Modern Day Heroes (MLK, Jr.)

Modern Day Heroes

Daily Question: Do you know a Modern Hero?  

We got lots of fun answers to this question:

Word Girl! Super Women, Batman, Superheroes, etc. 

I asked if anyone had heard of President Barack Obama?  No one had. 

We are talking about being brave, men and women who changed our world for the better, and what we can do about it today.
Harris came in telling me "I wore my hero shirt today!  See, it has a firetruck on it!" 

Toys: (New) Vet Clinic, FP Little People Farm, Fire-Station, Construction, and Animal Discovery World, and Dress Ups.

Snack: Banana wheels, Animal crackers, and mini carrots.

In Circle Time, we saw and talked about many books of Modern Day Heroes/Heroines. We learned that after the start of America, people in Africa were kidnapped and taken by boat to America to work as slaves on plantations that grew tobacco and cotton. We talked about how the slaves (People from Africa who became African Americans or were sometimes called Blacks or Coloreds) were treated poorly--not allowed to vote, hold a paying job, use the same water fountain, or marry. We talked briefly about the US Constitution, the Civil War and President Lincoln (whose birthday is celebrated in Feb.), Segregation, Civil Rights, "Separate but Equal," Martin Luther, Coretta Scott, and Rosa Parks, and Montgomery Bus Boycott. We also talked a little about Helen Keller, one of my personal Heroines.

Share & Teach:
Anna:Piglet, Pony, Princess
Ben:Ninja Turtle action figure
Harris: firefighter hats
Lena: pony, purple cat, puppy
Zakai:bouncy ball

Lukas' "Un-Birthday" Celebration

Lukas brought in huge Sugar Doodle Cookies to celebrate his 4th birthday that was Dec. 30--during our Winter Break.  Lukas has an older sister and two older brothers.  His mother, Aino, is from Finland and his father is an artist.

Raegan: Do you like legos? yea, fire truck legos
Ben: What is your favorite color? blue
Zakai: Do you like bouncy balls? yes
Tanner: What is your favorite toy? legos
Eva: What is your favorite fruit? apples

Winter Book:
Do You Have a Hat? by Eileen Spinelli and Geraldo Valerio
Ms. Spinelli has us thinking about hats as she rhymes her way through a book of modern artists, entertainers, thinkers, and folk heroes and the hats they preferred.  Do you have a hat?

Heroes/Heroines Book:
(New,bd) *The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Johnny Ray Moore &Amy Wummer
(New) A Sweet Smell of Roses by Angela Johnson and Eric velasquez
Martin Luther King, Jr. A Dream of Hope by Alice Fleming (Sterling Biographies)--PCL copy, use for pictures--too advanced for preschoolers.
What's So Great About...? Rosa Parks by Jim Whiting (A Robbie Reader) PCL
Helen Keller by Sean Dolan (Rookie Biographies) PCL
Bio-Graphics Abraham Lincoln (Graphic Planet, Red Wagon) written by Joe Dunn, ill. by Rod Espinosa
The Bus Ride That Changed History; The Story of Rosa Parks by Pamela Duncan Edwards, Ill. by Danny Shanahan
Coretta Scott Poetry by Ntozake Shange, Paintings by Kadir Nelson