I knew that December would go by quickly, and as I'm sitting here writing on the last day of December, that thought has really been confirmed! Wow! Time flies when you're having fun! It seems like just yesterday we were doing our snowman glyph, which was an activity that helped us kick off the month of December. (Yes, there was some snow on the ground when we did this activity. Doesn't it seem a little backwards that with all the snow that we got at Thanksgiving time, it was quickly washed away just in time for Christmas?). Anyway, take a look at these cute snowmen that the kids created. Since it was a glyph, each one is a little different. When you hear glyph you probably think about hieroglyphics, which is an ancient form of writing that uses pictures. That is where the word glyph comes from in the crafting world. When you look at project that is a glyph, you will get information about the artist from the pictures or parts in each individual piece. In our snowmen glyphs the kids had to answer several "Get To Snow Me" questions before they were able to assemble their snowman. They had to tell if they liked or disliked snow- this determined the number of snowballs in the snowman (of course, in my experience, all first and second graders LOVE snow, so this was one part of the glyph that was the same for everyone!), the carrot pointed to the right if they like to make snowballs, but pointed to the left if they like to sled, the scarf was pink if they were girls and blue if they are boys, if they have ever built a snowman the hat went on straight, but if they did not it went on sideways (I think this was another one that was the same for everyone... I'm sure you can guess which way the hat went!), and finally, if the student had 5 or fewer letters in his or her name, they added 3 buttons, but got to add 4 buttons if their name had 6 or more letters in it. After the students wrote about themselves, they were able to create their snowmen! I love how each one came out a little different!
Throughout the month of December I always run a program in my classroom called
"Unwrap the Gift of Reading." I wrap lots of holiday related books (this year Mrs. Clark wrapped them all for us... thank you Mrs. Clark! We heart you! ). Then we invite many different adults into the classroom to be mystery readers. When they come they get to to unwrap a book to read to our class. Every year we get more and more volunteers. This year we had so many that we were able to have 1 reader a day (sometimes even 2!). The kids loved guessing who our readers were and they got pretty good at it too! Unwrapping the book made reading that much more exciting. I didn't get to take a picture of each and every mystery reader, but I did get a couple action shots!
A big thank you goes out to all of our readers... Mrs. Mazzotti, Mrs. Civiok, Mrs. Bonacio, Mrs. Walker, Mrs. Pangburn, Mr. McGrath, Mrs. Sunkes, Mrs. Neddo, Mrs. Clark, Mrs. Light, Mrs. Ferry, Mrs. Hyland, and all of our scheduled parents as well!
One of my favorite activities in December was Santa Science. First, the kids learned about the 5 steps in the Scientific Method. This was our guide for completing our daily science experiment. Each day the kiddos took part in a hands on science experiment that was somehow related to winter, snow, ice, Christmas, etc. After explaining the materials and process involved, I asked the students a question and they had to make a hypothesis. I must say, due to their experiences, these hypotheses became more and more scientific and educated as they weeks went on. After the hypothesis, they listed the steps involved and then it was time for the fun! Each time, they got to draw what happened and write a conclusion. Some of the experiments included a snow storm in a cup, food coloring and shaving cream mixture candy cane paintings, Starlite candies dropped in water, hot cocoa (with baking soda) and vinegar explosions, snow and ice melting predictions, creating candy cane ooblek with cornstarch, water, and bits of candy cane, Santa's milk with food coloring and dish soap, etc. Oh, and of course, what would be a SANTA science experiment, without our very own SANTA Scientist hats?!? How cute are they?!?
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There were many other fun December activities that the kids took part in as well. They created their very own reindeer drawings, as they listened to a parent give step by step directions during centers one day, they created light bulbs with phrases that told how they could "light the world with kindness" (unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the kids examples, but I did get a picture of our poster and Mrs. Olsen's, Mrs. Clark's, and my example!), they took part in fun parent created centers... thank you to Mrs. Vilics for the awesome ornament craft, and Mrs. Sargent for the yummy gingerbread cookie decorating activity!, and last but not least, they turned themselves into elves! This is always a favorite activity of mine. Before they create their elf, they have to complete an elf application and cover letter telling Santa why they would make a great elf. Their letters were typed and glued onto the body of their elf. If the kiddos want me to, I send their letters and applications to the North Pole. It is a tough job, but someone has to do it! I wonder if anyone was picked this year!
Believe it or not, throughout all of the hustle and bustle, the kids managed to fill the marble jar. I really try not to brag too much about how great these kids really are!!! In order to celebrate this great accomplishment, we had a Frozen Pajama party. We all wore our p.j.'s, watched the movie Frozen, had Frozen themed snacks, and took part in Frozen related activities. Our favorite activity was pin the nose on Olaf! I learned something new during the party too... Mrs. Olsen knows all the words to EVERY.SINGLE.FROZEN.SONG!! I taped some of my favorite Frozen quotes to the door.
We had a blast!
It's hard to believe that we are just about half way through the school year! With the holiday season just about over, we are getting ready for a New Year in room B4. We are looking forward to a great 2015 filled with fun and engaging learning experiences. I leave you with a couple great pictures of the kids with Ms. Maria in Chinese class, celebrating the Chinese New Year with their dragon dance.
