Our final week before Winter break brought cold and snow.  The children made good use of the new shovels and sleds donated by the Armstrong family.  They filled their sleds with snow and hauled their loads.  They shoveled out paths for walking.  Friends took turns pulling each other around the yard.
On Monday we read about wind, which is formed when cold air and warm air meet and change places.  We read the story When the Wind Blew.  We talked about how we can blow out and make a small wind and how that is used in art.  We watched a video about glass blowing, which showed us how artists use extremely hot melted glass, which they collect at the end of a blow pipe, then blow it and shape it into various glass pieces, such as paperweights, pitchers, sculptures, etc.  We then used our breath to make art by dropping liquid water colors onto paper and blowing air through straws to move the colors around, creating beautiful patterns.We celebrated our most recent fifth birthday.  The birthday boy brought a special cake to share with his friends.  After holding the earth and walking it around the candle sun five times through the four seasons as we counted out each year, we sang happy birthday and he blew out his candle.
On Tuesday we read the story The Snow Child, an old Russian Folktale about an elderly couple who never had children, which they desperately wanted, so one winter day they built a snow child who magically came to life.  Many children colored and cut out stick puppet figures of the old woman, the old man, and the snow child.
The children continued to practice daily for their Friday winter performance, perfecting the songs and their presentation of This is the Jacket I Wear in the Snow.
Wednesday was gingerbread day.  We read the stories The Gingerbread Man and The Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett.   Children then made foam gingerbread men using kits sent in by the Armstrong family, and several children made their very own paper gingerbread houses with assistance from Susan.  Many children helped to mix up a batch of gingerbread, measuring, pouring, and mixing ingredients together, before rolling and cutting out the gingerbread people.The much-anticipated pajama day finally arrived, and everyone excitedly participated in pajama day activities.  Many children made relaxation glitter jars by mixing water, clear glue, glitter glue, and glitter, then gluing the top on the jar and shaking it up, then watching the glitter swirl around and slowly settle back at the bottom.  Many children also used white circles, orange triangles, pompoms, pipe-cleaners, etc. to make snowmen.  Purple and white popcorn was poured into the popper and the children enthusiastically listened and watched as it slowly heated then began to pop, finally pouring out into the bowl.  They enjoyed dipping their gingerbread men into melted white chocolate and sprinkles, and drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows.  Tammy and the children strung up ropes and hung sheets to create our fort, then we snuggled up with our stuffies and blankets to listen to holiday stories, including How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Polar Express, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.In the afternoon, after rest time ended, the children played a fun game of friendship building cooperative musical chairs, where rather than children being eliminated as chairs were taken away, they had to figure out how to make sure that everyone had a seat.  They had a lot of fun squishing everyone in!
For Friday science we did a citrus taste test, a much-requested activity.  We discussed how citrus fruit are similar to each other and different from other fruit, particularly how they have thick peels that need to be removed and the insides are divided into segments filled with pulp.  We tested a lemon, a lime, a grapefruit, a tangerine, a clementine, and an orange.   The sweeter fruits were preferred by most, particularly the orange and clementine, but some loved the lemon and the lime and the grapefruit.
Our Winter program, selected and lead by Susan, was a huge success.  It was wonderful to have so many families in attendance.  Thank you so much to everyone for joining us and sharing some time together.  We wish you all a wonderful holiday season!  Enjoy your family time!  See you on January 2^nd.