Hogarth Country Day School
Established 1980
What's This All About?
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ABC Match and Learn Game -- Children spin the spinner and/or select alphabet cards to move little bear playing pieces around the game board. This game teaches upper and lower case letter recognition and beginning letter sounds, recognizing and counting out numbers 1 through 5, taking turns, and playing by rules.
Alligators All Around Board Game -- A literacy game developed by Andrea based on Maurice Sendak's book Alligators All Around. Children learn to identify letters and read memorized text as they pair up pictures to the corresponding pictures on the game board.
Alphabet Boxes -- This set includes 26 boxes, one for each letter of the alphabet. Each box has a letter written on it, and several pictures beginning with the letter sound. Inside the box is one object beginning with the letter sound. We use these hands-on literacy materials in a variety of ways.
Alphabet Pocket Chart -- This chart includes picture cards resting in each letter pocket. It is used in a number of different literacy activities.
Alphakids Alphabet -- I developed this alphabet unit from the pictures on the alphabet line that runs across the blackboard side of the classroom. Each day the children recite the Alphakids Alphabet chant, and work with the letter of the week. Each letter has a corresponding worksheet, as well as a letter search worksheet.
Alphaline Game 1 -- I have two alphabet lines running across the top of the wall. Each letter has a corresponding picture. In this game, I say the name of an alphaline picture, and the children identify the picture's letter. Teacher: "If I say butterfly, you say . . ." Students: "B!"
Alphaline Game 2 -- In this game, I describe one of the alphaline pictures, and the children have to tell me which letter (not which picture) goes with what I'm describing. Teacher: "A bird lays her eggs here." Students: "N!"
Animal Alphabet -- I developed this alphabet unit around an animal theme. Each day, the children sing the Animal Alphabet to the tune of I've Been Working on the Railroad, and work with the letter of the week. Each letter has a corresponding worksheet, as well as a letter search worksheet.
Ball Toss Game -- The children take turns tossing 4 little balls into slots on a game board. This non-competitive game is terrific for young children who often have a difficult time losing. Since the numbers are the winners or losers, and not children, everybody can happily play this game. The slots are numbered 0 through 10, and scores are kept either on the blackboard by the teacher, or on score sheets by the children.
Big Sheets -- Many of our poems, fingerplays and songs are printed on Big Sheets for all to read during circle activities. Pictures are often used to represent words, making many Big Sheets a rebus experience. The teacher points to each word as she reads or sings from a Big Sheet, teaching basic pre-reading skills a child needs to master before he or she learns to read. In this way, a child learns that we read from left-to-right and top to bottom. S/he learns that words are created using letters, that spaces separate words, that words are grouped into sentences which contain punctuation, and that print conveys ideas.
Big Sheets are often used to teach or reinforce specific concepts such as placement words (first, second, third, last), colors, letter and letter sound recognition, money concepts, and number recognition and number concepts. Here is a sample Big Sheet:
It's Fun To Pick Potatoes -- A Song by Unknown
The CD Project -- Each spring, the EK and PK children record a studio-quality audio CD of several songs they learned over the course of the school year. Art Murphy (my brother, father of Hogarth students John and Arthur, and owner of Thumbprint Studios) donates his time, expertise, and equipment to record the CD right in our classroom. It's a wonderful experience for the children, and gives them a lifelong memento of their Hogarth days in the form of the CD.
CPG
Notes -- This modified version of the Message is introduced to the Creative
Play Group children in the fall. Written
in list form, with items numbered from 1 through 7, CPG Notes are read during
circle time at the beginning of class. The
repetitive nature and formatted structure enable the children to “read” the
CPG Notes by the end of the school year. Through CPG Notes,
children learn the left-to-right, top-to-bottom reading progression, as well as
number recognition through 7. Each week, a different child is The
Picker. The
Picker is
determined by the class list posted above the blackboard. The children learn to
check the list to see when it will be their turn to be The Picker. The Picker
selects a different marker color each day which I use to highlight specific
activities or concepts. The Picker
gets to take the CPG Notes home on Friday.
The CPG Notes are posted on the Blog in advance of class. This allows you to ask your little one informed questions about his or her day in school. Who was The Picker (or Mystery Kid)? What color highlighter did The Picker (or Mystery Kid) choose today? Did you work on letter G yet? Did you name a wild animal yet? What shape did The Picker pick today? Which letter didn't belong? What story did you read today? What songs did you sing today? You could even sit down at the computer with your child and enlarge the Message or Notes to look at together.
CPG Sheets (Letters or Numbers) -- These very basic worksheets allow the children to practice following directions, drawing the circle shape, copying their names, and recognizing and writing numbers 1 through 5 and letters A through Z.
Calendars -- Every day from the first of October through the first of May, EK children work with their own calendars. Each day, the children write the date number on their calendars, and talk about yesterday, today and tomorrow. Children trace numbers on their calendars during the first month or so of school, but are usually writing their own by the end of the school year. Calendars always have a poem for the children to read and memorize over the month. Birthdays and special events are noted on the calendars.
Categories Game -- Children brainstorm items within a category. For instance, things a person might wear on his or her head. This game sharpens critical thinking skills such as classifying as well as logic and reasoning.
Coat Game -- Each child's coat is stored in his or her own bag. In order to retrieve the coat at the end of the day, the child has to answer a question. For example, the teacher might ask a child what his or her mother's real name is. A variation on this game would be directed at the entire group rather than a specific child. For instance, the teacher might say, If your mother's name is Jennifer, come and get your coat. Or, If your name begins with a B come and get your coat.
Coin Guess Game -- A coin is slipped into a child's palm without the child seeing the denomination. By feeling the coin, the child has to guess if it's a penny, nickel, dime or quarter. After looking to see if s/he guessed correctly, the children form into groups according to the coins they are holding. Whichever coin's group contains the most children is the winning coin.
Collage -- This activity is useful in developing small motor skills, hand-eye coordination, creativity, and the design concepts of pattern, placement, size and shape.
Copycat Sheets -- This is a worksheet that has a two-line grid on it. The top line of the grid has one letter (or number) written in each grid space. The bottom spaces are empty. The children copy the letter or number written in the top grid space into the empty space immediately below it. This gives practice in letter and number formation and maintaining a consistent size and spacing. It also gives practice in copying without having to go back and forth between the blackboard and the paper, which wreaks havoc with maintaining orientation on the paper. PLEASE NOTE: Worksheets done early in the school year by my 3 and 4-year old students will not contain a lot of corrections. My early-year goals for my younger students include attending to task, working within the bounds of the worksheet, and completing the task. I believe that just as you do not stop a baby and correct early attempts at speaking, you should not stop a child to redo and correct early attempts at writing. I constantly model the "correct" way to form letters while writing on the blackboard, and copycat literacy sheets always contain examples of the letters being worked upon.
Countdown Sheet -- PK children often complete a countdown sheet during a given month. In this early calendar activity, the children track the number of days they attend school that month. It gives practice in recognizing numbers, counting, and measuring time. The countdown sheet often includes the words to a poem or song, usually written rebus-style. These early reading experiences emphasize the left-to-right, top-to-bottom reading progression and memorization.
Clothespin Drop -- This party game sharpens hand/eye coordination and good sportsmanship. A child holds a clothespin at chest height over a bottle with a 2-inch opening. S/he then releases the clothespin and hopes it drops neatly into the bottle. Everybody starts out with 3 clothespins. If the child gets any of those 3 in the bottle, we proceed to the next child. If the child misses all 3, s/he gets to keep trying until s/he gets a clothespin in the bottle.
Dictionary Game -- The teacher chooses a letter, and reads dictionary definitions of words beginning with that letter. The children call out the answer, and the teacher immediately moves onto another definition in this fast-paced game.
Dinosaur Color Race -- A math game in which the children work on the concepts of more, less, counting, predicting and probability. A color die is rolled, and each child takes the appropriately colored dinosaur. This is repeated until the children tire, at which point each child has a few dozen dinosaurs lined up by color. During the course of the game, children root for their favorite color to come up each time the die is rolled. Because the colors win or lose and not the children, this game is especially good for children who have a difficult time with competitive games.
Dinosaur and Number Bear Math Units -- These EK and PK math units teach recognition and quantification of numbers 1 though 10 using Unifix Cubes, teddy bear counters and dinosaur counters. The children fill the hoop with sets of 2 through 10 objects, or, in the case of number 1, 1 unique thing contributed by each child.
Domino Dots 1 to 6 -- A math game in which a child rolls a number die, and tries to place a domino with a corresponding number of dots into an ever-expanding domino grid.
Duck Count Game -- I have a set of green plastic number ducks, 1 duck each for numbers 0 through 11. The number is written on the bottom of the duck, and the duck has a corresponding number of water drops on its back. I randomly draw a duck from the box, and put the duck in a lineup. If duck number 2 is drawn first, I make sure to leave 2 spaces before it empty in the lineup in which to insert ducks number 0 and 1 when they are drawn. Zero is the only number duck not randomly drawn, and is drawn last. This game helps with number recognition and number ordination (placing numbers in the correct order).
Geoboards -- A math tool that teaches (among other things) number, symmetry, and shape concepts. Elastics are placed upon pegs on the board to create shapes and patterns.
GeoSafari Junior -- A self-correcting electronic learning aid. Subjects covered include readiness and alphabet, social studies and science, math and reading, visual discrimination, phonics and sight words.
Hacky Sack Hula Hoop -- The children take turns tossing Hacky Sack balls through a hula hoop which has been suspended from the ceiling. Because the hoop usually revolves a bit, the children need a good degree of hand/eye coordination to get the Hacky Sack ball through the hoop.
Hibernation Station -- I have developed a bear-themed curriculum which runs throughout the school year in all three classes. As part of this curriculum, the children set up a Hibernation Station in which their little bears spend the winter.
Hula Hoop Clock -- EK children learn to tell time to the hour and half hour. We work with a giant hula hoop clock which we have to number each time we use it. First, I write numbers 12, 3, 6, and 9 on the blackboard clock face, and then fill in the rest. Within a few weeks of introducing the clock, the children are often able to make their own clock faces. The Hula Hoop Clock is usually introduced in late winter.
Inventive (Kid) Spelling -- This method of early writing encourages beginning readers to write words any way they wish. I encourage the children to listen for sounds in the words they want to write, and write the letters that they think represent those sounds. I call it Kid Spelling, and stress that it is not Grownup (conventional) Spelling. I tell the children they will learn Grownup Spelling when they're a bit older, but right now Kid Spelling is the perfect way to get their thoughts down on paper all by themselves.
Kid Graph -- This simple hands-on math activity introduces graphing, a somewhat complex method of classification. The children will "vote" for their favorite thing within a category, such as their favorite color. All the children who choose red will line up behind each other. Next to them, a column of children who selected yellow will line up. This goes on until all of the children have made their choices and taken their places in the appropriate columns. These life-sized group bar graphs encourage the children to work together and to learn from each other as they create and compare sets.
Letter Exchange -- When we work on consonant letter sounds, we will substitute that letter sound for the first letter in each child's and teacher's name. For example, if we are working on letter B, Mrs. Lamparelli becomes Brs. Bamparelli and Miss Murphy becomes Biss Burphy. In addition to learning letter sounds, the Letter Exchange game helps children develop a sense of humor about themselves. When you're 3, 4 or 5, it isn't easy to laugh at yourself. Because almost everybody gets their names twisted a bit in the game, everybody shares in the laughter.
Letter or Number Roads -- When I say something like We drove down the 7 road, this means your child wrote the number 7 inside an outline font. Writing letters or numbers inside of outline fonts is a step up from tracing as the child is actually writing on his or her own using the outline font as a guide. When we use outline fonts, I tell the children the pencil is their car and the outline font the road. They need to be good drivers and stay within the lane on the road. Outline fonts help with proportion, size, and spacing, and offer an unobtrusive helping hand along the road to independent writing.
Lucky Ducky Game -- Children turn over little green number ducks to reveal numbers1 to 10, and then match the number duck to the corresponding carpet square.
Maple Tree Observation -- Please note: This activity is not done every year. In fall, and again in winter, and once again in late spring, the EK children pose for a picture in front of my maple tree. They come back inside to write the word TREE, and draw the tree as they observed it on that particular day. By the end of the school year, they have a complete record of the changes the tree underwent as it moved through the seasons losing and then regaining its foliage.
Late September observations.
Late March observations.
Early May observations.
Memory Match -- A concentration-type game in which the children uncover hidden pictures to make matches. Children sharpen visual memory, visual discrimination, vocabulary and placement word skills (top, middle, bottom row and first, second, third, last column).
The Message -- The weekly Message is the heart
and soul of the Hogarth literacy program. EK and PK children work with a new Message
every full week of school from October through the beginning of May. Because of the repetitive nature and
formatted structure, the children are able to “read” most of the Message by
the end of the school year. Through
the Message, the children learn the left-to-right, top-to-bottom reading
progression. They learn number
recognition through the ever-changing date, and shape recognition through the
Shapes of the Week. I will often
highlight specific letters within the Message to teach recognition and letter
sounds. I use the Message to
reinforce sight words, and often include pictures along with the text to make
the Message a rebus-style learning
experience. The Brainteaser
encourages public speaking, and is often used as a springboard for related
activities. There is a different
Mystery Kid each week. The Mystery Kid is
determined by the class list posted above the blackboard. The children learn to
check the list to see when it will be their turn to be Mystery Kid. The Mystery
Kid selects a different marker color each day which I use to highlight specific
activities or concepts. The Mystery Kid also
chooses the Shape of the Day, and
gets to take the Message home on Wednesday.
Posting the Messages and CPG Notes in advance allows you to ask your little one informed questions about his or her day in school. Who was The Picker (or Mystery Kid)? What color highlighter did The Picker (or Mystery Kid) choose today? Did you work on letter G yet? Did you pick a wild animal yet? What shape did The Picker pick today? Which letter didn't belong? What story did you read today? What songs did you sing today? You could even sit down at the computer with your child and enlarge the Message or Notes to look at together.
Mirror Me Game -- The children mimic movements I make, or repeat rhythms I clap or tap out. They explore patterns and beats and sharpen their listening skills when repeating these rhythms. They sharpen their powers of observation while mimicking movements.
Number or Letter Roads -- When I say something like We drove down the 7 road, this means your child wrote the number 7 inside an outline font. Writing letters or numbers inside of outline fonts is a step up from tracing as the child is actually writing on his or her own using the outline font as a guide. When we use outline fonts, I tell the children the pencil is their car and the outline font the road. They need to be good drivers and stay within the lane on the road. Outline fonts help with proportion, size, and spacing, and offer an unobtrusive helping hand along the road to independent writing.
Number Bear and Dinosaur Math Units -- These math units teach recognition and quantification of numbers 1 though 10 using Unifix Cubes, teddy bear counters and dinosaur counters. The children fill the hoop with sets of 2 through 10 objects, or, in the case of number 1, 1 unique thing contributed by each child.
Number Carpet Tiles -- The children often sit on these number tiles during story time and other circle time activities. When the activity is finished, they children restack the carpet tiles in order. This on-going activity helps with recognizing and ordering numbers 1 though 14.
Number Pop 1 to 6 Game -- Children use the dice popper on the Trouble game board to choose numbers, and then place an animal counter on the corresponding numbered carpet square.
Number Signals -- Another way for children in all classes to count using simple hand signals. The basic signals go from 0 to 10, and are illustrated in order below. Counting while doing hand signals slows the children down and increases accuracy in their rote counting skills. After they've been introduced, we use these basic signals each time we encounter a number. For example, we'll use the signal for 2 followed by the signal for 5 on the 25th day of the month. We call the hand signals our secret code.
Number Tiles -- Tiles numbered 1 through 13 used to teach various number concepts through games. The set includes 2 moon tiles which are used as "wild" tiles.
100 Book Party Countdown -- Every time we read a story in the PK class, we turn over a number on our 100 pocket chart. When we've read 100 books and turned over 100 numbers, the children will have a party.
Morning EK children have three components in their 100 Book Party Countdown activities. They mark numbers off from 1 to 100 on a number sheet. They count backwards from 100 to1 by covering a number on our countdown poster. They also add a Unifix Cube to an ongoing number line. (By the time we're finished, we'll have ten different colored 10-sticks of Unifix Cubes that match the pattern of papers covering the numbers on the countdown poster that match the color pattern covering the numbers on the number sheet.)
PK Countdown Sheet -- The PK children work on this early calendar activity each day starting in late winter or early spring. The children color one box each day on a grid numbered 1 through 15, with the goal of determining how many days of school they attend in a month. The countdown also includes a list of special events occurring throughout the month.
Parent Conference Day -- Individual parent conferences are held in January and again in May. Conferences are scheduled every 15 minutes throughout the day starting at 8 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m. As a courtesy to all parents, conferences will not go beyond the allotted time. Parents who arrive late for their conferences will not be able to confer for the entire 15 minutes. Parents are encouraged to arrange childcare for their little ones. Conferences are always much more focused and productive when just the grown-ups are there. That being said, if you can't arrange childcare, by all means bring your little one along. Plan to call Andrea in early January and early May to schedule your conference.
Patterning -- Patterning is one way young children's skills in mathematics are developed and made meaningful. Patterning abilities include ordering, classifying and sequencing. Hogarth children will learn to recognize, describe and extend basic ABABAB, ABBABBABB, and AABBAABB patterns, as well as create their own patterns. They will be able to recognize, describe and extend rhythmic hand clap/knee slap patterns, as well.
Peg It -- This noncompetitive game reinforces counting 1 though 5 and recognizing sets of 1 through 5 things. It also reinforces shapes, colors, and taking turns as the children play to see which colored peg wins the "race." The shapes are in a large, clear plastic tub. The children draw a Unifix Cube from a black bag, and this determines which colored shape goes onto the pegboard. It's exciting from start to finish, because nobody has to be "out" and sit on the sideline to watch the other children compete to win. (Preschoolers aren't particularly happy to be "out" and sit on the sideline!)
Pocket Chart Attendance -- At the start of class, we determine how many children are in attendance. I have a pocket chart with numbers 1 through 14 (or 1 through 11 or 12 or however many children are enrolled in the class) placed down the left side. I have flashcards upon which I've written each child's name, which I add to the pocket chart, starting at slot number 1 and working my way down. If a child is absent, I turn the card around and place it next to the highest number in the bottom slot. I shuffle the name cards before adding them to the chart, so that the children get to "be" a different number each day. This activity teaches and reinforces number recognition, number ordination (placing numbers in the correct order), addition and subtraction. (How many kids do we have in school today? How many kids are missing? If those children were in school, how many kids would be here?) This activity also teaches the children to "read" their own names as well as their classmates' names.
If you look at the pictures below, you'll see samples of Pocket Chart Attendance with one child absent, and with all children present. If, for instance, three children were absent, slots 12, 13, and 14 would have "turned" cards placed next to them.
Pocket Easel Activities – Used to reinforce and/or teach letter concepts (recognition and sounds made) and number concepts (recognition of numerals and number words as well as quantification of number).
Rebus-Style Stories -- Pictures are included in the body of the text. For example, if the word "dog" appears in a story, I'll put a picture of a dog right before the word appears. Sometimes, pictures will entirely replace words. These visual aids are a big help to beginning readers, and help nonreaders to stay oriented on the page.
Ring Toss Party Games -- We play several variations of a hand/eye coordination game using diving rings and Koosh Balls. The child tries to see how many Koosh Balls he or she can toss into the diving ring before the minute timer runs out of sand. In the team version, one child tosses a ball into the diving ring and the other child retrieves it and passes it back to his or her partner. The team mates switch when the timer runs out of sand. Balls bounce, so this game is somewhat difficult to master.
Rivers, Roads and Rails -- This interactive puzzle activity belongs in the Domino family of matching games. Each tile has two sides, and each side contains no more than one road, one river, and/or one railroad bed running across the tile. In order to play a new tile adjacent to a played tile, the sides must match. Matching up tiles creates an intricate and twisting landscape of rivers, roads and railways. The children play a very loose, self-directed version of the game, which works well for them. Often, they are as interested in the process of creating the landscape (flipping, organizing, and trading tiles), as they are with the resultant product.
Room Weaving -- This project is done each April to celebrate the Week of the Young Child. Over the course of the week, the children create a piece of installation art by weaving the room. Room weaving is a piece of soft sculpture that changes the classroom environment into a work of art. Walking into the installation feels like walking into a painting. Because the weave takes up such a big chunk of the room, the children spend most of the week weaving or decorating the weave. Room weaving provides a rich experience that works across the curriculum. The children use positional words (over, under, in, out, up, down), they follow directions (first you loop the ball of yarn around a chair, next you throw it over the rope), they weave cooperatively with a partner, and they sharpen hand/eye coordination and gross motor skills as they toss and catch balls of yarn.
Scaffolded Learning -- Scaffolding provides support for a child mastering a skill. For example, a child who is still learning to write his or her name may be provided with highlighted letters to trace. A child further along may be provided with letters to copy. Scaffolding gives just enough support to insure success during the mastery process. As a child gains competence, the scaffolding is gradually removed.
Scrabble -- Children in all 3 classes work with a version of the game Scrabble. I have a Scrabble board with recessed spaces for the letters (so they don't slide around) and the children draw letters and then place them in the appropriate rows. Whichever letter fills its row first is the winner.
Sharing Day -- This is similar to Show and Tell. Beginning in October, the first Tuesday of each month is Sharing Day for the EK and PK children. The CPG children begin Sharing in January. Sharing entails the children bringing something from home that is of interest to them. One by one, each child gets up and talks about what s/he brought and why it is special. Please help your child to select his or her Sharing each month. If your child wants to bring photos, please limit his or her selection to no more than three photographs. If your child wants to bring a favorite book, please do not promise that the teacher will read the book. We may or may not be able to do this, depending on how many books come in for Sharing that day. We have only two restrictions -- no living creatures and no toys. The "no toys" rule covers stuffed animals, Beanie Babies, and anything else that remotely resembles a toy. In January we have a special Toy Sharing Day, which remains special because it's the only day toys are allowed.
Snail's Pace Race Game -- Children roll 2 multi-colored dice and move the appropriately colored snail(s) across the race track. Children practice following rules, taking turns, color and counting skills. This noncompetitive game is perfect for younger children who have a difficult time with win/lose games. The snails, not the children, are the winners and losers.
Toss a Die, Fill the Pie -- This game reinforces counting 1 through 6, recognizing sets 1 through 6, addition and subtraction facts through 6, and color recognition. How is the game played? If you toss a 2, add 2 slices to the pie. On your next turn, your die toss must be 4 or less in order to add more slices. If you toss a 5 or 6, the turn moves to the next player. The first person to add 6 slices to his or her pie wins the game. Play continues until all the players fill their pies.
A child can actually score any number of games using these pie pieces. You could play a version of Peg It (scan up to view Peg It) using pies and pie pieces rather than pegs and shape pieces. Are you tossing a beanbag into a bucket? Give yourself a piece of pie each time your beanbag lands in the bucket. Are you answering trivia questions? Give yourself a piece of pie if you know, for example, how many bears Goldlilocks had to deal with, or how many legs a spider has. (These pies and pie pieces, by the way, originally came in a Trivial Pursuit game.)
Unifix Holiday Toss Game -- Often
played
at our Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's, St. Patrick's and Easter
celebrations. This
hands-on math game reinforces counting
1 to 5; recognizing number symbols 1 through 5; understanding the relationship
between number symbols and quantity; recognizing multiple configurations of 5,
for example 2 + 3 or 3 + 2 or 1 + 4 or 4 + 1. The
directions for the Easter toss are: Toss
5 purple Unifix cubes into the hoop. Did any bounce out? Draw the results in or
around the circle on the score sheet. Color 1 egg purple for each cube that
landed in the hoop. Color 1 egg yellow for each cube that landed outside the
hoop.
Unifix Hoop Toss -- A modified version of the Holiday Toss Game played by 4 children at one time which covers number operations through 3. Each child has 3 Unifix cubes to try to toss into the hoop. Because there are clear winners in this game, it offers quite a social challenge for many of the children as they grapple with the concept of good sportsmanship.
Various Voices -- Often we will sing songs we are just learning using fairy or giant voices, which helps the children learn the new lyrics. Fairy voices are extremely high-pitched, and giant voices are extremely low-pitched.
Velcro Ball Toss Game -- This game develops hand/eye coordination and is often played on party days.
Watch Me Sing -- The teacher will mouth the words to a song and the students guess which song it is. After a correct guess, everybody sings the song together. Sometimes students take turns mouthing words for everybody to guess. This game is an excellent tool to sharpen and focus attention skills as it requires a child's undivided attention.
Weather Observation -- An ongoing science/math lesson for the EK children. Each day from October through mid-May, EK children observe weather conditions and record their observations on a class graph mobile. As the school year progresses, the children make predictions about which weather categories are "contenders" to be the winner in May.
What's Different? -- A child stands on a chair and everybody is instructed to study the child's appearance. After a few moments, the child goes into the library with the teacher, who then makes a subtle change in the child's appearance. Perhaps she will cuff the child's pants, or push up the child's sleeves. The child then goes back into the main classroom and stands on the chair. The other children try to guess what is different about the child's appearance.
What's This? -- The teacher says a snippet of a song's lyric, and the children have to guess which song it comes from. For instance, the teacher says I strike a careless pose and the children respond Whistle a Happy Tune. If the children are having difficulty guessing the song, the teacher then sings the lyric.
Who's Missing? -- This party game is played by the EK and PK children, and sharpens memory skills and good sportsmanship. One child goes into the bathroom and closes the door so s/he can't see what happens next. What happens next is another child hides in the library. The remaining children call out, We're ready! At this point the child emerges from the bathroom to cries of, Who's Missing?!? The group remains quiet while the child tries to figure out who's hiding in the library. This is the hard part. Not so much for the child doing the guessing, but for the remaining children. It's VERY difficult to remain quiet when you've got this knowledge of who's missing weighing so heavily on your mind!