Names & Numbers

Theme:  Letter N
We really focused on our Names and our Numbers this week.  I want them to at least recognize both and am encouraging them to practice writing them.  We had a lot of fun exploring both!

Choosing time:  Numbers, Number Puzzles, Number Cubes, Number Cups,....

Show & Tell:  We had some great things this week...lego Ninjas and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, New shoes, an "N" in the middle of China on a t-shirt, Ninjago dragon, necklace, New coloring book...:)

Snacks:

• Navel oranges, Nilla wafers, & Nuts
• Nutri-grain bars & carrots
• Apple slices, Animal crackers, & Crackers

Reading:  We added some new words to our word wall:  be, me, he, is, in, it, and no (which they all know really well)

Art:

• Name Snowmen--This tripled as a great math & reading/writing activity.  When we'd finished them, I hung them up on a wall.  We counted how many letters were in each name.  We made connections by realizing that Elizabeth and Charlotte have the same number of letters in their names and that their names had more letters than the others.  We continued to make connections within the class.  And then, I was so happy because they all began to ask me if we could count the letters in "Louisa's, Hattie's, Ewan's,....." names.  And then they compared those answers with how many letters were in their names.  It was AWESOME!  AND, I told them to go home and have you help them with other names that they are interested in counting :)
• Name mirror images

Music & Movement:

• 9 Dancing Snowmen
• 1, 2,,3, 4, 5, once...
• I'm a Nut
• Oh, What a Miracle

Number Game: After tossing the numbers 0-9 on the mats,  I played some fun & "groovy" music for the kiddos to dance to.  When the music stopped I called out a number.  Each child was able to find that number.  We finished when all the numbers were gone :)

Questions of the Week: (I tried to challenge them by switching the "yes" and "no" on our chart.  They all realized what I'd done and answered correctly :)

• Do you like to learn Numbers?
• Do you like Nuts?
• Do you like to eat Noodles?

Books:
 

Mini Messy Monsters

Theme:  Letter M
After learning the M sound we practiced identifying where the M sound falls in words.  For example, I would say, "family," and they would tell me, "middle."  This was a great way to listen to letter sounds.  We also thought hard to think of "M" words and came up with lots:  milk, moo, mat, math, mud, melt, my, mine, move, men, miss,........

Choosing Time:  Marbles, Magnets, Math, Monkeys, Medic, Mini Figures,......

Music & Movement:

• Oh What a Miracle
• ABC
• The Best Song Ever
• Do You Know the Muffin Man?
• Monkeys

Cooking:  We Mixed up a batch of Mini Muffins after taking turns to Mash bananas.  They were Mmm-mmm good!

Show & Tell:  Mini-figures, Motorcycles, Magnifying glass, Mountain shirt, Minnie Mouse, magnet....

Science:  Fun with a Miroscope

Snacks:

• Apples, Cheese, Vanilla Wafers
• Mini Muffins & Mandarin Oranges
• Mini Marshmallows

Game:  Monster Bingo

Questions of the week:

• Do you like Muffins?
• Do you like Marshmallows?
• Do you like Marbles?

Writing:  We practiced "M" using a light box and bingo markers

Art:

• Monsters
• Marble Painting
• Melting Beads

Books:

Light, Lines, & Legos

Theme:  Letter L
We made "L" shapes with our bodies.  We practiced writing L/l.  We sounded out some L words.  We played a game to guess if the "L" sound was in the beginning, middle, or end of the words I said.

Choosing Time:  Legos, Lacing Cards, Lacing Beads, Ladybug "L" Game, ...

Questions of the Week:

1. Do you like Learning Letters?
2. Do you like Licorice?
3. Do you like Lollipops?

Snack:

• Rice Krispy Treats
• Baby (Little) Bananas, Lemonade Cookies, & Little Carrots
• String Cheese (We made "L" with the cheese)

Art:

• Follow the lines Glue Snowflakes
• Line Lions
• Light Box Names & then drawing a picture of something we heard while Listening to a story recording
• Lego Painting

Music & Movement:

• Hurry, Hurry Drive the Fire Truck
• London Bridges

Birthday:  Happy Birthday to Seth!  Thank you for sharing some yummy ice cream with us!

Science & Math:

• Life Cycle of a Ladybug--We had so much fun with this!  After learning some facts one of the kiddos asked me, "How long do they live?"  I replied that I didn't know.  We researched it and learned that they can live up to 2 years and that they hibernate.  I LOVE that they question!  We watched a video clip of a ladybug who had one wing red and the other wing was yellow.  Then we watched a silly ladybug video that had us all busting up.  
• Licorice Length--I had found some extra long licorice.  We took a ruler and counted out the inches.  Then the kiddos helped me to measure one licorice piece.  It was 17" long!  Then we ate some, after making Loops with them!

Game:  FlashLight Letter Writing on the Ceiling

Reading:  We added some words to our word wall:  a, an, at, as, & am.  We learned that those are building words and had fun trying out some consonants in front of them to sound out new words.

Books:

Christmas Fun & Surprises

Theme:  For our last week in December before our break, I decided to forgo a letter theme and just enjoy some holiday fun.  I hope your children enjoyed this week as much as I did!  I did a really awful thing and put my camera in the washing machine by accident....I'm not sure if the pics are lost yet or not..........

Choosing Time:  Christmas Stamps, Nativity Set, Nativity Puppets, Christmas Coloring Sheets, Trains,....

Music & Movement:

• Jingle Bells
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
• Silent Night
• Shepherd's Carol
• We Wish You a Merry Christmas
• Frosty the Snowman
• Once there was a Snowman
• Snow is Falling
• Happiest Christmas Tree

Art:

• Hand Santas--I hope you enjoyed your special Christmas presents.  The kiddos spent a lot of careful time making, painting, and wrapping them.  I only drew some pencil guidelines, but the painting was all done by them  :)
• Reindeer--It was so exciting to watch the crayons melt and splatter all over the paper, floor, and fridge :) This could easily be classified as Science too.  We all made predictions about what would happen to the crayons when we put the blow dryer near them.  We were all surprised when one crayon actually just slipped out of the wrapper and fell to the floor instead of splattering.
• Christmas Tree Cards

Our Christmas Party: We decorated a tree with special ornaments.  Each ornament had a corresponding activity.  These are some of the things we did:

• Reindeer "Don't Eat Pete!" Game with M&M's
• Christmas Tree Bingo Game
• We played "Silent Night" using Pipe Chimes
• Musical Christmas Stocking ABC Game
• Decorated Sugar Cones to make edible Christmas Trees
• Sang & Danced several Christmas Songs
• Took some Christmas Pictures
• Ate yummy Snacks
• Read Some good books