Last Day Before the Holiday Break

The students had been begging to watercolor for several weeks. We recently worked on W in Animated Alphabet, and I thought painting the W with watercolors would be perfect. As the students would say, "Ohhh, because watercolor starts with W." They loved it! They spent at least 20 minutes perfecting their W's. Later in the day, we got a visit from Mrs. G's dog. Our school has been raising money for the Helping Hands Humane Society for the Holidays, and primary (K-2) raised the most. This means we got a visit with a dog who originally came from the shelter. She was so sweet. Everybody got a chance to pet her.
Being the last day before the holiday break, we watched the cartoon version of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." Afterward, the students enjoyed cookies and chocolate milk. Unfortunately, I went home with the stomach flu after lunch, so I didn't get any pictures of the celebration. At the end of the day, the students went to the all school sing-a-long, and our school gave the Helping Hands Humane Society our donations. I was sad I missed it, but I'm sure they did a great job singing their song. Happy Holidays! I hope you enjoy the few pictures that I was able to get.

Painting their W's with watercolors



Petting Mrs. G's dog

Addition with Dice

Today, we played a new math game that helped us practice addition. Every student was given 2 dice and a blank graph (1-12). The students rolled the dice and added up the two numbers. Then, they colored in that corresponding number on the graph. They stopped when one number reached the top. It was a lot of fun and helped them with their addition skills!
Also, I gave the students their Christmas presents today. They each received a book called, "Let it Snow." It's a fun book with lots of rhymes in it. Lastly, I wanted to share a holiday picture of the class for you to enjoy.

Playing the Dice Throw game



Enjoying their new books


A class picture in front of our school's tree

Christmas Light Patterns

Today, we worked on AAB/ABB patterns. First, we practiced them together. Then, we glued Christmas lights to a strip of paper, and they chose their own AAB/ABB pattern to make. They look very festive and are proudly displayed in the hallway.

Here are some of the students holding up their Christmas light pattern strips:

Gingerbread Hunt

Today, we went down to the office to meet those gingerbread men. However, we were too late. They had already left, but they left us a clue. It was a picture of a piano. We knew right away they must have headed to the Music room. Those gingerbread men kept getting one step ahead of us, but always left us picture clues. The clues led us to many places in the school.
1. Music room
2. Library
3. Gym
When we arrived in the gym, Mr. Ziekle told us that he saw those tricky gingerbread men running down the hall to our room. We quietly crept down the hall. When we walked into our room, the cookies were at their seats! They left each student a special note. After we read the notes, we enjoyed those cookies.
In the afternoon, we played a fun game called, "Roll a Gingerbread Man." Each partner took turns rolling a dice. After they rolled, they looked at the directions to see what the number indicated they draw. For example, if they rolled a 3 that meant they should draw a face. The first person to complete their gingerbread man won.
Some kids drew maps for the hunt - Here they are with their maps before the hunt:

Holding up her partially eaten gingerbread man

Eating their gingerbread men

The whole class holding up their notes from their gingerbread men

Playing "Roll a Gingerbread Man"

They Ran Away!

Today, we made gingerbread men. Each student cut out their gingerbread man with a cookie cutter. Then, they decorated them with mini M&Ms and sprinkles. We planned to eat them at snack time. We had our cookies laying out on the table when we went outside for recess. When we came back inside, they were gone! There were M&Ms and sprinkles all around our classroom. We also found a note that read: "Before we are eaten, we want a tour of your school. Meet us at the office tomorrow morning." We plan to take them up on their offer. The students are so excited for the search tomorrow. They think they can catch them! They spent the last 15 minutes of school looking for clues in our room. :-)
We also graphed our favorite gingerbread story. "The Gingerbread Girl" ended up being our class favorite!

Making the cookies







Here's what our cookies looked like before they went in the oven:


Our Favorite Gingerbread Story graph

Happy Bear and a Birthday

Today, Happy Bear visited Kindergarten to teach us about good touches and bad touches. It is a great program, and it teaches the students how to protect themselves from abuse. We also celebrated another birthday today. Our birthday girl brought cupcakes and punch to share with us. The cupcakes even had rings on them! We enjoyed the delicious treats. Lastly, we read another gingerbread story called, "The Gingerbread Baby." It had a great surprise ending. After we read the book, we made our own gingerbread book. In our book, the students wrote who their gingerbread boy/girl was going to run away from. Then, they illustrated their pictures. They did a wonderful job, and we even added some glitter to our gingerbread boys/girls. They love the gingerbread rhyme in our book, and the book is now in our reading center.

Happy Bear visiting Kindergarten

Happy 6th Birthday A!

Enjoying the birthday treats






Our gingerbread book - The cover and a few pages from the book

Gingerbread Glyph

We have started a gingerbread unit for the holidays. We are reading all different kinds of gingerbread stories and comparing them with each other. So far, we have read:
1. The Gingerbread Boy
2. The Gingerbread Girl
3. The Gingerbread Cowboy
We are also doing lots of fun activities with all things gingerbread. Today, we made a gingerbread glyph. First, we cut out our gingerbread boys/girls. Then, we followed these glyph directions:
1. 5 years old - green eyes
6 years old - brown eyes
2. Boy - green triangle buttons
Girl - orange square buttons
3. Do you dip you cookies in milk?
Yes - 2 buttons
No - 3 buttons
4. What is your favorite type of milk?
Chocolate - Draw 3 stripes on the arms and legs
Strawberry - Draw 2 stripes on the arms and legs
White - Draw 1 stripe on the arms and legs

Lastly, they got to draw a mouth, nose, and hair to finish their gingerbread boys/girls.

Here are some of them with their "friends":

From Smallest to Biggest

In math, we put some silly looking trees in order from smallest to biggest. After they glued them in order, they colored the trees and added details to their pictures. They were very creative with the colors they used. :-) I also wanted to wish R a Happy Birthday! Unfortunately, I was sick on his birthday, so he got another chance to celebrate today.

Adding details to their pictures


Here's a friend with her finished work:

Some of their work proudly displayed in the hallway

Happy 6th Birthday!