Jack-o-Lanterns, Halloween and Fall Exploring

The children really put  their fine motor skills to work this week when making their pumpkin necklaces. Not only did they thread the yarn through the two holes at the top of their pumpkin, they then threaded colored beads of their choice creating different patterns.

After planning the shapes that the children wanted to have for our class jack-lantern, we drew the face and then carved it. We compared the shapes as we drew them on our pumpkin.

Next came the really fun part....discovering what was inside! Using spoons, scoops and even our bare hands, we pulled out "gook" and seeds and even more seeds. Then the statement was made, "I wonder how many seeds there are in this pumpkin." Many different predictions were made. Next we will count the seeds to see which prediction was the closest. Then we might even taste them after they are baked!
During rest we turned out the lights and lit the candle. Our jack-o-lantern was ready just in time for....

H                A              L            L                 O              W             E         E              N!



What a surprise to see a flamingo, a skeleton, a wizard and so much more at the Friendly Frog's door on Halloween morning!

Then we were off to the Halloween Parade!

Have you ever seen anything cuter than this??? Alpha and JK students watched in delight as each Lower Division class paraded by in their costumes, before heading to the "big gym" to parade across the stage!

After a yummy spider snack and some fun games, it was time for even more fun at the Fall Festival!

A little bird saw four very friendly witches having fun at the festival!

Making turkey handprints at Exploring on Friday was a real treat. Each child was able to choose the color that they wanted their hands and fingers to be painted, before making their turkey handprints. These will be used for placemats at the upcoming Thanksgiving Feast!

The children decorated headbands, folded paper strips into zigzags for turkey legs and added feathers for the turkey hats that they will wear at our feast.

The children learned how to tap, bounce and tickle the large gathering drum and a smaller hand drum with Mrs. McIvor, keeping the rhythm and creating different sounds.

Rinsing vegetables in the colander and then scrubbing them clean was a "must do" before filling the cornucopia for a table decoration.

Last but not least, the children made the cutest and yummiest turkey snacks ever. Some turkeys had their feathers laying down and some were standing straight up!!

Some books read this week:

"Give Thanks For Each Day"  by Steve Metzger
"The Runaway Pumpkin"  by Kevin Lewis
"A Bad Case of Stripes"  by David Shannon

Upcoming Dates:
11/5-11/8 Book Fair (will be open after Poetry in the Park, too!)
Thursday November 8th /8:30 - Poetry in the Park (Please have your child wear or bring denim shorts, pants or skirt to school on Thursday morning for Poetry in the Park)
Friday November 9th / School Closed - Professional Day
Monday November 12th / Publix Field Trip
Friday November 16th/ Thanksgiving Feast
11/19-11/23 Thanksgiving Break