I found that "Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes" is a nice theme to begin the year with. I usually concentrate on five to six rhymes for the first two weeks, but I try to incorporate more nursery rhymes into the curriculum as the year goes on.

Humpty Dumpty:
Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall;
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the kings horses and all the kings men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.

Activities:
Art-
1) Students decorate an oval for Humpty's face, cut it into 3 sections & glue it (back together again) on red rectangle pieces for the wall. We add little hats and bows to complete the project.
2) The children brainstorm how they would help Humpty; the teacher writes their dictations and add them to their project

Music-
-Poor Humpty Dumpty (Sung to "Three Blind Mice")
-Five Humpty Dumpties

Science-
1) The students predict, observe, and then check: (what will happen if you place a hard boiled egg in a jar of vinagar for a day or two?) I write their responses on a jar-shaped poster. NOTE - Leave the shell on. The shell will bubble and then dissolve.

Hickory Dickory Dock:
Hickory, Dickory, Dock.
The Mouse ran up the clock,
The Clock struck one,
The mouse ran down!
Hickory, dickory, dock.

Activities:
Art-
1) Make a black line of a clock face and a mouse. Paste each clock face on a paper plate. Punch a hole near one o'clock. Pull a piece of yarn through the hole with an attached mouse at the other end. Pull the mouse up during the rhyme.

Music-
1) Sing the rhyme to the tune of "London Bridge is Falling Down"

Mary Had a Little Lamb:
Mary had a little lamb,
  Its fleece was white as snow;
And everywhere that Mary went,
  The lamb was sure to go.

Baa Baa Black Sheep:
Baa, baa, black sheep,
   Have you any wool?
Yes, sir, yes, sir,
   Three bags full.
One for my master,
   And one for my dame,
And one for the little boy
   Who lives down the lane.

Activities:
Art-
1) Duplicate a sheep pattern. Have the children color a background and use a black ink pad to add fingerprints to the sheep to make a black sheep.

Music-
1) Sing to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"

Science-
1) Bring samples of wool to class. Encourage the children to describe its texture and tell some of its uses.

Language-
1) Compare and contrast "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Baa Baa Black Sheep". Write the responses in Venn diagram circles.

Little Miss Muffet:
Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet
Eating her curds and whey
Along came a spider
Who sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffet away!

Activities:
Drama-
1) Let the children role play the rhyme using a stool, a bowl , a spoon, and a spider puppet or bean bag. They love it!

Music-
1) Sing to the tune of "Yankee Doodle".

Cooking-
1) Make Curds and Whey: Stir 2 cups whole milk over medium heat until boiling. Remove from heat, add 1 tablespoon of vinegar & stir until curds form. Strain off the whey, add a little salt, and serve with crackers.

Other good nursery rhymes:
	One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
	Hey Diddle, Diddle
	Jack and Jill
	Old Mother Hubbard
	Three Blind Mice
	

Books:
*The Jolly Post Man
*Once Upon A Time
*Let Loose on Mother Goose