Wednesday, December 15

Group Meeting:  When the children arrived at school today, the gingerbread man was gone.  He left a note saying that he was hiding.  We had to search for him.  Ask your child to tell you where he was hiding.

Story:  The story for today was The Gingerbread Man Loose in the Firetruck by Laura Murray.  I hadn't planned on reading this one, but the children saw that there was another in the series and asked me to read it.  The gingerbread man goes on a field trip with his class.  The Dalmatian at the station thinks he looks tasty.  The gingerbread man has to find places to hide and ends up in the firetruck.  A fire alarm sounds, and he joins the firefighters as they put out a fire.

Letter Learning:  Ii

Large Group:  The morning class went outdoors, but by the afternoon, it was too windy.  We played the Floor is Lava instead.

Snack:  The snack for today was white cheddar rice cakes, milk, and water.

The Christmas Program is tomorrow.  A note is in your child's bag today with more details.

Tuesday, December 14

Group Meeting:  The gingerbread man brought us a rhyming game today.  The children had to match rhyming pictures that were on a Christmas tree and presents.

Story:  The story for today was Gingerbread Mouse by Katy Bratun.    A little mouse loses her home when a tree branch falls on it.  She sees a house across the meadow and finds a gingerbread house inside.  She moves into the house but knows that when Christmas is over, the house will be taken apart.  Someone comes on Christmas Eve to bring something special to the mouse.  Ask your child to tell you what it is.

Letter Learning:  Hh

Christmas Program:  The children had a "dress rehearsal" today.  I think we're ready for Thursday!

Snack:  The snack for today was bananas, milk, and water.

Monday, December 13

Group Meeting:  The gingerbread man overheard us talking about something that we are making at the art table.  He wanted to help and brought us some sparkly stickers.  Sorry that I can't tell you anything more than that.  It's a holiday surprise.

Story: Our story was another in the series of The Gingerbread Man Loose.  Today, it was The Gingerbread Man Loose at the Zoo by Laura Murray.  The gingerbread and his class are going on a field trip to the zoo.  The teacher has given the class a set of riddles that they must solve to work their way through the zoo.  However, a giraffe tries to eat the Gingerbread Man, and he get's left behind.   Will he find the children?  What else does he find on the way?  Ask your child to tell you how this ends.

Small Groups:  We're working on something special...

Letter Learning:  Gg

Large Group:  The children practiced our program songs in the big room that we will be using on Thursday.  Tomorrow is "dress rehearsal".

Snack:  The snack for today was Cheerios, milk, and water.

Thursday, December 9

Group Meeting:  The gingerbread man overheard us talking about Birthday Day and how we were going to decorate cookies for snack time.  He surprised us by providing sprinkles for our cookies.

Story:  The story for today was Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett.  In this version, Matti makes a gingerbread man.  He puts it in the oven and is supposed to wait for 8 minutes.  However, he gets impatient and takes a peak.  Because he hasn't waited for the full bake time, the gingerbread man comes out as a baby.  The baby escapes and runs away from many characters in the book.  Matti thinks of a way to catch him.  Ask your child to tell you what he decides to do.

Letter Learning:  Ff

Let's Find Out Magazine:  The magazine for today was about holiday traditions.  We watched a video and then looked through the magazine.  We did not get time to do the last page.  I forgot to send it home with the morning class but remembered by the afternoon.  I will send it with the morning class on Monday.

Snack:  The children decorated sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles.  Our drinks were milk and water.

Wednesday, December 8

Group Meeting:  The gingerbread man had a treat for us. He has been watching us practice for our program and wanted to give us a treat for our hard work.

Story:  The story for today was The Elves and the Shoemaker retold by Freya Littledale.  A poor shoemaker and his wife had only one piece of leather to make one pair of shoes.  They laid it on their workbench so that they could make the shoes in the morning.  In the morning, the shoes miraculously  had been made.  A man bought the shoes and gave them a lot of money for them.  They cut more leather and again the shoes were complete in the morning.  Who is making the shoes during the night?  Ask your child to tell you.  Also ask your child to tell you how the shoemaker and his wife gave something back.

Small Groups:  The children made Christmas tree decorations to put in our windows using construction paper and tissue paper.

Large Group:  After our story, the children played the shoe game.  It is a hide and seek game using their shoes.

Snack:  The snack for today was Belvita bars, milk, and water.

An email will be sent out this afternoon asking for parents to sign up to bring refreshments to our Christmas program.  Please let me know if you do not receive it.

Tuesday, December 7

Group Meeting:  The gingerbread man was busy last night.  He hid pictures of little gingerbread men holding numerals all over the preschool.  We had to find them and then find a friend that had the same numeral.

Story:  The story for today was The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy by Catherine Woolley.  Petey is a puppy who would like to have a boy for Christmas.  His mother tells him that if he is good, she will find a boy for him.  When Christmas comes, Petey's mother cannot find a boy that doesn't already have a puppy.  Petey decides to find one for himself.  He sees other dogs with their boys, but none of them want to give their boy away.   At the end of the day, Petey sees a sign that says "Home for Boys".  Will Petey find a boy there?  Ask your child to tell you.

Small Groups:  The children played a game in which they had to guess what school item I had wrapped with tissue paper.  They could use their senses to guess, but they could not unwrap them.  They colored the item on their paper the same color as the tissue paper.  Once everyone was done, we unwrapped the items to see if they were correct.

Letter Learning:  Dd

Snacks:  The snack for today was English Muffins, fruit spread, milk, and water.

Monday, December 6

Group Meeting:  The gingerbread man brought us a felt tree and ornaments to use in our Housekeeping Area.  The children can take turns decorating it.  

Story:  The story for today was The Gingerbread Man Loose at Christmas by Laura Murray.  Last Monday, we read The Gingerbread Man Loose at School.  At the end of the story, the children made the gingerbread man part of their class.  In our story today, the children and gingerbread man are making cards and crafts to give to the community helpers in their neighborhood.  The gingerbread man makes a card for someone who is special to him, the town baker.  She was the one who shared her recipe for gingerbread with the class.  At the end of the story, the children make a big banner for their favorite person.  Ask your child to tell you who that is. 

Small Groups:  I would like to tell you about what the children completed at the art table today, but it is a Christmas program secret.   

Large Group:  The children practiced some of the parts for our Christmas program.  A note is in their folder with the details.

Snack:  The snack for today was apples, peanut butter, milk, and water.

Thursday, December 2

Group Meeting:  The gingerbread man had an interesting experiment for us today.  He brought a string of Christmas lights that had been cut into sections of two or three lights.  To make them light, we had to put both ends of the wires onto a battery.  Once the circuit was complete, the lights would work.  

Let's Find Out Magazine:  Our magazine was about animals that hibernate.  We cut the magazine and made it into a book that we read together instead of a story at story time.  The children were able to repeat the phrases and "read" it themselves.

Gross Motor:  The weather was great for going to the Outdoor Classroom. 

Letter Learning:  Bb 

Snack:  The snack for today was Clementine oranges, milk, and water.

Wednesday, December 1

Group Meeting:  The gingerbread man was back today.  He brought Magnatiles and jingle bells.  He challenged us to build something with the Magnatiles and see if the jingle bells would stick to what we built.  We discovered that they would!

Story:  The story for today was Santa's Secret Helper by Andrew Clements.  The elves at the north pole are especially busy.  This year, they need to pack two sleighs, get two sets of reindeer ready, and prepare two Santa suits.  Santa is going to have a helper.  The helper looks like Santa and does all of the things that Santa does.  Who is it?  Ask your child to tell you.

Small Groups:  The children used metallic chenille stems, beads, and a jingle bell to create an instrument for us to use in the Christmas Program.  They were encouraged to make patterns with the beads.

Letter Learning:  We are starting the alphabet for the second time.  This time we will do the letters in alphabetical order.  We are tracing the letters on paper and are attempting to make them on our own.  This is for practice purposes only.  We do not expect the children to make the letters perfectly.

Program Practice:  The children learned a few more songs for our program.  It's getting exciting!

Snacks:  The snack for today was carrots, Ranch dip, milk, and water.