How do you build a snowman? Make snowballs that are
Big......Bigger......and......Biggest! What a fun way to learn about
comparatives and superlatives! It's clearly a new concept that will
require lots more work this week, but a hands-on concept that proves to
be lots of fun.
Our story today was All You Need for a Snowman by Alice
Schertle. In this story, the author breaks down the materials needed
to make a snowman by saying "All you need for a snowman is....a
snowflake......EXCEPT....", then adds another item. Each time an item
is added, that's all you need.....EXCEPT..... The children noted
missing items on each page, "He needs a mouth!" "He needs a scarf!"
"He needs a carrot nose!" You can't fool TSGI TK kids!
After
reading the text, Evan and Beau shared some items they brought for our
snowman collage that we will make on Friday. We decided to collect
twigs from the playground to use as arms, so outside we went! The kids
had fun trying to find just the right size twig- not too fat....not too
skinny.....not too long.....not too short. The collections ended up in a
few pockets, so be forewarned.....just in case a few twigs remain! We
have a collection of collage materials, please feel free to send in any
more!
The
children are doing so well the 10 sounds we have learned thus far. We
reviewed them all today and I am amazed at how much they remembered over
the long weekend. Next, we will introduce a few vowels so we can start
making words (Thursday).
Our
new Everyday Word is ...... 'is'! Please practice the words at home,
letting your child 'read' those when you come to them while reading
books.
We
learned a new poem today, Little Snowman. It's filled with Everyday
Words. Have your child circle each one with a crayon then 'read' the
poem to you. Please help him memorize the poem.
Today's
art project also doubled as a sensory activity (for the children....and
ME!). Using wax paper with three circles, we filled a snowman shape
with glue. It required lots and lots of hard squeeeeeeezing!! We added
some decorations and twig arms. Once dry, we plan to peel the glue off
and (hopefully) have little plastic snowmen.
It's taken a while, but during journals today, everyone was able to work independently for at least 5 minutes. I sat back and watched as all my little friends busily (and happily) wrote words and read about our day. I even took a picture!
BOTCHED SNOWFLAKE UPDATE-
The
Holloway family secretly remade some borax snowflakes (which turned out
great- apparently, the 'magic' wasn't concentrated enough). The new
snowflakes appeared in class today and the children were so excited to
see 'their' magic snowflakes and chatted about them. When done
correctly, they are beautiful! We might use them in class for
decorations before sending them home.
ImaginOn
Trip Tomorrow- I can't wait to take my four little friends to ImaginOn
tomorrow! Come dressed for really cold weather.
