Read Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert to the children. Let them bring in frozen, canned and fresh vegetables. Let them help in the preparation. This can be done in a crockpot with minimal trouble.
Vanilla
Give a tasting party in your classroom. Have vanilla ice cream, vanilla yogurt, vanilla shakes, vanilla wafers and vanilla pudding. The kids will enjoy this activity!
"V" Snacks- vegetables and dip, Velveeta cheese
The Vulture
The vulture eats between his meals,
And that's the reason why
He very, very rarely feels
As well as you and I.
His eye is dull, his head is bald,
His neck is growing thinner.
Oh! what a lesson for us all
To only eat at dinner!
~Hillaire Belloc~
If I Could Be
If I could be a valentine
All red and gold and white,
If I could be a valentine
I'd wish with all my might
That I could choose the person
That I'd be given to,
I know exactly who I'd choose:
Y-O-U!
~Leland Jacobs~
Cut big V's from construction paper. Let children find "V" pictures in magazines. Cut pictures and paste on outline of V.
Vases of Violets
Children draw vases of violets then add a violet wash of paint over it. Decorate the vases with the letter "V".
Violet vases can also be made "3D" using construction paper for flowers - buttons as center of flower, pipe cleaners as stems with paper leaves , and a plastic or foam cup cut in half - glue all down on large construction paper piece.
This idea from Mary. Thanks!
Vegetable Printing
Use cut-up vegetables and different colors of paint for printing activities, dipping the vegetables in the paint and printing on white paper.
Graph your favorite vegetables.
Graph your favorite vanilla snack, from the tasting party above.
Volcano
Mold clay into a volcano shape. Make a small hole in the top and place on a tray. Pour about 2 tablespoons of baking soda in the hole and then pour about 4 tablespoons of white vinegar (this can be colored with food coloring) The kids will love this so be sure to bring plenty of baking soda and vinegar for repeat performances. Foam should come out of the top of the volcano. The vinegar and baking soda mix to make carbon dioxide. The pressure from the carbon dioxide that builds up makes the foam come out. In a real volcano, the pressure comes from heat. Thick, melted rock called magma builds up under a volcano. The magma traps hot gases from deep inside the Earth. The pressure of the hot gases builds up until it pushes the magma out of the volcano.
Marci writes: During the "V" week at my son's preschool, the teachers asked the kids (and their parents) to bring pictures from a vacation. Thanks for the idea, Marci!
Vampires
Pretend to be vampires. Play spooky music and tell them to make movements they think vampires would make.
Vegetable Soup
Have the children sit in a circle. Assign a vegetable name to each child, assigning each vegetable twice. Choose one child to start the game. The child calls out a vegetable. The children with that vegetable exchange places, hopefully before the center child gets their place. If the center child succeeds, he takes the place of the child and that child becomes the one in the center. They can also call out "Vegetable Soup!" Then everyone must find another place.
Childern love to be big helpers. When our letter of the week was "V" I scattered paper
dots from a hole punch on the carpet and let my daughter Vacuum.
We also played fun games with our Voices. We would see how we could change them. A good song for this is "This is the way the Daddy/Mommy/Baby rides." We had to sound like a Daddy/Mommy/Baby when we sang each verse.
Both of above ideas from Rebecca--Thanks!!
Play Volleyball, preschooler style. Use a large balloon for a ball. Arrange a string for a net, either with two children holding it up, or tape one end to the wall and hold the other end yourself. Keep the rules simple: the idea is to hit the ball over the net, and not let it touch the floor on your side. Each team can hit the ball as many times as they need to to get it over, but one child can not hit it twice in a row, and no catching the ball. If you want to keep score, a team gets a point if the other team breaks a rule or hits it under the net. This is good for 4-5 year olds. For younger kids, just give each child a balloon to hit in the air and call it volleyball.
Idea submitted by Georgia--thanks!
**Note: The following books may be found in your local library, or purchased from Amazon if the book title is a link.
I hope you can use some of these "alphabite" ideas!! If you have any more that I can post here, PLEASE email me with the ideas and your name, using the email icon below or use this form. I will post your idea and give you credit!! Also just write and let me know how you like the ideas and how they can be improved!! Thanks!!
.gif)
