We have been having so much fun reading a Gingerbread story each day and discussing the similiarities and differences with each one. They LOVE sharing what they notice with each story and I am surprised with how closely they are listening to find the differences and similiarities. Way to go, K-1! With each story, we also identify the characters, the setting, if the gingerbread cookie gets eaten and how they got eaten or how they got away. Today I read a gingerbread story in the morning and another one this afernoon. Yesterday, I read The Gingerbread Girl so this morning, I read the sequel. I read The Gingerbread Girl Goes Animal Crackers. Many of my kindergarten friends hadn't heard this story before so it was fun to read and have them predict what they thought would happen. They LOVED the story! This afternoon, I read The Gingerbread Boy which took place in New York City. They loved all the characters in the story and how the story unfolded. Both books were so fun to read today!
To go along with our gingerbread stories, we made a paper gingerbread man or girl that they got to decorate however they wanted to. They were excited to bring them home to share with you. While the class was working on them, I pulled friends to my back table to make a holiday gift for their mom and dad. They were so excited to make this cute gift and they turned out SO CUTE!! I can't wait for you to get them!
In math, we are continuing to learn about 2D/3D shapes and positional words. They are LOVING this unit with learning about shapes and I love the excitement on their faces when I tell them it's math time! They are growning so much as learners and it's so exciting!
In writing this afternoon, I did a snowglobe directed drawing with them and then I asked them to color their picture and label it with their own "brave spelling." I was so proud of how well they all listened to the directions following the step-by-step directions to draw their snowglobes! All of them turned out AMAZING and they were all so proud of their drawings when they were done! I was blown away! WOW!! When they were done coloring and labeling their pictures, I asked them to write one complete sentence on their own that went with their picture. They all did a great job! I know it's hard and they are nervous to write on their own but they did GREAT!!! I was so proud of them! As they wrote, I walked around and helped those friends that needed it to ensure they were hearing the right sound when spelling words on their own. I was so proud to see complete sentences on their papers that began with a capital letter, had fingers spaces and punctuation at the end. They all have such neat handwriting and I loved seeing how they all took the time to ensure they were placing the letters on the lines in the correct way. Each time we write, they are growing more and more as writers! I have noticed a lot more confidence too! Wow! It's so exciting!
In reading this afternoon, we read this informational text called
Map My Neighborhood. They really liked this story and had fun with the activity that went along with it. I asked them to make their own map of their neighboorhood. We tried making a key for their map but it seemed really challenging. They did a great job trying and I LOVED all their maps they made! They had so much fun drawing their houses, their neighbors' houses, parks near their house, our school and other fun places they like to visit around town. I saw a lot of fun places like Target, McDonalds, Chuck E Cheese and Traders Joe's on their maps. I was so impressed with the creativity and detail they put into their maps! Way to go. K-1! They are all growing so much as learners and this time of year is so exciting! They are all taking off as readers, writers and in math! They are all just having so much fun learning which makes my teacher heart so very happy!
