Monday, December 20, 2010

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!!!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

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.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

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

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

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.

Friday, December 3, 2010

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.")