Reindeer Games

Today the children took part in playing reindeer games.  The games included BINGO, Santa, Santa, Reindeer(which is like duck, duck, goose), and they played The Reindeer Pokey..  We also had our class treats and exchanged gifts.  If you have time over the break please have your child write a thank you card for the gift that they received.  I hope you have a happy and healthy holiday!

Rudolph

Today we read the following Rudolph color poem:

 

Rudolph! Rudolph!

What will you do?

You can’t guide Santa

IF your nose is

blue!

Rudolph! Rudolph!

You’re such a silly fellow,

Who will know it’s you

If your nose is

yellow!

Rudolph! Rudolph!

Your way cannot be seen

Through the wintry weather

If your nose is

green!

Rudolph! Rudolph!

Santa gave a wink,

But what will Santa think

If your nose is

pink?

Rudolph! Rudolph!

It’s time to fly at night

But you’re quite a sight

Cause your nose is

white!

Rudolph! Rudolph!

It’s time to go to town

But Santa’s wearing a frown

Cause your nose is

brown!

Rudolph! Rudolph!

Santa has his sack,

But you’re not ready

If your nose is

black!

Rudolph! Rudolph!

The children are in bed.

And now I know you’re ready

Cause your nose is red!

 

During center time the children made their own take home book based on this poem.  The objective of this poem is to practice rhyming words.  Red sounds the same as bed they rhyme.  Yellow sounds the same as fellow they rhyme.

At our second center the children made a deer headband.  They will use their headband tomorrow when we play our reindeer games.  

Christmas and Math?

We all know that Christmas is a very exciting time of the year.  It is a time to learn the importance of thinking about others before ourselves.  Christmas is also a great time of the year to learn more about math.  During today's centers the children did just that.  At one center the children used unifix cubes to measure the height of three different presents. When children begin to learn about measurement we use nonstandard units of measure like cubes, fish cutouts, counters etc.  Once the children are older they will learn about standard units of measure and use a ruler.

Santa

This week we will be busy preparing gifts for loved ones, learning about the letter i, and enjoying many great Christmas rhymes.  To begin the week I introduced the children to our new estimation jar.  I explained to the children that an estimation is an educated guess.  We have to use information that we already know to make our guess.  In today's jar I placed 3 small candy canes.  The children took turns estimating how many they thought were in the jar.  We had numbers from 2 to 5 million.  We then talked about how much empty space was in the jar, so the number had to be a low number.  Tomorrow I will add more candy canes to the jar and we will estimate again.

For centers today the children made a Santa.  They worked on following multiple step directions.  They also increased their fine motor skills.

Fun Friday

Today we had another busy day.  During centers the children made their "W, w" page for their class letter book.  They also had the opportunity to dig in the snow for letters in our sensory table.  Don't worry the snow was only cotton that we pretended was real snow.  If your child is still learning their letters you may want to try this type of activity at home.  You would need a cheep set of magnetic letters(I get mine at the dollar store)  you can hide the letters in a tub of rice, flour, packing peanuts etc.  Then have your child dig and find the letters.  When they find one they can identify it and the sound that the letter makes.  You could take it a step further and have them think of a word that starts with the letter sound. The children also completed a journal page about what they like to do when it is cold outside.

Hot Cocoa Day

Today at one center the children experimented with ice.  They were each given a direction sheet.  They rolled a die and followed the corresponding direction.  Sometimes they had to shake salt on their ice, while other times they had to hold it in their glove/mitten.  The purpose of this activity was to observe the reaction to warmth on ice.  Through this experiment the children learned about solids and liquids.

We couldn't talk about ice and winter without mentioning cocoa.  Today during snack the children taste tested hot cocoa with marshmallows.  The reason we do taste tests in 4K is so that we can graph the results.  Being able to analyse information and make comparisons is a life skill.  Both the morning and afternoon classes had the most votes for liking hot cocoa.

Today the children also cut out and colored a hot cocoa mug.  They then decorated it with a shaving cream and glue mixture and real marshmallows.

Sneezing, Sniffling, and Upset Bellies

Today we had it all.  It is definitely that time of the year.  Today we had a few children out sick.  We do our best at school to have the children wash their hands before they eat.  We also wipe down the tables with cleaning wipes various times throughout the day, but those germs still make their way into our systems.  Today I have included a link from Parenting the Magazine on how to try to stay healthy during the winter months. http://www.parents.com/parenting/better-parenting/advice/your-guide-to-staying-healthy-this-winter/#page=7

Fun Friday

We ended the week out in a fun way.  On Thursday we listened to the story Gingerbread Baby.  I have included the link if you would like to view it along with your child.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSZiceeXaAA After listening to the story we compared it to the other gingerbread stories we read this week.

 At one center the children cut out the outline of a gingerbread man.  They then used doters to make a pattern around the edges of their man.  An example of a pattern would be red, red, blue, blue.  We have been working on patterning each month with our daily calendar. The purpose of this project was to see if the children could apply what they learned.

Future Bakers

Well I must say we have some future bakers on our hands.  Today we started our day off by doing centers.  At one center the children  rolled out the cookie dough we made yesterday and used a cookie cutter to cut a gingerbread man out of it.

During centers the children also sewed a Christmas Stocking.  This activity helped make the children's muscles in their little fingers stronger.  At this age we want to increase each child's fine motor abilities so they can hold their pencils correctly and not get tired fingers when they are writing in Kindergarten.

Today we also practiced our songs for the Holiday Program.  The children are starting to sound spectacular!!

C is for Cookie

Today our read aloud was titled The Gingerbread Man.  The children listened to this story on a CD.  I must say that they truly enjoyed the readers use of different voices for each character in the story.  This week we are learning about the letter "C."  We can't talk about the letter "C" without talking about cookies.  Each day this week we will read a different version of the story The Gingerbread Man.  Through our discussions we will compare and contrast the characters in each story, the problem, and the solution in the story.  

Today for centers the children made gingerbread dough.  During this lesson the children learned what ingredients are, why we use a recipe, the difference between wet and dry ingredients, and how they don't like the smell of vinegar, ginger, or cloves.  We also worked on the beginning sound and letter that started each ingredient's name.

Today when the children entered our classroom they found that it was transformed.  Our classroom now looks like Santa's Workshop.  In the writing center the children can make cards for loved ones, write a letter to Santa using words from our word wall, or by sounding out the word and writing what they hear.  They can also color Christmas tree ornaments or string beads on a pipe cleaner to make ornaments for our class tree. 

T is for Thanksgiving

This week we did a favorite activity of the children, which is called, "Find What's Missing."  I first showed the children a picture of a turkey.  They looked it over carefully.  Then I showed them another picture that had something missing.  The children then took turns identifying what was missing.  I have included a few pictures for you to give it a try.  

Over the last few days the children made a turkey art project out of the coffee filter that they experimented with last week.  The children also journaled about what they are thankful for.  At another center the children made a story titled Where is Turkey?  This story worked on position words.  The word beside was very tricky for the children.  You may want to incorporate this word into the directions that you give your child.  For example you may say, "Put the fork beside the plate."

May the spirit of Thanksgiving
Bring you love, laughter,
And a warm heart!

I hope your family has a wonderful holiday.
Mrs. Meyer

T is for Taste

Today our sensory experience started during snack time.  The children were each given a tongue cutout.  The tongue was broken into different sections based on the areas that the tongue uses to taste different types of food.  The children were given lemon slices to put in the sour sections.  Pretzels to put in the section that tastes salty foods.  Gummy bears for the sweet section, and dark chocolate for the bitter section.  The children then tasted each food item and decided which one they thought tested the best.  We then graphed our results.  Both classes liked sweet foods the best.

The children also used their sense of smell today.  The painted pictures with Kool-Aid.  I also started assessing for Trimester 1.  I will assess your child on colors, numbers 0-15, capital and lowercase letters, and I will have them count for me.