There Once Was a Turtle...

Last week we learned the poem,

 There Once Was a Turtle

There once was a turtle who lived in a box

he swam in the puddles and climbed on the rocks

He snapped at a mosquito, he snapped at a flea

He snapped at a minnow and he snapped at me!

He caught that mosquito, he snapped at the flea,

he snapped at the minnow and he snapped at me!

 

In class, we worked together to identify the each word in the first two sentences. Then, each child got a handout with each word 'dotted'. We read the first two sentences together as a class, focusing on pointing to each word as we read. We worked on the sentences in small groups all week, and the students got to take home their handouts. Have your child read the poem to you!

 

 

Graph Mat

We made a floor graph last week! :) We sat in a circle and each child got a shape. They worked together to figure out where to put their shapes to make a graph. The first time we graphed by color, the next time we graphed by shape.

During center time, the students took turns recreating our graphs in small groups.

An Orange in January

Ms. Burbage read the students the book, An Orange In January (above) and passed out orange slices for the students to try. They agreed that an orange tastes just as good in January as it does during the summer. :)

Gingerbread Display

Our gingerbread men! :)

Corduroy

Our theme this month is 'Homes'. Last Friday, we read the book Corduroy. We talked about how Corduroy wanted to find his own home. In the art center, we made our own Corduroys. At the end of the day, we all 'held' our bears and read the sequel A Pocket for Corduroy.

 

Partner work

 

We do a lot of 'partner work' or teamwork during our math lessons. Here is a picture of the students working together to make different patterns. They were each given a handful of unifix cubes, had to put together their cubes in an ABAB pattern, and then had to find a friend whose blocks would continue their pattern. When they were finished we compared the different pattern towers, talked about which tower had more/fewer cubes, and the students presented their patterns. They are really enjoying math. We talk about how mathematicians count, compare, sort, and measure every day.

Winter Parent Workshop

On Thursday, December 20th we had our winter parent workshop. Everyone chipped in and we had a bounty of food, to include pizza! The parents completed two crafts with the children and we watched a movie of some of the best moments of the year so far. The kids had a great time and are still talking about it a few weeks later. Thank you for your support and for making this year such a success! :)