Toddler BFIAR Co-op Class: Blueberries for Sal


Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

Summary: A young girl and a bear cub each follow their mothers blueberry picking on opposite sides of a mountain. The young ones each get lost before being reunited with their mothers.

Story Treasure: Metal pail

Centers:

ART: Ink
We did the suggested art project on Pg 32 of Before Five in a Row

MATH: Counting
I gave each child their pail and 5 marbles.  We counted the marbles as we dropped them into our pails.  The young toddlers just concentrated on counting to 5.  Older toddlers we worked basic addition, like “You have 2 berries in your pail.  How many will you have if we add one more?”

SCIENCE: Botany
We talked about how blueberries grow on bushes.  Those who had been blueberry picking shared their experiences.  They also named some other berries and fruits they have picked (apples, strawberries).  Before class I drew a blueberry bush outline on a piece of paper and taped it to a small cookie sheet.  I had glued small magnets onto dark blue pompoms, which I then stuck to the “bush.”  In class, the kids covered their eyes while I hid the bush, then they took their pails and went blueberry picking off in search of the bush.  Once at the bush they each picked 4 blueberries and dropped them into their pails.  After everyone had a turn, they replaced the berries on the bush and we started all over.

SCIENCE: Zoology
We did the animal classification from Pg 31 of Before Five in a Row.  I brought in printed scrapbooking paper sheets: grass, sky and water to help with the sorting.

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