Feeling Thankful in Mixed Age!

Good afternoon mixed age families!

We have had yet another wonderful time this week in school. Everyone is doing a great job turning in their reading logs, and we would like to thank everyone for their generous donations to the food drive thus far. You are all amazing! This week we began talking about Thanksgiving, farms and farm animals, and introduced the idea of what it means to be thankful. Our letter of the week was the letter E; everyone continues to enjoy bringing in their show and tell items from home and sharing them with the class. Next week our letter of the week will be the letter F.

Here is a look at what we did in centers this week.

The sensory table is no longer Halloween themed and has been replaced with corn and other dry beans, pinecones, fall leaves, and farm animals. It was so wonderful to see how excited all of the children were for this new change! Everyone has really enjoyed playing in the corn and creating make believe farm scenarios. The cows and the pigs were definitely a huge hit!

The discovery center this week included corn kernel and gel sensory bags, and later on in the week included sensory bottles which included an I found it game. The children loved this activity! We also performed a science experiment for both classes that was called "dancing corn". Here we placed corn kernels in a mason jar, then added baking soda, water, and vinegar. This allowed multiple chemical reactions that the children were able to observe. After the initial "eruption" when the vinegar was added, the corn kernels continued to move up and down in the mason jar, allowing them to appear as if they were indeed "dancing". I loved seeing how excited everyone was during this experience.

The art easel this week included dot marker pages that pictured tractors and the letter E, as well as  water color painting and corn pictures.

The math table this week focused on patterns and offered an activity for extending them. This involved flashcards with different patterns and animal figures that the kiddos were then able to use in order to continue the pattern shown. 

The writing table this week included chalk boards and chalk, free writing and blank paper, and coloring pages. The coloring pages included images of Albuquerque the turkey and a bowl of mac and cheese. We will be using these in order to create props for our very own Friendship Feast that we will be having at school this month!

Our art projects this week are now hanging in the hallway and included a corn craft where the children used glitter glue, construction paper, and cheerios to decorate with, and also included painting with real corn! This was really messy and really fun!

Throughout the week we have been practicing singing the song, Albuquerque The Turkey for our Friendship Feast. The children love this song! It is really sweet. 

The books that we read this week included:

            I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed A Pie 

            Turkey Train

            Down by the Barn 

This week we had a visit from Sensei Michael on Wednesday, music with Mrs.T on Thursday, and a special visit from local author and former Jack and Jill parent,  Lindsay Bartholomew and her daughters. Needless to say, we had a really fun time in class this week!

Next week we will have " tie-dye Thursday", and I would like to remind you all that there is no school this coming Monday, November 11th in observation of Veteran's Day. I hope that you all have an amazing long weekend, and we can not wait to see everyone again next week! 

Sincerely,

Mrs. Mackenzie and Mrs. Haynes