| The Original Letter People
This article is about the original 1969 - 1996 Letter People
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Planning and Preparation:
Huggable, Mr. M; Record #1 and #4; the storybook, "Meet Me At The Market"; Alpha Time Master #3; paper circles or squares; a variety of art materials for making munching medals including pieces of string.
Remembering Mr. M[]
Play Mr. M's song and encourage the children to join in.
(Tony), (Alice), (Charles) please give Mr. M a hug. Tell him that you remember his name.
Mr. M would like to whisper in your ears to show hat he remembers your names too.
Have the children sing "How Do You Do" to Mr. M again.
(Johnny), ask Mr. M if he liked the way we sang. (Johnny may say no. Accept any answer- since the objective is to encourage him to talk freely.)
Introducing Mr. M's Munching Mouth[]
Gather the children around you so that they may easily see the pictures as you read Mr. M's storybook, "Meet Me At The Market." The recording of this story may be played as you or a child turn the pages of the book. Encourage the children to discuss Mr. M's story.
Where does Mr. M shop? (at the market)
On what day of the week does Mr. M love to shop? (Monday)
What are some of the things Mr. M munched at in the market? (marshmallows, macaroni)
Why was the manager happy when Mr. M first came to his market? (He wanted Mr. M to buy many things.)
Why did he change his mind?
How did the manager feel about Mr. M at the end of the story? (He liked him.)
What would you do if you met Mr. M in the supermarket?
Show Mr. M which picture in the book you liked best, and tell him about it.
Sing the Munching Mouth Song with the children to the tune of Old MacDonald. Have the children form a circle around Mr. M. Let them skip and dance around him while they sing.
Mr. M has a munching mouth-
Munch, munch, munch, munch, munch!
In his mouth he puts some foods-
Foods he likes to munch.
With a munch, munch here,
And a munch, munch there...
Here a munch, there a munch-
Everywhere a munch, munch!
Mr. M has a munching mouth-
Munch, munch, munch, munch, munch!
Talking About Things That May Or May Not Be Put In The Mouth:
Repeat the song, each time naming a different for for Mr. M to munch. Discuss with the children which things are safe and unsafe to put in their mouth.
What are some things you like to put in your mouth?
What are some things you don't like to put in your mouth?
Why aren't all things that taste good, safe to put in your mouth?
Point out that many medicines taste like candy, but are not candy.
Why aren't sharp things good to put in your mouth?
What is the best thing to do when you are not sure whether or not something is safe to put in your mouth?
Let the children make Munching Medals. Using small construction paper squares or circles as bases, they may look for pictures of food which may be cut out and pasted on them; or, they may draw pictures of Mr. M's Munching Mouth on their medals and decorate them with pipe cleaners, bits of foil, or pieces of uncooked macaroni.
When the Munching Medals are finished, the children may punch holes in them and attach them with pieces of string so that they may wear the medals around their necks.
Tying It Together[]
File:Alpha Master 3.pngGive each child a copy of Alpha Time Master #3. Tell the children that Mr. M is still not sure about which things are safe for him to put in his mouth. They are going to help Mr. M by telling him which things are safe for him to eat and which things are not.
If one of the local druggists would supply poison labels for the class, the children might paste these on the items in the picture that are not safe to be eaten.
On Their Own[]
- Hearing the recorded story, Meet Me At The Market as they "read along" in the book.
- Looking at the pictures in the storybook, Meet Me At The Market, and retelling the story to each other. (If a tape recorder is available, the children may tape the story that goes with each picture as they turn the pages.)
- Using Alpha Time Master #3, the children may check all the foods that may be munched and cross out all those that may not be munched.
- Making charts or scrapbooks of different foods. Separate pages may be reserved for special categories (ex., breakfast foods, dinner foods, vegetables, meats, cereals, desserts).