Presents

December 16th
Theme: Presents & Present

Choosing Time: Dinosaurs, Magnets, Dress-up, Puzzles

AM Snack: Granola Bars & Fruit Roll-ups

PM Snack: Festive Jell-O cups & Graham Crackers

Movement: See Me Run, Oh, What A Miracle, & Reindeer Pokey

Music: Jingle Bells, Rudolph, Gingerbread, Twinkle Little Star, 5 Little Monkeys

Book: Max's Christmas by Rosemary Wells

Art: "Sweet" Present Surprises

Drama: Gingerbread Boy: Thank you for all who came! We had fun performing for you & I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you to The Browns for the yummy cupcakes! Thanks to all who patiently waited for our performances to begin!!!

Rudolph

Theme: Reindeer

Choosing Time: Trio Blocks, Tinker Toys, Magnets, Cinderella Castle

AM Snack: Go-Gurts & Fruit Snacks

PM Snack: Orange Slices & Peanut Butter Crackers

Music: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & Jingle Bells

Movement: The Reindeer-Pokey

Books:
A Christmas Stocking Story by Hillary Knight
The Wild Christmas Reindeer by Jan Brett

Art: Color, Cut, Glue special Play invitations to You!

Math: Practiced Counting--We stomped our "hooves" according to the number I called out.

Drama: We are excited about our play. We have worked hard on it. Hopefully you can come & enjoy it with us on Thursday.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

Theme: Santa

Choosing Time: Duplos, Trains, Cars, Dinosaurs, Gingerbread Baby Game

AM Snack: Frozen Yogurt

PM Snack: Juice Boxes, Fruit Snacks, & Granola Bars wrapped up in beautiful Christmas Paper. The kids were convinced that Santa had prepared it himself :)

Movement: Hokey-Pokey & Jingle Bells

Books:
I Believe in Santa Claus by Diane Adamson
The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke
Merry Christmas Big Hungry Bear! by Don & Audrey Wood

Music: Gingerbread, Gingerbread

Drama: We rehearsed our play. It is fun to see how some kiddos are really into their parts! I love hearing the words they've chosen to say and the actions they use. Super cute! We are looking forward to performing it for you next week. I'll let you know the details soon!

Art: Santa Faces

Catch Me If You Can!

Theme: The Little Gingerbread Boy

Choosing Time: Play-doh, People Blocks, Zoobies

Music:
Gingerbread (Sung to Frere Jacques)
Gingerbread, Gingerbread
Yum, yum, yum, Yum, yum, yum
I like Gingerbread, I like Gingerbread
In my Tum, In my Tum

Movement:
Cookie-Pokey (We danced with a Gingerbread Cookie)
Gingerbread Boy & Girl (We used movement to express a cute poem)

AM Snack: Strawberries, Swedish Fish, & Peas

PM Snack: Apple Slices, Cheddar Cheese Slices, Pretzels

Math: We each took one bite of our cookies. We graphed which part of the cookie we ate first. (Most of us bit the head off first)

Science: Gingerbread is made from Ginger (a spice) & Molasses

Art: Glitter Paint Gingerbread Men & Scented Gingerbread Necklaces

Drama: As I narrated the story of the Little Gingerbread Boy, each child acted out his/her part. We ALL loved this! We all want to perform for you and so I will let you know when.

Christmas Trees & Koala Bears

Theme: Christmas Trees & Letter "K"

Choosing Time: Foam Puzzle Blocks, Cinderella Castle, Building Circles, Duplos, Dinosaurs & Dragons

AM Snack: Granola Bars, ABC Cheese Crackers, Fruit Snacks, Cheese Sticks

PM Snack: Trail Mix, Craisins, Crackers

Music & Movement: I'm the Happiest Christmas Tree (We started out in a tree formation and moved to the song while trying to stay in a triangle shape), 10 Little Kangaroos, 5 Koala Bears, Koala Bear, Koala Bear (Just like Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear)

Mini Science Lesson: I had collected 2 kinds of pine boughs. We noticed the similarities and differences. We smelled & touched them. I asked why they thought pine trees are used as Christmas trees. I liked the answer, "Because, they're triangle shaped." We discussed how pine trees are also called Evergreens. We defined "evergreen." We are happy that some trees loose their leaves, while others keep theirs for us to have color during winter.

Book: Christmas Tree! by Florence & Wendell Minor

Art: Christmas Tree Ornament

Mini Lesson: Letter "K" is for Koala, Kite, Kangaroo, Kick, & Kiss

AM Craft: Climbing Koala Bears

PM Craft: Koala Masks

Writing: Practiced making letter "K."

Cute Quotes:
"M & M's are not a snack. They are a treat." --Susie (Our trail mix had M&M's in it. We were all excited about the candy....she just wanted accurate categorization for them.)
"K is also for Cat." --Van ( I suggested "K" is for Kitten. He wasn't satisfied. I explained that "K" & "C" say the same sound and that is confusing. He smiled and repeated, "K is for Cat.")

Jingle 'n Jump

Theme: Letter "J"

Choosing Time: Cinderella Castle, MarbleWorks, Puzzles

Movement & Music: Jumping Song, Jingle Bells, Jumping Jacks

Book: The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
We had lovely discussions in both classes about the book. "What would you ask Santa for if you could have anything?" was the question I posed. "Why did the mom and dad not believe?" was the question posed by the children :)

AM Snack: Popcorn & Marshmallows

PM Snack: Cheese Crackers
Science: Does the size of a Jingle Bell change its sound?

Writing: Practiced letter "J"

Art: Jello Painting with Ice Cubes

As you can see, we had as much fun tasting as painting :)

AM Craft: Jingle Bell Bracelets

Thanksgiving Party!

Theme: I am thankful for each and every one of you! Happy Thanksgiving!

Choosing Time: Little People Village

Writing: "I Am Thankful For..."

Games: Pin the Hat on the Turkey, What Doesn't Belong, What Comes Next, Thanksgiving Bingo

Feast: Thank you everyone for bringing some fun foods to share! Each child had fun passing out his/her "offering."

Music: I'm a Nut, A Turkey is a Funny Bird, Indian Boy

Movement: Row, Row, Row the Mayflower, "Turkey" Dance, Tom Turkey

Book: Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes

Reading: Practiced matching Fall Words/Pictures together

AM Counting Practice with Oreo Turkeys: Each child had to follow the instructions to count out how many of each item would be needed.

The First Thanksgiving

Theme: Turkey, Pilgrims, & Indians

Choosing Time: Peg Board, Blocks, Writing Practice, Puzzles, Puppets, Dr., Dishes/Food, & Turkey in the Straw Game
Music: 5 Little Indians, A Funny Turkey, Little Indian Boy

AM Snack: Juice Boxes & Fish Crackers

PM Snack: Popcorn, Apples, & Clementines

Art: Cornucopia

Mini Lesson: What Are You Thankful For?

Movement: Hokey-Pokey, Oh, What A Miracle, Row Row Row the Mayflower...

Reading: Match picture/word with word

Book: The First Thanksgiving by Jean Craighead George & Turk & Runt by Lisa Wheeler

Lesson: We discussed the First Thanksgiving: what it may have been like, who was there, & what they may have eaten. We learned what a Pilgrim is.

Truth About Turkey

Theme: Turkeys

Choosing Time: Cars, Train, Duplos, Dolls, Ponies, Photo Memory Game

AM Art: Hand-Print Flower Turkeys
PM Art: Turkey Headbands: We practiced coloring carefully and doing our best work.
AM Snack: Apples & Goldfish Crackers

PM Snack: Apples & Pretzels

Music: Hello, Mr. Turkey, ABC, 5 Little Frogs, Bubble Gum, Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam, I'm A Nut

Movement: "Turkey" Dance

Games:

• Turkey in the Straw: The "Straws" were placed over a "Pond". The "Turkey" sat on top of the "Straw." Each child chose a straw one at a time. The child whose straw caused the turkey to fall then had to stand up and gobble.
• Duck, Duck, "Turkey": The Turkey had to Gobble while chasing.

Science/Lesson: Some Turkey Facts

• Male Turkeys have the BIG Beautiful feathers. We looked at many pictures of turkeys. We could all tell the difference between the male and female.
  
• Turkeys make lots of different sounds: Purr, Cluck, Gobble, Putt, Yelp, Cutt, Kee-Kee. We listened to examples of all of them. It was cute to hear the kiddos compare what they heard to other animal noises. For example, as we were listening to the yelp, Nathan E. said, "That is a dog in trouble!"
  
• Turkeys have waddles
• Turkeys are the most popular bird in the US. Ben Franklin wanted the turkey to be our National bird.
• Turkeys are part of a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner.
  

Indians & Ice Cream!

Theme: Letter "I"

Choosing Time: Duplos, Magnets, Dinosaurs, Dolls, Tinker-Toys, Face Paint

Craft: Indian Necklaces


Poem: Indian Boy
I am a little Indian boy
I hunt with arrow and bow
When I see a turkey in the trees,
Swoosh! My arrow will go!

AM Science: We made ice cream in a bag. We had a great time mixing the ingredients and then playing some games to help the ice cream solidify! We love ice cream!
AM Snack: Thank you Leo for the Popcorn, grapes, & cheese sticks!

PM Cooking: We made mini-corn muffins for our snack today. We learned how corn is harvested and then ground to make cornmeal.
Movement: See Me Run & I've Got A Wiggle

Book: The Best Thanksgiving Ever! by Teddy Slater

Art: Paint Letter "I" & other things with Berry Juice