Letter Jj

Celebrate the letter J by trying this rhyme with children:

Have you ever jiggled jello,

Or had jam on your toast?

Have you filled a jar with jellybeans,

Then ate those you liked most?

Have you ever heard a jolly joke,

Or jumped for joy one day?

If you have, you can be sure

You’ve met Letter J!

Susan LaBella

THE JAZZY JUNGLE Read to children Rumble in the Jungle by Giles Andreae. Let children choose a favorite jungle animal to draw. Place pictures around the room. Then give each child two toilet paper rolls taped together side by side to create “binoculars.” Let children go on a jungle safari to “find” all the animals.

GET JIGGY WITH JIGSAW PUZZLES Cut apart the front side of a cereal box. Make your cuts resemble the pieces of a puzzle. (Cut the box into four to eight pieces, depending on your children’s abilities and ages.) Mix up the pieces and store them in plastic baggies for children to assemble.

JELLYROLL-L-L-L Give each child a piece of bread with the crusts cut off. Help children use a rolling pin to gently roll their slices. Next let children spread a favorite kind of jelly or jam onto the bread. Help students roll their slices to make jellyrolls. Eat and enjoy!

JARS, AND MORE JARS Bring in a selection of different sized jars with lids. Put the lids in an envelope. — Let children work to match each lid to its jar. — Write a number on the inside of each lid. Let children drop that number of jellybeans into the jar. — Let children arrange the jars by size — smallest to largest or largest to smallest.

GOING ON A “J” TRIP Tell children they are going on a make-believe trip to places whose names begin with the letter J — Jacksonville, Florida; Japan; Jamaica; and so on. Provide a map to locate each place. Take a pretend airplane ride there, then — sample food from the area; — find out about a special sight or building located there; or — learn about the type of work people do there. Follow up by providing picture books about each area for children to view.

MORE “J STUFF” — Play a guessing game. Say for example: “I am thinking of something whose name begins with J. It is a sweet spread.” Let children guess for J words. — Cut Js out of poster board. Let children make J jewelry by gluing sequins and plastic jewels onto their letters. Display their creations. — Invite children to jog and jump around a pre-set course that includes hula hoops placed on the floor, jump ropes laid flat on the floor, and other simple obstacles.

YOUR WORD CORNER Here are some words you will need.

See them, say them … hey, you can read!!

jump just jelly

Write the words on a chart and review them. Then read aloud each sentence that appears below. Try each word in each sentence. Let children tell you which word fits.
1. How high can you ___________?

2. I love grape _____________.

3. I ________ dropped the ball.