Merry Christmas!

I have to be the luckiest teacher on earth because I get to teach these beautiful children! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday! See you next year!

i am kneeling....it looks like I am standing doesn't it! i will be shorter than all these students by the time they are in middle school but for now I am really the tallest! :)

Twas the week before Christmas.....

Here are some pictures of the crafts we did this week....


Added berries and ribbons to our wreaths....


painted the sticks to frame our ornaments...

decorated our ornaments.....

made candy canes from pony beads and pipe cleaners...

made reindeer food......

Trains.....

Recently I got out some battery-powered trains and they have quickly become the children's favorite......as you can tell....

Let's read!

It was so cute to watch the children all climb in the reading center "pool". It started out as one child and then they just all seemed to follow. Reading sure if fun when you have a friend to do it with!

Christmas wreaths

Today we finished up a few Christmas crafts we have been working on. This one will be a wreath. First the children painted a paper plate green. Then they painted some puzzle pieces. After I cut the circle from the middle of their plate they glued on the "leaves"(puzzle pieces). I put large dots of glue on their wreaths and asked them to place groups of 3 on each dot of glue. Next week we will add the "berries"(red glitter) and tie ribbon at the top! It should be a nice addition to your holiday decorations!:)

The Polar Express

To end our study of trains the children came to school in their PJs and we watched "The Polar Express"! We had popcorn, hot chocolate and marshmellows! It was a fun day!

The number train

Today the children created a numbered train. I gave them each 6 cars numbered 0-6. First they had to put them in numerical order and then they added Christmas stickers to each car according to its number. The children are really grasping their numbers!

Making Trains

Today we constructed trains from small boxes. We read some informational books about different train cars and discussed the difference between a cargo train and a passenger train. Each child made 2 train cars....they labeled one "cargo" and one "passenger".


Then we set up a station and put our passengers out(barbies) and our cargo(small toys). As their trains passed the station they were to load up a passenger and some cargo.


Kylie is pulling away from the station with her cargo and Todd is waiting to load up!


Some of the boys weren't too sure about the barbies;)

All aboard!!

After centers we played "Ticket to Ride". Each child was given 4 tickets with a letter on the back. They couldn't ride the train unless they had a ticket. The conductor would call out "All Aboard the "C" train". Then the children would look through their tickets and give the conductor the ticket with that letter. When they were all aboard we would sing "The Wheels on the Train" or "This Little Train".

Trains

Today we started talking about Trains. We read some books that discussed the different cars a train can have and how a train moves. We also sang a couple fun songs about trains. One in particular had verses for each color. As we sang about a color I had a battery-powered train to match that I handed to a child. After we sang all the verses, each child chose a cargo car for their train to pull. This cargo car was going to hold letters that they would pick up at the station. Then we built the tracks all over the playroom floor. I set up the station where the children would pick up their letters. As their train came into the station I would call out a letter -by name or sound- and they would identify it and place it into their cargo car. This was a very fun activity.

Morning Talk

The mornings are one of my favorite times. It is so fun to watch the expression on their faces as they come into school and greet their friends. I always have an activity waiting for them at the table to work on as we wait for the rest of the class to arrive. Some children start talking right away and others listen and wait. This morning we were stringing colored wheel pasta and we talked about Trent's birthday party and his "A-go Ooter" (Diego Scooter) which prompted the others to talk about their scooters. Then we talked about dogs and babies. I rarely have to prompt the children to talk--they always have lots to say! I love it!