the chant, naming a different part of the body.

15. Review the words and actions.

16. Take out the “NNN-nnn a nose” flashcard17. Teach the letter, the sound and an action for nose. (Have the students point to their own nose or

point to a friend’s nose.) Jump up and down chanting.18. One by one let the children come up and hit the flashcard with a hammer, while you all chant “NNN-

nnn a nose!”

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19. Write the numbers “1” and “2” on the whiteboard. 20. Jump up and down, say “1” and show 1 finger, repeat for 2 and show 2 fingers. 21. Put 2 toys behind your back. Put 1 in front of you, ask, “How many?” Help them to answer. Pull

out the other toy and ask again, “How many?” Take one away, ask how many, put it back, repeat.22. Review 1 and 2.

Fun Time: Paper Plate Face

Materials Needed:

Flashcards: “Facial Features”Paper platesYarn (black/brown)Glue/ Double tapeMarkers/CrayonsScissorsRainbow Adventures 2 CD Song: “What Can You Touch?”

Steps Time1. Use the “Face” flashcards to review the vocabulary.2. Give each student a paper plate. Let them draw facial features on the paper plate using

the markers.3. Give the students the yarn, scissors and glue/double-sided tape.4. Let them cut the yarn and paste/tape it to their paper plate face as hair.5. Variations: 1. More to do: Use crayons to color in the “skin” on the paper plate face. 2.

Use origami paper instead of markers to create the facial features. Add origami paper ears on either side of the paper plate faces. 3. Less to do: Pre-cut the yarn for the students.

6. When they are all finished sing, “What Can You Touch?” and do the actions using the paper plate face.

Optional: Read the Rainbow Adventures 2 Storybook: “Good Night, Captain Pete”

Hess International Kindergarten Open House ActivitiesRainbow Toddlers: Garden of Life OPTION A:Materials Needed:

Flashcards: “Cute Critters” Hula HoopsHippo or Rainbow stickersA puppetRainbow Adventures 2 CD Song: “Critters Chant”Flashcard: “III-iii an insect” (Make 6 copies)

Steps Time1. With the puppets—sing the “Good Morning” song or substitute “Hello” if it is in the afternoon and

“Good Evening” if it is in the evening. (Or you can sing the “Long Time No See” song.)2. Get your HRT/CT to sing with you as well. 3. Use big, clear actions.4. Teach word for word, “How are you?” “Fine, thank you!”5. Take out a puppet of your choice. 6. With the puppet on your hand, ask each child “How are you?” Help them, but don’t expect them to

answer, reward them with a sticker/high 5. (Try and get the children to focus on the puppet and not you, they may feel intimidated by you).

Most importantly, get the kids to follow your actions/gestures.

Min.

7. Take out the “Cute Critters” flashcards. Act each critter out. (Scurry on all fours like a gecko, inch along like a caterpillar, flutter about like a butterfly, wiggle like a worm, hop like a grasshopper, slide slowly like a snail, and crawl carefully like a ladybug.)

8. Teach the words and actions to the “Critters Chant”. 9. Whenever the students show great actions/make great sounds or say the answer loudly make sure

to reward them.10. Sing the song, “Critters Chant” loudly and energetically.

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11. Take out the “III-iii an insect” flashcard12. Teach the letter, the sound and an action for insect. Jump up and down chanting. Which cute

critters are insects? The critters with 6 legs. (Butterfly and ladybug)13. Lay out a few hula-hoops and place copies of the flashcard inside each hula-hoop. 14. Ask an HRT to help you. When you say, “Go!” she must crawl like a ladybug into each hula-hoop

and chant, “III-iii an insect!”15. Line the children up and help them to crawl and chant!16. Play again. Let the students pretend to fly like a butterfly to each hula-hoop.17. Reward and review “III-iii an insect”.

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18. Write the number “2” on the whiteboard. Say “2” and show 2 fingers. 19. Clap your hands and count to two, stamp your feet, nod your head, blink your eyes, make star fists.20. Reward!

Fun Time: TP Butterfly

Materials Needed:

Attachment (1 copy for each student)ScissorsMarkers/CrayonsGlueEmpty toilet paper rolls (1 for each student)MORE TO DOPipe cleaners

Steps Time1. Give each student a copy of the attachment. Have them color the butterfly parts and cut them out.2. Hand out the empty toilet paper rolls. Show the students how to glue the butterfly parts onto the

toilet paper tube. (Wrap the tube with the square pattern piece. Glue the wings on the back of the roll. Glue the remaining butterfly parts on the front of the roll. Talk about how the six hands are like the six legs of a real butterfly.)

3. Let the students fly their finished butterflies around the classroom. Can the students help their butterflies find a blue object (flower)? A red flower? Etc?

4. Variations: 1. More to do: Add pipe cleaners for the butterflies’ antennae. 2. Less to do: Pre-cut the rectangles from the attachments and wrap them around the empty toilet paper tubes ahead of time for the students. Also, pre-cut the additional template pieces for the students.

Optional: Read the Rainbow Adventures 2 Storybook: “In the Garden”

Chapter 2 Hess International Kindergarten Open House Activities

Rainbow Adventures 1: Garden of Life OPTION B:Materials Needed:

Flashcards: “Their Friends” Prep: Make big lily pads out of green construction paperHippo or Rainbow stickersA puppetRainbow Adventures 2 CD Song: “Bee Hive”Flashcard: “AAA – aaa an ant”Flashcard: “III – iii an insect”A big die

Steps Time1. With the puppets—sing the “Good Morning” song or substitute “Hello” if it is in the afternoon and

“Good Evening” if it is in the evening. (Or you can sing the “Long Time No See” song.)2. Get your HRT/CT to sing with you as well. 3. Use big, clear actions.4. Teach word for word, “How are you?” “Fine, thank you!”5. Take out a puppet of your choice. 6. With the puppet on your hand, ask each child “How are you?” Help them, but don’t expect them to

answer, reward them with a sticker/high 5. (Try and get the children to focus on the puppet and not you, they may feel intimidated by you).

Most importantly, get the kids to follow your actions/gestures.

Min.

7. Show the students the “Their Friends” flashcards from the Garden of Life Theme.8. Show an action and/or demonstrate a sound for each garden creature. (Fly like a bee and make a

buzzing noise; crawl quickly like a cockroach; fly like a mosquito and make a high whining noise; fly like a fly and make a buzzing noise; hop like a frog and make a croaking noise; crawl quietly in single file like a group of ants.)

9. Encourage the children to copy you. Reward.10. Pull out your pre-made lily pads and spread them out across the floor (Tape the lily pads onto the

floor so that the children don’t slip on them). Intersperse the flashcards in between the lily pads. Ask the children if they can jump like a frog. Practice together.

11. Ask an HRT to help you. As she jumps onto each lily pad she needs to say the garden creature names.

12. Have the children line-up, jump and say the garden creature names.13. Review and reward!

Min.

14. Take out the “AAA - aaa an ant” and ”III – iii an insect” flashcards.15. Stick 3 copies of each flashcard onto a die. Roll the die and chant the letter it falls on.16. Let each child have a turn rolling the die.17. Review the letters and reward.

18. Teach the numbers 1-5. Write them on the whiteboard and show your fingers.19. Sit down on your haunches and count down, “5, 4, 3, 2, 1, blastoff!” and jump up as high as you

can.20. Show them the bee flashcard. Act like a bee and say the word over and over.21. Teach the song, “Bee Hive”.22. Set up some chairs in a small circle as the beehive. Let groups of five students take turns going

inside the circle of chairs and crawling out one by one. Count together.

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23. Review numbers 1 - 5 and reward.Fun Time: Frog Puppets

Materials Needed:

Paper bags Green construction paperRed construction paperGlue/TapeScissorsWiggly eyesPre-made lily pads

Steps Time1. Make bulging frog eyes by cutting two strips of green paper that are rounded on one end. 2. Fold the straight end under and glue on a wiggly eye. Do the same for the other eye. 3. Glue or tape the folded base of the eyes onto the base of the paper bag.4. Cut a mouth shape and a long tongue out of the red paper and glue them on the paper bag under

the eyes. 5. Cut green paper circles and stick them all over the bag.6. Cut out 2 green short (bendy) arms and 2 green long (bendy) legs and stick them onto the side of

the bag.7. Stick your hand in the bag and make your frog jump!8. Help the children practice saying, “Is there a frog in the garden?” “Yes, there is a frog in the

garden.”9. Hand out the materials (It will be easier if everything is pre-cut).10. Help the children to make their puppets. 11. Jump around the classroom on the lily pads with your frogs and practice the sentence pattern.

Optional: Read the Rainbow Adventures 2 Storybook: “In the Garden”

Hess International Kindergarten Open House Activities

Rainbow Toddlers: Fun Places to Visit OPTION A:Materials Needed:

Flashcards: “Around the Town” (2-3 copies of each) Hula HoopsHippo or Rainbow stickersA puppetRainbow Adventures 2 CD Song: “Where Do You Want to Go?”Flashcard: “BBB-bbb a ball” A ballA balloon

Steps Time1. With the puppets—sing the “Good Morning” song or substitute “Hello” if it is in the afternoon and

“Good Evening” if it is in the evening. (Or you can sing the “Long Time No See” song.)2. Get your HRT/CT to sing with you as well. 3. Use big, clear actions.4. Teach word for word, “How are you?” “Fine, thank you!”5. Take out a puppet of your choice. 6. With the puppet on your hand, ask each child “How are you?” Help them, but don’t expect them to

answer, reward them with a sticker/high 5. (Try and get the children to focus on the puppet and not you, they may feel intimidated by you).

Most importantly, get the kids to follow your actions/gestures.

Min.

7. Take out the “Around the Town” flashcards. Say the words one at a time. Think of actions and/or sound effects to go with each word.

8. Encourage the students to repeat the words and actions/sound effects after you. Reward.9. Teach the song “Where Do You Want to Go?” Think of actions for: beach, swim, surf, park, run,

hide and eat.10. Sing together and reward.

Min.

11. Take out the “Around the Town” flashcards. Repeat the actions and say the words. 12. Tape copies of the flashcards around the room.13. Tell the children to line-up and make a train. Lead them around the room ‘choo-chooing’ until you

come to a flashcard. Say the flashcard name and make your way to the next flashcard.14. Review and reward.

15. Show the children the “BBB-bbb a ball” flashcard. Chant it and pretend to bounce and throw a ball.16. Make a circle and sit in the center of it. Slowly roll the ball to each child and back to you, as

everyone chants “BBB-bbb a ball” 17. Review

Min.

18. Teach the number 3, write it on the whiteboard, and show them 3 fingers. Say it over and over.19. Blow up a balloon. Bounce it 3 times up in the air; counting each time you hit it.20. Let the children have a turn and count with them.21. Review and reward.

Fun Time: Colorful Kite Materials Needed:

Flashcards: “Around the Town” (The park) “At the Park” AttachmentsMarkers/Crayons/PastelsScissorsGlue/Tape/StaplerMORE TO DOYarn/Strips of Crepe paper

Steps Time1. Show the students the park flashcard. Show the students the “At the Park” flashcards. Repeat the

vocabulary with actions. What other things can the students do in the park? (Play with a ball, fly a kite, play tag, hide, eat, run, etc.)

2. Give the attachments to the students.3. Let them color the templates with markers or crayons or pastels.4. Have the students cut the template shapes out.5. Help the students attach the ribbons to the tail and attach the tail to the kite shape using glue, tape

or staples.6. Help the children to say, “Where do you want to go?” “I want to go to the park!” “I want to play with

my kite!”7. Let the students pretend to fly their kites around the classroom.8. Variations: More to do: Let the students choose various pieces of yarn and/or strips of crepe paper

to add to the tail of their kites. Less to do: Cut the template pieces out for the students ahead of time.

Optional: Read the Rainbow Adventures 2 Storybook: “Let’s Go!”

Chapter 3 Hess International Kindergarten Open House Activities

Rainbow Adventures 1: Fun Places to Visit OPTION B:Materials Needed:

Flashcards: “Beach” “Zoo”Hippo or Rainbow stickersA puppetRainbow Adventures 2 CD Song: “Looby Loo”Flashcard: “ZZZ-zzz a zoo”A hammerA die

Steps Time1 With the puppets—sing the “Good Morning” song or substitute “Hello” if it is in the afternoon and “Good Evening” if it is in the evening. (Or you can sing the “Long Time No See” song.) Get your HRT/CT to sing with you as well. 2. Use big, clear actions.3. Teach word for word, “How are you?” “Fine, thank you!”4. Take out a puppet of your choice. 5. With the puppet on your hand, ask each child “How are you?” Help them, but don’t expect them to

answer, reward them with a sticker/high 5. (Try and get the children to focus on the puppet and not you, they may feel intimidated by you).

Most importantly, get the kids to follow your actions/gestures.

Min.

6. Hang up the beach flashcard on one side of the classroom and the zoo flashcard on the opposite side of the classroom. Teach words to the song, “Looby Loo”.

7. Position the students in a train line with hands on each other’s shoulders. Lead the students in a repeated circular walking pattern for the first verse of the song. Lead the students in a zig-zag pattern towards the zoo flashcard for the second verse of the song. Lead the students in a wavy line towards the beach flashcard for the third verse of the song.

8. Encourage the students to sing along. Reward.9. Variation: Introduce some basic movements at the end of each line in the song. Can the students

kick out a leg to the side? Can they lift up one arm? Can they alternate arms? Can they alternate legs?

Min.

10. Show the students the “At the Park” flashcards. Review the words and think of an action to go with each one. Encourage the students to repeat the words after you and mimic your actions. Reward.

11. Place the flashcards in a line parallel to the whiteboard. 12. When you call out one of the flashcard words, have the students take turns sliding on their bums

like they are sliding down a slide. When they reach the flashcards, have them try to hit the appropriate word with the hammer. (If necessary, ask your HRT to help you to demonstrate.)

13. Let everyone have a turn, don’t make it competitive and help them hit the correct flashcard.14. Review and reward.

15. Show the children the “ZZZ-zzz a zoo” flashcard. Chant and use actions.16. Get the students to stand in a circle and hold hands while they chant, “ZZZ-zzz a zoo!” 17. Encourage the students to chant while they: 1. Swing their arms back and forth. 2. Walk in a

circle pattern together. 3. Change the circle direction. 3. Walk slowly or walk quickly. 4. Chant faster or chant slower.

18. Review and reward.

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19. Count slowly from 1 to 6.Teach the numbers 5 and 6, write them on the whiteboard, and show them your fingers. Say them over and over.

20. Throw a die; jump the number on the die. Let the children have a turn and count with them.21. Review and reward.

Fun Time: Zoo Cages Materials Needed:

Flashcards: “Around the Town” AttachmentsMarkers/CrayonsScissorsGreen construction paper (A4)Black construction paper (A4)GlueLESS TO DOAnimal magazines

Steps Time1. Show the students the “Around the Town” flashcards. Encourage the students to repeat the words

and actions. Show the zoo flashcard. Do the students know some animals that live in the zoo?2. Encourage the students to say a zoo animal. Draw examples of zoo animals on the whiteboard.3. Show the students the animal attachments. Encourage the students to repeat the animal names,

animal sounds and animal actions. Reward.4. Let the students choose one animal attachment to color and cut out.5. Give each student one piece of green A4 construction paper. Have them glue their animal picture

onto the center of the green paper.6. Cut thin strips of black construction paper that are the same height as the green construction paper.

Show the students how to glue the black strips vertically over the animals about an inch apart, and across the entire paper to resemble the bars on the animal’s cages. Help the students if necessary.

7. Have the students place their caged animals in different locations of the classroom. Let the students pretend to visit their animals at the zoo. Encourage them to make the appropriate animal sounds/movements when visiting each “cage”.

8. Help the students to say, “Where do you want to go?” “I want to go to the zoo.” 9. Less to do: 1. Cut out animal pictures from magazines instead of using the attachments. 2. Cut

out the animal pictures for the students. 3. Cut out the black strips ahead of time.

Optional: Read the Rainbow Adventures 2 Storybook: “Let’s Go!”