D is for Dogs

• DIY Dog bone manipulatives
1. I bought a box of dog bone treats at the Dollar Tree. At home I sprayed each of them with a clear coat spray paint (mainly to keep the kids from eating them, but also to keep them cleaner. I didnt want them crumbling or have our hands smell like dog treats!)
2. After they dried, on 26 of them I wrote one letters of the alphabet on each bone with a sharpie. I also kept a bunch blank for math and counting.
• OPTIONS: you could paint them different colors, not just clear.
• Write numbers, shapes, or specific letters on the bones (vowels, just D’s and d’s), etc.)

• Dog Bone Letter match
• With our alphabet of dog bones, we matched them to lettered dog bones on paper
• (you could also simply write the alphabet on a piece of paper and have them match the letters on the bones to the letters on the paper).

• Dog Bone Alphabet sort
• We also put the dog bones in order of the alphabet.
• Then sang the ABCs while pointing to each letter on the bones.

• Tally Counting Dogs
• On a piece of paper, have your preschooler write DOGS at the top. Put the paper on a clipboard (or hard cover book).
• Go on a walk around your neighborhood, and count the dogs your see.
• As you count them, use the tally system for counting. Teach your preschooler/s when they get to 5, they use one line to cross out the other 4 tallies.
• When your walk is over, count the tallies and write the total at the bottom.

• Dog Bone Math
• With a veggie tray (aka: sorting tray) and the blank dog bone treats, I wrote out numbers, tallies or simple equations and the answer in dog bones would go in the tray.

• DIY Plastic Dog Manipulatives
• At the Dollar Tree I found some packs of plastic cats and dogs (yes, they come together…save the cats for C week!). I pulled out the spray paint and painted each one a different color.
• Let them dry, then use in sensory bins, with the next activity (Go, Dog, Go!) or any pretend play!

• Read Go, Dog, Go! by P.D. Eastman
         Lots of fun to be had with this book!
• Use the spray painted dog manipulative toys from above, an updated colored tree and dog printable, and the book, particulary the page that says, “A red dog on a blue tree. A blue dog on a red tree. A green dog on a yellow tree.”
• Options:
• Copy the book and have your preschool put a red dog on the blue tree, a blue dog on the red tree, and a green dog on a yellow tree.
• Tell your preschooler which dogs go in which tree.
• Match the color of dog to the color of tree.
• Have your preschool put any dog on any tree and have them tell you what color dog is on what color tree.
• Roll two dice (with colors, not numbers). One is the dog color die, and the other is the tree color die. After they roll, put that color dog on that color tree.

• “Go, Dog, Go!” Opposites
• I scanned the book and printed out cards of the opposite things the book talks about.
• ie: Up & Down, In & Out, Dark & Light, etc
• Play memory style to match the opposites
• Hold up a card and have your preschooler tell you what it is and what the opposite it (or find the opposite card).

• Read “Dog’s Colorful Day” by Emma Dodd
• I cant remember where I found these printables (google search "Dog's Colorful Day Preschool activities" and I'm sure you will find it! Let me know if you do!!)
• You will need glue sticks, scissors, and dot stampers (or crayons/markers).

• Dog Suncatcher
• This is hit and miss at the Dollar Tree, but if you find a dog suncatcher, it is a great activity to talk about primary and secondary colors (as it only comes with primary colors).

**For more Dog activities click HERE, for more Letter D preschool ideas click HERE**

Puppy Ears

I have a little girl who absolutely loves dogs. One of her first words was “puppy!” Her favorite shirt has a sparkly puppy on the front, she has two favorite stuffed dogs to sleep with and she loves crawling around with her brothers acting like a puppy. So today, we made her some real puppy ears to wear. Super simple and would go great during D week talking about dogs or E week for ears.

 

Supplies Needed:

• brown felt
• felt glue (or if you have your sewing machine out, just use it!)
• thin elastic
• scissors

 

 

 

 

1. Fold the felt in half

2. Cut out a simple dog ear shape. You will end up with two identical ears.

3. Use the elastic to measure around your child’s head. Add another inch or two and cut.

4. Tie the two ends together with a simple knot.

5. Apply a line of felt glue to the end of one ear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Fold the felt over the elastic and gently hold it for a minute. Repeat with the other ear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Or if you get tired of holding the ears until they dry, use clippies or anything else to hold them down.

TIP: this is when I decided it would have probably been much easier just to pull out the sewing machine and stitch a quick line across instead of messing with the glue.

 

 

 

 

You are finished!

Sorry about the lack of great pictures. She may love puppies, but she doesn’t like looking at the camera and smiling

 

Snack Idea: Give your new puppy a small plastic bowl with a little water and another with dog treats (aka: cheerios). Serve it on the floor and let them eat it like a puppy!

Dog

• Visit a pet store and say hello to the dogs!

•  Read "Bark, George" by Jules Feiffer. Available here.

• Before you read …
  1. Gather some clipart of several animals (all the these above come from Microsoft Clipart, my favorite place to get free clipart!)
  2. Let the kids choose one clipart card and identify the animal.
  3. Sing the song below (to the tune “The Wheels on the Bus”)
  4. Continue with the remaining cards.
  5. Explain that "Bark, George" is about different animals and the sounds they make.

When [cows] say hello they [moo] to you,

[Moo] to you, [moo] to you.

When [cows] say hello they [moo] to you.

That's what they do.

• After you read …
  1. Have one child dress up like a George (a simple headband with dog ears) and you be George's mom (wear a red scarf).
  2. George selects one of the animals cards, then George's mom says "Bark, George!"
  3. The child then makes the sound of the animal on his card. Continue with all the cards.
• Feed the Dog
  1. Staple 2 paper plates together after cutting a slight half-circle from the bottom of the top plate (to form a mouth slot at the bottom).
  2. Decorate with a nose, eyes, ears & attach 2 dog ears.
  3. Staple a tongue to the bottom plate sticking out of the mouth.
  4. Cut out several bone shapes (see below)
  5. Label each with a different letter and place them upside-down on the floor.
     • or label several with letter D and only feed the dog the D bones
     • or write words that start with D (or names, or whatever sight words you may be working on) and have the kids identify those before feeding to the dog.
  6. The kids can pick a bone, name the letter and slip it inside the dog's mouth.