Not smiling! No way!
Not smiling! No way!

Yay for snow!  The children had so much fun on the snowy playground all week.  They built snowmen and snowballs, chopped them up, dug them out, pulled friends in sleds, built towers out of snow chunks, mixed up mixtures of ice and snow, and had an overall fantastic time with their friends.

bundled up
bundled up
Yay for snow!
Yay for snow!
new friend
new friend

We were happy to welcome a new friend this week!  The children were excited to show her around and familiarize her with the routine.  She has very quickly integrated into the class and was busy making friends and checking out all that there is to do!

Fa la la la la  La la la la
Fa la la la la La la la la

Our circle times have been busy practicing, practicing, and practicing!  The children are really doing well with the songs we have learned so far, and they are quickly picking up the new song we introduced this week.  On Thursday they had fun dancing and singing it around the classroom.  For the mystery number of the day we counted how many times we sing Frosty the Snowman in the song “Frosty the Snowman,” how many fingers we each have, and how many letters are in the alphabet.  We read some winter stories, including But No Elephants, Frosty the Snowman, and The Snow Child.

writing
writing
hugs!
hugs!
wooden word cards
wooden word cards
washcloth folding
washcloth folding
trinomial cube
trinomial cube
stories
stories
number work
number work
more number work
more number work
practicing those fine motor skills
practicing those fine motor skills
mat work
mat work
letter formation
letter formation
more letter formation
more letter formation
metal insets
metal insets
art
art

The art table was busy as always.  Lanterns for the performance were completed, a variety of other drawing, cutting, and stapling projects were created, and several great stories were begun.

drawing
drawing

Monday students had fun at the library with Tammy in the morning.  For Monday art they did some painting and drawing with sticks and evergreen branches, creating some very interesting effects.

chillin in the quiet house
chillin in the quiet house
marble tube
marble tube
a different design
a different design

Friday students had a lot of fun creating marble runs with a giant tube that one of the friends brought in.  They created an obstacle course around the classroom, where they crawled under tables, tossed balls into baskets, hopped, somersaulted and cart-wheeled across the rug, and walked a tape balance beam.  For science everyone got a balloon to rub in their hair to create static electricity.  They had fun sticking them to the walls, easel, under tables, to themselves, and on the ceiling, then they used their balloons to play keep it up.  They had a great time outside playing in the sun and the snow.  They used shovels to dig and scoop up snow, create tunnels, chairs, and couches in the snow bank, and dislodge giant snowballs.

obstacle course
obstacle course
static electricity
static electricity
happy scientists
happy scientists
shovels!
shovels!
digging out the snowbank
digging out the snowbank