A Nanny's Day-The Professional Way! The Social Studies Book: A Curriculum Book for the Professional Early Childhood Nanny

by Kristin Laubenthal

Overview

The Social Studies Book is brought to you with a variety of learning experiences for children between the ages of two to six. The key focus is teaching children about the world they live in. Kristin gives enjoyable and purposeful activities for the children to do-all related to social studies-so the children are not only having fun but also learning without even realizing it. The Social Studies Book is a second curriculum book to Kristin's first book, A Nanny's Day-The Professional Way! A Curriculum Book for the Professional Early Childhood Nanny.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781524616816
Publisher:	AuthorHouse
Publication date:	07/08/2016
Pages:	120
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.33(d)

Read an Excerpt

A Nanny's Day - The Professional Way

A Curriculum Book for the Professional Early Childhood Nanny

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By Kristin Laubenthal

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2016 Kristin Laubenthal
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-5246-1681-6

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CHAPTER 1

Bakery

Let's get started ...

• A bakery is a place where cakes, pies, and other types of pastries are made and sold. Some types of pastries are cupcakes, cookies, muffins, fudge, donuts, rolls, croissants, and cream puffs.

• Bakeries also bake and sell bread. Some types of bread might include: wheat, white, challah, pita, rye, pumpernickel, baguettes, focaccia, tortillas, bagels, buns, breadsticks, and pretzels.

• A person who makes the bread and pastries is called a baker. They often wear a uniform of a white coat and a white hat.

Other words the children can learn: apron, cheese cloth, cookbook, cookie cutters, cookie sheet, customer, decorate, dough, ingredients, measuring cups, measuring spoons, mixer, mixing bowls, muffin tin, oven, oven mitt, pastry bag, recipe, rolling pin, sifter, spatula, whisk, yeast

It's storytime ...

• Sun Bread by Elisa Kleven

• Walter the Baker by Eric Carle

• The Little Bitty Bakery by Leslie Muir

• Mr. Cookie Baker by Monica Wellington

• Froggy Bakes a Cake by Jonathan London

• Bread Around the World by John Serrano

• From Wheat to Bread by Stacy Taus-Bolstad

Learning Experiences:

1. Potholders – Spread newspaper all over an open area and provide paint shirts for the children. Use acrylic paints to decorate potholders. Allow to dry for 24 hours before using. This also makes a great gift for the children to create for Mother's Day.

2. Cupcake Decorating – Using your own homemade mix or store-bought, have the children help you with the measuring of ingredients and mixing of the batter. They can use a small measuring cup to carefully pour small amounts of batter into cupcake liners. After the cupcakes have baked and cooled, provide frosting and other materials for decorating such as sprinkles, mini marshmallows, mini chocolate chips, gumdrops, or gel icing in squeeze tubes.

3. Rolling Pin Painting – Pour tempera paint onto a large paper plate – one color per plate. The children can use a rolling pin to roll into the paint and onto heavy paper. Also try using a whisk and a rubber spatula.

Birthdays

Let's get started ...

• A birthday is a day that honors when a person was born.

• Birthdays are a celebration which often includes a cake, decorations, gifts, and games.

Other words the children can learn: balloons, cake, candles, card, confetti, guest list, invitation, party favors, party hats, streamers, thank you notes, wrapping paper

It's storytime ...

• Bear's Birthday by Stella Blackstone

• The Best Birthday Party Ever by Jennifer LaRue

• Birthday Monsters by Sandra Boynton

• Birthday Bugs by David A. Carter

• Clifford's Birthday Party by Norman Bridwell

Learning Experiences:

1. Gift Wrapping – Provide the children with several different sizes of lidded boxes along with a variety of wrapping paper, ribbons, bows, and scotch tape. They can then practice wrapping the boxes. You can also give them gift tags and pens to encourage writing skills. If they have past artwork, they can put it inside the boxes to wrap and give to family members or friends.

2. Birthday Signs – Teach the children when their birthday is. Make a large cake outline on paper for them to color and decorate. In the center, write their name and their birth month and day.

3. Playdough Cakes – Provide the children with colored playdough and a cake pan or muffin tin. They can also use rolling pins and a table knife to practice rolling and cutting. Supply them with candles to stick into their cake. Help them count the number of candles.

4. Crepe Paper Collage – Give the children large lengths of crepe paper or streamers. They can cut them and glue onto paper or cardboard strips using gluesticks. This activity is great for older toddlers and young preschoolers who are just learning how to use scissors.

Chopsticks

Let's get started ...

• Chopsticks are commonly used in Asia.

Rather than using a fork, people eat their food using chopsticks.

• Chopsticks are made of wood, ivory, or plastic. They look like sticks.

It's storytime ...

• Chopsticks by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Scott Magoon

• Maggie's Chopsticks by Alan Woo

• What You Never Knew About Fingers, Forks, & Chopsticks by Patricia Lauber

• Cleversticks by Bernard Ashley

• How My Parents Learned to Eat by Ina R. Friedman

Learning Experiences:

1. Tongs and Pom-Pom's – Using different sized pom-poms, show the children how to use tongs to pick up the pom-poms. Place them into an egg carton or muffin tin. Explain and demonstrate how chopsticks are used and primarily only with one hand while eating.

2. Chopstick Painting – If you cannot obtain a set of chopsticks for this activity, it is fine to use kitchen tongs or large skewers. Provide a few colors of paint in a muffin tin for the children. Have them use their chopsticks (one in each hand is fine) to pick up a cottonball. Dip the cottonball into the paint and have them paint onto the paper free form or by simply making dots.

Clothing

Let's get started ...

• We wear different types of clothing for different seasons.

• Different cultures all over the world have their own distinctive clothing.

Types of clothing and footwear the children can familiarize with: belt, blouse, boots, coat, dress, earmuffs, hat, mittens, pajamas, pants, sandals, scarf, shirt, shorts, skirt, slippers, socks, sweater, swimsuit, tie, tights, tennis shoes, underwear, vest

It's storytime ...

• Clothing by Robin Nelson

• How to Dress a Dragon by Thelma Lynne Godin and Eric Barclay

• The King's New Clothes by Robin Koontz

• What We Wear: Dressing Up Around the World by Maya Ajmera

• Clothes in Many Cultures by Heather Adamson

Learning Experiences:

1. Dressing Up and Fine Motor Skills – Provide the children with a dress-up box that contains a variety of clothing that they can button, clasp, zip, belt, and snap. These skills may take practice for some children.

2. Seasonal Clothing – Draw a raindrop, a sun, and a snowflake on three separate index cards. Hold up an item of clothing and have the children classify which category they would wear the clothing item in.

3. Laundry – Mix a few drops of soap with a tub full of water. The children can wash their doll clothes in it. Teach the children how to pinch clothespins to hang the clothes dry on a drying rack.

4. Stringing beads – Use shoelaces to string beads or colored pasta pieces that have holes in them. The children can wear their necklaces or bracelets, or keep them in their dress-up box. Explain that clothing can be accessorized with jewelry.

5. Fabrics – Let the children feel different kinds of fabrics – velvet, wool, polyester, burlap, cotton, and cashmere to name a few. Ask them which one they think feels the best. If you have leftover scraps, let them make a collage on cardstock paper.

Collar Necklace

Let's get started ...

• People in the country of Africa often wear beautiful jewelry that is handcrafted. The pieces have a cultural significance.

• Both men and women wear the jewelry. Many times, they will be seen wearing a collar necklace made from different materials such as gold, silver, shells, and brightly colored beads.

• The colors of some of the beads each have an important meaning: Red – bravery and unity White – peace and health Blue – energy and the sky Orange and Yellow – hospitality Other words the children can learn: bead work, tribal

It's storytime ...

• The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Rachel Isadora

• The Princess and the Pea by Rachel Isadora

Learning Experiences:

1. Paper Plate Collar Necklace – Cut out the inner circle from a large paper plate so you will only have a wide rim. Discard the inner portion. Cut a small opening at the top of the rim so the "necklace" can fit around the child's neck. Use brightly colored beads, felt markers or watercolors, small seashells, and colored pasta noodles to decorate the necklace. Use tacky glue as it is stronger than traditional school glue. Dry thoroughly before wearing.

2. Bead Patterns – Place several different colored beads in a muffin tin. (Muffin tins are great as the beads won't roll all over your work surface and onto the floor.) Lay out a sheet of felt and show the children how to make patterns with the beads. For younger children, attempt a simple pattern such as "red, blue, red, blue." For older children, incorporate a more challenging pattern. They can do as many patterns as they wish. The children can glue the beads in place onto the felt if they desire. Once dry, hang on a bulletin board.

Construction Workers

Let's get started ...

• Construction workers build and fix structures such as buildings, homes, roads, tunnels, towers, or railways.

• Construction workers use many types of tools. They also operate machines such as large trucks, bulldozers, cranes, cement mixers, excavators, and backhoes.

• Construction workers wear protective equipment to keep them safe.

Other words the children can learn: blueprints, boots, bricks, drill, ear protectors, gloves, goggles, hammer, helmet, ladder, level, nails, pipe, road barrier, safety vest, saw, scaffolding, screwdriver, shingle, shovel, tape measure, tool belt, wheelbarrow, wood

It's storytime ...

• Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker

• Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night? by Brianna Caplan Sayres

• Construction by Sally Sutton

• Roadwork by Sally Sutton

• B is for Bulldozer: A Construction ABC by June Sobel

• Building a House by Byron Barton

• Construction Workers Help by Tami Deedrick

• I Want To Be A Builder by Dan Liebman

Learning Experiences:

1. 3-D Wood Structure – Lay out a thick plastic tablecloth for the children to use as their work area. Use small collected wood scraps or wood chips and tacky glue to create a structure. If you don't have a proper wooden base for them to build on, you can use a thick paper plate. Be sure to sand the edges of the pieces prior to starting so they aren't so sharp. The children can also use tempera paints to decorate their structure once the glue is dry and the structure is sturdy.

2. Nuts and Bolts – Provide the children with a tray of nuts and bolts in different sizes. Help them to match the different sizes and show them how to twist and screw them together. If you have a child struggling with fine motor skills, this is a great activity to enhance that weakness.

3. Measuring – Glue different lengths of yarn or ribbon to a large sheet of tagboard. Be sure that some are shorter and some are long. Show the children how to use a tape measure to properly measure each strip in inches. Write down the measurement below each yarn strip and talk about which is longest and shortest. They can then try to measure other household objects.

4. Hammering – Practice hammering plastic nails or golf tees into playdough or outside in the grass. I also like to let the children use scissors with playdough to help practice their cutting skills. (Fiskars is my preferred choice of children's scissors.)

Days of the Week

Let's get started ...

• There are seven days in one week – Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

• A calendar shows us the days of the week, which make up the month we are in.

It's storytime ...

• Today is Monday by Eric Carle

• Sun-Day, Moon-Day: How the Week was Made by Cherry Gilchrist

• Days of the Week by Jodie Sheperd

• Cookie's Week by Cindy Ward

• Someday Is Not A Day of the Week by Denise Brennan-Nelson

• My Busy Week by Lovey Sweetiepie

• Wacky Wednesday by Dr. Seuss

Learning Experiences:

1. The "Seven Days" Song – (Tune: "Oh My Darling")

There are seven days,
There are seven days,
There are seven days in a week.

There are seven days,
There are seven days,
There are seven days in a week.

Sunday, Monday,
Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

Sunday, Monday,
Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

2. Calendar Time – Purchase a real calendar at an office supply store. I always like to use a larger plain desk calendar where each day has a box. This style is less overstimulating so you will have the children's full focus.

Point out and explain how the calendar lists the days of the week, the month, and the year that we are in. Use a fine tipped marker to draw pictures or symbols inside the boxes in representation of any special events or holidays that are taking place during the month. For example, if you are taking a trip to a pumpkin patch, draw a pumpkin in the middle of the box. If it is the first day of nursery school, you might draw a school bus. If one of the children has a birthday, you might draw a cake or balloon. Each morning at breakfast, point out and name the day and date in addition to discussing the happenings. The children can draw a diagonal line through the box with a marker to mark the passage of time.

Dentist

Let's get started ...

• A dentist is a doctor who takes care of teeth. A dental hygienist may assist the dentist.

• Visiting the dentist helps keep our teeth strong and healthy. The dentist cleans and polishes our teeth and also checks for cavities.

• Sometimes the dentist will take x-rays of teeth.

Other words the children can learn: braces, check-up, floss, fluoride, mouthwash, plaque, toothbrush, toothpaste

It's storytime ...

• The Tooth Book by Dr. Seuss

• At the Dentist by Mari C. Schuh

• Melvin the Magnificent Molar! by Julia Cook and Laura, Jana, M.D.

• Pony Brushes His Teeth by Michael Dahl

• Brush Your Teeth, Please by Leslie McGuire

• ABC Dentist: Health Teeth from A to Z by Harriet Ziefert and Liz Murphy

Learning Experiences:

1. Toothbrush Painting – The children can use toothbrushes to paint with (pick up a new pack from the discount store) on textured paper.

2. Egg and Cola Experiment – Talk about how just like certain foods and drinks are healthy for your body, they are also healthy for your teeth. Hard boil three eggs and place one in a cup of water, one in a cup of milk, and one in a cup of regular cola. Let them sit for a few hours and then have the children check on the eggs. Talk about their observations. Continue checking them throughout the day and even the following morning. Use toothpaste to try brushing the cola off of the egg and discuss how sugary foods and drinks aren't healthy for our teeth.

3. Homemade Toothpaste – Mix together one half cup of softened coconut oil, two to three tablespoons of baking soda, two small packets of stevia powder, and about twenty drops of peppermint or cinnamon essential oil. Mix well. Store in a glass jar or air tight container. The children can use for regular toothbrushing.

Doctor

Let's get started ...

• Doctors help people to feel better when they are sick or hurt. They use different tools to give people a check-up such as: a stethoscope, scale, thermometer, reflex hammer, blood pressure monitor, and an otoscope.

• There are many types of doctors. A children's doctor is called a pediatrician.

• Doctors work in an office, clinic, or a hospital. Some doctors also do home visits.

• Many doctors have a nurse to assist them.

Other words the children can learn: ambulance, appointment, band-aids, bones, chart, check-up, examination, fever, gauze, height, injection, medicine, operation, prescription, surgery, syringe, thermometer, tongue depressor, tweezers, weight, x-ray

It's storytime ...

• My Friend the Doctor by Joanna Cole

• Going to the Doctor by Anne Civardi

• ABC Doctor by Liz Murphy

• Going to the Hospital by Fred Rogers

• The Berenstain Bears Visit the Doctor by Stan and Jan Berenstain

Learning Experiences:

1. Measuring Growth – Using either a wide and long strip of fabric or tagboard, create an appropriate length growth chart for the children to mark and see their growth throughout the year. Use glue to affix a measuring tape (found in a sewing shop or discount store) or you can copy it and just mark the numbers yourself using a permanent marker. The children can embellish their chart with watercolors and stickers. Hang on the wall or the back of a door and track their growth every six months. Be sure to mark where they are at so they can see how tall they are and their development over the course of a year.

2. Healthy Foods – Using clipped magazine pictures or clip-art, show the children several different foods that are both healthy and unhealthy for the body. On a sheet of construction paper, use a permanent marker to write "Healthy" on one side and "Unhealthy" on the other and then divide with a line to make two separate columns. The children can glue the pictures underneath the proper heading. Also talk about the food groups.

3. First-Aid Kit and Painting – Show the children a first-aid kit and discuss the uses for each of the materials. Allow the children to use cotton swabs, cotton balls, and tongue depressors to paint with on cardstock.

Families

Let's get started ...

• Families come in all varieties. Some children live with brothers and sisters and their biological parents. Some children live with a single parent, aunts, uncles, grandparents, adoptive parents, or foster parents. Some children may have two mommies or two daddies.

• Families can be large or small.

• Families enjoy doing fun activities together. Every family has their own culture and traditions.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from A Nanny's Day - The Professional Way by Kristin Laubenthal. Copyright © 2016 Kristin Laubenthal. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Contents

Introduction, v,
Bakery, 2,
Birthdays, 4,
Chopsticks, 6,
Clothing, 8,
Collar Necklace, 10,
Construction Workers, 12,
Days of the Week, 14,
Dentist, 16,
Doctor, 18,
Families, 20,
Farm, 22,
Feelings, 24,
Firefighters, 26,
Flags, 28,
Flower Shop, 30,
Friendship, 32,
Grocery Store, 34,
Hair, 36,
Homes, 38,
Lei's, 40,
Library, 42,
Mail, 44,
Maps and Continents, 46,
The Menorah, 48,
Musical Instruments, 50,
Parade, 52,
Pasta, 54,
Photographer, 56,
Presidents, 58,
Police Officers, 60,
Restaurant, 62,
Road Signs, 64,
Saying "Hello", 66,
Shoe Store, 68,
Skin Colors, 70,
Telephones, 72,
Transportation, 74,
Trees for Holidays, 76,
Veterinarian, 78,
Zoo, 80,
Social Studies in the Kitchen, 82,
Australia: Anzac Biscuits, 84,
China: Vegetable Fried Rice, 86,
England: Shepherd's Pie, 88,
Greece: Spanakopita, 90,
India: Tandoori Chicken Legs, 92,
Ireland: Irish Stew, 94,
Lebanon: Tabbouleh, 96,
Mexico: Tomato Salsa, 98,
Panama: Corn and Potato Empanadas, 100,
South Africa: Bobotie, 102,
United States of America: Sloppy Joes, 104,
Vietnam: Coconut Rice Dessert, 106,
Promoting Social Studies in the Home, 108,
Notes, 110,