Thanksgiving Party!

Theme: Thanksgiving Party!

Choosing Time: Play-doh

Music & Movement: The "Turkey" Dance & Duck, Duck, Turkey
Snack: What a Feast we had today! The crackers, oranges, fruit snacks, popcorn, pretzels, & marshmallows were super yummy. Each of us passed out what we'd brought to share. It was fun to share what we brought with our friends in a similar way that the Pilgrims & Indians did on the First Thanksgiving.
Gratitude Board: We added a few more things to our board: Broccoli, apples, dogs, & a lovely picture of Daniel's family. I will save all of these things for the children to take home next week. Thank you for sending things! It has been a treat to see what we are grateful for and to realize that many of us are grateful for the same things.

Game: Thanksgiving Bingo!
Science: We popped our colored corn kernels. We enjoyed watching the corn pop in a clear air popper. All of us thought that we'd see rainbow popcorn. We were wrong. The corn popped white. It was fun to notice that the kernel hidden in the fluffy white was still colored.
Art/Writing: We practiced our names using glue & our colored popcorn kernels along with some popped corn. We also finished our Cards. We hope you all enjoyed them :)
Poetry: We recited our Indian Boy poem.

Mini Class

Monday, November 23, 2009

Choosing Time: Duplos & Play-doh (Grace had a fun time playing dentist. I suggested that maybe she could grow up to be a dentist. After smiling she pronounced, "No Way!")

Snack: We had fun munching on Bug Bite Graham Cracker Cookies & cheese sticks. [During Snack, Nathan said, "Hyrum you're my boy!" As I laughed, Hyrum replied, "I am not your boy!" He felt better about it when I explained that Nathan meant that they were buddies :)]

Lesson: We say thank you for all our things. I learned a lot about what is important to little people :) Dessert is a very important necessity in their lives and they are very thankful for it. But, the first and foremost things everyone was thankful for were their parents :) And, beating out dessert is pretty tough. I was really touched as Hyrum expressed to me how he says Thank You--through prayer. So tender!

Book: I'm A Turkey by Jim Arnosky

Thanksgiving Fun

Choosing Time: Foam Puzzle Blocks, animals, Lincoln Blocks, Thanksgiving Cards

Snack: Thank you Grayce for sharing yummy Go-Gurts with us today!

Art: We finished our Thankful books today :) We worked REALLY hard on them. Everyone did A FABULOUS JOB! There are 2 blank pages for you to add more things to your books at home :)

Science: We took 5 zip-lock bags and put some raw popcorn kernels in each bag. We added different colors of food coloring and a few drops of vinegar to each bag. We took turns rubbing the bags to saturate the kernels with the colors. We will let the colored kernels dry and then pop the corn on Tuesday. We are wondering if the kernels will pop white or one of the colors of dye.....
Book: Chipmunk Song by Joanne Ryder

Writing: We practiced writing our names today :) Lots of smiles were seen today as everyone wrote their own names. (Nearly everyone...Rae can't use her writing hand right now, but I know she already can do it) * You may want to watch your child hold a pencil. Encourage him to hold it correctly :)

Mini Class

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Choosing Time: We all played with trains this morning & had lots of fun! Some of us also made fruit loop necklaces.

Snack: Thank you June for a yummy snack today! We munched on popcorn & animal crackers & inhaled all of the cheese :)

Music: I taught The Little Acorn song today. The chorus is "I'm a nut, I'm a nut, I'm a nut." So, if you hear them singing that you'll know why.

Poetry: We recited a poem about an Indian boy.

Art: Indian Headbands
Book: P is for Pumpkin by Kathy Jo Wargin

Native Americans

November 17, 2009

Theme: Native Americans
Choosing Time: Little People Village

Movement: Hokey-Pokey

Lesson: Native Americans are also called Indians. Indians were good hunters and fishermen. They are known for some amazing jewelry, pottery, bead work, and weaving. Indians know how to use patterns in their art. I demonstrated some simple patterns. The children then told me what would come next.

We Are Thankful: Thank you for all the items you are sending to school with your children! It is fun to see what they are grateful for. We have a special time for them to share what they brought and then they get to put it on the bulletin board. I am thankful for each of you!

Poetry: I taught a poem about A Little Indian Boy.

Snack: Thank you Leo for a yummy snack! We enjoyed cheese sticks, crackers, & fruit snacks. Leo was very proud to pass everything out all by himself. :)

Art: Today we focused on patterns. Look carefully at all of the Indian costume pieces we made today for patterns. The headbands are exceptionally good! We also worked on our Thankful books. They're almost finished :)

I Am Grateful

November 12, 2009

Theme: I am Grateful

Choosing Time: Cars, Ponies, & Dinosaurs
I love that they all play so well together!

Snack: "Turkey Feet" (Cheese & Crackers)

Lesson: We each shared something we are grateful for. We added these things to our Gratitude Bulletin Board. We are blessed with many things. We can say thank you to express our love for all we have.

ABC Time: We practiced singing an ABC phonetic song with just the letters A-H. We then sang the traditional ABC song. Ray stood at our ABC chart and pointed to each letter as we sang the song. We would stop singing when we reached a letter of someones first name.

Book: Thanks For Thanksgiving by Julie Markes
Music & Movement: We did some Counting Exercises. We sang Fire Truck, ABC's, & Popcorn Popping

Art: We worked on our "I Am Thankful" Books. We are excited to be illustrators of our own books!

Mini Class

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Choosing Time: Fisher Price Play-sets, Blocks, Slide. We are doing well at sharing and taking turns:)
Snack: Thank you Grace for a yummy snack today! We ate fish crackers, cheese, & Oreo cookies.

Art: We finished our Turkeys : ) The children painted the feathers themselves. Each turkey body was made by tracing each child's foot. We also made little Mayflower boats.
Science: Sink vs. Float: The children were able to place a variety of objects in a clear bucket of water. It was fun to see their reactions about which items sank or floated.

Book: My First Thanksgiving by Tommie de Paloa

Music & Movement: Row, Row, Row Your Boat (with a partner we rowed a "Boat"), 5 Little Monkeys, Fire Engine, One-Ten Little Fishes, and the ABC Song. We also played with a parachute. We bounced bean bags & balls on it. We hid under it and waited for a "BIG BEAR" to tickle us.
ABC's: While singing the ABC song I pointed to the Letters on our ABC chart. I added some special words to the song when we got to a letter that stands for someone's name. For example, we sang until "H" and I added, "H, H, Hyrum starts with H", and then continued with the ABC's until "J." "J, J, June starts with J.........." This was fun and hopefully we will all begin to recognize our names :)