The weather created a 3 day week this past week. The time off was appreciated, however, December energy is already hard to control. For my class, Wednesday was a mixture of pure excitement and cooped up energy. With the weekend, it had almost been a week since we had been in school. Snowflake decided to go on strike Wednesday evening because they just needed reminders about being kind to others. Thursday morning, it promoted a great discussion during morning meeting about what a strike even is as well as why they thought she went on strike. They told me they needed to be better listeners and bucket fillers.
One of the things that I enjoy about teaching is that even though routine and structure are a necessity no two days are the same just as each class from year to year varies. It is always interesting to see the impact of ideas and lessons from year to year. Friday, Snowflake was in a kissing booth. If you want the free printable, you can find it here. I knew the booth needed something after our conversation on Thursday so the note was the perfect accessory. They thought this was bigger than her going on strike They also thought the elf kisses (chocolate chips) were funny.
We continue to work on our independence during daily 5 reading and math. Some days are better than others. It is only fitting that Snowfkake would share her love of books with us! On Monday, she will be reading some of my favorite holiday stories but she is also bringing a new book to us. A parent brought this book to me and told me she hadn't shared that she bought it with her child in case it could work in to Snowflake's adventures. I am excited to share it with them. The parent bought it at Target if you are interested.
The hardest part of the snow days in December is making up things that you can't make up in January and February. The gingerbread man brought us letters from Israel, Sweden, and Germany this week. When I had initially planned these countries, I had planned for 5 days! We still cooked latkes and enjoyed applesauce. We also played the dreidel game which they loved!! We had the opportunity to talk about half, add, and subtract. We have been working on our addition fluency with a game, the train game using Unifix cubes and a die. At math stations, they have also used the game to practice subtraction even though I haven't officially introduced it. We will probably play the dreidel game in the Spring to further the concept of subtraction and half. We also received gingerbread men and used tallies to graph which part if the body we ate first. We labeled the gingerbread using interactive writing. We also decorated homemade gingerbread men (or women) using icing and sprinkles. We made St. Lucia's Day crowns and ate cinnamon rolls when we visited Sweden.
We have been story mapping various versions of gingerbread stories. It has provided such great conversation about books! Specifically, we have compared and contrasted characters, setting, and the endings. When we talked about the two versions of the gingerbread boy, they referenced the Paul Galdone version looking old. Then one of my little boys said, "you know like 1986". The year, I was their age! I also loved sharing The Gingerbread Girl with them because it stunned them when she outfoxed the fox. We also had a great conversation about what that means as well as sly as a fox.
When we visited Germany, we learned that the tradition of trees began there. We worked on these ornaments for our families. They provided an opportunity to practice following directions because my little learners still struggle with multiple steps. We painted the trees and let them dry. In the afternoon, they picked out buttons and glued them on while I called them to hot glue the bow. I love how each tree reflects them as well as me. I love buttons and bows! Nevermind that I do not sew.
I still have a reindeer my kindergarten teacher made me so every year that I have taught kindergarten I have made my class reindeers. My grandma usually helps cut things out. This year, I packaged whoopers and cherry sours with a printable about reindeer noses. I also added the reindeer food they made when we visited Antartica and some grinch dust. I will send these home with them later this week. I have a sibling of a child that I had in K who is now in fifth grade. I have had a reindeer hanging on my classroom door all season. Last week, she says to me "my sister has one of these". Sometimes it is the littlest of things!
Next week is one of my favorites! I love sharing classic stories with them, making memories, and reflecting on our journey so far.
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