You Can't Catch Me! I'm the Gingerbread Man!

The kids have enjoyed reading a variety of Gingerbread stories including; Gingerbread Boy, Gingerbread Girl, Gingerbread Baby, Gingerbread Friends, and Gingerbread Cowboy. In Morning meeting, we focused on the different characters and compared the different stories. We even had a chance to act out the story and role play different characters. Also, Sage was the Star of the Week and enjoyed sharing her pictures and brought in the story, The Cat in the Hat to read with the class. 

Centers

In Language Arts, the kids worked on a book, Where is the Gingerbread Man? We cut out 8 little gingerbread men and glued them on the animals on each page based on the clues from the positional words. To add an extra challenge, we circled the popcorn words in the story. The kids finished the activity by coloring and reading the story to each other. In Math, there were two different games. In the first game, the kids rolled two dice and counted the number of dots and then used a pompom to cover the number. Next, we played a matching game with cookie tens frames. The kids had to match the numeral to the number of cookies they counted.

Small Groups

In reading groups, some of the kids started with the Bob series books. There is an app on the iPad we worked with that has follow up activities based on the books. Other activities for the groups included making words and letter sounds and recognition. The kids are working really hard! In Art, we decorated our felt gingerbread man! You can see them inside of the classroom displayed on the wall. In journals, we described and drew a picture about our favorite scene from the Gingerbread Boy story. Many of the children incorporated the sneaky fox into their stories and thought they could run faster than the gingerbread boy did to escape the fox! A quote from one of the students, “Maybe gingerbread man needs captain America shoes so he can run really fast!” In the independent center, the children used the wood blocks to build a house and trap for the gingerbread man. 

Next week

It will be our last week before Winter Break and we will continue reading a few Gingerbread and winter books. We have our Winter Party on Friday. A big thank you to all the parents who signed up to help in the classroom and bring in cookie supplies! Looking forward to this exciting event. 

Spirit Week!

What a fun filled week celebrating our Roycemore Spirit. This week we showed our spirit by dressing up to particular themes such as; Pajama Day, Jersey Day, Wacky Wednesday, Throwback Thursday, and Blue and Gold Day. The kids had fun dressing up in different ways. Here is a look at the week:

Circle time

We learned about the school mascot, the Griffin. As a whole group, we completed a glyph by answering a series of questions about their favorite activities in school. These glyphs can be seen on the outside bulletin board. We also graphed our favorite Roycemore color. 

Centers

In math we used cubes to find various factors of 5. I introduced simple addition and finding the sum of 5. It was a challenge for many. For other levels we focused on sorting the blue and yellow cubes and counting using one to one correspondence. In the fine motor center, we worked on cutting with scissors on a straight line to make pompoms. The kids liked playing with their pompoms once the activity was complete. 

Small groups

In reading groups, we focused on making words and hearing all the sounds in decodable words. Some kids focused on beginning sounds and others were stretched to start blending sounds. In art, the children showed their creativity by decorating school pennants using a variety of art materials. In journals the prompt was, “If I were a Griffin…” We discussed how the Griffin was a mythological creature that was both a lion and eagle. Many of the kids talked about how they would fly in the sky and explore.

Special events

Thank you for all of your help for Grandparent’s Day. It was fun to have special visitors in the classroom. The kiddos did a great job at the musical as well!

Next week, we will dive into the Gingerbread theme. On Friday, December 19^th we will have the winter holiday party. If you have not received the Google doc with the volunteer and signup sheet please let me know. Also, Sage will be the Star of the Week. Looking forward to another great week (hopefully, with all healthy kids!).  

We had a great week practicing for Grandparent’s Day! The kids are excited to share their songs in the performance for their special guests on Tuesday! Also, this week we have explored Thanksgiving and the importance of being thankful.

Here is a look at the week:

Morning Meeting

We read a variety of Thanksgiving stories including; Little Bear’s Thanksgiving, It’s Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving Feast. In these stories we discussed themes, characters and traditions at home.  We also read a nonfiction text with the story of how and why Thanksgiving came about. William was the Star of the Week and was excited to share his poster!

Centers

In language arts we read a Thanksgiving book and searched for letters and the popcorn word, “is.” Also, we matched letters to the turkey feathers in a puzzle. In the fine motor center we made pumpkin pie play dough as a class. We followed the recipe of combining pumpkin puree, cornstarch and cinnamon spice and mixing it together to make play dough. The kids had fun playing with this dough using cookie cutters to make holiday cookies and pies. 

Small Groups

In one group this week we brainstormed all the food we eat for a Thanksgiving feast. The kids cut out pictures of food from a grocery store catalog and glued these on paper plates to make their feasts.  For journals this week the children made a class book. They answered the question, “What are you thankful for?” and drew a picture to correspond with the prompt.  This class book is displayed outside of the classroom for you to read. They did a nice job brainstorming different things they were thankful for. 

Next Week

We will begin our gingerbread theme throughout December with many fun activities planned. There will not be a blog update next week due to a short week and Grandparent’s Day. I hope you have a happy and safe break. I will see you all back at school on Monday, November 24. 

We finished up the Leo Lionni theme this week and the kids enjoyed listening to many of his stories including; The Color of My Own, It’s Mine, The Extraordinary Egg, and Swimmy. The children connected to many of the themes in the story such as; sharing, helping one another, and feeling scared! They were excited to share their own experiences with the class! Here is a look at the week and our activities:

Fun in PK!

Morning Meeting

 The children listened to the story, Turkey Trouble where the turkey was scared to get eaten for Thanksgiving dinner and found numerous disguises as a pig, cow, and a farmer to hide himself. With Thanksgiving around the corner, the kiddos worked hard at home disguising Turkey Tom and Turkey Tina, so they won’t get eaten for dinner! They had a blast sharing these turkeys to the class and asking questions about the costumes, colors, and masks on their friends’ turkeys. These are displayed on the bulletin board in the hallway. 

Centers

In Language Arts, we worked on letter sounds, beginning sounds, and making words with our magnetic letters. The kids were challenged and engaged at their group level. In math we made patterns with colored fish.  In the fine motor center, the kiddos strung beads on pipe cleaners and then made their own patterns. The independent center was trains and trucks. 

Small groups

In Journals, the prompt was, ‘What is your favorite ocean animal?’ This prompt was based on our story, Swimmy by Leo Lionni. The kiddos were quick to discuss different types of fish and sharks! In art we painted with watercolors to create a colorful chameleon from our story, The Color of My Own. These pictures are displayed inside the classroom. The kids took their time on these paintings, making sure they had all the colors on their chameleon. The independent center was magna tiles and puzzles.

Special events

Instead of reading buddies, the first graders visited our classroom to share their writer’s workshop stories. The PK kids did a great job listening and were proud to show the big kids around the room.

Next week

We will discuss Thanksgiving and friendship. William will be the Star of the Week! Also, stay tuned for more information about Grandparent’s Day on November 25^th.