Time to decorate the Tree

This morning the kids sorted different colored objects into piles. There were pom-poms, straws, cut out shapes, and beads. During morning circle we talked about the calendar. We also made a graph of different ornaments. The kids looked at the pictures of balls, candy canes and stars. We graphed how many of each ornament were on the tree. We used most and least to describe the ornaments on our graph.

Then we practiced our Sounds Around Town. The kids pulled a mystery sound from box and made words by added the letter to the beginning of an.

Our story today was "A Wish to be a Christmas Tree" by Colleen Monroe. An overgrown pine tree is always passed by for Christmas, so his forest friends help him. The birds, deer and squirrel  help make their special tree friend's wish come true by decorating him for the holiday. After reading the story the kids answered -wh questions about the story.

For art today the kids made a Christmas tree. First they painted the different parts of the tree green. Then they put them in order from biggest to smallest and glued them on their papers. The last step was to decorate the trees with different ornaments.

For writing today the kids wrote in the journals and practiced writing sight words. Then it was time for lunch. Before packing up we practiced our holiday songs and our holiday show. We will hand out parts for the kids tomorrow!

Candy Cane surprises!

This morning the kids worked on things that go together and opposite puzzles. They found the picture pairs and checked to see if they were right by putting the puzzle together. If the pieces fit they they answered correctly, if they didn't fit they tried again.

During morning circle we talked about the calendar and continued our AABB pattern. We practiced Sounds Around Town. The kids learned a new sound cousins...the nose sounds. Theses sounds (m, n, and ng) make our nose vibrate. Then we built words that rhymed with -in. The kids pulled a letter from the mystery box. They put it on the felt square and sounded out the word. We sounded out bin, pin, tin, chin, shin, and fin.

For writing centers today the kids practiced writing the letter M, wrote in their journal, practiced making capital letters with magnetic strips and wrote sight words. 

Our story today was "The Longest Christmas List Ever" by Gregg Spiridellis. The story was about a little boy who was determined not to leave anything off his Christmas list. He carries his list with him wherever he went... for an entire year. At the end of the story he realized there was only one thing he really wanted. After reading the story the kids shared toy they want for Christmas. We also listened to and practiced our show Brown Reindeer, Brown Reindeer and our holiday songs.

 

For science today we had a candy cane experiment. We made observations about different candy canes. We recorded how they look, smelled, and how we thought they were going to taste. After making our predictions we opened up the candy canes and tasted them to see if our predictions were correct. We tasted peppermint, cherry, watermelon, orange, pineapple, and raspberry cane canes! It was so much fun!

After eating lunch we practice our songs one more time before packing up to go home. This week sure did fly by!

Building a Present...

Today we had letters and numbers in the touch and feel pool. The kids asked each other to find a letter in the pool. They also spelled their names. During morning circle we practiced our songs for the holiday performance.

 

Our story today was "How Santa Got His Job" by Stephen Krensky. When Santa was young and needed a job, no one was looking for a man in a red suit to deliver gifts on Christmas. So Santa tried just about everything -- from a chimney sweep to a postman to a circus performer. But none of these worked out. It wasn't until he met a group of elves who helped him use all his special talents, that Santa was able to find his dream job. After reading the story we described Santa's, the elves' and the reindeer's jobs. 

For art we pretended we were elves and made a picture frame to take home. The kids picked different colors popcicle sticks. We made a square and glued them together at the corners. Then to decorate the frames the kids added four buttons on the four corners. We told them they could add a picture when they get home or add a ribbon and make it an ornament.

After eating lunch we read our story for our holiday show, "Brown Reindeer, Brown Reindeer." We send home a copy with everyone so they can read it at home. The book is in black and white so the kids can listen to the story and color the pictures the correct color. We will select parts for the kids at the beginning of next week.

Mailing our Letters!

This morning there were packaging peanuts in the touch and feel pool. We use them when we mail something that can break in a package. During morning circle we talked more about the calendar and the month of December. We started practicing the songs we will sing during our holiday performance.

Ms. Abby came today and we worked on running and hitting a ball with a bat. First the kids had race relays. They had to pick a ball and run it over to a circle..then they ran back to pick up another ball and put it on a circle. It was fun cheering on everyone when they had a turn! Next the kids worked on hitting a ball off a tee and running the bases. They ran to first, second, third and then home plate. Next week will be Ms. Abby's last week until after the holidays.

Our story today was "Dear Santa" by Bill Harley. The book is a letters James Dobbins has written to Santa. He talked about things he would like for Christmas and he also explains why he got in trouble and that he is always trying to do better. We talked about how to write a letter with the kids. First you need to tell who the letter is for...Dear _____. Then in the middle you say why you are writing the letter....to say thank you, I miss you or hello. At the end of the letter you tell who it is from...Love, _____.

 For art the kids wrote and made a letter for Santa. Our letter started Dear Santa. Then they glued pictures of things they would like for Christmas. At the end of the letter the kids sighed it Love, _____. We had to fold the letters and put them into our red envelopes. Before mailing the letters we added a stamp.

Then we took a walk to the blue mailboxes on East Blvd. The kids each took a turn opening the mailbox and mailing their letter to Santa. On our walk back to school we even saw a mail man delivering mail!

We rushed back to school with just enough time to eat our lunch! It was a very busy day...but it was so much fun!

The Post Office

Today we talked about the post office and mail carriers. During our morning circle we discussed things we do in December. We also practiced reading the days of the week and the months of the year.

Ms. Michelle was so excited to hear about our wonderful Thanksgivings! She had the kids take off their shoes for our first activity. They crawled through a tunnel, jumped on bubble wrap and then jumped in and out of a circle...it was so much fun! Each time they had a turn they would do something different...they crawled on the bubble wrap and they crawled backwards through the tunnel. Next we worked our muscles with a special tension band. The class had to pull the band, push the band, move it up and move it down. For our finger fun today the kids made "turkey soup". They used a variety of tweezers, tongs and chopsticks to pick up the different ingredients.

Our story today was "Send It" by Don Carter. In the story a boy sends a package to a friend far away. It travels on a truck, ship, airplane, train and finally the mail truck. Then the mail man delivered the package to a boy. Inside the package was his birthday present! After reading the story we talked about things we find in our mailbox. We get letters, magazines, cards and packages. We also discussed the different ways mail can travel before being delivers...it can go by truck, train, ship and airplane.

For art we made a special gift and wrapped it up like a package so we could deliver it. First the kids used beads to make a bracelet. Once the bracelets were finished the kids used paper to wrap it  up into a package. We used tape to make sure the package was sealed tight. Then they had to address the package so we knew who it was for. They couldn't wait to deliver them at the end of the day.

Our Town

This morning the kids worked on lacing different shapes. They practiced weaving the yarn up and down through the holes or looping it around the holes. During morning circle we talked about the calendar and our new month...December! We also started a new AABB pattern with red stars and green hearts. The kids reviewed our Everyday Words.

 We also practiced Sounds Around Town. After practicing the sound brothers and wind cousins we made words that had -at at the end.

 

 Our story today was "On the Town" by Judith Caseley. Charlie's homework was to explore the people and places in his community. So he went on a walk with his mother to see what he would find. He saw his school, police officers, a fire station, restaurants, the library, a train station and many other wonderful places in the town. After reading the story we made a list of all the special places in our town.

For art today the kids made a community map. They first had to draw roads. Then they placed a police station, fire station, doctor office, dentist office and post office in their town. Then they could pick other places we talked about in our book to add to their map. It was wonderful to see the different places they added! 

During writing centers today we practiced writing our first and last name, writing the letter N, sight words on the iPad and hammering an outline of a house. The kids worked really hard at all the station. 

It was a great first day back at school after Thanksgiving break. The kids were so excited to see each other and they all did a great job listening to directions and engaging in all our fun activities.