More Gingerbread

This week we finished up our gingerbread unit and began talking about all things Christmas.  We began the week by making a pine cone ornament using colorful puff balls. 

We practiced making uppercase letters by first rolling "snakes" from play-doh, and then forming the snakes into letters. 

We worked together with a partner to play a simple board game.  Board games are great for developing counting skills, turn-taking, and social skills.  In this game, we tried to get the gingerbread baby home to his gingerbread house!

We spent more time learning about patterns.  By the end of the year, we want all of the students to be able to copy, extend and create AB patterns.  We have also been working on ABB and ABC patterns for  additional challenge :)

Finally, we finished up the week by making gingerbread houses!  Students enjoyed decorating their houses with lots of candy and took them home to eat.  Thank you to Ayden and Jae for bringing supplies to help us make them!

Don't forget to join us for our Christmas program on Tuesday evening at 6:30.  Please have children to our room by 6:00 so we can get ready.  Light refreshments will be served in the Fellowship Hall following the program. 

Our last book order before Christmas is due Monday.  Any books ordered will be here before Christmas.  We can also "hide" the books for you if you would like to order books for Christmas gifts and give them to you discreetly.  You can order online at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs using class activiation code GXPPV. 

Run, run, as fast as you can.....

You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!

We spent all week learning about gingerbread and will continue to read more gingerbread stories this week.  So far we've read The Gingerbread Man, The Gingerbread Baby, The Gingerbread Girl, and The Gingerbread Girl Goes Animal Crackers. 

We started the week by playing with some delicious smelling gingerbread play-doh.  Students used cookie cutters to make their own "cookies" for their bakery.  

We practiced sequencing events by putting four pictures from The Gingerbread Man in order and then gluing them to a story board.  After students put the pictures in order, they re-told the story to me.

We used holiday marshmallows to practice graphing.  We rolled a die, and then placed the corresponding marshmallow on the graph in the correct column.  The best part about this activity was eating the marshmallows, of course!

We've also been hard at work in our Handwriting Without Tears books.  So far we've been coloring pictures, really trying hard to stay in the lines and do our best work.  It's hard not to scribble!

On Thursday, we decorated our very own gingerbread cookie!  We were afraid to open the container because we thought the cookies might jump out and run away!  Thankfully, they stuck around so we could eat them!

We've also been hard at work practicing for our Christmas Program which will be held next Tuesday evening at 6:30 PM in the sanctuary.  Children need to be in our classroom by 6:00 so we can get ready.  You definitely won't want to miss the program, so please make sure to attend :)

Finally, PLEASE make sure to send hats and mittens with your child every day.  We had some cold hands last week outside. We do have some extras around the center, but we don't always have enough to go around.  If you need help purchasing winter items, please let me know.