Preschool Theme St Andrews Day

Preschool Lesson Plan

St Andrews Day

St Andrew's Day is celebrated in Scotland on the 30th November. As well as Scotland, Romania, Greece and Russia all have St Andrew as their patron saint.

St Andrew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples and he lived and worked as a fisherman in Galilee. He was the brother of Peter, another of Christ's disciples.

In the early days of Christianity it was very important that the bones of saints, and some of their other articles, should be preserved. This helped people to understand that Saints were real people. These objects were known as relics and often the relics of the saints would be split up and parts given to different churches.

One legend says that a man who later became St. Regulus (or Rule) carried the bones of St. Andrew to Scotland. His ship was wrecked on the Fife coast, and the spot at which the ship landed became the site of the town of St. Andrews. A cathedral was built there which was started in 1160 and took 158 years to build (the ruins can still be seen today) and the town became an important site of Christian pilgrimage.
Another legend has it that two monks from the North of England went to Rome and brought back the relics of St. Andrew. One of the monks passed the relics on to the reigning king in Scotland at the time - Angus McFergus who became king in 731.

Again there are different legends surrounding the use of the Saltire as Scotland's flag. Some people say that Angus dreamt one night that St. Andrew appeared to him and promised him a great victory. Angus was about to fight a battle with another king from the North of England, and this dream made him believe that the Scots would win. On the day of the battle a white cross appeared in the sky and Angus did win - this is why the flag of Scotland is sky blue with a white cross. The battle was at a place called Athelstaneford in the year 831.

The other version says that Angus was walking with some friends when St. Andrew appeared to him and told him that when he marched against his enemies he would see the white cross. So Angus had banners made for his soldiers to carry to battle with the white cross on them.

One of the first times that Andrew is recognised officially as the patron saint of Scotland was at the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320. This was a declaration signed by many of the Scottish noblemen, as well as Robert the Bruce, asserting Scotland's independence from England.

St Andrew's relics disappeared during the Reformation of the Scottish churches, when the Protestant Church came into being and broke away from the Roman Catholic church. Now there are few relics of Andrew in Scotland. A fragment is in St. Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh.

Source: The City of Edinburgh

Gross Motor:	Hammer Throw - you will need a small paper bag, newspaper, string. Stuff the paper bag with the newspaper. Tie it off with a 12" (30cm) long piece of string. Hold the end of the string. Spin around 3 times. Let go. Watch how far the hammer travels. Record the distance then see if you can make it go further than the last throw. Shotput - make a ball out of aluminum foil. Hold the ball in the palm of one hand. Place that hand next to your ear. Push the shot into the air extending your arms. Do not move your feet. Record the distance then see if you can make it go further than the last put.
Fine Motor:	Scottish Flag worksheet.
Visual Perception:	Do you have a globe? (If not here's a World Map). Show your child where Scotland is compared to where you live. Compare big countries and small countries.
Language:	Have a Scottish Dinner (no you don't have to eat haggis if you don't want to but we think it's quite tasty). St Andrew was a fisherman so you can have a fish dinner. It used to be traditional to have a singed sheep's head! Before you eat have a toast to Scotland: "To the memory of St Andrew and Scotland yet!" Talk about where Scotland is and how far it is from where you live.
Suggested reading:	Festivals in Scotland	Always Room for One More	One Fine Day

My Bonny Lies Over The Ocean

Preschool Theme

My bonny lies over the ocean
My bonny lies over the sea
My bonny lies over the ocean
Oh bring back my bonny to me.

Bring back, bring back,
Oh bring back my bonny to me, to me.
Bring back, bring back,
Oh bring back my bonny to me.

You and your child put your thumbs up in front of you. As you sing, you should reverse the direction of your thumbs on each word that begins with B. So:

(Thumbs up)
My bonny (thumbs down) lies over the ocean
My bonny (thumbs up) lies over the sea
My bonny (thumbs down) lies over the ocean
Oh bring (thumbs up) back (thumbs down) my bonny (thumbs up) to me.

When using the St Andrews worksheets make sure your child uses the correct:

Scissor Control
Did he or she manage the Visual Perception task?

To learn how to teach these skills correctly, improve your child's abilities and help prepare your child for school use the Get Ready For School program.

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