Sunbeam Lesson I Have a Home

July 26, 2014 by kgh428

Welcome everyone by name.

Practice the Hand Raising game. Children at this age need to practice hand raising without calling out. We usually start each lesson with a small snack and we practice raising our hands to respond to questions without calling out. We will make statements like, “Raise your hand if you like graham crackers,” or “Raise your hand if you are wearing red today.” We emphasize that they can answer the question not with calling out, but by raising their hands.

Prepare a series of pictures, or a PowerPoint Slide Presentation of different kinds of animal and insect homes. As you show the pictures have the children talk about what they see, and share if they have ever found a bee’s nest, or seen an ant hill etc. Explain that these are all the homes of different living things. If we see these in nature, we should not destroy them.

Show a Youtube video about different human homes around the world. This one is good, but there are many to choose from. As the video plays, point out special things they might see, like what the homes are made of, how big or small they are, how the homes might reflect their environment (no trees, they might use mud etc.). When the video is over, engage the children in a conversation about how all the homes they have seen are really different, but they all have some of the same things. Ask the children what might be same about these homes. Guide them to include things like: roofs, walls, warmth, food, place to eat and sleep, place where families can be safe and together. Point out that no matter what the home looks like, they are places for people to live safely and happily and people take care of them.

Read The Town Mouse and The Country Mouse, or show it as a video, there is also an interactive iPad book. Talk about how each mouse loved his own home even though it was very different from the other mouse’s home. We feel comfortable in our our homes, but we need to show respect for whatever home we are in or visiting.

Project:

Create a cardboard and cardstock project for each child in the class. (If you have a really large class, you might want to make one large project that they all help to make. I have less than 10 children in my class so I made one for each child so they could take them home.) I cut up a cardboard box for a sturdy foundation and then printed off a “floor” on pieces of cardstock. I divided the cardstock paper into four equal boxes and put the outline of a rug or flooring in each box. The children colored in the different rugs however they wanted. Then we glued the “floor” onto the cardboard to make it sturdy. I then use black and white clipart drawings on room interiors to make walls for each of the four rooms. The children colored in each one and as they did, we talked about how they could decorate the rooms in their favorite colors, and what each room was for, what they did in each room etc. They I slit the coloring templates so they can slide into each other and stand up on the cardboard floor.

I then printed out on cardstock several figures of children doing different chores. Each child got a set. We talked about each room in the house, and what needs to be done in each room, and how the children could help. They picked out the figure that fit each description and put it in the room. For example, in the kitchen we might help with washing dishes, in the bedroom we might put our toys away etc.

This activity took most of the class time given they colored the project, we discussed what each room was for, and we followed up with the chore discussion.

Finish up by showing a picture of a lovely home. Ask the children what they like about the picture and to imagine how nice it would be to live in that home. Explain that it takes a lot of work and effort to keep a home nice however, and they should be willing to help. Show them the other picture, of the broken down home. Explain that this is what can happen if people don’t take care of their homes. Then explain that our home don’t just get dirty or broken if we don’t take care of them, they also can become dirty and broken if we bring bad things into them. Explain that homes need to be filled with good books, good music, and happiness and love. If we bring anger or fighting, or bad thoughts, or bad movies into our home, it will also become dirty and broken. Explain this is the most important thing, no matter what kind of home we live in, we need to try to bring happiness, love, cooperation and only good things into our home.