Mittens & Monsters?

Theme:  Letter M
To make an "M" you start at the "ground" and go "mountain up, mountain down, mountain up, mountain down."  It is fun to turn "M" upside down to make a "W".

Choosing time:  Marbles, Upper/Lower Case Matching Puzzles, Mitten Game, Letter "M" Memory, Magnets, Monster Elevator, Monster Fishing, Monster Eyeballs, Monkeys in Barrels

Snack:

• Pretzels & Scrabble Cheez-its
• Fruit Snacks
• Fruit Snacks, Ritz Crackers, Granola Bars
• M & M's & Popcorn
• Pirate Booty & Fruit Snack
• String Cheese & Graham Crackers
• Mini Muffins, Mandarin Oranges, & Marshmallows

Memorable Moments:

• "I get it, Miracle, M, M, M"
• I said, "This is a Marvelous snack."  A Cutie responded, "I know a Marvelous drink...Shirley Temples."

 Books:


We engaged in a lovely discussion about  what colors & designs we would want on our mittens.  Would we want them to be white and be hard to find in the snow?  Or, would we like them to be unique so that anyone seeing them would know who they belonged to. Then I asked them what they would put into a giant mitten and here are some of their responses:

• "Candy"
• "Myself"
• "A Kitty"
• "A Squirrel"
• "A Bear"
• Legos

 
 


Math:  We played a Graphing Game with a spinner and a graph with the animals from The Mitten.

Reading:  New word wall words include:  Me & My

Music & Movement:

• The Three Little Kittens (We love this one and that it includes "K, L, & M"
• Oh, What A Miracle
• Dancing Monsters
• Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
• Three Blind Mice

Art:

• Painted Mittens
• Messy Monsters 
• Create Your Own Monster

Games:

1.  Musical Mitten Alphabet
2. Alphabet Search & Find
3. Monster Bingo with M & M's

Week Two

Theme: "All About Me"
We had some wonderful discussions about what kinds of things we like to do, what foods we like to eat, and how some of us have straight hair, while others have curly or spiky hair. My husband came to visit 2 classes and told how he lost his arm in a car accident when he was 5 years old. We practiced saying, "prosthetic," and we had fun watching him use his prosthetic to carry things, pick up children, tie a shoe,....No matter if we have glasses, wear braces, have prosthesis, or are in a wheelchair, we are each special and amazing! People who seem different on the outside have similar feelings on the inside.

Letter: M
Hopefully some children can recognize the letter M. All of them know what sound it makes, and many of them can write it.
Some of us made "mitten M's". We had to choose the "M" sounding pictures to cut out and glue onto our mittens.

Choosing Time:
Music:

• Monkeys Swinging in a Tree
• Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
• ABC's
• Muffin Man
• P-O-P-C-O-R-N
• 5 Little Ducks
• I Am Special (Sung to Are You Sleeping?)

I Am Special, I Am Special
Yes, I Am, Yes, I Am
I am Very Special, I am Very Special
Yes, I Am! Yes, I AM!

Art:

• Name Plates--Many skills were used to make these...(letter recognition, cutting, patterns,...)
• Germ Puppets
• Self Portraits--We had fun talking about all the features we have on our faces and the many ways we can choose to draw them.

Science:

• Weight & Height--It was fun to get measured and compare our heights with our friends.
  
• Microscope Observations--We looked at fingernail clippings, hair, and ear wax under the microscope.

• Soap Creations--We each took turns putting a Hard cube of Glycerin into a pan immersed in a pan of boiling water. We watched the hard cube melt into a liquid. We added scent and color. We poured the hot liquid into a square or circle mold and added one eyeball. We waited to see what would happen. We were surprised to see that the liquid had hardened again, but this time it was smoother than it was. (The eyeball in the soap is to watch us to make sure we do a good job washing the germs away)

• Lesson About Germs--I had a handful of red glitter that I pretended to sneeze out all over the children. They were in awe to see how the glitter went everywhere. I explained that we cannot see the germs like we can see the glitter, but they are still everywhere. I showed them how my hand still was covered in glitter and how each time I touched someone or something some of that glitter would rub off on them. We had a good time sharing our pretend germs and then practicing washing our hands the right way.
  

• More Mud--I am truly sorry that our mud play got out of hand on Monday!!!
  

Movement:

• Oh, What A Miracle
• Hokey Pokey
• (Child's Name), Goes Round the Circle ( I chose each child to take a turn to go around our circle in any moving way he/she wanted)
• Jumping Song
• Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

Games:

• Children, Will You Please Share....? This game is similar to "Mother, May I?" I would invite them to share their toys...and then they could take one step forward to me. However, if I asked them to share a "toothbrush..." then they would answer, "No, Teacher, NO!" When the children came close to me, I would tickle them and they would run away begging to play again.

Show 'N Tell:

• We saw a Mermaid and a special bag. :)
• Don't forget to send something every Monday and Tuesday to share!

Snacks:

• Juice Boxes, Strawberries, & Crackers
• Marshmallow Pops & Mini Muffins
• Mandarin Oranges, Micky Mouse Cheese, Crackers
• Fruit Snacks & Cookies
  
• Popcorn, Mini Oranges, Cheese Sticks
• M & M's, Bananas, Pretzels

Birthday:
Thank you for sharing your birthday with us and a special treat!

Writing:
We continued to practice "M." We also enjoyed writing "me."

Reading:
We are feeling really smart as we can read all of the words on our word wall. Our focus word has been "me." For a follow-up exercise, have your children point out the word "me" in the stories you read to them. Also, have them point out the letter "M." This helps to build their confidence and enthusiasm for learning.

Books:

• Germs Are Not For Sharing by Elizabeth Verdick
• Monkey Makes Music
• I Like Myself! by Karen Beaumont
• What I Like About Me! byAllia Zobel-Nolan
  

Week One

I am loving all of your sweet kiddos! We've had lots of fun this week! Here are a few highlights:

Theme: Welcome to Your School

Letter: M with Monkey Mike

Choosing Time: Duplos, Little Kid Village, Kitchen Play, Monkeys, Disney Friends, "M" Memory Game, Upper & Lower Alphabet Matching Game, Mitten Game, Marbles, & Magnets
Books:

• Dooby, Dooby, Moo! by Doreen Cronin
• How Do Dinosaurs Go To School? by Jane Yolen
• M book
• What A Day It Was At School by Jack Prelutsky

Games:

• Who is Hiding Under the Blanket?
• Mousy, Mousy, Where's My Cheese?

Movement:

• Hokey-Pokey
• Shake the Sillies Out
  
• Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes
• 5 Exercises
• Ring Around the Roses
• 5 Little Monkeys Jumping On the Bed

Music:

• Snack Song
• It's Time to Wash Our Hands
• Clean-up
• Monkeys Swinging In a Tree
• Hello Everybody
• ABC's

Snacks:

• Mac & Cheese
• Muffins, Melons, M & M's, & Mints
• Peaches & Cheese Sticks
• Bunny Cheese Crackers

Math:
We made a graph to show how we came to school each day this week. We counted out the results. We added the totals and checked to see if the number matched how many kids are in our class. Most of the children came to school in cars.

Science:
We explored mud. We mixed dirt with water. We had fun pouring the dirt and water into buckets. We had fun making really runny mud and then thickening it up again with more dirt. We liked the mud the best when it was like play-doh. We made mud balls. We had fun stepping on the mud. Mud is cool to the touch. When it dries on our skin it is itchy. We made a large mud brick together. We learned that some people make their houses out of mud bricks.
Writing:
We practiced letter "M" & "m"
Reading:
We practiced reading the words on our word wall. We also practiced, "me." We also are reading "Our Class Rules" together.
Art:

• Monkey Mike Pictures
• Macaroni M's
• Magic Color by Letter Mm
  

Cute Moment:
I was reading a book to the class. One of the words in the book was, "Chop-O-Matic." One of the children said, "Oh, Miss Jodi, I think that's a really bad word!" We learned that in this case, a chop-o-matic is a machine to cut up vegetables :)

Birthday:
Asher brought the cutest Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies to share. We had fun playing Follow the Leader during our Birthday Music.