Early Level – ‘Elmer the Elephant’

Created on: 22 Dec 2020 | Last modified: 21 Apr 2023

HWB Focus: Mental and Emotional HWB; Relationships

Week 1

Elmer

  • For those who want to take this down the science route, then think about using ice chalks. The recipe for making the ice chalks can be accessed here and there are some fun ideas about comparing whose ice chalk melts the fastest.  This can be done inside, comparing the temperatures of different parts of the classroom or home or alternatively, can be done outside on different days - http://www.readingconfetti.com/2013/05/ice-chalk.html?showComment=1369016925714&m=1

Science Extension Activities

  • Use the chalks outside to develop skills in reading sight words – create a grid and write a word in each square. Create flash cards and see how quickly the children can reach the matching square on the grid and read the word.  Timed answers can make it a competition – can they improve on their last score?

  • Ice balloons to explore melting some more - https://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/ice-balloons - if everyone in the family makes their own ice balloon, this provides an opportunity to put the balloons in different places around the house and outside to explore the conditions in which ice will melt faster. This develops predictive skills and reasoning also.

  • Try some mindfulness and pretend you are melting like ice - https://family.gonoodle.com/activities/melting 

 

Week 2

  • Revisit the story of Elmer – in blended or remote learning models, parents/carers may want to read this story again or ask their child to tell them the story, using recall and story sequencing skills

  • Either at home involving parents/carers or in class, invite the children to talk about differences and how we are all different in the world – how many differences can the children find between the people in their house or the people in the class?

  • Investigate size – who is tallest, who is smallest; who has the biggest hands; who has the smallest feet? This information could be used to make a family height chart or a class height chart. Who will grow the fastest over the next few months.

  • Invite the children to use the information from their investigation of size to create a family/class picture. This might be through the use of paints – painting their hands and making handprint pictures (you might want to suggest that they make a rainbow using the different hand prints (https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=rainbow+hand+prints&id=E8EDAA0D0F92F333BF9CCBFDB7760F2D6B63D201&FORM=IQFRBA) or they might want to use materials like pasta to make a collage of the family).

  • Either in class (or if at home, invite the parents/carers to) talk about feelings with their children and imagine how Elmer might have felt being different – discuss different emotions with the child. Perhaps they could design their own Mood Monsters or Mood Emojis - https://www.naturalbeachliving.com/emoji-paper-plate-craft/

  • The children might be interested in looking at the variety of emotions that people can feel. Listening to the story of ‘Inside Out’ might help them to identify with the different emotions through the characters of Joy, Anger, Fear, Disgust and Sadness - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgFGUQyeYT8

  • Either in class (or if at home, invite parents/carers to) talk with their children about what makes them happy, sad, excited etc..

  • Making smiley face cookies – if at home, parents and children can have some fun decorating cookies and biscuits with the different emotions they have talked about. Some recipe ideas can be found here - https://www.kidspot.com.au/kitchen/recipes/funny-face-biscuits-recipe/0ec2uz1x or https://picklebums.com/face-biscuits/ or https://www.jamieoliver.com/features/homemade-digestive-biscuits/

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