What a blessed week it was last week! Students reflected on people and things that they are happy to have in their lives. We talked about what it means to be thankful and how we need to tell God thank you for all of the special people/things in our lives. 

Fun at Home!

Do you want to set up a cutting center at home? It's really easy - and makes it simple to practice cutting on a regular basis! Grab some scrap paper and put it in a plastic tub or bin. Our classroom tub is large, so we are able to cut over it when we practice. Another method for keeping the mess at a minimum is to have students cut over a tray. Some students are starting to become interested in cutting simple shapes (triangles, squares, and rectangles), which is great! Do not be worried if your child is not interested in that yet. The main focus at this time is strengthening the hand muscles and promoting good technique. 

Take a glance at some of our activities this week!

We had fun practicing spelling our names 

and making personalized turkeys!

 Students are gaining muscle control with play dough!

Some students are beginning to try to build letters!

We learned about things that start with N - like night!

We are learning about the number 9. 

The students traced the number with stickers.

 The class discussed things that we are thankful for 

(things that we are happy to have in our lives). 

We made thankful pumpkins to show our reflections.

 Students stamped the letter N!

Students were given the challenge of matching lids with their containers. 

They enjoyed this fine motor activity.

 Getting creative on the whiteboard...

We love books about Paw Patrol and the little dinosaurs!

The class worked together to make glazed carrots 

for the Thanksgiving Feast! 

We mixed butter, honey, and brown sugar.

At Jesus we learned how God provided food to the Israelites. 

God loves us! We may not always get the answer we want, 

but if we come to God with our problems, he will find the best solution.

See you next time!!

From across the sea to our own classroom - this past week has been about the adventure of the Pilgrims! Students learned about how the Pilgrims wanted to move to a new land, so they got into a large boat (or ship) and sailed to America. When they got there they met the Native Americans! The Pilgrims and the Native Americans are very different from each other. We compared their clothes, food, and homes. 

Fun at Home!

Making puppets are a great way to build fine motor skills and language skills. You can purchase brown paper bags from Walmart, grocery stores, and dollar stores and help your child decorate them into many different characters. Practice using different silly voices! Introduce new vocabulary! Help them put on a Puppet Show ! The possibilities are endless!

Check out other activities from this week!

We are starting to spend time cutting with scissors on a regular basis! 

We are not worried about what we cut. We are just focusing on the 

actions of safe cutting procedures. 

We painted our own versions of the Mayflower! 

The students taped flags on pop-sickle sticks to make it complete. 

Check out the great 3-dimensional display 

on our window the next time you come in the room! 

 

 Coloring together

Students practiced finding letters A, J, and M, 

by stamping them out.

 Our classroom volunteer, Mr. Kuppler, surprised the students with 

a special instrument, the dulcimer! 

Students were even given the chance 

to come up and help him strum.

 Students made Pilgrim puppets! 

The class bought some new books for our library last month.

Students seem to really love our new "Paw Patrol" book series!

Students made Letter M mice!

Students made Pilgrim faces using Paper plates. 

We tend to focus on facial crafts a lot in our classroom. 

We want to make sure that students are aware of all of the 

different components that make up the face. Next year, they will 

focus more on the rest of the body.

Students reviewed numbers two and three by tracing them with stickers.

Students practiced listening and math skills in this number hunt! 

Students listened to the teacher call out a number 

(visuals were provided for students who needed extra support) 

and they had to stamp it with the paint on their paper.

Students were given a chance to free paint, 

with the an added challenge of trying not to paint on the black lines!

We are starting to explore staying inside the lines as we continue to 

develop refined motor skills.

During Jesus time, students learned how God gave Moses the ability 

to part the sea so that he could lead people to safety.

God is so amazing - he can do anything! 

"My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do!"

I hope that this week you feel strong and confident in God's incredible power. Until next week!

Greetings from the Giraffe classroom! We had a busy week learning about Native Americans. The students learned that the Native Americans were the first people to live in America. They did not live in houses that look like our homes, nor did they dress like us! It was a fun week learning about a different culture!

Fun at Home

Want to make some Native American jewelry at home? It's very easy and builds great motor skills!

We used hemp twine for string - it tends to be more durable. We cut straws different lengths to use as beads as well as pony beads. Students thread the straws and beads onto the string. Before you know it, you have a beautiful necklace roughly resembling the art of Native Americans.

Take a look through some of our activities:

Students making Native American necklaces

Feather headresses! 

We learned that many tribes gave feathers 

to men after they performed great and heroic deeds.

 We watched a Native American drum circle 

and then made our own!

 We made Native American faces with our hand-prints!

 We painted rain sticks! 

 We learned that many Native Americans 

moved a lot to find food!

We made our own mini tee-pees.

During Jesus Time we learned about the 

10 men who had leprosy. Jesus healed all of the 

men, but only one came back to say "Thank you."

We have been reflecting on all of the wonderful 

gifts God gives us everyday.

Until next time....