The cold weather has caused our internet service to come to almost a halt.  Yesterday, I could get just enough service to read the school's email, but not reply to anyone.  I couldn't get the blog page to come up at all.  Today, it was slower yet, which I did not think could be possible.  The good news is that we are in the process of getting a new service installed which is promised to be much faster and more reliable.  Hopefully, this will be ready for us when we return from our Christmas break.  So, today, I am blogging from home and hoping I can remember everything that we did today. 

Story:  Our story for today was Rabbit's Gift by George Shannon.  Snow is coming, coming soon, so Rabbit needs to find food fast. Just in time, a turnip turns up, and a second one, too. Who in the woods wouldn't want to tuck away an extra turnip for the long winter? Not Rabbit.  Rabbit decides to share the extra turnip with Donkey.  Donkey already has a potato, so he decides to share it with Goat.  This story continues as each animal chooses to share their "wealth" with their animal friends.  Who eats the turnip at the end?  Ask your child to tell you.

Small Groups:  The Green Group brought items to show for Show and Tell.

Large Group:  The children practiced the Christmas program on the risers in the Great Hall.  They are doing very well!

Snacks:  The morning class had muffins and juice brought by Isla.  The afternoon class had graham crackers, frosting, and juice provided by the preschool.  Lani was supposed to be the Queen today, but was ill.  We hope she gets well soon!

Group Meeting:  Some of the children are bringing home paintings that were created by dipping Christmas bows in paint and stamping them on paper.   This will be available at the art table all week if your child would like to try it.

Story:  Our story for today was There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell by Lucille Colandro.
If you are familiar with the old story of There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly,  this story is the Christmas version.  An old lady swallows a bell, bows, gifts, a sack, a sleigh, and reindeer.  Why does she swallow them?  Ask your child to tell you

Small Groups:  The activities for this week are listed in yesterday's post.  The schedule for today was:
Activity #1  Yellow Group
Activity #2 Green Group
Activity #3 Red Group

Large Group:  A student in the afternoon class donated a "Stick the Red Nose on the Reindeer" game for us to play.  We took turns being blindfolded to see who could stick the nose on the correct spot.  The children really enjoyed this game!

Snacks:  The morning class had graham crackers, cheese sticks, and juice brought by Gus.  The afternoon class had Wheat Thins and milk brought by Kennedy.  Thank you!  

The children are bringing home reminders of the Christmas program as well as information about a raffle for the tree that was decorated for the Festival of Trees.  If you have any questions about either of these items, please let me know!

Gingerbread

Group Meeting:  All of our activities for today revolved around gingerbread girls and boys.  We started our day by eating a small gingerbread cookie.  For some of the children, this was a new experience.  Some children told us that they had build a gingerbread house at home or had seen them at the Festival of Trees.

Story:  Our story for today was The Gingerbread Man retold by James Aleysworth.  In this classic story, an old woman and old man decide to make a gingerbread man.  After baking him in the oven, the gingerbread man jumps off of the table and out the door.  The couple chase him and are joined by a butcher, a cow, and a sow.  Will anyone be able to catch him and eat him?  Ask your child to tell you.

Small Groups:  The activities  for this week and schedule for today are listed below.
Activity #1  (red group)  Sorry, I can't share any information about this group today.  Christmas secrets.
Activity #2 (yellow group) The children decorated a paper gingerbread boy or girl that will be used in our Christmas program.
Activity #3  (green group)  The children were given 8 items from the classroom that were wrapped as gifts.  They had to guess what was inside using their fingers to feel.  They colored the corresponding gift on their paper.

Large Group:  The children practiced their Christmas program using some of the props that they have been making.

Snacks:  The morning class had cheese sticks, pretzels, and juice brought by Colin.  The afternoon class had granola bars, carrots and juice brought by Journey.  Thank you!

Group Meeting:  The children have been counting down the days until Christmas by gluing cotton balls onto Santa's beard.  We are counting backwards from 25 to 1.  Today was number 18.

Story:  Our story for today was Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner.  Have you ever wondered what snowmen do for Christmas?  This story tells us that while children are sleeping, snowmen, women and children gather at the park for a special celebration.  Ask you child to tell you what they eat and who comes to visit them?

Small Group: The children made a book about a chipmunk getting ready for winter using the Let's Find Out magazine.  Take a few minutes to read through this book with your child.

Large Group:  The children in the yellow group brought items for show and tell.

Snacks:  Today was Birthday Day.  The children made a snowman face using a bagel, cream cheese, raisins and a carrot.  We also had birthday brownies and juice.

Group Meeting:  The children are making decorations for our hallway.  They are putting paint on shiny paper, putting a piece of plastic wrap on top, and smearing the paint between the paper and wrap.  When they are finished mixing the colors, we remove the wrap to see the texture and colors.  When it is finished, we will cut it into an ornament shape and hang it on the bulletin board.

Story:  Our story for today was Santa's Secret Helper by Andrew Clements.  One year, Santa had a helper that dressed and acted just like him.  The secret helper delivered toys, found a puppy for a child, and gave the reindeer hay to eat. After being given many clues, we figured out who the helper was.   Ask your help to tell you.

Small Groups:  The activities for this week are listed in Monday's post.  The schedule for today was:
Activity #1  Green Group
Activity #2 Red Group
Activity #3 Yellow Group

Large Group:  The children practiced the songs for the Christmas program.  We got out the parachute and shook it while we sang.  We also placed jingle bells in the parachute to accompany our songs.

Snacks:  The morning class had animal crackers and juice brought by Cael.  The afternoon class had cheese, crackers, apple slices, and juice brought by Holden.  Thank you!

I am attaching a few pictures from our road study which we completed this week.

AM class concrete with roads drawn

PM concrete with roads drawn

crayon rubbing of parking lot

crayon rubbing of block sidewalk

children making roads with paint

crayon rubbing of concrete sidewalk

Group Meeting:  We finished our Road Study today.  We took a look at a few of our projects.  I will take a few pictures tomorrow and will post them for you to see.

Story:  Our story today was The Elves and the Shoemaker retold by Freya Littledale.  A poor shoemaker has only one piece of leather left to make a pair of shoes.  He cuts the leather and leaves it on his bench to assemble in the morning.  The next day, he finds the leather made into a beautiful pair of shoes that sell for a gold coin.  This is enough money to buy more leather.  He cuts leather to make two pairs of shoes.  The next morning, there are two pairs of shoes ready to sell.  Who is helping the shoemaker? Ask your child to tell you.

Small Groups:  The activities for this week are listed in yesterday's post.  The schedule for today is:
Activity #1 Yellow Group
Activity #2 Green Group
Activity #3 Red Group

Large Group:  Following our story, the children played The Shoe Game.  The children took off their shoes, put one in the center of the rug, and hid the other in the classroom.  Then, they had to select a shoe that was not their own and try to find the match.  The children thought this was a very fun game to play. 

Snacks:  The morning class had bread, peanut butter, jelly, and milk brought by Brogan.  The afternoon class had Goldfish and juice brought by Ellie.  Thank you!

Group Meeting:  We added materials to the writing and drawing for the children to make cards to take home or give to one another.   We looked at the materials and got some ideas of what we could use.

Story:  Our story for today was The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy by Jane Thayer.  Petey is a little puppy who would like a boy of his own for Christmas.  His mother promises to get him one if he is a good puppy.  However, when she goes to get a boy, she finds that all of the boys already have puppies.  So, Petey sets off to find his own boy.  He finds many other dogs that already have boys, but none are willing to give their boy away.  Will Petey ever get a boy?  Ask you child to tell you how the story ends.

Small Groups:  These are the activities for this week along with today's schedule.
Activity #1 (Red Group)  The children played a game called Roll and Write.  They were given a letter dice and a paper grid.  They had to roll the dice and copy the letter onto the grid.  When the grid was filled, they counted how many of each letter was in the grid.
Activity #2 (Yellow Group)  Sorry, I can't share the details of this group today.  It's a Christmas secret!
Activity #3  (Green Group)  The children are making a jingle bell shaker to use in the Christmas Program.  They put a jingle bell on a pipe cleaner and added beads to the pipe cleaner in a pattern.

Large Group:  The children learned and practiced a few of the songs that we will be singing in the Christmas Program.

Snacks:  The morning class had cheese sticks, Chez its, and milk brought by Ben.  The afternoon class had granola bars and juice brought by Ella.  Thank you!

We're counting the days.

Group Meeting:  The children danced to the song "If You're A Kid: Christmas Remix"

Story:  Our story for today was Froggy's Best Christmas by Jonathan London.  Froggy has never celebrated Christmas before.  He is usually hibernating.  His friend Max wakes him up and along with his friends he finds a Christmas tree, decorates it, and makes presents for his parents.  Ask your child to tell you what happens when he tries to put he star on the top of the tree. 

Small Group:  We are counting down the days until Christmas.  The children have colored a Santa Claus face, and we will be adding cotton balls to his beard until Christmas.  We started with covering number 25 today.

Large Group:  The children completed the O page in our Handwriting Without Tears workbook.  The red group brought items for Show and Tell.

Snacks:  The morning class had cheese sticks, bananas, and juice brought by Angel.  The afternoon class had  applesauce, graham crackers, and milk brought by Charlie.  Thank you!