Happy new year!

Happy new year everyone! I am excited to get back into the swing of things and start the second semester! This is going to be a good one! I am really going to try to update the blog at least once a week- but let's not get out hopes up too high!
Last week we started DRA2 testing and have seen amazing progress from all of the kids! For the month we are learning about all things winter- snow, penguins, and bears- oh my! You can check out some of the fantastic books we will be reading below. You can even have your child get some theme related books from the library( hint: Eric Carle is a great read)!

Thanksgiving

This week we are learning all about thanksgiving. We have done lots of talking about what we are thankful for (and some writing too!) We have also been learning about why we celebrate thanksgiving.

One project we did was to show why we are thankful. The students decorated paper plates to look like turkeys and Native Americans. One side is a turkey, flip it over, and voila!- you have a Native American. The students wrote what they ate thankful for on each of their feathers.

Another project we did really focused on the first thanksgiving and teamwork! The students were assigned to a team and together they had to build their very own mayflower ( but they were not allowed to name their own boat that). I have to say, they all worked extremely hard and hot along wonderfully while crafting their boats:)

You can all of our awesome creations below!

Election Day

To teach the kinders about democracy, we decided to hold an election of our own. The class had earned a special prize by earning all of their stickers for the week, so we decided to let the students vote to choose their special prize. W gave them three options: pajama party, popcorn party, and ice cream party. The kids loved casting their votes and tallying them to see which party won. It was a close race, but they voted to have an ice cream party. We held the party on Friday afternoon and invited their families to join in on the fun!

Go Away Big Green Monster

To get in the spirit of Halloween we did many art crafts and read tons of Halloween inspired books. Our favorite book and project this year was Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberly. We read the story and then created our own big green monsters. The kids used green paint to make symmetrical monster heads. Then they added all of the monster parts to make their own unique big green monster. We even had a siamese twin monster! The kids worked so hard and their projects look fabulous! See for yourself!

Playground Theatre

Today we had a wonderful visit from the Playground Theatre. Jeff and Mia taught the kids all about Halloween safety! They had an "eggscellent" interactive part of the show where many students got to go on stage. They also performed a skit about "ghost catchers". The kids had a blast! Thank you Playground Theatre for your wonderful show!

You can check them out at: playgroundtheatre.com

Doctor Bags!

For doctor week the students created their very own doctor bags. To increase their fine motor skills they laced up the sides if their bag. They all did an awesome job lacing all by themselves. On the front of the bag they wrote "Dr._________'s Bag". Inside they put medical tools such as band aids, a q-tip, cotton balls, and a tongue depressor. They had a blast pretending to be doctors!

Doctors, Dentists, and Vets!

This week we are learning about our community helpers: doctors, dentists, and vets! We had a vet visit today and a dentist is coming in on Friday!

Today we made the cutest skeletons out of q-tips. It was great watching the students design their skeletons. No two were alike.

We also made some doctor paper dolls. I got these dolls from education.com. This website is amazing! There are worksheets for every grade level and subject- including holidays! I can't wait to find ways to use this source on the classroom, or send it home!