gift wrapping
gift wrapping

The children had a fun week!  They enjoyed making and wrapping presents for each other, decorating gingerbread men, creating winter scenes, doing puzzles, and reading lots of holiday stories.

wrapping an original piece of art
wrapping an original piece of art
decorating gingerbread men
decorating gingerbread men
The Polar Express
The Polar Express
puzzles
puzzles
more wrapping
more wrapping
dinosaur puzzle in spanish
dinosaur puzzle in spanish
truck puzzle
truck puzzle
indoor recess bunny apartments
indoor recess bunny apartments

Tuesday kept us inside with below zero temperatures and Wednesday brought our first snowy play day of the season.  Everyone had a fabulous time pulling the sleds around and shoveling them full of snow.

shoveling snow
shoveling snow
reptangles
reptangles
filling the sleds
filling the sleds
SNOW!
SNOW!

During Spanish Zeanny shared the tradition of Las Posadas, where families travel around town re-enacting Mary and Joseph’s search for lodging.  They form a procession, knocking on doors and requesting lodging until they arrive at a home where they are invited in and the fiesta begins.

red rod maze
red rod maze
artists at work
artists at work
counting tiles
counting tiles
cylinders
cylinders
dancing to holiday music
dancing to holiday music
nesting santa
nesting santa
trying to stand with a partner
trying to stand with a partner
constructing the fort
constructing the fort

Everyone was super excited for pajama day!  The children pulled all of the tables to the center rug and built a giant fort.  They had such a great time playing bears and other make-believe games.  They could not wait to make and eat the popcorn and hot chocolate.  We popped the kernels from the popcorn that the children harvested during our market week in November, which made lots of yummy white popcorn!

pajama day mural
pajama day mural
chalkboard art
chalkboard art
popcorn and hot chocolate
popcorn and hot chocolate
folding up the blankets from the fort
folding up the blankets from the fort
Frosty the Snowman
Frosty the Snowman
practice in pajamas
practice in pajamas
The Grinch Who Stole Christmas
The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

On Thursday afternoon the students went to the library to watch The Grinch Who Stole Christmas on the big screen, then headed back to school for a visit from an old Sunnybrook friend.  Everyone was so excited to see her.  We sure do miss her!

making books with an old friend
making books with an old friend

Friday students had fun preparing for the winter performance, making Christmas stories, building igloos on the playground, making more forts in the classroom, and singing lots of holiday songs.

The winter performance was fabulous!  The children did an exceptional job and it was a wonderful evening with the Sunnybrook families.  Thank you to everyone for joining us!  Wishing you all a very happy holiday season and a fun and relaxing vacation.

winter performance 2013 9