Making Pizzas With The Little Red Hen

Today was the last day of our cooking unit. Last week we read about the Little Red Hen. This week we read The Little Red Hen Makes A Pizza. Each child got to make his/her own pizza. We didn't use quite as many ingredients as the Little Red Hen did but it was fun, none the less. The story was very similar to the traditional story of the Little Red Hen but in the end, the Little Red Hen shares her pizza and the Cat, Dog, and Duck help her clean up in the end. The kids and I really liked this ending the best.

We graphed our favorite pizza toppings. The children were curious to see which toppings came ended up on top with the most votes. Pepperoni and cheese was won out! Along with adding and graphing, we also worked on counting by fives and we reviewed more calendar concepts.

We'll begin our art unit next week, a study that will take us through the month of May. Yes, this is our last unit of study. Can you believe it? I certainly can't. We will kick off the month of April with a pajama party, movie, and an egg hunt. The next two months are going to be filled with lots of fun and creative activities, which I am looking forward to.

The Little Red Hen- March 25

I apologize for being so late at posting for last week's class. Here's what we did last week:

*We worked on learning our phone numbers. We made mini phone books.

*We baked banana bread after reading the story, The Little Red Hen.

*Talked about measurements and being helpful.

*We had a special guest, Carissa, Michaela's sister.

Tomorrow, we will be reading, The Little Red Hen Makes A Pizza. We'll be making our own pizzas to eat for lunch. The pizzas will probably be more than enough for each child but if you'd like to pack a side of fruit or something else, feel free to do so. If your child isn't eating pizza then obviously you would need to pack a full lunch. Thank you! This is a fun activity that the children always look forward to. Our cooking unit has been a lot of fun. Oh, and I hope to have the recipe books ready to go home in about a week.

Did the Little Red Hen do the right thing? Here's what some of the children said:

"No because her friends didn't do the right thing and she didn't do the right thing." ~Michaela

"I don't know." ~Carissa

"She did because her friends did not help." ~Charlie

"She didn't do the right thing because you always need to be a nice person and give." ~Jackson

The Doorbell Rang

We had a very relaxing day. Only Charlie and Syan were present for the entire day! Michalea is sick with an ear infection. Andrew spent the day with his Granddaddy and cousin who is on Spring Break. Jackson spent the day with his Daddy working and visiting family out of town. That meant that Charlie and Syan got some extra attention and TLC today;-)

The first activity of the day was a computer program. Syan and Charlie worked on learning letter sounds and learning new words. I think that they enjoyed using the laptop. We worked on our delicious art project afterwards. We decorated cookies using food coloring and straws. Our cookies looked somewhat like edible Jackson Pollock masterpieces.

Our story today was The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins. We used the abacus to help us add and subtract throughout the story. We also learned about sharing and the blessings that sometimes come as a result. After our story, we used the water table to help us learn about measuring using measuring cups and water.

We had a very small class but it was a great day nonetheless. Hopefully we'll have everyone return next week for our story of The Little Red Hen. Hope to see you then!

You Can't Catch Me!

It's the beginning of a new month and a new unit. We began our "Foods in Literature" study this week. We had such a great time working on Gingerbread Man activities! We read the traditional story of the Gingerbread Man and we also read Jan Brett's, The Gingerbread Baby, which had a very different ending. This led to our discussion on how things are alike and different in comparison of the two stories.

We decorated paper Gingerbread Men during art. We also baked Gingerbread Cake. The children enjoyed tasting something new and different. Finally, during music and movement, the children pretended to be gingerbread people. They each were pretending to bake until I opened the oven when they jumped out chanting "you can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man" before running away. The kids wanted to do this activity over and over.

Some of the things that we will focus on this month are measurements. We'll also include concepts such as sharing, giving, and working together. Next week we will be reading the book, The Doorbell Rang, which includes problem solving, computation and data gathering.

I need at least two recipes from each child. We are making a recipe book which will also be part of our art project during the upcoming weeks. Please email me those recipes or bring them on Wednesday, at the latest. I would love for each child to be included in this project. Thank you!

It was nice to have everyone back today, happy and healthy. It was also nice to have warmer temperatures and sunshine back for a little while.

Today was the last day of our "Bucket Fillers" unit but that won't stop us from working to fill each other's buckets each week. I asked the children what they've learned about being bucket fillers and they had some wise comments. I wasn't able to write everything down but here are a few of their responses: We need to make people happy. Michaela Don't dip out of someone else's bucket . Charlie Being a bucket filler makes me happy. Syan You have to be really nice. Jackson If you hate people, it won't fill your bucket up. Andrew I pray that what we've learned in class this month carries over into our daily routines. I think taht the book has made a lasting impression on all of us. For those of you who are interested, you can find the book, Have You Filled A Bucket Today? on Amazon.com.. The children painted on small canvases today during art. Their task was to paint how they feel when their buckets are full. We also talked about how colors can be associated with different emotions. I was really impressed with the creativity that they exhibited today. From the looks of their creations, they are some really happy kids with full buckets! Some of the younger children needed a little assistance when it came to squeezing the paint bottles but check out their creations in the posted pictures! Next week, we'll begin our study on Foods In Literature. I'm looking forward to incoperating more cooking lessons into our March activities. See you then!

February 18, 2009

We had a very pleasant day this past Wednesday. We missed Michaela and Jackson. It seems like a lot of families are fighting colds but I do hope that everyone will return healthy and rested next week.

We got to celebrate Charlie's fourth birthday this past week. The cookie cake was delicious and was a hit with all of us! Thanks, Karin, for letting us be a part of Charlie's special week.

We'll spend one more week on our "bucket fillers" study. The children seem to be more deliberate about doing and saying nice things to others. I'm optimistic that this study will leave a lasting impact on all of us.

I took a poll and most of the children want to do a foods in literature unit next month. I'll send out more information next week along with a March calendar. I'm hoping to schedule a lot of different activities for next month.

Have a great weekend!

Valentine's Party

It was a beautiful day and today's weather was in stark contrast from last week's weather. We went from Winter to Spring in one week! The children had a great time outside today. We played in the woods and in the back yard for a good while.

We missed Michaela today. Andrew was out sick last week but he was back today. I hope that everyone gets well soon.

We enjoyed our spaghetti lunch. The children ate well. We had spaghetti and cheese bread along with banana cupcakes. I enjoyed serving them. Syan was still talking about mac and cheese so next time we may be eating homemade mac and cheese:-)

We are still talking about filling buckets. We'll read it each week this month. I think that the children really like the book and they are enjoying the challenge of being bucket fillers. I'll close this post with some comments from the children last week on how to fill buckets:

"We can be kind." Charlie

"Give hugs and kisses." Syan

"Tell them it's okay." Michaela

"Be nice to people." Jackson

Next week is Charlie's birthday and show and tell. See you then!