Wednesday, March 30

Group Meeting:  We had a discussion about Bring a Grown Up Day.  We usually start our day with a movement video.  The children discussed which video the grown-ups would like to do.  I think you'll enjoy it!

Story:  The story for today was Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems.  In this story, the dinosaurs want Goldilocks to come into their house so that they can eat her.    Ask your child to tell you how this story is different from Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  

Letter Learning:  Uu

Large Group:  The children played "Jump the River".  I used two jump ropes to create river banks.  The jump ropes were close together.  After everyone jumped across, I moved them a little further apart.  I kept moving them and added a stepping stone.  This is one of those activities that is so simple and yet the children LOVE it.  They asked if we could do it again.

Snack:  The snack for today was Scooby Snacks, juice and water.  

We are looking forward to tomorrow!

Tuesday, March 29

Group Meeting:  Your child may mention something about Super Friends!  I am trying to acknowledge children who are good friends to their classmates and to their teachers.  I received four Super Friends capes.  When I see someone being a Super Friend, they get to wear the cape for a few minutes.  It is my goal to make sure that everyone is caught being a Super Friend!

Story:  The story for today was The Three Billy Goats Fluff by Rachael Mortimer and Liz Pichon.   This version of the story starts by explaining why the troll lives under the bridge.  He was looking for a quiet place to sleep.  He did not know about the goats that would be traveling back and forth making all kinds of noise.  The troll tells the goats that if they cannot be quiet that he will eat them.  The goats go back to their mother who knits booties (fluff) for the goats to wear.  When they cross the bridge, the troll can't hear them.  Now, the troll is happy and the goats can cross the bridge whenever they want.  

We compared this story to the original Three Billy Goats Gruff.  Ask your child to tell you what was the same and what was different.

Small Groups:  The children participated in an art activity in which they painted on aluminum foil.

Large Group:  The children ran relay races.  This cold weather has us back inside again.  We're hoping for warmer chances to go outside soon.

Snack:  Today was child's choice!  We had several things remaining from prior days.  The children got to choose something from the cupboard along with a choice of milk or juice.

Monday, March 29th

Group Meeting:  This week, we will be reviewing the fairy tales that we read during the month of March.  We will do this by reading different versions of the stories that we already read.  We will also be preparing for Bring a Grown up to School Day.

Story:  The story for today was Super Red Riding Hood by Claudia Davila.  In this version, Ruby likes to wear a cape and be a super hero.  One day, her mother sends her into the woods to gather raspberries.  On her way, she meets wolf.  Does the wolf want to go to grandmother's house?  Ask your child to tell you what the wolf wants.

After the story, we did a comparison.  I asked the children to help me make a list of things that were the same in both stories.  Then we made a list of things that were different.

Large Group:  The children participated in a obstacle course.  

Letter Learning:  Ii

Snack:  The snack for today was Triscuits, turkey slices, juice and water.

Thursday, March 24

Group Meeting:  For the past three days, our opening action video has been about clapping in rhythm.  The children have really enjoyed these.  It helps children follow directions.  The rhythms help with reading skills.

Story:  I did a re-read of The Ugly Duckling.  After the story, we talked about what we can learn from this story.  The children thought that the other farm animals were not nice in calling the baby swan ugly.  They thought the mother was very loving.  She loved the baby swan even though he didn't look like her other ducklings.  They thought we should be like the mother duck.

Next week, we will be reading different versions of the fairy tales that we have already read.  I also want to remind you that Bring a Grown-up to School is next Thursday, the 31st.

Small Groups:  The children completed a little book about themselves.  The title of the book was I Am Special.  They had to write their name, color eyes and hair to look like themselves.  On the last page, they had to draw a picture of something that they could do that made them special.  I will share these with you at conferences coming up in April.

Let's Find Out Magazine:  The magazine was about growing seeds.  The video was about how plants grow.  The link to this magazine is letsfindout.com  Log in as a student and use the password, redeemer.

Letter Learning:  Ee

Snack:  The snack for today was cinnamon raisin bread, milk, and water.

Wednesday, March 23

Group Meeting:  The children checked the beans that we planted yesterday to see if anything had changed.  The beans looked the same as yesterday.  It will take a few more days and some sunshine to make things happen!

Story:  The fairy tale for today was The Ugly Duckling retold by Mara Alperin.   The Ugly Duckling is a Hans Christian Anderson story.  The version that I read was adapted for little children.  A mother duck has five new ducklings, but one doesn't look like the rest.  The other farm animals call him the Ugly Duckling because he is different.  They are not kind to him.  When they fly south for the winter, the other ducks leave him behind.   Ask your child to tell you what happens when the Ugly Duckling grows up.

Small Groups:  The children counted the syllables in words from Jack in the Beanstalk.  They clapped to help them figure out how many parts were in the word.  They marked this on a paper using a dot a dot marker.  

Letter Learning:  Aa

Large Group:  After the story, we played Duck, Duck, Swan.  

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

Tuesday, March 22

Group Meeting:  During group meeting, I told the children that we would be growing beanstalks.  I asked the children if the beanstalks would grow to the sky.  At first they said yes, but then a few said, "Fairy tales are just pretend".  We'll see what happens😊

Story:  As I have done before, I did a re-read of the fairy tale Jack and the Beanstalk.   This time, I asked the children to insert the words "Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum" when we got the part about the giant.  The children liked saying it loudly when the giant was looking for Jack and softly when the giant was sleeping.

Small Groups:  The children sorted picture cards into groups according to the beginning sounds.  If the word started with a J sound like Jack, they placed on a picture of Jack.  If it started with a B sound like beanstalk, they placed it on a picture of the beanstalk.  If it started with a C sound like castle, they placed the card on the castle.

Large Group:  The children planted two bean seeds.  We learned that seeds need water and sunlight to grow.  Each child was given a plastic bag, a paper towel, and two bean seeds.  They dipped the paper towel into water to get it wet.  Then, they folded it and put it in the plastic bag.  They placed two seeds on the paper towel.  We will tape them in the window and watch what happens.

Letter Learning:  Ss

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

Monday, March 21

Group Meeting:  We started our session by talking about what we did during Spring Break.  The weather was great, and I was glad to hear that many children had the opportunity to play outside.   We spent all of our play time outside today.

Story:  We are continuing to read fairy tales.  Today's fairy tale was Jack and the Beanstalk retold by Melanie Joyce.   This is the classic tale of Jack who climbs the beanstalk and finds a giant at the top.  Ask your child to tell you what Jack stole from the giant.

Small Groups:  The children learned a new way to paint using paper, yarn, and paint.  First, the children folded a paper in half and then opened it up again.  Next, they dipped a long piece of yarn in paint.  They placed the yarn on the paper and folded the paper again.  Placing their hand on the paper to keep it from moving, they pulled the yarn piece out.  They did this with several colors and created some cool abstract pictures.

Letter Learning:  Gg

Large Group:  The children cut large leaves from construction paper.  We will use these to create a beanstalk in the classroom.

Snack:  The snack for today was whole wheat waffles with butter, juice and water.

Thursday, March 10

Group Meeting:  We danced to Koo Koo Kangaroo's Shamrock Shake.  We talked about the upcoming Spring Break.  

Story:  As I have been doing, I did a re-read of the fairy tale from yesterday, Henny Penny.  However, when I got to the end of the story, I asked the children if they'd like to re-write the ending so that Henny Penny and her friends do not go into the foxes den.  We came up with an ending that had the friends saying no to the fox.  However, they wanted me to read the original ending.  "It's the best", they said.

Letter Learning:  Cc

Let's Find Out:  The magazine for today was about the wind.  The video explained how the wind is created.  After we completed the work on the magazine, we did the dance break and played the video game.  They wanted me to share the link with you so that they can play it at home.  letsfindout.com  Sign in as a student using the password redeemer.

Snack:  The snack for today was caramel rice cakes, peanut butter, and water.

Wednesday, March 9

Group Meeting:  The children had so much fun with the sink and float activity that we did yesterday that I put it out again for them to experiment while we waited for everyone to arrive.  

Story:  The fairy tale that I read today was Henny Penny retold by Bonnie Dobkin.  This fairy tale can also be called Chicken Little.  In this story, an acorn falls and hits Henny Penny on the head.  She thinks the sky is falling and wants to tell the king.  She convinces her friends Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey, Turkey Lurkey, and Cocky Locky to join her, even though they don't believe her.  Along the way, she meets Foxy Loxy.  Ask your child to tell you what happens next.  After the story, we talked about using our brains to think things through before making decisions.  If Henny Penny and her friends would have take some time to think about what had happened, the story might have ended differently.

Small Groups:  The acorn in the story made us think about gravity.  What goes up, must come down.  We played with our stomp boards to make bean bags go up.  We tried to catch them on the way down.  I've attached a picture below to show you our stomp boards.

Large Group:  We watched a video about parachutes.   We learned that parachutes provide drag to slow things down when they are falling.  Tomorrow, we will try to make parachutes out of Dixie cups, coffee filters, and string.  Today, we used the class parachute to play a group game.

Letter Learning:  Yy

Snack:  The snack for today was yogurt, granola, and water. 

Tuesday, March 8

Group Meeting: After today's King and Queen, we are going to take a break from Show and Tell until after Spring Break.  Our 10 frame counting is up to 90 as of today.  The children noticed that we had one more 10 frame to fill to reach 100.

Story:  I did a re-read of the story from yesterday, Little Red Riding Hood.  The children were excited to hear this one again.  As I read the story, I stopped every once in a while to ask what Little Red Riding Hood should have done differently.  

Small Groups:  The children participated in a Sink or Float experiment.  I had two tubs of water and items to try such as a sponge, a toy boat, a rubber duck, blocks, a key, and a marble.  The children made predictions of what would happen and then recorded the result on their paper.  Ask them to tell you what items floated and which ones sank.

Large Group:  The children ran relay races.  We pretended to be Little Red Riding Hood racing to take a basket of apples to grandmothers house.  

Letter Learning:  Ww

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

Monday, March 7

Group Meeting:  We are continuing to learn using fairy tales as a focus.  We are also going to do a few St. Patrick's Day activities this week.  I'm always a little disappointed that St. Patrick's Day always falls during Spring Break.  

Story:  The fairy tale that I read today was Little Red Riding Hood retold by Bonnie Dobkin.  Little Red Riding Hood is bored.  Her mother gives her permission to visit her grandmother on the other side of the woods as long as she can do these three things; go straight to grandmother's house, don't talk to strangers, and don't stray from the path to grandma's house.  As you probably know, Red Riding Hood meets a wolf along the way.  There are various versions of this story.  In the story that I read today, Red Riding Hood's grandmother is swallowed by the wolf.  Fortunately, at the end of the story, Red Riding Hood's brother rescues Red Riding Hood and frees the grandmother from the wolves stomach.  After the story, we talked about what Red Riding Hood could have done differently and what she has learned.  I also stressed that this story is a fairy tale which means that it is not real.

Small Groups:  The children learned a new art method today.  Each child folded a large sheet of paper in half, opened it up again, and squirted small puddles of paint on the paper.  Then, they closed it and rubbed the paper to mix the paint.  When they opened it, they discovered a beautiful symmetric painting.

Large Group:  The children completed a Count the Room activity.  I placed pictures from the story around the room for the children to count.  They printed the numeral to match on their paper.

Letter Learning:  Qq

Snack:  The snack for today was cheese slices, Wheat Thins, and water.

If your child is in the afternoon class, they may have mentioned that I had to leave early today.  I have a cat that has asthma.  She had been having attacks all weekend.  The only time I could get her into the vet today was 2:00.  I am thankful that Mrs. Heimendinger and Mrs. Yocom can take over the class for me when I need to be gone!

Thursday, March 3

Group Meeting:  Today was March Birthday Day.  We will be making something with a rainbow on it for a snack.  We danced to Koo Koo Kangaroo's "Awesome Rainbows".

Story:  The story for today was a re-read of The Three Billy Goats Gruff.  The children enjoyed it again as I left out words for them to fill in.  The puppets were well used during play time as the children built bridges in the block area for the goats to cross.

Small Groups: The children made rainbow toast for a snack.  To make this, we put food coloring into milk and used little brushes to put it on slices of bread.  We bake it in the oven for 7 minutes which is just long enough for the milk to dry and the bread to get toasty.  The children could add butter if they wished. 

Let's Find Out Magazine:  Today's magazine was about alligators and how they grow.  The video was about animals that hatch from eggs.   If you would like to see the video and other accompanying activities, go to letsfindout.com  Sign in as a student using the password "redeemer".

Letter Learning:  Hh

Snacks:  The children ate the rainbow toast with milk and water.  We also had Birthday Brownies.

Wednesday, March 2

Group Meeting:  In many fairy tales, the animals act like people.  To start our day, we danced to "If Animals Could Dance" by the Learning Station.  

Story:  The fairy tale that we will be finishing the week with is The Three Billy Goats Gruff retold by Bonnie Dobkin.  This is the story of three brother goats who want to cross the bridge to get to the green grass on the other side.  Under the bridge lives a troll.  Ask your child to tell you how the goats trick the troll so that they can cross the bridge.

Small Groups:  We did one more activity with Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  The children had to think of a way for the three bears to keep Goldilocks from entering their house.  The first thing that the children thought of was locking the doors and windows.  Then they began to get a little more creative.  Soon, we had tigers by the door, tornados blowing her away and lasers tracking her movements.   They drew pictures to illustrate their ideas.

Large Group:  Using puppets, the children reenacted today's story.  They took turns being the troll and the goats.  The puppets will be around tomorrow for anyone who wants to retell it again.

Snack:  The snack for today was pretzels, cheese sticks, juice and water.

Tuesday, March 1

Group Meeting:  February flew by!  We introduced March today which means new stickers on the 10 frame, new Math Journals, and some St. Patrick's Day decorations.

Story:  I did a re-read of the story from yesterday, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, retold by Bonnie Dobkin.  This time, I would leave out a few words to see if the children could remember the story and add the words themselves.  They did a wonderful job.  It was fun to read it together.

Small Groups:  I gave the children a Little Reader book, Small, Medium, Large.  We learned that the outside of the book was the cover and the words on the front was the title.  Inside, I read the sentence on each page running my finger under the words.  Then, the children "read" the book with me.  I hope they will want to read it with you.

Large Group:  The children went to the Outdoor Classroom.  

Letter Learning:  Rr

Snack:  The snack for today was bagels, cream cheese, juice and water.