Preschool Express by Jean Warren

THE NUMBER THREE

ART

TOOTHPICK TRIANGLES

	Set out plain toothpicks, some paper and glue.
	Show your child how to make a triangle by gluing three toothpicks together on a piece of paper
	Let your child make multiple triangles on his paper.

THREE COLOR CRAYONS
	Let your child choose three crayons.
	Then tape the three crayons together into one large crayon.
	Give your child some paper and let her make a design on her paper using her three-colored crayon.

SHAMROCK PUPPETS

	Give your child three small green hearts. These can be cut paper or stickers.
	Give your child a large craft stick and have him position the three hearts on the stick to resemble a three-leafed clover or shamrock.
	Have children hold up their stick puppets while you all sing the following song to the tune of “Pop Goes The Weasel”
	I have a pretty shamrock. It has big, green leaves. I can count them all for you – One, two, three! Jean Warren

BRAIDING

	Take some thick yarn and cut it into three 20 inch lengths.
	Tie the three lengths together at the top.
	Lay the yarn on a table and set something heavy on the knotted end, to hold it in place.
	Show your children how to cross the outside yarn pieces over the middle yarn piece, back and forth, to braid the three yarn pieces.
Variation: You can also use three large chenille stems twisted together at the top.

THREE CORNERED HATS

	Cut out 12” x 2” strips of construction paper.
	Let your children choose three strips and decorate them however, they wish.
	Then help them to staple the three strips together into a triangle hat.

THREE COLOR PAINTINGS

	Let you child choose three colors of paints.
	Set out painting paper on an easel (if possible) and let your child create a three colored masterpiece.

THREE SHAPES ART

	Set out small cut paper circles, rectangles, squares and triangles.
	Let your child choose three of each shape.
	Then set out pieces of construction paper and some glue.
	Let your child make a shape picture using his shapes.

THREE OBJECTS ART

	Give your child some old magazines and have her search for three of the same kind of things. Such as, three dogs, three cars, etc.
	Then have her cut or tear out the three pictures.
	Let your child glue the three objects on a piece of paper.
	Then using crayons or markers, complete a picture featuring the three objects.

GAMES

SORTING BY THREES

	Give your child 15 poker chips, leaves (or other small safe objects).
	Have him sort the objects into piles of three.

TEA FOR THREEE

	Set up a small tea party of three, using stuffed animals as the partygoers.
	Let your child set the table and divide up the food for the group.
	Have available –three plates, three spoons, three napkins, three cups, three (pretend) cookies.

THREE PIECE PUZZLES

	Look for commercial three piece puzzles for your children or you can make your own.
	Take large index cards and draw or paste a picture on it.
	Then cut the cards into three pieces.
	Store the pieces in a small zip-lock bag.
	Let your child choose a bag and complete the puzzle inside.

THREE PATTERNING
You will need colored markers cut from heavy paper or poker chips for this activity.

	Create a string of chips in groups of three. Such as, three red ones, then three blue ones, then three red ones, etc.
	Give your child some markers and let them try to repeat your design.

THREE CARDS

	Set out a deck of cards.
	Have your child search for the 3 cards.

THREE SNOWMEN

	Cut three large circles, three medium circles and three small circles out of white felt.
	Mix them up and place them on a felt board.
	Let your children take turns sorting the circles by size.
	Finally, let them use the circles to make three snowmen.

SCIENCE

TRICYCLES Bring in a tricycle and discuss it with your child.
	How is it like a bike? How is it different? (A tricycle has three wheels)
	Bikes with three wheels are easier to ride. The extra wheel helps to balance the bike.

A TRIANGLE (the Instrument)

	Hold up a triangle. Show your child how to play the instrument by striking one of its sides.
	Ask your child to tell you how many sides it has.

YARDSTICKS

	Give your child a yardstick.
	Tell him that a yardstick is three feet long.
	Let him use the yardstick to look for objects around your house that are three feet tall.
Variation: Set out a ruler. Tell your child that a ruler is one foot long, then show him that the yardstick is as long as three rulers.

THREE YEARS OLD

	Go on a hunt for anyone who is three years old.
	How many candles did they have on their last birthday cake?
	Let your child make a small play dough birthday cake and add three small candles on top to give to the three year old.

LANGUAGE

STORYTIME
There are many, many wonderful stories based around three characters that you can read to your children.

Three Little Kittens	Three Billy Goats Gruff
Three Little Pigs	Three Bears

THREE WISHES
Read one of the many versions of the folktale where someone is rescued and they grant the rescuer Three Wishes.

	Make up your own version of the story and include your child in the part as the rescuer.
	Have your child tell you what three things he would wish for.

WORD SYLLABLES

	Show your child how words can be broken into one, two, three or more syllables by clapping out the different sounds in a number of words.
	Next, have your child say a word and clap out the sound.
	How many words can you find that have three syllables?
	Examples of three syllable words. Kangaroo, marshmallows, strawberry, banana, cranberry, Library, etc.

THREE LETTER WORDS

	Have your children help you find three letter words.
	Write the words on a chart.
	Go through the chart everyday, repeating the words and adding new ones.

WRITING

GLUING THREES

	Draw a large number three on a large index card.
	Then give the card and some glue to your child.
	Have your child put glue along the lines of the three.
	Next, give your child a piece of yarn and have them lay the yarn over the written numeral to create a yarn three.
	Cut off any excess yarn at the end of the three.

FINGER TRACING
When your child is first learning how to write the letter three, you can help her by providing tactile tracing opportunities for feeling the curves of the letter.

	Take a large index card and draw on a large letter three.
	Next, cover the front of the card with netting. (You can staple the netting around the edges, or you can fold the netting around the card and tape the netting on the back side of the card.
	Show your child how to trace their finger along the lines of the three.

SNACKS

NUMBER THREE SNACKS
Here are some suggestions for snacks when introducing the number three.

	Three-decker sandwiches
	Crackers with cream cheese and three raisins on top.
	Ants on a Log – Spray cheese on a section of celery, with three raisins on top.
	Toothpick Kabobs – with three small items, such as, cheese cubes, olives, pickles, etc.

MUSIC

THREE LITTLE WORDS
I have a little valentine
It’s red and pink and blue.
It says three little words –
“I Love You!”
Jean Warren
© Warren Publishing

THREE LITTLE KITTENS
Three little kittens, they lost their mittens,
And they began to cry, “Oh Mother dear,
We sadly fear our mittens we have lost!”

“What? Lost your mittens? You naughty kittens.
Then you shall have no pie.
Meow, meow, meow! No, you shall have no pie!”

The three little kittens, they found their mittens,
And they began to cry, “Oh, Mother dear,
Se here, see here, our mittens we have found!”

“What? Found your mittens? You good little kittens.
Then you shall have some pie.
Meow, meow, meow! Yes, you may have some pie!”

Adapted Traditional

COUNTING THREE
Here is a fun rhyme to use with a flannel board and three identical seasonal cutouts.

Here is a ______.
And here is a ______.
And another ______ I see.
Shall we count them?
Are you ready?
One, two, three!

Traditional

THREE BIG CARROTS
Tune: “Clementine”

Three big carrots,
Three big carrots;
Oh, what do carrots make?
I will use one yummy carrot
And I will make a carrot cake!

Two big carrots,
Two big carrots;
Just watch my carrot tricks.
Now, I will chop and chop and chop one
And I’ll make some carrot sticks.

One last carrot,
One last carrot;
All alone here in the sink.
I will blend this one last carrot
And I’ll make a carrot drink.
Jean Warren
© Warren Publishing

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