Holiday Happiness and a Fond Farewell
12/23/2018
There was a definite buzz about our classroom this week as imaginations went into full gear ... Elves were busy making presents in the workshop, printing patterns on wrapping paper, making lists and checking them twice, cutting the printed paper to wrap the gifts and riding the sleigh. So many maths, literacy and fine motor skills were in abundance! The week concluded will some final preparations of greeting cards and decorations and then a movie treat. Of course our fruit snacks resembled our favorite Christmas character ready for watching the cartoon. Our first half of the year does end with a sad goodbye to one of our good friends though. Ben we wish you all the best in your new school and we can can all keep improving our writing skills by sending lots of messages.
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Run, run as fast as you can!
12/14/2018
You can't catch me... I'm the Gingerbread Man!The children loved inventing and using some of Pie Corbett's actions for the telling of the story. They were quickly imitating the order of the story, which is a great traditional tale for teaching them a journey sequence and the rule of 3. Some children naturally moved their learning forward to suggest innovations for their new versions of the story. Instead of a sly fox at the end, the pupils had ideas to change the ending to include a bird, snake or even dinosaur who would gobble up the Gingerbread Man. I look forward to showing you their innovated versions of the story next week. The children explored designing and making their own cottages in the construction area. Their were opportunities for writing in all our centers from writing gingerbread recipes, the key words from our story in the writing area glitter trays or writing instructions on how to build their houses. The Children are definitely now feeling in control of their learning and developing their environment. The think, pair share of ideas for next week's resources for the areas was fabulous. Through child initiated learning and our practitioners engaging in meaningful interactions with the pupils, we can skillfully build upon the children's thoughts and ideas, supporting the children's play, encouraging problem solving and offering effective feedback.
Bread Bun Baking
12/7/2018
It’s clear that baking bread gives children a sensory experience, maths experience, language experience, and science…. As if the changing properties from dry to wet, from dough to bread wasn’t enough, there’s the yeast. We left a bit of yeast in warm water with a spoonful of sugar just sitting on the counter as we worked through the recipe so they could see what those little pearls of yeast can do over time. This was definitely the children's favorite part, I wish I had captured their surprise on a video clip for you. As well as the kneading of the dough to strengthen their little finger and wrist muscles, the Little Red Hen also set them the task of designing, moulding and shaping their dough into a new design for her to sell in Bread Barn. The results from these budding young bakers were fabulous.
We can't wait to see what challenges the Gingerbread Man has in store for us next week. |
Melissa SmithMs. Smith has a degree in Early Childhood Education and has taught kindergarten for many years. Alaska has been home to Ms. Smith for 28 years, and she can't imagine living anywhere else! She has four children, a dog and two cats. She loves reading, camping, gardening, and genealogy! Archives
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