Febuary

FEBRUARY


THEME: HEALTHY COLOR: RED
SHAPE: HEART

OBJECTIVE:
1. To explore what Healthy means.
2. To learn what daily things you can do to affect your health.
3. To learn who can help you to be healthy - in your community,
neighborhood or family.
4. To explore how your environment affects your health.
5. To explore the healthy emotions we have; to identify them; to
practice acceptable ways of
expression of those feelings.

Blocks:
Set up hospitals or clinics.
Set up hospital for animals.
Set up hospital for dolls.
Set up dentist office.
Health club or exercise areas.

Art: Creative Experiences
Activities that demonstrate symmetry. Collages of
healthy foods / food groups.
Heart shape stencils.
Valentine center with materials (laces, doilies, thick papers,
envelopes, stamps).
Toothbrush painting.
Sneeze Art (spray bottles with colored water or watery paints).
Red colors - all values and hues (combined with white - from
January's theme color).
Body parts - showing connecting joints, veins, arteries.

Science:
Any health aspect that lends itself to HANDS - ON experiences:
Listening to hearts, finding pulses, watching changes in bodies as
they exercise, sleep, eat, etc.
Classifying foods.
Learning about the USDA food pyramid - what foods we need the most
each day.
Looking for germs - Where are they, What are they, How do they make
you sick.
"Microscopic" as vocabulary word for very, very small.
Cooking - making healthy foods - salads, soups, vegetables.
Teeth - different kinds for different jobs in the mouth, different
animals have different teeth for
eating different foods.
Looking for healthy air and polluted air that comes from cars,
trucks, cigarettes, smokestacks.
What is important to take care of outside (trees, water, plants,
air, etc. that affects your health)
Symmetry in animals - butterfly wings, antennas.
How health equipment works - stethoscope - syringe - ear and throat
equipment.
What's the link between the heart in your body and your feelings of
love that is the heart shape
used at Valentine's Day?

Literary:
Mean Nasty Low Down, No Good Germs. Books
on Emotions.
Books on visits to Doctor, Dentist, Hospital etc.
Alexander and the No Good
A Letter to Amy.
Horrible Day.
Anansi - stories from Africa by the Spider.
The People Who Live in Round and Square Houses.
Health Signs and Symbols.

Dramatic Play:
Health Care Centers - Hospitals / Dentist Office / Veterinarian
Office.
Health Club / Gym / Locker room.
Post Office.
White House (where the Presidents have lived).
Parade (for Mardi Gras)
Non- sexist or age discriminatory role playing in health care
occupations.

Music:
Music that encourages your feelings: excitement, loneliness, love,
anger.
When I'm Feeling Angry And I Stamp My Feet.
If you're Happy and You Know It.
Use music for exercising or relaxing and listen to your heartbeat
to see differences.
Blowing feathers to Music.
Painting or other creative experiences with different musics.

Outdoor Activities / Indoor Alternatives:
Make a "field Hospital" outdoors (like parents experience on
training maneuvers).
Look for the healthy and unhealthy things outside (smoke, garbage,
erosion, loud noises).
Be the doctor to help fix those things - plant things to stop
erosion, give fertilizer to help
things grow.
Deliver Valentines to places you can walk to.
Use the III Corp Exercise Course.
Group carry games (as in emergency uses).
Indoors - Dancing - Exercising "A Tisket, A Tasket".

Holidays:
Black History Month -
Ground Hog Day - 2 February
Valentine's Day - 14 February
President's Day - 19 February
Mardi Gras - 20 February

*NOTE: Remember that holidays don't make sense to children on all levels.
If you've never
seen a shadow and don't know what a groundhog is . . . that holiday makes
no sense. If you
know the children may receive a Valentine Card from someone, or know
someone the child loves,
then drawing a picture to give to the ones you love makes sense!