Monday, February 6

Group Meeting:  The handshake for this week is the Fish Handshake.  Ask your child to show you how it's done.

Story:  The story for today was Hammer and Nails by Josh Bledsoe.  Darcy is disappointed after finding out that her playdate has been canceled.  Daddy offers to step in as a playmate, but Darcy has to agree to do some things that Daddy wants to do.  Darcy and Daddy take turns selecting activities.  Daddy dresses up in a tutu.  Darcy helps with the yard work.  Daddy teaches Darcy to hammer nails.  Darcy teaches Daddy to do something with another kind of nails.  Ask your child to tell you what it is.

Small Groups:  The children used tissue paper and heart shapes to create window decorations for Valentine's Day.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Pp.  The children did the Penguin Dance and traced and printed the letter Pp.

Study:  This week, we will be learning about wedges.  A wedge can hold something in place or separate something into separate pieces.  Ask your child to give you some examples.

Snack:  The snack for today was crackers, cheese sticks and water.

AM book: Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London brought by Isabel.

PM book:  Piggy Pie Po by Audrey and Don Wood brought by Mila.

We will start decorating Valentine boxes tomorrow.  If your child has not brought a box to school yet, please send it tomorrow.  If you need another set of directions, let me know, and I can email them to you.

Thursday, February 2

 My apologies for not posting for the past two days.  I was a little under the weather but returned to school today.

Group Meeting:  Today is Groundhogs Day.  Did the groundhog see his shadow?  It was a sunny day so we are guessing that he did.

Story:  The story for today was Groundhog Day Suit by Dee Smith.  A groundhog is in his burrow getting ready for Groundhogs Day.  He wants to look really good when he comes out of his hole.  He makes a spiffy shirt and decorates it with stars, swirls, and jewels.  He combs his hair and checks himself in the mirror.  Will he see his shadow?

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Oo.  We danced to the Octopus Dance and traced and printed the letter Oo.

Let's Find Out:  Our magazine was about groundhogs.  The video told us what groundhogs eat, where they live, and how they sound a warning when danger is near.  If you'd like more information, go to letsfindout.com, login as a student and use the password redeemer.

Snack:  The snack for today was wheat bread, turkey slices, milk and water.

AM book:  Frozen II by Disney brought by Jasleen

PM book:  The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle brought by Mya

Monday, January 30

Group Meeting:  The handshake for this week is the Butterfly Handshake.  Ask your child to show you how it's done.

Story:  The story for today was Drew the Screw by Mattia Cerato.  Drew is a screw that lives in the garage with the tools.  The tools are have a purpose.  They are working together to build something.  Ask your child to tell you what the tools are building and what Drew does to help.

Small Groups:  Each child was given a clump of clay.  They rolled it and flattened it into a circle.  They took screws of various sizes and lengths and pressed them into the clay to create impressions.  We will let the clay dry.  

Study:  The simple machine that we will be learning about this week is the screw.  I had several examples of screws including jar lids, a hose nozzle, nuts and bolts, and a light bulb.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Ll.  We danced to the "Lizard Dance and Freeze", traced and printed the letter Ll.

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

Wednesday, January 25

Group Meeting:  We discussed Grown-up Day which is tomorrow.  The children told who they would be bringing to school with them.

Story:  The story for today was Froggy's Lemonade Stand by Jonathan London.   Froggy has an idea.  He will make a lemonade stand and make money.  He makes lemonade with lemons, sugar, ice, and water.  While he waits for a customer, Froggy gets hot.  He starts to drink the lemonade.  When his friends arrive to buy lemonade, he has none.  Ask your child to tell you how they come together to make more lemonade.  This book was chosen for the story today because we will be using levers to make lemonade.

Study:  The children used citrus squeezers to squeeze the juice out of four lemons.  We mixed the lemon juice with one cup of sugar, and 2 quarts of water.  We put it in the refrigerator to cool and enjoyed it after our snack.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Jj.  We danced to Koo Koo Kangaroo's "It's My Jam", traced and printed the letter Jj.

Large Group:  The children learned to run a relay race.  We used tongs (levers) to hold  puff balls and take them back and forth across the room.  They learned to wait a turn and to go to the end of the line when their turn was over.

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

AM book:  Tangled by Disney brought by Theo

PM book:  Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss brought by LeRoy.

Tuesday, January 24

Group Meeting:  We started a new round of Show and Tell today.  The King or Queen of the day is invited to bring their favorite book to school.  They will tell us why the book is their favorite.  I will read the book at Snack Time while the children are eating.  I will share the title of the book at the bottom of the blog. The Kings and Queens are chosen by random using name cards that are drawn from the previous King or Queen.

Story:  The story for today was The Nuts: Keep Rolling! by Eric Litwin.  Hazel and Wally are part of the Nut Family.  They wish that they were bigger.  As they roll on the ground, mud collects around them making them look bigger.  As they roll over hills and valleys, they come across various animals and people that may want to catch them.  What do they do?  They keep rolling, keep rolling, keep rolling.  The moral of the story is that not matter what comes your way, keep rolling.  I chose this story because later in the day, we will be using nut cracker (lever) to open a few walnuts.

Study:  I demonstrated various levers that your child might have at home such as a nut cracker, a hand truck, a can/bottle opener, a citrus squeezer, and a pair of tongs.  Tomorrow, we will use the citrus squeezer to make lemonade.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Ii.  We did the "Insect Dance" and traced and drew the letter Ii.

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

AM book:  Don't Let Pigeon Stay Up Late by Mo Willems brought by Tobin

PM book:  Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson brought by Ava

 

Monday, January 23

Group Meeting:  The handshake for this week is the Elbow Handshake.  We great each other with a soft tap of the elbow and a "glad you are here today" greeting.

Story:  The story for today was Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett.  Sam and Dave want to dig a hole and find something spectacular.  Several times, Sam and Dave get very close to a jewel, but always change direction before getting it.  Their dog can smell a bone at the bottom of the hole.  Who will get to the bone first?  Ask your child to tell you how this story ends.  I read this story because a shovel is a simple machine, a lever.

Small Groups:  The children measured their height using paper mittens.  How many mittens tall is your child?  We will display their measurements on the hallway bulletin board for Bring a Grown-up to School Day.

Study:  This week, we will learn about the simple machine, lever.  We watched a children's video about how levers work.  Tomorrow, we will try some.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Hh.  We did the "Hat Dance" by Jack Hartmann.  We traced and printed the letter Hh.

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

Thursday, January 19

Group Meeting:  We had some more children bring in simple machines today.  We took a few minutes to let the children check them out.  Thank you for sending them.  We will take care of them and return them when our study is complete.

Story:  The story for today was Are You Sure, Mother Bear? by Amy Hest.  Mother Bear has told Little Bear that it is time to sleep.  It is winter and bears sleep in the winter.  Little Bear is not sure.  She is afraid that she will miss the stars at night, the moon in the sky, rolling in the snow, and most of all, Mother Bear.  Mother Bear assures her that everything will be right in it's place when they wake up in the Spring.  

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Gg.  We played air guitars to the song "Body Boogie".  We traced and printed the letter Gg.

Let's Find Out Magazine:  Our magazine was about a Bear Scientist.   We watched a video about Ava and how she follows and studies bears.  More information is available at letsfindout.com  Sign in as a student and use the password redeemer.

Snack:  The snack for today was corn chips, salsa, milk, and water.