Today we finished learning all about the Gingerbread Man.
This morning, we practiced identifying everyone's last name and counting the number of syllables in each name. It's fun to see the progress the children have already made in learning each other's last names. During morning circle, we also sing a days of the week song and month of the year song. The month song repeats the months FOUR times. Today, the children continued to sing the song even after the end, so we sang the months FIVE times!
We continue to practice our play each day. The children know the words now and many can 'read' the play book independently (using the pictures as cues).
During math, we practiced counting pennies to match a particular number of ornaments, and asking someone to 'pay' for each item. We have a few more days to practice, so hopefully they will get the hang of it by Thursday.
Today, the playground was abuzz with talk with our partner class at DUMC. I heard the children asking each other for help, offering to help, commenting, and questioning. Because they see the same peers each day, they are learning to befriend each other. It was really, really cold out there today. I think it's supposed to be a little warmer for the rest of the week. Feel free to send gloves when the weather is as cold as today.
Once we returned from outside, we set to work on our sequencing/language activity: making gingerbread cookies! First, Joseph added the mix, then Tucker added a stick of butter, Evan added water and Beau added the egg. We all took turns stirring and cutting out gingerbread men (and trains). While the cookies baked, we read Tucker's book: Gingerbread Pirates. It's an adorable story about gingerbread cookies shaped as pirates who try to avoid being eaten by Santa. It's full of opportunities for wh- questions and inference questions.
Ms. Ellen isn't a baker- she placed the men too close and the stuck together! Oh, well.....they still tasted great! Ask your child to tell you the sequence to baking gingerbread cookies.
