Mouse Paint

Special Instructions:  Wear your swimsuit, bring a towel, and dry clothes 
Gathering Activity: We will make mouse ears together and read stories about mice in the living room.

Circle Time:Read Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh. Sing mouse themed songs and finger plays. 
(Please see Circle Time Instructions Tab for complete info)
Art Activity:
Materials Needed: Predrawn simple mouse outlines, watercolor paint boxes for each child, paint brushes, pink pom poms, googly eyes, glue, small cups of water for rinsing brushes.

Directions: Use paint brushes to paint like the mice did in the story.  Allow the children to explore as the mix the water colors together.  Discuss with them what colors they see as they mix together. Allow them to use glue to add a pom pom nose and googly eyes.

Snack: Strawberry Mice and Cheese cubes

Playtime:
Materials Needed: A large sheet of white poster board for each child, 3 disposable13x9 pans each filled with red, yellow, or blue paint, and a swimming pool labeled "CAT."

Directions: Allow the children to step into the paint (WITH ADULT HELP) and then dance on the paper.  This is fun and slippery, and must have a great deal of adult supervision!  When they finish their creations, they can wash down to a nice soft clean in the pool water.

What We Are

I host a Mommy and Me Book Club at my home once a week for an hour and a half, 10am-11:30am. This year our group of little ones are 3 years old. I do not charge for the class or my lesson plans. I love teaching preschool aged children and have fun doing it!

I invite 7 other Mommies and their little ones to join us. I think 5 to 8 pairs is ideal, depending on your space. Some years we have had enough interest to host 3 groups of 6 pairs.

Each class includes a gathering activity, circle time where we introduce the Book of the Week,an art activity (fine motor), a snack, and a game (gross motor). Each of these are related to the Book of the Week. We transition based on the children's interest in the activity, not the clock. We end with our class "Good-bye Poem."

I email out the lesson plans each week to all of the Mommies. They email a response to all with the activity they would like to be responsible for that week. I always do circle time, and try once or twice a month to do one of the other activities as well. We have a fantastic group of Mommies who are always willing to help out, so I don't have to do too much, actually.

I will post individual sections that explain each time period in detail, but below is a loose time frame. I hesitate to even include it, because we really do transition based on children's interest. Some weeks we only get to three of the four activities, some weeks we have enough extra time for free play in the back yard.

Our VERY Flexible Schedule

9:55am-10:10am-Gathering Activity: Families arrive and get settled in. Children participate in the gathering activity while Mommies get supplies they brought with them set up.

10:10am-10:30am-Circle Time: Includes Songs, fingerplays, and BOOK OF THE WEEK

10:35am-10:55am-Art Activity and clean up

10:55am-11:10am-Snack

11:10am-11:25am-Game

11:25am-11:30am-Good-bye circle, gather projects to take home, etc...

Rules for the "Me-s"

Each year during our opening planning meeting we have with the Mommies, we come up with a list of age appropriate, simple rules for the children to follow. We discuss these during Circle Time the first few weeks in a positive, happy way. We give examples of good choices and give thumbs up if the choice is following the rules and thumbs down if it is not following the rules. We review later in the year as needed.

1-I will keep my hands and feet to myself.
2-I will take turns and share the toys and art materials.
3-I will use an inside voice.
4-I will help clean up.

Rules for the Mommies

We have a special planning meeting with just the Mommies each year, before we begin.  It helps to lay out the ground rules and be up front about our expectations before there are any issues.  Because we have done this, there have never really been any issues.  The ground rules have stayed fairly consistent all four years. Here are our rules. Feel free to use them as a jumping off point for your group. Ask yourselves, "What rules do we want to make for ourselves?"

1-We will discipline our own child, and only our own child. 
2-We will maintain a positive attitude and make the class time a happy time.
3-We will not socialize with each other during class time.
4-We will stay child focused.
5-We will BE ON TIME!
6-We will leave our cell phones turned off, unless there is a medical reason to have them on.
7-When we have concerns; we will speak to one another about them at an appropriate place and time, and not allow them to fester.
8-We will contribute to the success of the program, and take turns providing materials.
9-We will keep our contagious children at home.
10-We will make sure that we leave our hostess’ home in better shape than we found it.

Gathering Activity Info

We begin each class with a gathering activity.  It gives the little ones a chance to acclimate to the environment, moms a chance to get their materials put out for the activity they are hosting that day, and everyone just a chance to breath and ease into the morning.  AND of course, gives the moms running a couple of minutes late (because an independent 3 year old insisted on tying his shoes himself), a chance to make it before we start circle time.  

We try to offer a mixture of hands on activities and quiet activities.  Some little ones need a chance to warm up.  I always have a selection of books in a basket available for those wanting/needing some lap time with Mommy.  For those ready to jump right in to playing with friends, I have theme related puzzles or activities available.  Each lesson plan includes ideas for these activities.

I give a two minute warning when it is time to get ready for circle time, to allow them time to finish a book or activity they are working on.

Circle Time Info

Each week I select a book for our Mommy and Me Book Club.  I try to select quality children's literature, with engaging pictures, and that are age appropriate.  But most importantly, I look for books that are fun to read aloud and can hold the children's attention.

We begin each circle time singing "Here We Are Together" at Mommy and Me.  Then we name each of our kids.  After the opening song, we sing the ABCs, count to 10 and then count backwards to zero.

Next we introduce the story of the day, which I read aloud to the children.

After the story we sing several songs and finger plays related to the theme.  I make sure to include a lot of movement into the songs and finger plays.

We conclude each week with the song "Shake My Sillies Out."

We end with a verse "I'm gonna tiptoe my sillies out"  and tiptoe to the art table.

Snack Time

I am gradually adding explanations to each part of our day.   Hopefully I will have them all up soon for those of you who are hoping to duplicate this with your friends where you live! I have already posted info about circle time and gathering activity. 

Snack time is probably one of the little ones' favorite parts of Mommy and Me.  They laugh and talk with each other and eat yummy food.   Snacks are usually theme related and most of the time are healthy.  I try to plan only one sweet treat a month.  (But sometimes, the ideas are just too cute to resist and we have two).  As with the other activities, the moms take turns bringing the snack.  Sometimes we have a cooking activity and the children help make the snack.  Other times it is ready to go when we start snack. 

Here is some other basic info about snack.  We have a class set of plates and cups that the children use each week, so that we can keep Mommy and Me as "green" as possible.  We usually only bring snack for the children.  Mainly because it is simpler to make 6 olive penguins than it is to make 12.   The children eat snack and talk with one another, and it gives the mommies a chance to catch up.  We make sure that our conversations are appropriate for little ears, but it is really the only time during the class that we have personal conversations.  The rest of class is completely focused on our children.