Monday, December 19

Group Meeting:  The Gift of Kindness for today was to ask someone what they would like for Christmas.  We are practicing the skill of listening to an answer after asking a question.  

We spent a lot of time getting ready for our program.  We wrapped gifts and sang our songs one more time.  This took most of our time, but we still had time to play and do our math journals.

Snack:  The snack for today was white cheddar rice cakes, juice and water.

School will start at the regular time tomorrow.  After dropping off your child, you may go to Great Hall to wait or come back at the program time.  The program is not long, so you'll want to be on time.

Morning Class Program:  9:00

Afternoon Class Program:  1:00

Everyone is welcome to attend!

Thursday, December 15

Group Meeting:  The Gift of Kindness for today was to make a snack with a friend.  Today was Birthday Day, but we did not have a birthday in either class.  We still did a cooking activity.

Story:  We were a little pressed for time in the morning class, so we watched a quick story video called Santa's Dog.  In the afternoon class, the children did a yoga story in which they acted out going to Santa's house at the North Pole.

Small Groups:  The children made banana muffins.  Each child was assigned a job such as mashing bananas, cracking an egg, pouring or mixing.  After the muffins had cooled, we turned them into Santa by putting whipped cream on top, adding a strawberry hat, and chocolate chip eyes and nose.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Z.  We have now completed the alphabet for the first time.  After the break, we will start again!

Snack:  The children enjoyed their banana muffin Santa's with milk, water, and birthday brownies.

 

Wednesday, December 14

Group Meeting:  The Gift of Kindness for today was to play with a playtime buddy for 10 minutes.  A playtime buddy is someone that is randomly chosen to be your playmate for the beginning of play time.  Once 10 minutes is over, the children can choose to stay with that play mate or play with someone else.  This helps us make new friends and learn about the other children in the class.

Story:  The story for today was How Do Dinosaurs Say Merry Christmas? by Jane Yozen.  This book starts by showing dinosaurs that doing the wrong things at Christmas such as sneaking out of bed, licking the candy canes, opening the presents, etc.  Then, the dinosaurs show us the polite way such as decorating the tree, greeting grandparents, and waiting to open presents.

Small Groups:  The children worked on our secret surprise for the Christmas Program.

Large Group:  The children had a "dress rehearsal" for the program.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Y.

Snack:  The snack for today was Very Berry Cheerios, milk, and water.

Tuesday, December 13

Group Meeting:  The Gift of Kindness for today was to give a friend a hug.  We did this by listening to the song "Twinkle Friends".  In this song, we sing about friendship with a partner and give them a hug at the end.

Story:  The story for today was Tough Cookie by Edward Hemingway.  A gingerbread man has just been baked.  A fox catches him and bites him, but finds that he is hard and does not taste good.  The fox tries to help the gingerbread man become more sweet and learn to run faster, but nothing helps.  Ask your child to tell you why this gingerbread cookie is not good to eat. 

Small Groups:  The children played Gingerbread Bingo.  The bingo card was made up of gingerbread faces expressing different emotions.  When they matched all of the faces, they yelled "bingo".

Large Group:  The children played a movement game in which they had to act out various Christmas activities such as grow like a tree, laugh like Santa, prance like a reindeer, and run like a gingerbread man.

Letter Learning:  The letter for the day was X.

Snack:  The snack was Belly Bears, juice, and water.

Monday, December 12

Group Meeting:  The Gift of Kindness for today was to tell a grown-up thank you for something that they did for you.  First, we gave examples of who the grown-ups are in our lives.  Then, we thought of all of the things that they do for us every day.  We practiced saying things like "thank you for making my breakfast" and "thank you for helping me put on my shoes".  

Story:  The story for today was The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School by Laura Murray.  The children really liked the Gingerbread Man story that I read last week, so I read this version today.  In this story, a classroom of children have made a gingerbread man, but he doesn't run away.  Instead, the children run out to recess.  The Gingerbread Man thinks that they are leaving him behind.  He searches throughout the school for him.  Ask your child to tell you who helps him find his class.   We ate little Gingerbread cookies after the story.

Small Groups:  The children are working on a secret.  Sorry, I can't tell you about it now.

Large Group:  The children practiced the Christmas Program in the Great Hall.  We're getting better each time!

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was W.

Snack:  The snack for today was Life cereal, milk and water.

Thursday, December 8

Group Meeting:  The Gift of Kindness for today was to invite a friend to play with you.  We are encouraging the children to ask others to join them for play, especially if that child is wanting to join.  

Story:  The story for today was How to Catch a Reindeer by Alice Walstead.  This story is told by Comet, one of Santa's reindeer.  He tells of how on Christmas Eve children try to catch the reindeer with traps.  Fortunately, the reindeer are too smart and are able to fly away with Santa and his sleigh.

Let's Find Out:  Our magazine was about reindeer.  We watched a video with a large herd of reindeer.  We learned what they like to eat and how they find food in the winter when snow is covering the ground.  If you'd like more activities, go to letsfindout.com, login as a student, and use the password redeemer.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was V.

We went outdoors for play time today.  We will do this every Thursday unless it is raining, snowing, or is very cold.

Snack:  The snack for today was yogurt, juice and water.

Wednesday, December 7

Group Meeting:  The Gift of Kindness for today was to ask a classmate to sit by you.  I explained that it is kind to include everyone.  Asking someone to join you makes that person feel good.

Story:  The story for today was If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff.  This story is one in  a series that was started with If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.  The reader follows the series events that would happen if you took a mouse to see a movie.  He will want popcorn.  He will want to string it.  He will want to put it on a Christmas tree.  On the way to get the tree, he will want to build a snowman, etc. Ask your child to tell you how this story ends.

Small Groups:  The children used sparkly chenille stems, jingle bells and pony beads to make shakers for our Christmas program.  

Large Group:  The children learned another song for our Christmas program.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was N.

Snack:  The snack for today was peaches, milk, and water.

Tuesday, December 6

Group Meeting:  The Gift of Kindness for today was to help with clean up during meal time.  We discussed ways that we could help each other such as wipe up spills, pick up food that falls on the floor, and push in chairs in when taking plates up to the counter.

Story:  The story for today was The Elves and the Shoemaker retold by Freya Littledale.  A poor shoemaker has only enough leather to make one pair of shoes.  He cuts the leather and leaves it on the table overnight.  In the morning, he wakes to find that someone has finished the shoes for him.  This happens again and again.  Ask your child to tell you who is making these wonderful shoes for the shoemaker?  What does the shoemaker and his wife make as a way to say thank you?

Small Groups:  The children glued tissue paper onto green construction paper trees to make decorations for our classroom windows.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was M.

Large Group:  The children played "The Shoe Game".  This is a hide and seek game using our own shoes.  It is a great game to play to practice following the directions.

Snacks:  The snack was Wheat Thins, cheese slices, and water.

Monday, December 5

Group Meeting:  The Gift of Kindness for today was to draw a picture and put it in a classmate's cubbie.   Some children got through play time and realized that they had forgotten to do this.  I told them that they can do this any day which is true of all of our Gifts of Kindness.  We have been trying to notice the kind things that they are continuing to do for each other.

Story:  The story for today was The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy by Jan Thayer.  Petey is a puppy who wants a boy for Christmas.  His mother tries to find one for him but cannot find a boy that doesn't already have a dog.  Petey goes on a search to find a dog that might be willing to give his boy away.  Will Petey find a boy?  Ask your child to tell you.

Small Groups:  The children used Unifix cubes to measure some Christmas pictures.  For example, a peppermint candy was 2 cubes.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was A.

Large Group:  The children learned another song for our Christmas program.

Snack:  The snack for today was whole wheat waffles, cinnamon butter, milk and water.

Thursday, December 1

Group Meeting:  The Gift of Kindness for today was give a friend a compliment.  We had to define compliment, and I gave several examples.   We took turns giving a classmate a compliment.  It was so nice to hear things like, "I like your shirt", "I like to play with you", "You are funny", etc.  I hope that you receive a compliment from your child today.

Story:  The story for today was The Gingerbread Man retold by Jim Alyesworth.  This is the class tale of an old man and and old woman who decide to bake a gingerbread man.  The gingerbread man escapes from the oven.  They chase him down the road where he meets a butcher, cow and a pig.  Who will get to eat the gingerbread man?  Ask your child to tell you.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was K.

Large Group:  The children learned one of the songs for our Christmas program.

The children went to the Outdoor Classroom for play time.

Snack:  The morning snack was a choice of mandarin oranges or applesauce.  The afternoon snack was Teddy Grahams.  Both classes had milk and water.  As you can probably tell, we are trying to empty the cupboard before the new shipment of snacks arrive😊