Gingerbread Unit

This week we will begin our Gingerbread Unit! Throughout this unit students will engage in gingerbread-theme activities that develop skills across all learning domains. They will develop visual motor skills through creating gingerbread men, cooperative play skills while playing in the gingerbread bakery, fine motor skills through lacing gingerbreads, math skills through button shape sorting, and language skills through gingerbread lotto games.... and more. Historically, this has been favorite unit for both students and teachers!

Books This Week:
Gingerbread Baby, By Jan Brett

Small Groups:
Language- Students will play a lotto board game which includes many vocabulary words found in the stories read throughout the unit.

Visual Motor group - Students will make their own gingerbread baby for the class bulletin board

Gross Motor group - Students will develop gross motor skills, coordination and cooperative play skills as they ride tricycles in the hall, and go through an obstacle course

Art:

1) Students will work together to paint and decorate a large gingerbread house for the class bulletin board.

Choice Time:
-Sensory Table - Students will sort and string different colored shape buttons

-Library- Books about gingerbread and winter time

- Easel -Students will use water colors to paint a gingerbread man
-Dramatic Play - Students will pretend they work in a toy factory and use the tool shop to make toys.

-Rug toy -students can talk about travelling over the holidays as they play with the aiplanes and airports on the rug

- Art table - The letter of the week is "D". Students will use dot markers and dot stickers to decorate the letter "D." Please feel free to look around the house with your child and send something in that starts with the letter "D" for show and tell.
Songs, Word Play, and Letters
The Gingerbreads are Here

Gingerbread Gingerbread

5 Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread Shape Song

Oh Do you Know the Gingerbread Man?

Special Notes:

- I hope that everyone had a nice Thanksgiving Vacation! Welcome back.

- There will be no school Monday December 6th due to staff development.

Pinata Party!

Today we celebrated the end of our Friends Unit with a pinata party!
We made goodie bags, carried our stuffed animals out to the playground and puled the pinata strings. We watched the toys fall to the ground and collected them our goodie bags. Lastly, we played with our stuffed animal friends on the swings and slides!

Friends Unit-Week 4

Books This Week:
Hooray A Pinata! By Elisa Kleven
Dandelion, By Don Freeman

Thank You Thanksgiving, By David Milgrim

Small Groups:
-Art - Students will make and decorate a bag for the pinata party!
-Language - Students will read the story Thanks for Thanksgiving By Julie markes and talk about what they are grateful for. They will then make a special Thanksgiving card to share with someone special.
Choice Time:
-Sensory Table- modeling sand, construction trucks, cars and roads for driving.

-Writing- making stationary and sending letters to friends
-Library- Books about friendship

- Easel -Students will paint pinata pictures with bright paint colors
-Dramatic Play - Grocery store with various roles. Students will create shopping lists and play the roles of cashier, bagger, and shopper.

- Blue Table - Play dough and pizza toppings
- Art table - Students will color and decorate turkeys.
Songs, Word Play, and Letters
Hello Mr. Turkey How are You?

Turkey Trot

We Eat Turkey

Alphabet Action Song
Looby Loo

Special Notes:

- Please send your child's favorite stuffed animal to school on Tuesday for the Pinata party!

-Wednesday November 24th is a half day of school. The morning session will run as a normal day and there will be no afternoon session. There will be no school on Thursday November 25th and Friday November 26th.

Friends Unit - Week 3

Books This Week:
Hooray A Pinata! By Elisa Kleven
Dandelion, By Don Freeman
Small Groups:
-Art - Students will make a Pinata with their small group. They will decorate it and decide on a name together.
-Language - Students will talk about the Pinata Party we will have next week! They will think of their favorite stuffed animals and make invitations to invite them to the party.
-Letters -Students will make OPEN and CLOSED signs for the grocery store. They will match the letters and glue them to the sign.
Choice Time:
-Sensory Table- modeling sand and construction trucks

-Writing- making stationary and sending letters to friends
- Manipulatives table - Paper Mache Pinatas
-Library- Books about friendship
--Dramatic Play - Grocery store with various roles. Students will create shopping lists and play the roles of cashier, bagger, and shopper.
-Rug - Cars and car tracks on the rug

**Art table - We will begin learning about a new letter each week! This week we will learn about the letter "C". Students will use toy cars and paint to decorate the letter "C" and save the picture to create an alphabet book.** Please look around your house with your child to find something that starts with the letter "C." Send it in this week for show and tell!
Songs, Word Play, and Letters

Pizza, Pizza Pie
Alphabet Action Song

5 Little Ducks

I'm a nut

Down By the Bay

Head Shoulders Knees and Toes

Making Pizza!

Last week we made pizzas like the Little Red Hen did in the story! We kneaded and pounded the dough, then we stretched it out, spread some tomato sauce on, and sprinkled the cheese. We baked it on the oven for 15 minutes, and the delicious smell reached our classroom. We took the pizzas home and shared them with our families!

Unit 2- Week 2

Books This Week:
The Little Red Hen, Retold By Philemon Sturges
A Letter to Amy, By Ezra Jack Keats
Small Groups:
-Math- Students will assemble fruit and vegetable puzzles. They will also use letter tiles to create their names.
-Language - Students will talk about the items and sort items in the grocery store.
-Letters -Students will play alphabet bingo and name memory.
Choice Time:
-Sensory Table- sand and molds
-Writing- making stationary and sending letters to friends
- Math and manipulatives - letter tiles and car color boards
-Library- Books about friendship
-Easel - Chalk coloring
-Dramatic Play - Grocery store
-Rug - Role playing with people and pretend playgrounds
**Art table - We will begin learning about a new letter each week! This week we will learn about the letter "B". Students will use beans to decorate the letter "B" and save the picture to create an alphabet book.** Please look around your house with your child to find something that starts with the letter "B." Send it in this week for show and tell!
Songs, Word Play, and Letters
5 Juicy Apples
Eentsy weentsy spider
If your name starts with...
Down by the Bay
Ten Little Fingers
Come on and Join into the game
Alphabet Action Song