C is for Cookie...that's good enough for me!!!

12/3/2012

As a child of the 70's and 80's I just LOVE it when I get to revisit some of my childhood favorites! Since the holiday's are upon us, and who doesn't L.O.V.E. a good cookie...AND we were studying the letter "C" last week, it seemed a given that this blast from the past would pop up! We decided to cover the topic of cookies, as in the Gingerbread Man primarily, to fully experience letter "C" week. We watched this cute little clip numerous times and practiced singing it just like Cookie Monster! We sang it HIGH and LOW and with all the growly monster goodness we could muster. We also practiced our sign language C and reviewed letters A and B as in the video below... Moms and Dads, practice these at home as well for added emphasis and memory retention, but don't be discouraged if your little one can't keep up with the video. It's hard for us adults to keep up. We are all learning together!

The ASL Alphabet

Run, Run, Run As Fast As You Can!

We have been reading several different versions of The Gingerbread Man this week and coordinating activities to emphasize different aspects of the book. One of the children's favorite "tag-a-long" activities has been Gingerbread Man Chase!

The children pretend to be different characters from the book; the fox, the old woman and old man, the cow, the horse, etc... We then assign several "gingerbread folks" as the ones to be chased. The gingerbread folk squeal while running, "Run, run, run as fast as you can! Can't catch me I'm the Gingerbread Man!" The other children pretend to be their characters and say, "But Gingerbread Man, we just want to talk to you!" Then, the chase is ON! The run, squeal and chase one another and in the fray they forget who is who and its just a big game of RUN! It has been so fun to watch. They take so much time carefully deciding who they want to be and then when everyone is running and chasing and laughing and having fun, they forget and simply enjoy the moment. I love watching their play.

What else did we do this week???

We started working on our songs for our Christmas Performance that we will have on Thursday, December 20th at 4:00-5:30pm. We will be singing some holiday tunes, plus a few of our class favorites. We will sing around 4:30 to allow everyone time to get here and have snacks before and after our performance. Please let me know a head count for your family a week prior and Grandparents are welcome!

Pictured here and to the right was MY favorite activity of this week. We altered our playdough recipe and added cinnamon, clove, ginger and nutmeg and made gingerbread playdough! The children used this ALL week, sniffing and smelling and of course, trying to eat the stuff. It made GREAT gingerbread men that we pounded and decorated and rolled out and baked again and again.

These magnetic spheres and rods are amazing building tools for teaching shapes. We spent quite a lot of time making triangles, rectangles, squares, and ALL varieties of polygons. (and they make GREAT microphones!)

My little dough makers!

Once it was cool it was ready to roll out and make into some gingerfolk!

A few finishing touches and into the oven to bake...

Welcome Miss Melissa!

We want to take a moment to welcome a new helper. Ms. Melissa comes to us with youthful energy and sweetness to spare! We are so happy she is with us and she is a great addition to our school family! WELCOME!!!