Merry Christmas!

That's a wrap! I hope everyone has a wonderful, well deserved break! I am very proud of all my students and how far they have come this term. I look forward to seeing everyone in the new year! Merry Christmas! School resumes January 5th. 

Last Day of School!

Today was the last day of classes before Christmas break. In the morning we decorated gingerbread houses & sang carols in the gym. In the afternoon we watched Santa Paws and enjoyed some treats! 

Polar Express Day

On Thursday, the K-2 pod had Polar Express Day. The students made trains at home and brought them to school for the day. First we went on a train ride around the school then we rotated through 5 stations. At the first station the students made reindeer food, at the second station the students did Christmas dancing, at the third station the students played Christmas Bingo, at the fourth station the students enjoyed hot chocolate and at the fifth station the students sang Christmas Carols. It was a fun filled morning!

Parent Gifts

The students were very excited to make cards and a snowman ornament for their parents! 

Gingerbread

Throughout the past two weeks we have been learning all about gingerbread! 

We began our unit by reading the classic folktale, "The Gingerbread Man." Elements Elephant from our Critter Cafe wall helped us understand why story elements are important. Students then created three gingerbread men. On the first gingerbread man they wrote what happened at the beginning of the story. On the second gingerbread man they wrote what happened in the middle of the story. On the third gingerbread man they wrote what happened at the end of the story.

The students then learned a new critter named, C.C Cow. She taught us about comparing and contrasting stories. We read, "The Gingerbread Girl," "The Gingerbread Pirates," "The Gingerbread Cowboy," "The Gingerbread Baby," and "The Gingerbread Bear." C.C Cow helped us compare the characters, setting, problem and solution in each of the stories.

After reading, "The Gingerbread Girl," the students had to decide if they thought The Gingerbread Girl was a tough cookie or a smart cookie....most of them picked a smart cookie!

After reading, "The Gingerbread Cowboys," and "The Gingerbread Pirates," the students compared the characters from each story. How were they similar, different and the same?

What is one way The Gingerbread Man could have tricked the fox? He could have worn a disguise! The students came up with their own disguise for their gingerbread man.

Balto, send us on a scavenger hunt to find gingerbread cookies! It was a blast!