Sing a Song of Winter

Our first week back after vacation the children were excited to see one another and eager to play.  The classroom transitioned to a theme of Winter as we discussed our current season.  Using an interactive book, Tap the Tree by Christie Matheson, we looked at how trees change over the seasons.  In the coming weeks we will discuss changes we observe and feel outside, clothing we wear in winter, winter activities and animals in winter.  Hopefully, the weather will cooperate soon!

This month we will also be focusing on shapes, continue with counting and number identification, work on sequencing stories, finish our first round of letters and sounds in preparation for writing, writing our names, listening for sounds in words and continuing with our Social Thinking curriculum.

Our centers this week all had a winter theme.

Dramatic Play:
In the dramatic play center we have an ice skating rink and snack shop set up.  The children are able to pretend to ice skate or play ice hockey or serve as a worker clearing the snow off of the rink.  They can also serve as cashiers, snack shop workers or customers buying hot chocolate.  Skills practice include reciprocating conversations, imaginative play, money, counting, comparing size, and writing with a purpose.

Art:
In celebration of the new year Students painted fireworks using the bottoms of water bottles. They then sprinkled their fireworks with glitter.

Playdoh:
At the playdoh center students built snowmen adding eyes, a scarf, buttons and stick arms.  The children are always very creative so there were snow tigers, snowmen with spiky hair and other out-of-the-box creatures.

Sensory Table:
At the sensory table, we conducted an experiment to see which home materials would make the best snow dough.  The children made four different mixes- corn starch and shaving cream, baking soda and conditioner, corn starch and conditioner and flour and baby oil.  The children were asked to describe the texture of the "snow" and they used words such as soft, slimy, gooey, and crumbly.  The second test was to see which dough could make the best snowman.  On the first day, the corn starch and shaving cream along with the flour and baby oil mixture were best.  However, after sitting overnight, the best snow was the baking soda and conditioner for its most lifelike appearance and feel, as well as its ability to be molded.  It was such a great experiment!

At the end of the week, we filled the sensory table with Insta Snow, a product that closely resembles real snow and will last for some time.

Games:
Our game this week was Don't Break the Ice!  It was a favorite of everyone!

Block Area:
In the block area this week, the children built with a new material, Lincoln Logs.  They were encouraged to build a winter log cabin, but they also built trees.  

In addition, the children constructed castles with Legos.

Playground Fun: