Monday, November 21, 2016

Good afternoon JK friends and family!

We had a wonderful week preparing our classroom for Thanksgiving and Grandparent's and Special Friends Day.  In our writing center we practiced our lower and upper case "E" and made a list of "E" items, and read a story while identifying all of the "E's".  We made posters classifying items from long ago and items from present day.  It was interesting to hear about what the students thought the pilgrim children played and how they spent their time.








What a difference in how children play today. The children were also surprised to hear of all of the chores for which pilgrim children were responsible.  We talked about how they made their bread from scratch, using items they harvested. We made bread in the bread machine, using the same ingredients. It filled our room with smells like Thanksgiving morning at my Grandmother's house.  I also heard about all of the different kinds of bread the children have tried.  The most common types were blueberry, cranberry, and apple bread.

In our visual arts and fine motor skills center, we completed observation drawings of Indian Corn. Our science experiment has shown us that corn sprouts when put in water, even though it looks like it is not capable of growth.  The turkeys the children disguised are decorating our classroom and are amazing!  What a great job everyone did ensuring they will be hidden for Thanksgiving!  We also worked with water colors this week, experimenting with different colors which combine to make beautiful new colors.

The children made Thanksgiving books for you, practicing their writing on words used during the holiday. Their illustrations even included cornucopias!  What little artists and authors. We are beginning to introduce "popcorn" or "sight" words and encourage you to search for them at home when you are reading and in the community as you travel around the city.

We are looking forward to a fun performance tomorrow, and cannot wait to meet everyone.  Have a healthy and happy holiday weekend!  Gobble Gobble!!

Susie Massey