Hi Everyone,
This week we began by reading I Like It When and You Choose, both by Mary Murphy. We also read I Like Me, about a little pig with healthy self esteem. We looked at a collection of our pictures that we would
include in our Me books. Each person created a watercolor for their book. After a short interview they chose a cover and decorated it. They helped staple the pages together and then we read each person's All About Me book to the class. They were excited to hear each other's interviews.
We are continuing to read books about our five senses and to think about how we are using them. We are singing: Head, Shoulders Knees and Toes, Byum Byum By Bubblegum, Open Shut Them, Where Is Thumbkin?, This Little Light of Mine, and more. We played in the big room again this week. Much fun was had by all.
In the yard we are working on: speaking up for ourselves, using our words, listening to friends' words, taking turns on the swing and slide, asking for help if needed, falling down, and getting up.
During snack and lunch we are working on: eating our main meal first, chewing with our mouths closed, sitting in our chairs while eating, cleaning up our own place mats, opening and closing containers, and yes, eating.
We began our whole body tracings at the end of the week. We used crayons, markers, and watercolors, so far. We will do much more work on them next week.
Have a long weekend,
Therese
Sticks and Stones
Dear Mamas and Papas, We began our week reading four, yes four, versions of The Three Little Pigs. The children compared and contrasted, recalling each story and its many differences. When sharing about the books, we are practicing: using our words to describe details from our seats, listening to our friends, taking turns talking, remembering, recalling and retelling,using our sense of sight to look at pictures and compare,comprehension and analytical thinking. These are social, cognitive,and pre-reading skills hard at work. Afterwards we made sculptures using materials similar to what the three pigs used. Gray clay from the Earth combined with hay, sticks, and stones. The children maderobots, houses, gardens, an incubator, and more. Make that six versions of The Three Little Pigs. We made a chart tolook at the differences. We realized that the wolf is bad in only half the stories, while the pigs are bad in others. We also retold The Gingerbread Man and each person got a gingerbread cutout to color, add glue, and make swim through a river of rice and cinnamon. While they laid on the riverside to dry, we ran around the big room. After reading The Princess And The Pea, we worked with model magic to mix colors and make tiny peas. We then used our tiny fine motor skills to string them into necklaces. It was challenging but everyone worked and stayed focused. Friday morning we baked bread. Some of us turned the oven on, some poured ingredients into the bowl, some mixed, one person helped read the recipe, others put the bread in the oven and took it out when we smelled the scent of freshly baked bread. We all ate the bread with the butter we had made, and leftover apple butter. Yes, it was yummy. Afterwards we read The Little Red Hen. And An Egg Is Quiet. Our eggs are very quiet but we are expecting some noise on Monday Monday. We started a retelling of The Three Little Pigs and will finish it next week. Have a quiet blizzard! Therese