Getting Dressed for Winter

This morning the kids started their day playing Go Fish with a deck of cards. They practiced asking each other for specific cards and had to go around the circle and take turns. During morning circle we practiced the days of the week and months of the year. We continued our ABB pattern. We also reviewed the Sounds Around Town. After reviewing all the sounds the kids each had a turn pulling a mystery letter out of the box. They identified the letter name, sound and then thought of a letter that started with that same sound. At the end of circle time we thought of as many words that rhymed with cat. Hat, bat, sat, rat, fat, mat, pat, and nat all rhyme with cat!

Our story today was "The Jacket I Wear in the Snow" by Shirley Neitzel. The story describes a little girl getting all bundled up to go play outside in the snow. The story had lots of great rhyming words to describe her winter clothes. After reading the story the kids practiced using ordinal numbers to describe how to get dressed or undressed.

For art today we made patterned scarves. The kids first identified the pattern they wanted to make...ABAB, AABAAB, ABBABB, AABBAABB, or ABCABC. Once they selected a pattern they choose circles, triangles or squares to represent the A, B, or C in their pattern. The last step was gluing the shapes in the correct order onto their scarf. The kids worked very hard and the scarves turned out great!

For writing today we reviewed letters that the kids were having difficulty forming correctly. We also wrote in our journals and practiced writing sight words. After eating lunch we sang some winter songs. I hope everyone enjoys their long weekend...see you on Tuesday!

One Mittens

Today it definitely felt like winter outside! During our morning circle the kids talked about the days of the week and months of the year. We also described the different seasons. Right now it is winter! It is cold outside and there are no leaves on the trees.

Our story today was "One Mitten" by Kristine O'Connell George. In the story the little girl has one bright yellow mitten. She waved with her mitten, gave high fives with her mitten and even pet her cat with her mitten. While petting her cat she saw something bright and yellow under the cats belly...it was her other mitten! With two mittens she could clap and cover her eyes. At the end of the story she goes outside to play with a friend in the snow. After reading the story the kids helped decide what special clothes to put on Froggy in our classroom. We listed the different winter clothes and described where the clothes go on Froggy's body. A hat goes on our head, mittens go on our hands and pants go on our legs. Now Froggy is all dressed and ready for the winter weather!

Today we started music class with Ms. Gretchen! We started class singing the Hello Song and shaking egg shakers. Then we sang the Hokey Pokey. Next was thee Boom Boom song and the kids used boom boom sticks to make noise on the ground. We also sang the Stand Up song and the kids followed directions on when to stand up based on colors they were wearing. The kids loved the Here We Go Round song with the parachute! It was great for following directions and having fun. At the end of class we sang the Goodbye song and learned sign language for music and thank you. The kids were so excited to start music again! 

For science we experimented with ice. First we made prediction if ice would melt faster in our hands or in our mittens. Then we handed out mittens or gloves to some of the friends in the class. Everyone held the ice in their hand or their mitten. The ice started to melt very fast in our hands and made a puddle on the table. The ice in the mitten started to melt very slowly. We learned that our hands are very warm and help the ice melt faster. When we wear gloves it helps protect the ice from our warm hands. So....its important to wear gloves or mitten when playing in the snow or building a snowman for 2 reasons: to keep your hands warm and to not melt the snow.

We ended the day with lunch and some songs. The kids have started to really like the "Peanut Butter" song! See everyone tomorrow.

Red is Best

Today we learned a lot about colors...especially RED! This morning their were colored blocks and bears in the pool. We sorted the objects by kind, size and color. During our morning circle we practiced reading the day of the week and months of the year in random order. We also practiced identifying the 1st, 2nd and 3rd day or month.

Our story was "Red is Best" by Kathy Stinson. Kelly's mom doesn't understand about red. Sure, the brown mittens are warmer, but the red mitts make better snowballs. And the red boots aren't just for rain; they take bigger steps in any weather. And, yes, a red cup does make a difference... juice just doesn't taste as good in a green one. No doubt about it, red is best. After reading the story the kids listed things that are red. We had at least 20 different items...fire truck, tomato, stop sign, flowers and hearts. 

For art today we made a pair of red mitten. To have a pair we need two mittens. The kids colored the mittens red and decorated the cuff of the mittens. Then they added a string to hold the mittens together. The last special touch was some red star stickers to add to the mittens. We ended the day singing songs about the color red and practiced spelling R-E-D.

Winter Clothes

This morning we searched for different colored snowflakes in the touch and feel pool. Some were soft and others were sparkly. During morning circle we talked about the calendar and practiced putting the months in the correct order. We also practiced counting how many days are in January. We went on a quick walk to get some fresh air before working with Ms. Michelle.

Today we pretended it was a winter wonderland with Ms. Michelle. First the kids went sledding. One friend pulled the other on a sled. Then they slid down a ramp. Next one friend pulled another on a scooter. At then end they had to help build the class igloo. The kids loved sledding...they were laughing and screaming the whole time! At the end the kids helped Ms. Michelle make snow. She had lots of different objects hidden in the snow and the kids had to find them. They searched for hearts, stars, letters and rings.

Our story today was "Froggy Gets Dressed" by Jonathan London. In the story Froggy wants to go outside and play. He gets dressed and then realized he forgot his pants. So he goes inside, puts on his pants and other winter clothes and went back outside. Then he remembered he forgot his shirt and jacket. He had to go back inside to put on his shirt and jacket. When he got back outside his mom tells him he is still forgetting something...his underwear! By the time he gets back inside to get dressed again he is so tired he goes back to bed. After reading the story we listed all the different clothes we wear in the winter. Using a picture of a person we labeled where we wear each clothing item and why we were it when it is cold.

For art today we made winter hats. First the kids colored their hat. Then they added cotton balls at the top or at the bottom. The kids each selected three snowflakes to glue onto their winter hats. The kids were pretending to wear them around the classroom to keep their heads warm. After eating lunch the kids sang Happy Birthday to Selwyn. We ended the day singing some of our favorite songs. 

Winter Mittens

This morning during morning circle we started talking about winter clothes. We discussed the calendar and continued our ABB pattern. The kids read their everyday words. Next we practiced the Sounds Around Town. The kids reviewed the sound brothers and cousins. We introduced vowels and talked about how important they are in words....they are the glue that holds the letters together.

Our story today was "The Blue Mittens" by Rachel Mann. In the story a little girl names Leah was celebrating her birthday. She shared the same birthday with her dad and every year they made a cake together. She wrote her Grandma Rose a letter asking what else her dad liked to do when he was little. Grandma Rose sent Leah a package with blue mittens and said her dad liked to play in the story. A few days later after a snowy night Leah asked her dad to build a snowman. Then the door bell rang...it was Grandma Rose with green mittens for her dad. After reading the story the kids recalled the important events from the beginning, middle and end of the story. We also compared mittens and gloves and share how they are the same or different.

For art today the kids made spray paint mittens. First we picked four different colors and mixed it with water and salt in a spray bottle. Then the kids used all four colors to spray their mittens. When they dried the kids mittens were all different colors.

For writing today we reviewed letters A-G, wrote in our journals and practicing writing sight words. We were so busy the kids had to hurry up and eat lunch so we could head home.