First Grade Fun!: Monsters and Letter Study for Aa, Ii, Bb & Cc

Late October was the perfect time for a Monster theme and there are so many fantastic children's books about monsters! We began with the book "Go Away Big Green Monster" by Ed Emberle. This fun, engaging story is wonderfully interactive. As you read it you see a monster appear and then disappear before your very eyes! Also, the easy text is captivating. The kids enjoy reading it over and over again and repetition is wonderful for early reading development. Here is a video that reads the book to you. Consider checking the book out of the library some time.

Another of Ed Emberle's books we enjoyed was "Glad Monster, Sad Monster"

This book offers a marvelous vehicle to discuss feelings. Each page has a monster mask that the kids try on and riddles that give clues to each monster's emotion. This was a book that my son and I enjoyed together when he was in Kindergarten. It would make a great addition to your home library.

Our school counselor, Mrs. Reihlman came in to our class during our monster theme and taught a wonderful lesson about emotions. She gave our class a "feelings thermometer" and taught some strategies to use when emotional thermometers are running high. These were, telling ourselves "I am okay", giving ourselves a hug, getting a drink of water and practicing belly breathing. She shared this video with us.

Belly breathing is sure to keep the monsters away!

If not....

I introduced the letters Aa & Ii. The kids are learning that these letters are special because they are vowels. Every word has to have a vowel! Vowels are also special because they make 2 sounds. We are learning a special vowel song to help remember these sounds (stay tuned). In addition the kids are learning hand signals that go with each vowel sound. Vowel sounds are subtle and tend to sound alike. The hand signals provide a way to tell these similar sounds apart. Here are a few videos we've watched to help learn these letters sounds: