What is Winter?

Theme:  Winter
We had a wonderful discussion about what Winter is.  Some of the descriptive words the children used include, "ice, snow, sleigh, sledding, snowflakes, snowballs, snow angels, white, jacket, boots, coats, scarves, trees, Christmas,..."

Game:  As we sang a song we passed a mitten around the circle.  Each child took a turn to pull a letter out of the mitten and tell us its name and sound.

Choosing Time:  Play-dough, Trains, Dollhouse, Cars

Music & Movement:  We built an indoor snowman and did the activities that were on the back of his pieces.

• Once there was a Snowman
• Snow is Falling
• If All the Snowflakes Were Hamburgers & Milkshakes
• Pet Snowball
• 10 Jumping Snowmen
• A Chubby Little Snowman

Art:

• Q-tip Snowflakes
• Salt Dough Snowmen
• Paper Snowflakes (great scissor practice!) 

Science:  I had two clear plastic containers that I filled to the top with snow.  I asked the children which container would melt the fastest, the big or small one?  And, I asked them if they thought the melted water would fill the containers the same as the snow?


Snack:

• Marshmallow Snowmen
• Penguin Crackers & Bananas
• Ice Cream & Cookies
• Cupcakes
• Cookies, Raisins, Gummy Treats
• Apples, Oranges, & Fish Crackers
• Crackers & Fruit Snacks

Birthdays:  Happy Birthday to Kennedy, Seth, & Teo!!!
Thank you for sharing some yummy treats with us!

Books:
 

Week Fourteen

I walked by and saw these cute shoes lined up and it just was too cute!

Theme: Winter
We focused our discussions on hibernation and migration.

Letter: H
Harry Hippo introduced us to Ned's Head filled with letter "H" things. Each child was able to reach into the head and pull one "H" thing out. We practiced letter H in sign language. The Letter H sound is fun to make. A new vocab word was "holiday." I asked if anyone knew what that meant and one little girl answered, "Yep, it is a day to celebrate." Wow! She nailed it and even gave a better answer than I would have :) Thank you Grace S.

Choosing Time: Can You Tell Me What Animal Sound You Hear?, Huge Blocks, Hairdo Salon, Hats....
Snacks:

• Pretzels & Christmas Tree Brownies
• Frozen Go-gurts & Vanilla Wafers
• "Healthy Snack" (Popcorn & Raisins)
• Heart shaped Ham & Cheese Sandwiches & Grapes
• Sweet Tooth Fairy Cupcakes & Peanut Butter Crackers
• Happy Face Fruit Snacks & Rice Krispy Treats
• Happy Face Fruit Snacks & Ritz Crackers
  

Music & Movement:

• Jingle Bells
• Hibernation & Migration
• Horsey, Horsey
• Make Letter H with a Partner
• Hippo Works with One Hammer...
• Hello, Everyone and How Are You?
• Hokey Pokey (focusing on H body parts)
• Hibernation Game (We danced to some fun Disney music. When the music stopped we froze. I called out an animal. If it was an animal that hibernates we laid down on the floor to "hibernate" until the music played again. If I called out an animal who doesn't hibernate we just kept on dancing. If I called out a bird we "migrated" around the room :)

Game: Hibernation

I chose a child to "hibernate" in the middle of our circle. I then silently chose one child to "wake" up the "hibernating" child. The child had 3 guesses to find the one who woke him up.

Art: Hibernating Bears & Hanging Hearts

She wasn't pleased with her artwork...but I am! She drew this bear by listening to my oral instructions without any help!!! Love this Bear!!!

Science: We read a book to learn some facts about Hippopotamus.

• Hippopotamus means "river horse."
• They are mean and will eat people.
• Their ears can turn in different directions
• They have babies under water
• They can weigh nearly 9000 lbs
• They can hold their breath for 5 minutes, but then need to come up for air.

Reading: Our word wall words: hand, hippo, heart, he, house, & horse.

Writing: We practiced "H" & "h"

Books:

• Hippo ZooBook
• Hippo Hugs
• Animals In Winter
• Santa Claus the the World's Number One Toy Expert by Marla Frazee