Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (Lesson Plan for the book and movie)

     No such thing as a bad day?  Doubtful.

     I guarantee you that everyone has been there.  We've all had bad days.  No, no.  Not just bad days.  Horrendous, awful, don't want to remember days.  The days where everything goes wrong.  I have them at least once month.  But once it's over, I look back and laugh at it.  And I definitely value my good days so much more.
     That is why one of my favorite movies is Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

I seriously love this movie!  I loved the book as a child.  It is a classic and I highly recommend all children to read this one.

     I was so excited when I heard about the movie.  We bought it when it first came out and so far, my kids and I have watched it once a week.  It is hilarious!  I laugh out loud every time.
     Alexander is an 11 year old boy who has terrible days all the time, while the rest of his family has awesome days.  But Alexander gets fed up and wishes that for just one day, his family could understand what it's like to have a very bad day.  And as they say, be careful what you wish for. ;)

     The sweet message the movie delivers is that bad days are there for a reason.  They allow us to learn and progress.  Alexander learns that we have to have the bad days in order to appreciate the good ones.  And even when we do have bad days, they are so much easier to endure when we have a strong supportive and loving family by our side.  The movie is touching, memorable, and 100% right on.
     Since my kids enjoy both the book and the movie, I decided to do a lesson plan based on them.  The following resources are available and make up a fun week on the book and movie.

Picture Book


YouTube Video
- Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

The Movie


Worksheets
- Alexander Activity Pages
- Alexander Writing Project
- Alexander Events Sequencing Activity
- Alexander Cause & Effect Printable
- Compare & Contrast Vend Diagram (We used this one to compare and contrast the book and the movie.)

     My kids really enjoyed this lesson plan.  My favorite part was that at the end of the week, Marley asked me, "Mommy, can we have a terrible, very bad day today?" Haha!
     I am grateful that even in the middle of a terrible day, I have fleeting seconds of happiness.  When I'm cleaning my toddler sitting in globs of yogurt, or when I'm wishing for a shower because I haven't had time to brush my hair and put on makeup, or when I'm changing a nasty blowout diaper... I look down at my babies or look up at my husband and catch them smiling at me with unconditional love.  I get a couple seconds of absolute bliss and remember that "even terrible days aren't so bad, when you're surrounded by the people you love."

"My Family" Preschool/Kindergarten Lesson Plan

     We did a week of "Family" themed activities.  This was a very generic subject, but we had fun talking about family members and what they mean to us.  We also briefly discussed how to make a family tree and we made a basic version of one.  Genealogy is am important part of our faith.  We feel it is so important to know about our ancestors and to keep record of their lives, culture, and progress.  I also taught Marley the importance of journals, which made me realize we need to put together a journal for her.  To be continued on another blog post ;) ...

Here is my outline for our "My Family" lesson plan:                        

PICTURE BOOKS:
- Are You My Mother?
- Daddy Did I Ever Say? I Love You, Love You, Every Day
- Song and Dance Man
- All Kinds of Families!

EDUCATIONAL BOOKS:
- Who's In My Family?: All About Our Families
- Me and My Family Tree


WORKSHEETS:
- Big or Small
- Family Counting
- Creative Writing: I love my ________ because...
- Semi Circular Family Tree
- Make Your Own Printable Handwriting Worksheets

A confused look on Marley's face.  I told her to practice writing her name.  After starting, she stopped and said, "Hey, this is not my name.  This is YOUR name!" Haha.  Just keeping her on her toes. ;)

Handprint Family Tree

ART/CRAFT PROJECTS:
- Family Tree
- Family Magazine Collage

VIDEOS:
- Family Tree YouTube video
- Sesame Street Family Song YouTube video
- I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home song YouTube video

GAMES/ACTIVITIES:
- Family Bingo
- Family Memory Game
- Mommy Says (Like "Simon Says")

Ancient Egypt Unit Study for Preschool/Kindergarten

     I figured going from Halloween to Ancient Egypt would be an appropriate transition since we often see mummies around Halloween. ;)  This week we are discussing Ancient Egypt.  Marley knows very little about Ancient Egypt, so I decided to start her off by watching the movie Prince of Egypt (on Netflix).  She really enjoyed the movie and it got her in the mindset to learn about that time period.

Here is my outline for our Egyptian lesson plan:                            

PICTURE BOOKS:
- The Egyptian Cinderella
- Seeker of Knowledge: The Man Who - Deciphered Egyptian Hieroglyphs 

- Diego's Egyptian Expedition

EDUCATIONAL BOOKS:
- Egyptian Tombs: Torchlight (My First Discoveries: Torchlight)
- Mummies Made in Egypt (Reading Rainbow Books)
- Egyptian Activity Book (Dover Little Activity Books)
- Mummies, Pyramids, and Pharaohs: A Book About Ancient Egypt

WORKSHEETS:
- Egyptian Worksheets Collection
  This site has SO many great worksheets for Ancient Egypt! My daughter loved the coloring pages provided. I had fun coloring with her too. ;)

ART/CRAFT PROJECTS:
- Make A "Cartouche" (to easily translate any name into hieroglyphics click here)  We used paper bags to cut out the shape.  I drew her name using pencil and then instructed Marley to trace the pictures with black marker.  We taped up her Cartouche on her door and declared her the Egyptian Princess of the house.  She really liked that!
- Ancient Egyptian Headband
- Make an Egyptian Collar
- Make a Mummy

VIDEOS:
- How An Ancient Pyramid Was Built (YouTube)

- Prince of Egypt (currently available to stream on Netflix)
- Ancient Egypt (YouTube)
- Bert & Ernie Inside a Pyramid
- Sid the Science Kid song about building a pyramid

GAMES/ACTIVITIES:
- Build a pyramid from legos or blocks
- Making pyramids in a sandbox or sensory bin

Pumpkin Unit Study for Kids (PreK or Kindergarten)

     Pumpkins! Pumpkins everywhere! It's that lovely time of year when we see signs of Autumn and we look forward to the approaching holidays.  The first colorful sign we see here in Southern California are pumpkins.  We love those bright round beautiful pumpkins on doorsteps, in stores, and decorating homes.  Not to mention all the yummy Pumpkin recipes that pop up!
     Here are a few of the Pumpkin recipes that I have on my Pinterest board (Hopefully someday I'll get around to trying these out, haha)...
- White Chocolate Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
- Pumpkin Gingerbread Muffin
- White Chocolate Pumpkin Blondies
You can visit my Pinterest board called Sweet Tooth for more yummy looking recipes that I never make but daydream about. Haha!

And here is an outline of my Pumpkin Preschool lesson plan:

PICTURE BOOKS:
- The Biggest Pumpkin Ever
- The Itsy Bitsy Pumpkin
- Five Little Pumpkins (Harper Growing Tree)
- Pumpkin Soup

EDUCATIONAL BOOKS:
- From Seed to Pumpkin (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1)
- Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie (Picture the Seasons)
- How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?
- Pumpkin Jack

WORKSHEETS:
- Fill In the Missing Numbers Pumpkin Patch (Math)
- Pumpkin Life Cycle Assignment (Science)
- Draw Your Own Jack O Lantern (Creativity)
- Pumpkin Investigation Report (Critical thinking)

ART/CRAFT PROJECTS:
- Knuckle Pumpkin Prints
- Pumpkin Mosaic

Knuckle Pumpkin Prints

- Crayons & Watercolor Pumpkins - I enjoyed doing this art project to classical music and instructing Marley to draw a "still-life" painting of our pumpkins.

VIDEOS:

Pumpkin Mosaic

- Life Cycle of a Pumpkin
- That's How A Pumpkin Grows music video
- 5 Little Pumpkins song
- Time Lapse Pumpkin Growing video

GAMES/ACTIVITIES:
- Pumpkin Matching Card Game
- Roll A Pumpkin Game

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Lesson Plan for Young Kids

     I have always loved the story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow! And being that my 4 year old has taken after mom and enjoys the spooky things, I am dedicating a week to talk and learn about Sleepy Hollow.  We will read and review the story together and learn about Colonial New York.

     Although, there are many more ways of studying this subject as an older student.  For example: Fact or Fiction? The Story Behind Sleepy Hollow is an interesting read, and could ignite an interest in colonial history for middle schoolers or high schoolers.  If my daughter was older, I would probably assign her to write a short research paper on the history behind the story.  There are also many activity and worksheet packets available for purchase for older children, such as this Sleepy Hollow Activity Packet.

Here is an outline of my lesson plan for younger kids:

PICTURE BOOKS:
- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
- A to Z Mysteries: Sleepy Hollow Sleepover

EDUCATIONAL BOOKS:
- Colonial Kids: An Activity Guide to Life in the New World
- If You Lived In Williamsburg in Colonial Days 

WORKSHEETS:
- Sleepy Hollow Coloring Page
- New York State Coloring Page

ART/CRAFT PROJECTS:
- Flaming Pumpkin Head
   


     I fed orange construction paper through my printer and printed out a jack o lantern outline.  I instructed my daughter to cut it out, giving her a chance to practice her cutting skills.  She glued the jack o lantern on white paper.  Then, I showed her how to dip a fork into yellow and red paint and make flame prints.  She covered her pumpkin in flames, making it a nice representation of the headless horseman.
- Build A Cardboard Bridge

VIDEOS:
- The Haunted Pumpkin of Sleepy Hollow YouTube cartoon
- Legend of Sleepy Hollow YouTube narrated picture book
- And I highly recommend Disney's The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, which is a nice way to introduce a different time period to kids. (You can check your local library to see if it is available for check-out.)

GAMES/ACTIVITIES:
- Pumpkin Bowling
- Ichabod Crane Tag
     On a large area of grass set a starting point and a finish point and mark where the "bridge" would be.  This can be a simple game of tag, and the one who is getting chased would be Ichabod Crane.  The person running would be the headless horseman.  You can get creative with this and make pumpkin flag tags or use orange water balloons to throw at Ichabod.  It's fun and lots of good outdoor exercise!

SCIENCE PROJECT:
 - Make Slime

Skeleton Lesson Plan for Preschool (includes links to FREE printables, instructions, and videos)

     We are continuing with our Halloween theme for October, and next week we are studying SKELETONS!
     I am aware that some people are following my theme schedule for the year, so I have decided to post my lesson plans the weekend prior, so that anyone who is following along can have time to prep.  If anyone is interested in following a more detailed step-by-step schedule, here is the link to my Daily PreK Schedule.  I was able to do one activity this week with Marley as a fun preview to what we will be learning about next week.  

This is an outline of my Skeleton theme curriculum for the week:  

PICTURE BOOKS:

- Skeleton Hiccups 

- The Skeleton Inside You
- Skelly the Skeleton Girl
- The Skeleton in the Closet

EDUCATIONAL BOOKS:

- Bones: Skeletons and How They Work

- DK Eyewitness Books: Skeleton

- Scholastic Reader Level 2: Skeletons

WORKSHEETS:

- Build a Skeleton  

- Cutting Practice   

ART/CRAFT PROJECTS:
- Q-tip Skeleton
- Q-tip Hand Bones

VIDEOS:

- Schoolhouse Rock: Them Not-So-Dry Bones

- Silly Symphony: The Skeleton Dance

- Animated Skeleton Video for Kids 

GAMES/ACTIVITIES:

- Skeleton Game 

- Why We Have Bones (Option 1) (Option 2) 

- Make Your Own X-Ray

     I taped together two long strips of butcher paper and had Marley lay down so that I could trace her body.  I then drew in with pencil the major bones of the skeletal system.  I let her use a black marker to trace the bones.  Then I labeled the basic bones.  I did not ask her to copy the words, but she wanted to do it.  So she ended up writing the words below my labels.  It makes me so happy that she is always enthusiastic to do more work than I ask of her. :)