2. 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.”

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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)

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

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

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

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

12. 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.

13. 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

14. 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)

15. 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.