Opposites

[Anna]

Does anyone have any activities for preschool children that go along with the theme "opposites"?

[Diane]

http://www.perpetualpreschool.com/opposites.htm



Opposites Theme


ARTS AND CRAFTS

HARD / SOFT HAT
Have the children make a newspaper hat. Paint designs on it in bright colors. Let dry. Glue on various hard and soft objects like, feathers, cotton balls, small rocks, beads, etc.

OPPOSITE COLLAGES
Give each child a long sheet if construction paper. Have them fold it in half and draw a line on the crease. Give them some opposite materials (like: big & small, shiny & dull, hard & soft). Have them label both sides and sort and glue the materials into the correct column.

FINGER PUPPETS
To help illustrate up and down - or in and out - make finger puppets. Then use the puppets to show in or out of a pocket, crawl up the wall and down the wall.

HICKORY DICKORY DOCK
Learn the rhyme Hickory Dickory Dock. Give the children construction paper shaped like a grandfather clock. Let them color the clocks then have them cut out 2 mice. Have them glue one mouse to the top of the paper. On the back of the paper have them glue the mouse to the bottom!

Sing the rhyme using the clock illustrated up and down. Also discuss front and back!


GAMES AND ACTIVITIES

OPPOSITE LANGUAGE BUILDER
Say a word and have the children say a word that means the opposite: stop-go, under-over, up-down, in-out, hot-cold, happy-sad, etc.

OPPOSITE STORY
Tell a story about a child who always did the opposite of what he/she is told: "If his mother told him to wash his face, he just got it more (dirty) (have children supply the answer). If his father asked him to speak quietly, he spoke (loudly)". Practice with this awhile, before telling it. It really is a fun and silly way to learn about opposites.

SNACK: HOT AND COLD
Make hot chocolate and make juice popsicles to contrast them with.

HAPPY / SAD
Talk about happy and sad and sing: If You're Happy and You Know it. Have the children make up what they would sing for "If You're Sad and You Know it".

FAST AND SLOW
For fast and slow, dance to music with fast or slow rhythms.

LOUD AND QUIET
Walk around the room switching from loud to quiet. What animals walk loud? What animal might walk quietly?

IN AND OUT
Take 3 small baskets and put one bear outside and one inside and the last outside, then you have the children take turns and go as fast as they can and putting the inside bears out and the outside ones in.

OPPOSITE DEMONSTRATION AND CLASS BOOK
Have the children pick a partner, then pick a pair of opposites and figure out a way to demonstrate the opposites. Take a picture of each of the children demonstrating his/her half of the opposite and make a class book out of them, labeling the pictures.

BALLOON FUN
Blow once into a the balloon, then ask, "Is it big or little. Do you want it bigger?" Blowing into the balloon again. Ask "Now is it smaller or bigger?" You can continue blowing up the balloon in this manner, making it very dramatic. By pulling the top of the balloon part it squeaks or talks (noisy); by letting it go, it flies (quiet). Talking is done "down" and flying is "up."

BUBBLE FUN
Blow bubbles trying all these opposites: big/little, one/many, up/down, my turn/your turn, keep it/share it.

OPPOSITE BASKETS
Assemble the following things in different baskets:

*things that are soft/hard
*things that are large/small
*things that are shiny/dull
*things that are long/short
*things that sink/float

Let the kids handle the items and then sort by classifications. The list of items are endless.

OPPOSITE BINGO
Start with 25 sets of opposites-half set aside for the bingo caller. Use the other half and arrange however many different cards using combinations from the set. To play- call out the opposite of up- (on their bingo card-) a picture of an arrow pointing down.

OPPOSITE SHARE DAY
Have each child bring a pair of opposites from home that has to fit in a lunch bag. Have a circle sharing time and let each child demonstrate his/her opposite. (Have it at the end of the week, when most kids will have caught on to what opposites are.)

PARACHUTE OPPOSITES
Slowly raise the chute in an upward motion. Have them chant UP, UP, UP. Then lower it. As they lower it they chant DOWN, DOWN, DOWN, DOWN.

Also try:
*Higher, higher, higher, higher, and Lower, lower, lower, lower.
*Fast-Slow
*Loud-Quiet (have the children flip-flop the parachute fast enough so it creates a noise)
*In-Out (the children all move in while it is up and then run back out before it falls)
*Over-Under (have a child run under the parachute before it comes down on him)

OPPOSITE GAME
After the children have learned a number of opposite words try this game. The children should try to do the opposite of what you tell them. For example, if you tell the children to:

1. Put their hand up, they should put their hands down
2. Make a happy face, they should make a sad face
3. Cry = Laugh
4. Close their mouth = Open their mouth
5. Move their hands fast = Move their hands slowly

LANGUAGE IDEA
Place hard and soft objects in a bag. As your children remove them, incorporate the objects into a story that you make up.

ICE CUBE GAME
Place an ice cube in a zip-lock bag, then have children pass it around as they would in the game of "Hot Potato." They can wear gloves for added fun, and because the ice may be too cold for some bare hands.

IN AND OUT WINDOW GAME
Cut a window and a door from a large box. Children take turns climbing in and out the window as you sing or say:

Go in and out my window,
Go in and out my window,
Go in and out my window,
Now go through the door."

HARD OR SOFT
In a box, place several items that are hard such as a stone, a spoon, and a block. Add several items that are soft such as a cotton ball, a woolen sock, and a piece of foam rubber. Let your children take turns removing items from the box and sorting them into two groups: items that are hard and items that are soft.

BACKWARDS DAY
Explore "backwards". Try a backwards day. What can you wear backwards? You can wear a hat, shirt, or pants backward. What else can be worn backwards? Can shoes be worn backwards? What are some reasons we don't spend our lives walking backwards? What would life be like if we had to walk backward?

~Have the children can wear a piece of clothing backwards.
~Have the children walk backwards around the room.
~Have the children drive their toy cars backwards.
~Have the children eat breakfast for lunch.
~Have the children rearrange schedule so last thing is first and first is last!
~Have the children teach the teacher a craft.
~Have the children eat snack UNDER the table (they LOVE this one).


MUSIC NOTES

TALL AS A TREE
Tall as a tree,
(raise arms high)
Big as a house.
(Stretch arms out wide)
Thin as a pin,
(hold arms at sides.)
Small as a mouse.
(Make self small)

DO YOU SUPPOSE
Do you suppose a giant
Who is tall, tall, tall,
(stretch high on tiptoe)
Could ever be an elf
Who is small, small, small?
(crouch down)
But the elf, who is tiny
Will try, try, try,
(stand and raise arms.)
To reach up to the giant,
Who is high, high, high.

OPPOSITES
The opposite of left is right,
The opposite of day is night.
Now we come to short and long,
After that there's right and wrong.
Lost and found, sick and well,
How many opposites can you tell?

Heavy and light are not the same,
Don't you like our opposites game?
Next, I think of stop and go,
After that, high and low.
First and last, fast and slow,
How many opposites do you know?

SOFT TOUCHES
I love soft things
Very much.
Soft things to feel,
Soft things to touch.

A feather pillow,
A furry muff,
A baby's cheek,
A powder puff.

My kitten's fur,
A gentle breeze,
A bedtime kiss,
I love all these.

SOFT AS A PILLOW
Soft as a pillow.
Soft as a sock.
Hard as a hammer.
Hard as a rock.

HARD AND SOFT SONG
(sung to: "London bridge")

Touch the rock. It feels so hard,
Feels so hard, feels so hard.
Touch the rock. It feels so hard.
The rock feels very hard!

Touch the fur. It feels so soft,
Feels so soft, feels so soft.
Touch the fur. It feels so soft.
The fur feels very soft!

Repeat, substituting the names of other hard and soft things for rock and fur.


RECOMMENDED READING

Curious George's Opposites
By Margaret Rey

Exactly the Opposite
By Tana Hoban

Learn about Opposites
By Felicia Law

Inside Outside, Upside Down
By Stan and Jan Berenstein

[Cheryl B]

I don't know if you have ever seen the HAP PALMER tapes. Perhaps your library might have a copy of "Getting to Know Myself" or "Learning Basic Skills Through Music." One of those tapes has a music and movement song about opposites. Both tapes are wonderful.

We used to have backwards Day when everything we did for the day was in the opposite order INCLUDING NAP TIME so we had no sleep time but a quiet time instead that day.

We ate afternoon snack at breakfast and breakfast for the late afternoon snack. etc.

Everything out for the day was opposite. ie Puzzle table all the puzzle pieces were already out and had to be placed in first.

Our craft depending on the time of year was always the same idea but a different picture. ie Now we would do a butterfly puppet. Opposite day the teacher would already have precut (PLAIN) yellow or whatever colour felt into a butterfly shape 2 per child. Small holes punched at the edge for young children no holes for older children. Adult sews them together and lays out
different items on top of the butterfly to simulate a finished product. HA! HA! Now each child takes apart the sequences or bead whatever. Places them in their proper bowls. Next the stitching is pulled out and the two pieces are separated and put wherever felt pieces are kept.

The next day you start over choosing the felt etc. and doing the sewing part themselves. I use toothpick wrapped with tape for children 18 mos. sewing, blunt plastic needles for 2 1/2 year olds and the real thing for 3 1/2 and up.

This is also a good time to introduce left and right for the preschool child. Another Hap Palmer song is Left and Right. Day one place the same sticker, a stamp or a letter R. on everbody's right had. Play a game no matter what you say always use something like "Let's wave our right hand"... Now wave with the opposite hand. Don't say left today opposite day is confusing enough.

Try to alway start everything even for left handed children with the RIGHT HAND, Right Foot, Move the the right. etc. Then do the opposite like the song suggests.

I hope this can be of some help. Working with children for some many years you sometimes get into a rut. This is one rut I enjoy as much as the children.