Terrific Thursday!

Thursday, January  15, 2015

We are getting back into the swing of things in Room C and we are in full winter mode in our classroom.  We had fun reading books about snow and things that we do when we are in the snow. We are working on learning how to build a snowman and will be building our own snowman next week.   We also were blessed with a little warmer temps today and so we were able to get outside for a little while. 

We had two of our friends out that were feeling under the weather.  Just a quick reminder if your child has a fever they need to be fever free for 24 hours as well as vomit free.  I am doing my best to disinfect the room each day and make sure the toys are cleaned well.  I will be taking home all stuffed animals and toys to wash and sanitize this weekend to help keep the germs down the best I can.  We are working on covering our mouths when we need to sneeze or cough making sure we are keeping our fingers and hands out of our noses and mouths!  We are also working on washing our hands really good we need to sing the ABC’s while doing our hands to make sure they are clean.

Jesus Time: Today we learned about Jesus being a little boy and the long journey he took as a baby.  Below is an excerpt from the Bible we read from today…

Another Journey

Matthew 2:13-15

After the wise men left, God sent another angel to Joseph in a dream.  “Take the child and Mary and go to Egypt,” the angel said.  “King Herod wants to kill Jesus.  Say in Egypt until I tell you it’s safe to come home.  It was still night, but Joseph got up out of bed and took Mary and Jesus and headed for Egypt. 

Number:  Today we continued our study of the number 6.  We practiced counting six fingers. We practiced clapping our hands 6 times, nodding our heads 6 times, stomping our feet six times, jumping up and down six times and rubbing our tummies six times.  We also counted six snowmen. 

During center time we had to stamp six blue stars on six snowballs that a snowman had thrown up into the air.  We had fun counting to six and some of my friends are doing a fabulous job counting!

Shape:  The shape of the star is what we will are studying about during the month of January.

Today during center time we used our star stamp-to-stamp stars inside the snowballs that a snowman and thrown up into the air.

Color:  We continued to learn about the color White.  During Morning Meeting we identified objects that could be white and put them on our color board.

Our center time was spent making a snowstorm on blue paper. We used a q-tip to make a snowstorm.  This week we have been experimenting with different ways to paint to make a snowstorm.  Be sure to check the hallway to see all the different ways to make a snowstorm.     

Music and Movement: We had fun singing Jesus Loves Me, Twinkle Little Star.  We are getting really good at singing our ABC’s.  We sang 5 Little Ducks and we also did some Jumping and Turning Around.

Outside Time:  We did go to the commons for a bit today but because the weather was fairly decent we spent about 15 minutes outside getting some fresh air. 

Patterning:  We continued to work on our pattern of Red mittens and Blue Mittens.    

Science and Sensory:  The sensory table was filled with a lot of brown rice. We had fun feeling the rice, picking up the rice, dumping and pouring the rice from scoops to buckets and back into the table. We also talked about the cold weather and when we hear snow fall to the ground we decided it would be soft and not loud. 

Pre-Writing Skills:  Using a marker to follow a line from point A to point B.

Today during center time we practiced tracing lines that go up and down from a snowflake to a snowman as well as tracing some circles using a marker of our choice.

Cutting Skills:  Today during center time we had to cut out four squares that helped us figure out how to build a snowman.  Later in the month we will make our own snowman.  Be sure to check the hallway to see our beginnings of how to make a snowman.

We also practiced cutting white paper for a group project we are doing for National Lutheran Schools Week.   We are making a winter scene. 

As a reminder many things will come home over the course of the month but some things will not as this will be put in your child’s portfolio that you will get at the end of the school year!

Enjoy the pictures from our day!

Free choice Play 

Today we listened to music by Two Piano Guys.  I am really starting to see more of the children playing together as opposed to at the beginning of the year when they were playing side by side.  I am also seeing more imaginative play taking place.  

. The climber is a new addition to our classroom and we have had a lot of fun playing in it and on it. 

. Today we had the opportunity to work on putting the letters and numbers we have been working on this year so far in the correct spot.  This is a great way to work on recognition and the shapes the letters make.  

. Ella had fun taking all of our stuffed friends for a ride around the classroom. 

. There was lots of cooking going on in the kitchen area today.  I was lucky enough to sample some interesting plates of food today.  

. We have lots of winter books to look at currently in our classroom.  

. Pouring and transferring rice from one container to another.  

. More cooking going on!

. Working on our gross motor skills 

Group Project

For National Lutherans Schools Week we have an art display in our church foyer and our class is doing a collaborative project.  This week we cut white paper to make our snow.  We had to cut the paper and then glue it on the poster board. 

. Morning Meeting

. This book really helped us work on the order we need to work in to make a snowman we also learned what happens when the sun comes out and the temperature rises. 

Transition & Snack Time

. Circle Time

.Today we played the mitten matching game the students were given a mitten and I would hold up a mitten and then they would have to see if their mitten matched my mitten.  

. We practiced building our snowman today.  I drew what the children told me to draw.  They did a great job with figuring out what all they needed to make their snowman.  

. This book went great with us learning about things that are white. 

. The letter I is what we have been learning about this week.  We are a little behind on our letter books so we will start to play catch up next week with those. So we can get back on track for February

. We also practiced our letter sounds we took the month of December off while we were in the midst of the Holiday season, but this week we started back up again and I am amazed how many of the letters the students remembered. 

. Commons Time 

. Outdoor Play 

We were so excited to get outdoors and run around in the beautiful sunshine today!

. Center Time

Snow Storm

Using white paint and a q-tip we made our snowstorm. This activity was great for us to work on holding something small and to have self control with the q tip. 

. Counting to SIX!

We put our counting skills to work by counting six snowballs and then stamping six stars in our six snowballs.  This was another great activity to work on self control of a small object (star stamp) in our hand. 

. Bingo Daubers

Today we decorated a mitten with a bingo dauber. Bingo Daubers are a great way for us to work on using a writing tool, working in a specific area and having self control. 

. Pre Writing Skills

Today we used a blue marker to trace lines that went up and down from a snowflake to a snowman and to trace 4 circles.  The premises behind this activity is to help students learn to work left to write up to down and to have control over their writing instrument.  By no means is this skill to be mastered at this age level just exposing them to the activity and helping them become familiar with the idea of writing. 

. Sequencing of How to Build a Snowman.

This activity is helping to foster the order things come in, pre-reading skills and the use of words, first, next and last.  The students first had to cut apart the squares and then had to put them in the right order and then glue them onto their paper.  These are hanging in the hallway as well take a look at the great work they did on theses.  In the weeks to come we will build our own snowman out of paper and make a book on how to make a snowman. 

. Imaginitvie Play 

The kitchen has become a hot area to play in since Christmas Break.  It is so exciting to see what my friends are doing and watching them play together. 

. Music and Movement

Jumping, Turning Around, Clapping our hands and having fun! 

. Transition & Lunch Time

. We are working really hard at standing in line and not touching our friends. 

. Last book we read for the day was about two friends who got mad at each other and what they did to fix their problem.  

Another fabulous day in our classroom.  I have had numerous people say how quite my classroom is and how well my friends work together.  I am pretty proud of how great these kiddos are doing this year I have seen so much growth in the past few months that it makes me excited to see what is in store for us as we finish up winter and head into the Spring!