It’s A Blizzard In Here

Our second party was even cuter than the first!  Luckily I brought my real camera to school that day so these pictures actually aren’t blurry!  While the kids were at lunch 2 of Jack Frost’s helpers snuck in and turned our room into a snowy wonderland.  Goodies to eat, prizes to keep, and bells to wear.

When the kids came back from lunch it was priceless!  They were so excited to see the transformation!  I explained to them we had to do our calendar and then pack our things for home before we could start our party.  As the kids were collecting on the rug I walked over to my desk to check my email.  When I turned back around our calendar helper A had already started the class!  Ha!  I need motivation like that every day! 

Finally it was time to eat their goodies!  The kids went back to their seats and immediatlely put on their jingle bell necklace and dug into their treats. 

Mom’s handed out bananas and apples for the kids to assemble in the shape of a snowman.

 

 

 

That look on the left?  It says, “I know what I'm doing mom, I don’t need any help!”  It also says you’re in trouble in 10 years:)

The hardest part of our party was the time constraint.  We were rushed the whole time!  After eating we had to meet the rest of the school in the cafeteria for a sing along.  I had the kids put their take home items in their snowman bag so the Mom’s could set the tables for crafts while we were gone.

   

As we walked down the hallway I spied a little someone who just couldn’t part with her goodies yet:)

 

So, I thought we were going to a sing along.  I thought bringing our jingle bells would be perfect.  What I didn’t realize was that we would be watching and listening to the choir sing for the first 20 minutes and then we would be joining in.  Do you know how hard it is to get 20 five year olds to keep a jingle bell quiet?  Note to self: leave the bells in the room next time.

 

When we got back to the room it full on crafts!  There was a sock snowman, snowflake ornament, and a snowman magnet.  Everything turned out so cute!

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s hard to believe that the end of our party signaled the end of the first half of the year!  Hope you had a wonderful break with your family and we’re back to business in the new year!

Run, Run, As Fast As You Can!

December brought all things Gingerbread!  It was gingerbread books, projects, and fun!  C’s mom made gingerbread play dough with the kids.  That was a big hit!  They played with it the rest of the month!  

You can’t have all that gingerbread learning without making cookies, so one morning I decided we would do just that.  Each child got a ball of “dough” to make into a gingerbread man shape.

I had my oldest daughter Adrienne in helping for the morning, so I sent her down to put the cookies in the oven.  When they were done we all walked down to the oven to get them.  I couldn’t believe it when we got there and they were gone!  I should have put them in there myself.  Adrienne obviously didn’t close the oven door all the way, and they got away!

All we found in the oven was a note from the gingerbread man giving us a clue as to where he went.  We had to chase him through the halls to hunt him down!

We finally caught him back in our classroom!  He can’t trick us!

We were shocked to find that all our cookies had combined into one big Gingerbread Man!  He couldn’t outfox us because we’re a bunch of smart cookies!  We gobbled him right up before he had the chance to get away again!

 

Side note:  The timing was perfect.  Right after all that excitement it was time for music.  I happily dumped dropped them off.  There was a sub.  Poor girl, I should have tipped her for that 1/2 hour:) 

Outdoor Center

Oooohhhh, I was so sad about this!!  Our first field trip(and one I love) and I had a very sick kid at home:(  I had no choice but to send a sub to outdoor center with them.  Luckily I left the camera out and she took pictures for me!  I’ve been on this trip many times, so I know exactly what their doing!  

It was beatiful day for outside leaning!  I’ve been there in many different kinds of weather, rain, below zero temps, and snow, but this day was perfect!

When you arrive at the Outdoor Center the classes split up and rotate through the different activities.  We were lucky to get the head teacher Mr. Riley as our guide for the first part! 

  

The first part of the lesson is looking at trees outside.  The kids take a small hike through the trees identifying different foods for the birds.

After the walk the kids get to see the big bird feeders and sometimes a bird even comes for a munch!  Then it’s inside for more bird discussion.  First, they look at a real stuffed bird and a stuffed Tweety bird and compare the two.

Then they make a bird feeder out of a pine cone and popcorn!  The kids push the popcorn into the little spaces in the pine cone.

 

   

Then it’s into the lodge room to play a game with items that you find on trees.  Everyone gets an item to bring up to the tree.

The second project is making a satchel of potpourri from items all found on trees.

Once the potpourri is done, they put it in their bag with the pine cone birdfeeder, and it’s time to head out.  It’s a short trip, but so perfect for our first experience together away from school!  I only wish I could have been there!