Ireland: Let's Learn About the World

Last week's preschool unit was on Ireland.  Here are some of the activities we did... Writing Readiness

We identified the letters in the word Ireland and practiced writing them.

Writing Readiness Page

Reading

The library is a great place to find books that fit the theme.  Three of our favorite books during the week were...

Fiona's Luck by Teresa Bateman and illustrated by Kelley Murphy

Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie dePaola

S is for Shamrock by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Matt Faulkner

Math

Here's a fun little math page for the kids to try...

Math Page

You can also cut clovers out of felt and place them on a felt or flannel board for the kids to practice counting.

Clover Pattern

Geography

We used maps and a globe to locate Ireland.  We also located where we live and used this page to trace the route from our location to Ireland.

Map Page

Imaginative Play

Plan trip:
I set up some chairs for us to imagine we were flying on a plane to Ireland.  I pretended to be the captain and "flew" us there while making announcements to my "passengers."  They got so tickled.  I made sure they looked out the window and told me what they saw.

Castles:
We pulled the cushions off the couch and built a castle out of them.  We talked about the castles of Ireland as we explored our couch cushion version.  This gave me the perfect opportunity to clean the couch during naptime since the  cushions were already on the floor.  I'm a multitasker.

Coloring

Coloring has many benefits.  It helps with hand eye coordination, find motor skills, concentration, a child's ability to identify colors and hues, and writing readiness just to name a few.  This coloring page has the added bonus of providing an opportunity to teach about Ireland and its flag.

Flag Page

Art

We made handprint clovers with green fingerpaint.  Since Caleb is still little, I used his feet instead of his hands to stamp the leaves of the clover.

Fine Motor Skills

Cutting and pasting help improve both concentration and fine motor skills.  It is amazing what kids can learn through play, crafts, and hands-on activities!  Here's a fun activity to try...

Cut and Paste Clover

Fun with Food

We made Irish Soda Bread for snack one day.  I used rice milk instead of regular milk so Caleb could have some too.

Music & Movement

The kids and I listened to traditional Irish music, watched a few jigs and reels, and even tried some dancing on our own.  We had a lot of fun with this!

Websites

Here are two great websites with information on Ireland and some pictures to share...

National Geographic for Kids
Time for Kids

Happy learning and playing!