Happy Thanksgiving!

Last week we spent a lot of time in class learning about the first Thanksgiving. We learned about the pilgrims voyage across the ocean to a new world where they had freedom to worship God as they chose to.

We used graphic organizers to put together important information about Thanksgiving today and about the first Thanksgiving. After we learned about both of these celebrations, we made our very first double bubble organizer comparing and contrasting the two. We found that both Thanksgivings had similarities and differences. We learned that the first Thanksgiving was 3 days long, while ours is only 1. We learned that while the pilgrims did have pumpkin, they did not have the sugar or ovens to make pumpkin pies, which no one can imagine not having at Thanksgiving today! We also learned that both Thanksgivings were a time to celebrate what we all have to be thankful for and to share a meal and all you have. The pilgrims did this with the Native Americans who helped them learn to plant and harvest and today we do it with our friends and families.

In honor of the first Thanksgiving feast between the pilgrims and the Indians, we had a little fest of our own. Our wonderful room parents planned a fun morning for the Kindergarten classes, which included games, crafts, food, and fun! This was a great way for us to celebrate the holiday and all that we have to be thankful for!

We had lots of really fun activities at our feast!

There was a center where the children each decorated a feather and wrote what they were thankful for. Then they had to turkey trot over to put it on the big turkey.

We made pine cone turkeys!

We made noodle necklaces!

We decorated cookies for desert!

We listened to Thanksgiving stories!

We made popcorn maize!

And we decorated bags to put all of our goodies in!

And then we shared some traditional Thanksgiving foods! What a spread! We had ham, turkey, stuffing, rolls, and even pumpkin pie with whip cream on top! It was so delicious. The children sat down with their groups and enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal. Like the pilgrims and indians, they were with some old friends and some new ones alike.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Sherpas!

Our Leaves

Today we worked on a book called "My Leaf". To get started, each child had to find a leaf outside. We walked around our block looking for all of the fallen leaves that we could find. Each child got to choose their very own leaf to bring inside for their book. They got to look for the color, shape, and size that they liked.

Once everyone had a leaf, we headed back into our classroom to get started on our books.

Each child drew what their leaf looked like and then wrote the color word that described their leaf.

Then we split into table groups and worked at four different stations.

At one station, the children had drop their leaf and count as high as they could before it hit the ground.

At another station, the students measured how long their leaf was using linking cubes.

At another station the children covered their pennies with leaves and counted how many it took.

Everyone's favorite station was the one where they got to put their leaf into a bucket full of water and count how many pennies it took to make it sink.



The children had a great time doing all of these different things with their very own leaf. They also practiced many different skills.

Math

Students counted and practiced writing numbers.

Students practiced color recognition.

Students practiced using nonstandard units of measurement.

Writing

Students wrote the color word that described their leaf.

Students recorded their answers.

Science

We looked for fall leaves, learning about the season as well.

Students used observation skills to determine sinking and floating.

Students used observation skills to draw and describe their leaves.

Social Studies

Students had to work together at their stations.

Students had to share materials.

Fall Phonics Fun

Today we took advantage of the beautiful 70 degree weather to go outside and do some phonics!Something about being outside of our regular classroom makes learning SO much more fun.

We headed over to the courtyard at the church across the street to play "Word Hop". The children were given words and had to hop from letter to letter on the sidewalk to make them.

They had a ball!

This activity was a great way for us to practice letter recognition as we had to find the letters written on the sidewalk. It was also a great activity for students who are tactile/kinesthetic learners and like to move with their bodies when they are learning or reviewing material.

After we played a few rounds, I let the children go with the sidewalk chalk...

I was also happy to see so many of them practicing writing letters and making words that we have learned in class. Writing is always more fun when you get to do it with chalk or markers, instead of paper and pencil!

Fall Scavenger Hunt

Today we went on a fall scavenger hunt. We got zipped up in our jackets (it has gotten so cold all of a sudden!) and headed out around town to find fall things. Each child had a scavenger hunt sheet where they were coloring in the spaces of the things that they found. We were looking for several different kinds of leaves, a squirrel, an acorn, a sweater, a jacket, clouds, a pumpkin!

Fall leaves were not hard for us to find at all! We found a lot on the ground and even some on the trees still changing! We found leaves that were already turned and some that were still in the process of turning. This reminded us of the story we read yesterday, Autumn's First Leaf where the leaves were jealous when their friend started changing, were even more jealous when he changed all the way, and then were all happy again when they had all eventually changed.

The squirrel and the acorn were a little harder to find. We had to sneak up very quietly to the park and look very closely to see the squirrels scurrying in the trees. When we looked very carefully we even got to see a nest that the squirrels have built there.

We weren't able to find a real pumpkin, but we found several pumpkin decorations downtown in different storefront windows. One of the children's favorite was the HUGE pumpkin painted in the town square for downtown trick or treat and the pumpkin fest. One child remarked "I have never seen a pumpkin that big!!!" It was really neat that we were able to catch that on our way back to school.

Our fall scavenger hunt was a success! We found everything on our list and even found a few extra things! This was a fun way for the children to relate the different seasons to their own experiences. Children were able to see and feel the things that we have been talking about in class like the leaves changing and the temperature cooling. What a great way to learn right in our own backyard!!!

Halloween Fun

Last week we spent time learning about and celebrating Halloween. The children always enjoy this time of year. We read lots of really silly Halloween stories and had a great time making pictures of what we wanted to dress up as for Halloween. I loved hearing all of their great ideas!

On Friday, it was favorite book character day at our school. The children were able to bring in one dollar to wear a costume of their favorite book character. I loved getting to see their ideas. We had two Ironmans (iron men!?), a lion, a scarecrow, Snow White, Dora The Explorer, and a train engineer!

Friday morning we made a special snack! Monster Mash! I told the children the story of the witch that showed up at my house with this wonderful recipe and then we added all of the yummy ingredients!

Here is the recipe in case you want to make some at home!

Witches Teeth (Candy Corn)
Ghost Toes (Marshmallows)
Ghost Eyes (Chocolate Chips)
Witch Fingers (Bugles)
Skeleton Bones (Pretzels)
Skulls (Popcorn)
Bat Eyes (Red Hots)
Spider Webs (Chex Cereal)

Friday afternoon we had a party complete with cupcakes, goodie bags, chips, and candy! The children had a ball!

I hope everyone had a very safe and fun Halloween :)


Favorite Halloween Stories :
The Little Old Lady Who Isn't Afraid of Anything
Arthur's Halloween
Clifford: The Costume Contest
The Hall-o-weiner
Who Will Haunt My House on Halloween
There's a Monster In My Attic
Froggy's Halloween
The Biggest Pumpkin Ever