The Theme:  A bedtime story with an underlying theme of finding out who you are with the help of your family  Sub-theme:  Taking risk and exploring new places to discover the world “One does not discover new lands without losing sight of the shore.”

Goodnight Gecko Goals:  To heighten children’s awareness of rhyme schemes, sequencing events, and to learn facts about geckos.  New Vocabulary to Introduce:  Gecko  Flutter  Fragrant  Dew  Silver  Chirp  Frolic  Chuckled

Goodnight Gecko Blocks  Add pictures with words to blocks relevant to story theme:  Tropical flowers  Animals found in story  Moons and stars  Ocean  Palm trees  Add figures to blocks relevant to story:  Geckos  Cats  Frogs  Parrots  Tropical fish  Insects  Palms

Goodnight Gecko Dramatic Play  Hawaiian Themes in Dramatic Play  Hawaiian Shirts/Clothing/Leis  Snorkel  Babies  Straw Hut Props  Tropical Play Food: Pineapples, Coconuts, Bananas  Hibiscus Flowers and Palm Fronds (All items are clearly labeled with words and picture to promote literacy)

Goodnight Gecko Toys and Games  Gecko Egg & Spoon Races  Snails Pace Race Board Game  Hide the Gecko with a Stuffed Gecko  Directional Words Skill Builder (Over, Under, etc.)  Leap Frog (Leap Gecko)  Tropical Animal Bingo (words and pictures included focusing on vocabulary)  Rhyming Words Dioramas

Goodnight Gecko Art  Hawaiian-style fabric prints  Painting with fabric tropical flowers  Tissue paper tropical flowers  Gecko footprint painting  Painting with marbles (spider webs)  Fruit Loop leis

Goodnight Gecko Library  To Supplement the Night/Tropical Theme:  Goodnight Moon  A Color of His Own  Rainbow Fish  Informational Books on Geckos  Hawaiian Travel Brochures  Word Wall  Felt Board with sequencing cards

Goodnight Gecko Discovery  Field Trip to “Curious Creatures”  Insect Sorting  Exploring Tropical Shells  Comparing eggs of different creatures  Maps of tropical islands made available

Goodnight Gecko Sand & Water  Sand  Shells  Geckos  Beach Toys  Eggs  Water  Tropical Fish  Fishing Poles  Tropical Water Plants  Shells

Goodnight Gecko Music and Movement  “Sleeping Geckos” Transition Activity  5 Little Mice Finger Play  “All the Children…” Animal Movement  Animal Noise Identification

Goodnight Gecko Cooking  Hawaiian Shaved Ice  Tropical Fruit Smoothies  Lizard Lick Popsicles  Night Sky Playdough  Green Pudding  Gold Fish on Blue Cream Cheese with Sand Graham crackers All recipes are written on chart paper with step by step directions for the children to follow.

Goodnight Gecko Computers  Slide Show of Animals seen in book and tropical locations  Observing Aquarium Screen Saver  “Read With Me E- Books”  Creating a book using scanned images of children’s work

Goodnight Gecko Outdoors  Gecko Freeze Tag (name an animal to unfreeze)  “Don’t touch the ground” Island hop obstacle course with individual maps for children to follow  Field Trip to the Beach  Nature walk to find what is in our environment, “draw-what-you-see” observations sheets  Ravenswood Salamander Hunt (or a trip to room 12)

Goodnight Gecko Family  Field Trip to Curious Creatures  Field Trip to Beach or Ravenswood Park  Family Picnic with Tropical Foods  Share your favorite bedtime story/ritual and create a class book.