Diamonds, Stars and the Holiday Gift Drive

This week the boys and girls cut a diamond shape from the beautiful paper they created by mixing watercolors in shaving cream and then transferring it. After cutting it out, they folded the diamond in half to discover two triangles. Then they cut their diamond in half on the creased line. Next the question was asked, "What can we make with the two triangles?"

So, the children turned the triangles around and around, remaking their diamond and creating other shapes. Finally, the two triangles were turned in to a star of David by placing one triangle upside down on top of the other. Then with the help of the teacher, they used all of their strength to staple it together.

Two little friendly frogs were travelled to Utah and Colorado with their families this week and enjoyed snow skiing and building snowmen!

"Oh my goodness, the water is GREEN!" Scooping, funneling and pouring green water between containers was so cool.

Dipping golf balls in cups of glittery paint and then rolling them back and forth over five point stars was quite a creative and exciting way to paint "rock and roll stars!"

Those friendly frogs have become so quick when listening to the clues for guessing the mystery reader! The children loved hearing the Dora story, "Sleeping Boots." Our mystery reader was impressed at what great listeners they were.

Over the past two weeks Alpha students have enjoyed learning about holiday traditions specific to Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanza. Through literature the children have grasped the importance of giving to others in need. Each day the boys and girls would add to the huge Holiday Gift Drive bins in the classroom that were overflowing. On Friday, they each carried a gift to the gym for our families to help make sure that they too, would have a happy holiday.

Friday's Exploring was full of holiday fun! The children spread icing on an ice cream cone before adding candies and sprinkles to make a yummy holiday tree.

Some built gingerbread houses of foam blocks and added pom-poms as gumdrops!

The children colored a drums, dreidels and other holiday symbols before stapling them to decorate their holiday headband.

Adding candles to the menorah.....

Trimming the tree....

and playing with ribbons and figurines in the doll house, were some of the activities enjoyed.

The children loved making music with Mrs. McIvor on the keyboard.

Squeezing paint bottles of holiday colors on to pieces of plexi-glass strengthened fine motor skills, was an experiment in color mixing and made beautiful prints on paper.

Some books read this week:

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed reindeer" by Robert May
"Chanukah Lights Everywhere" by Michael L. Rosen
"Counting to Christmas" by Nancy Tafuri
"Are You Grumpy Santa?" by Gregg and Evan Spiridellis

Upcoming Dates To Remember:
12/20 - 8:30 - Holiday Sing in Janet Root Theater/Holiday Party/Noon Dismissal
12/21- 1/3 - Winter Break
1/8 - Fire Station Field Trip
1/21 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day/School Closed
1/25 - Grandparent's Day

Gingerbread Men, Holiday Trees and Hanukkah

 Many shades of green were made when the children mixed a little blue and a little yellow paint last week in Exploring. After making designs in this new color they made print transfers, making beautiful holiday trees.

This week they decorated their trees by gluing on colorful stars with and adding colorful balls with paint dotters!

After reading the delightful story, "The Gingerbread Man," by Barbara McClintock, the boys  and girls chose a gingerbread boy or girl to decorate with buttons, pom-poms, rick-rack, small foam shapes and googly eyes! First they learned about symmetry, and some children chose to make their gingerbread man symmetrically!

The children really used their creativity when determining how they wanted to decorate their large star with a various colors and sizes of smaller stars.

Attaching train cars to make a holiday train can require teamwork and strengthens fine motor skills, as well!

Spending time in the Exploratorium gingerbread house making holiday toys with hammers and blocks
is popular place to be!

In Exploring on Friday, Mrs. Gootson told the children about how the shamash candle is used to light the candles on the menorah each of the eight nights of Hanukkah and about a favorite dish called, latkes.

First, the children shredded the potatoes.

Next they mixed the shredded potatoes, flour, eggs, salt and baking powder together, before Mrs. Gootson cooked them in hot oil.

Finally, hot latkes were enjoyed with applesauce, and many asked for more!

The children had lots of fun learning how to play the dreidel game!

Making jingle bell necklaces with bells and beads was a treat, and the boys and girls will be "jingling all the way" when they wear them to sing at Winston Park and the Holiday Sing.

The children loved watching the colors blend as they squeezed droppers of sparkly water color in shaving cream.

Then they were amazed at the results when they placed their paper on top of the shaving cream and then scraped off the remaining shaving cream, revealing the gorgeous mixture of colors!

Some books read this week:
"It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Kwanza"  by Rex Perry
"One Snowy Night" by Christina Butler
"Hanukkah" by Emily Sper
"Madeline's Christmas"  by Ludwig Bemelmans

Upcoming Dates:
 
12/3-12/14  Holiday Gift Drive
12/14  Exploring
12/17  Sing at Winston Park
12/20  Holiday Sing in Janet Root Theater (8:30), Holiday Party (10:00)
12/21-1/2  Winter Break
1/3 Classes resume
1/21 Dr. Martin Luther King holiday
1/25  Grandparent's Day

Part 2 (Holidays and Traditions)

Building colored shape structures and integrating snow ducks and ice....

Sorting colored bows into gift boxes and counting the lights on the menorah and

Making toys in the gingerbread house are just a few of the fun activities in which the children have been engaged !

"Little Yellow and Little Blue," by Leo Lioni is a wonderful book about the adventures of two new friends, "Yellow" and "Blue." The friends lost each other, and when they reunited they hugged so tight that they made "Green!" During Exploring on Friday the boys and girls experimented with their own little yellow and little blue.

They made many shades of green, created a design and then printed it on a Christmas tree!

The boys and girls explored uisng eye droppers to combine little drops of yellow and blue colored water, while strengthening their fine motor skills.

Lots of blue handprints were used to make the dreidel on the Exploratorium bulletin board!

For snack, yellow and blue cream cheese was mixed making green, to spread on snowflake crackers.

The children added colorful tri-beads to a chenille stem, making a candy cane.

A special December birthday was celebrated this week!

"It's Pajama Time" by Sandra Boynton was a favorite book shared by our visiting Mystery Reader.

Upcoming Dates:

Holiday Gift Drive 12/3-12/14
Exploring 12/7 and 12/14
E C Holiday Sing (8:30 AM, Party, Noon Dismissal)