Winter Wear

This week we focused on how we dress when it's cold outside.
* We did the "snow-key pokey" and students called out the item of clothing they would wear as I pointed to a body part.
* We made guesses as to "how many mittens tall?" they were and graphed our results.
* We sorted and washed socks in our pretend washing machine then hung it out to dry on a clothesline.
* We played a mitten match up game
* We practiced sequencing a story using the flannel board for the story - The Three Little Kittens
* We created a web of Things I Wear in Winter
* We created button snakes to practice our buttoning skills

* We talked about what it means to have a matched set (as in mittens) and students created their own matching set of mittens using construction paper and various craft materials.
* We baked pretend berry pies like the ones we Mama cat made in The Three Little Kittens
* We created lots of cards in our new designated Writing Center
* We did Q-tip painting -- students practiced tracing letters using Q-tips
* We painted snowy scenes using white and blue paint, glue and a sprinkling of epson salts
* We played with "pretend snow" in our sensory table.
* We journaled about activities we enjoy in winter.
* We created collaborative works of art using large pieces of strofoam as a backdrop and a variety of art materials.

Books we read together:
One Mitten by Christine O'Connell George
Three Little Kittens by Jerry Pinkney
Froggy Gets Dressed by Johnathan London
The Hat by Jan Brett

Students loved decorating a large piece of styrofoam using various materials. They poked, colored, traced as conversations between them blossomed.

"I'm making a path to a treasure chest."

"I'm making a thunderstorm."

"I'm making footprints."

Mitten match up game. The students really enjoyed hanging them up on the line.

"Snow" play in the sensory table

Q-tip painting

We created a web about the kinds of clothes we wear in winter.

We discussed how mittens come in matching pairs and then they were challenged to design their own set.

As a learning extension to listening to The Three Little Kittens - students made pie.

A designated writing center has become a huge hit!

Painting with mittens!

Sorting, washing and hanging the clothing out to dry -- who knew doing laundry could be so much fun?

Doing the Snowkey Pokey - you put your left mitten in...

We painted the other side of our piece of styrofoam -- very fun.

Puzzle Partners

My son, Noah had the day off from school and really enjoyed hanging with the students...I think the feeling was mutual.

Process art - snowy scenes.

We created glue patterns and sprinkled on epson salts to create a look of glittery snow

Decorate a hat - arts n' crafts

Pie time!

Our new animal center - complete with habitat accessories is quite popular

Busy making cards for his grandparents.

Card-making fun

Miss Dian gets a checnk up.

We made guesses about how many mittens tall we were

Busy, creative hands hard at work - this time we added stamping to the mix.

Button snakes - a great way to practice buttoning skills and have fun with patterns, too.

Practicing those cutting skills while crafting a scarf

Winter scenes process art -- paint, glue and epson salts