Two Old Tortoises

Two old tortoises going for a walk,

"Hello," said one, "would you like a little talk?"

"Yes," said the other, "I do enjoy a chat."

So they walked along together with a natter, natter nat.

This fabulous little rhyme is lots of fun for your young students. I begin with using index fingers to represent the tortoises as they walk along and talk. You can give one tortoise a 'high' voice and one a 'low' voice if you want to practice those comparatives. For a bit more interest, you can introduce a manipulative. Print these little guys on green cardboard, cut them out and laminate them for durability. Then sticky tape of hot glue gun them to paddle pop sticks. Each student can have two to dramatise the rhyme, or they can sit in pairs and have one tortoise each.

DOWNLOAD this PDF here: http://crescendo.com.au/downloads-category/early-childhood/  

Written by a Pre-School Teacher – It says it all!

I was on a parenting bulletin board recently and read a post by a mother who was worried that her 4 1/2 year old did not know enough. “What should a 4 year old know?” she asked.Most of the answers left me not only saddened but pretty soundly annoyed. One mom posted a laundry list of all of the things her son knew. Counting to 100, planets, how to write his first and last name, and on and on. Others chimed in with how much more their children already knew, some who were only three. A few posted URL’s to lists of what each age should know. The fewest yet said that each child develops at his own pace and not to worry.

It bothered me greatly to see these mothers responding to a worried mom by adding to her concern, with lists of all the things their children could do that hers couldn’t. We are such a competitive culture that even our pre-schoolers have become trophies and bragging rights. Childhood shouldn’t be a race.So here, I offer my list of what a 4 year old should know.