Here's what we did (and I think the rest of the lessons will follow the same approach, with some fine-tuning along the way).
We started off with the letters...
Then, we flashed the words...
Followed by some pictures...
And, we did craftwork...
We did actions...
We did coloring...
We sang songs...
We played music...
We read books... all on Alligators!
It was a fulfilling week!
--- Details ---
Language & Learning
Alphabets
Aa
(I used all sorts of letters "A" or "a", make an introduction, and repeated flashing the letters to him for his recognition)
Flash cards
alligator
Alligator
ALLIGATOR
鳄鱼
(I did DIY flash cards but alligator cards or other alphabet cards should be easily obtainable. In fact, I used both: DIY ones to show the words and ready-made ones to show the picture. And, of course, not forgetting the chinese words! I also printed out the word in chinese for this is after all a bilingual lesson! :P )
Pictures
I happened to have a picture card with alligator in it and showed it to him. On a separate day, I showed photos of alligator taken from the recent zoo trip. Meant to print them out but too bad, DC had not installed the printer software to his new OS yet. :P Also, I incorporated some maths by showing multiple number of alligators and telling him how many there were.
Bible Verses
In Job 41 God describes a creature called the leviathan, a mighty, untameable, fearless animal with tightly fitting scales and a mouth full of terrible teeth. The leviathan lived in the water, which it was able to churn with its great strength. Some people think that this description fits the crocodile, some think that this is dragon and the rest, a whale or vessel...
Job 3:7
May that night be barren; may no shout of joy be heard in it.
Job 3:8
May those who curse days curse that day, those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.
Job 3:9
May its morning stars become dark; may it wait for daylight in vain and not see the first rays of dawn,
Job 41:1
Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook, or press down his tongue with a cord?
Job 41:10
No one is fierce enough to rouse him. Who then is able to stand against me?
Job 41:25
When he rises up, the mighty are terrified; they retreat before his thrashing
Psalms 74:14
You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces. You gave him as food to people and desert creatures.
Psalms 104:26
There the ships go, and leviathan, whom you formed to play there.
Isaiah 27:1
In that day, Yahweh with his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan, the fleeing serpent, and leviathan the twisted serpent; and he will kill the dragon that is in the sea.
Music & Action
Row, Row, Row Your Boat - The Alligator Version
We sang Row, Row, Row your boat. The one with the crocodile and it goes like this:
Row, row, row your boat, (action: holding hands, rocking back and forth)
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream.
Row, row, row your boat, (action: holding hands, rocking back and forth)
Gently down the stream.
If you see a crocodile (I replaced it with "An Alligator" to fit the theme),
Don't forget to SCREAM! (Shoutz: Arghh!)
Row, row, row your boat, (action: holding hands, rocking back and forth)
Gently to the shore..
If you see a crocodile (I replaced it with "An Alligator" to fit the theme),
Don't forget to ROAR! (Shoutz: Roarrrr!)
We learnt this song from his playgroup class, you'll get the idea from this video:
If you have a xylophone or piano and know the keys, you can play the tune and sing along. That's exactly what we did - I played the music, sang the song and Baby danced to the beat and added his beats on the xylophone! :)
Action
In addition to the above, I also teach Baby a set of alligator actions:
Alligator, (open thumb and pointer to make alligator mouth)
ALLigator, (Next repeat the song but a little bit louder each time.)
ALLIGator, (two hands placed together at wrists to open for alligator mouth)
ALLIGATor, (arm at elbows placed together to make mouth)
ALLIGATOR, (Then really loud with the same words use your whole arms to make alligator mouth.)
Alligator. (Last use on thumb and pointer tips of finger only and sing the song without letting any sound come out.)
Snappy, The Crocodile Song
I stumbled upon this very cute crocodile song while searching for songs related to Alligators. It's in some foreign language, so I just tell him that cute little green creature is an alligator. We all love this song so much that DC and I decided to use this as our ringtone!
The lyrics in English:
I am Snappy the Little Crocodile,
I come from Egypt. I live out on the Nile.
At first I was inside an egg,
and then - Schni schnap! - I finally got away.
(Chorus)
I am Snappy the Little Crocodile,
I have sharp teeth. I have a pretty smile!
I'll snap at you - you'd better watch your tail,
I'll snap at me, because I snap so well!
(Chorus)
I am Snappy the Little Crocodile,
When I play I'm snapping all the while,
At the crypt I make the mummies run,
But when I snap I'm only having fun!
(Chorus)
I am Snappy the Little Crocodile,
When I play I try not to go wild,
When my Daddy puts me to bed,
I go to sleep and bite him on the leg.
(Chorus)
Arts & Craft
Coloring
I printed out a picture of an alligator and gave 3 green and 1 brown crayons to Baby to color. Then I drew an alligator with free hand and color it as I explained the alligator parts and colors to him.
Alphabet Craft
Then, we made an alligator out of the alphabet A. This craft is commonly found on the Internet. Here's what you need:
As usual, he helped out.
The finished product.
Did this on purpose. Does it look like he's on the run hot on his heels from the alligator? :P
Play Time
I was hoping to find this actually in a store that I know that sells a lot of wooden toys but this was not sold there. Looked around some places but did not find anything I like, so no alligator toys for Baby. :P
Book & Story Time
Alligator Alphabet written by Stella Blackstone and illustrated by Stephanie Bauer
This book is very colorful and attracts Baby's attention. It's a good book to introduce alphabets (small case), animals and names of baby animals.
There's an Alligator Under My Bed by Mercer Mayer
This book is about an imaginary alligator that lives under a boy's bed. Love this creative story and the illustrations! I think Baby quite enjoy the book as you can see in the photo below:
Snip Snap! What's That? by Mara Bergman and Nick Maland
This book is about a scary alligator who was scared off by his victims in the end. Quite a nice one but not quite for Baby as there were too many pages and the illustrations are difficult to explain.
Next: A is for Apple
Related Posts:
Introducing ABC
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