This week is all about welcoming December, jingle bells inside and out, candy canes, baby Jesus and jumping! The classroom is decorated and the Dirt Pumpkin sprouted 3 more pumpkin plants over night! We get out the big swing sometimes when requested and this afternoon was one of those days. Read on to learn more about our play today.
We have several Story Time books this week in our ongoing search for baby Jesus’, jingle bells, candy canes and stars. In fact, many Christmas children’s books will have at least one of those items. You can find out which your child likes the best!
J Week Activities
Here are some J things for the week you can look for in photos, conversations and backpacks!
Golden Letters: We’ve got 4 Golden Letter friends…maybe you know some of them!
Jingle Bells: We are doing jingle bell sticker work (great fine motor work with an emphasis on one-to-one correspondence as they put a bell sticker on the end of a drawn string).
We have jingle bells in the Cloud Dough along with magnets, including a tub for any broken bells which slows down the play as children pause to shake and listen for the sound. We also have a set of outdoor jingle bells and magnet wands.
Candy Canes: Oh that silly letter J takes of their hat and turns themself into a candy cane! There is a little poem you might start to hear at home: You might think it’s just a J from our alphabet song, but really it’s a candy cane about to be gone!
We have our Alphabet Friend, Joey the Jokey J who is dressed up as a candy cane. We have pretend candy canes in our Water Table with mint water. There are beads and pipe cleaners for candy cane J ornaments all week. Joey loves all of those areas!
Today we made candy cane stripes in our journals:
Baby Jesus: We have 12 of them in the classroom.
They all have their own swaddling cloth and love to be held. Over the years they have acquired names including one who is simply known as Jesus because she was Jesus in a church play once. Here they all are:
- Newborn Girl (anatomically correct female)
- Toddler (may be small but looks older)
- Jesus (she was in the church play as Jesus once)
- Baby with Low Muscle Tone (very floppy)
- Real Baby (her textured hair is very realistic)
- Curly Girl (for her long red hair)
- Sports Guy (he came in a basketball outfit)
- Big Baby (our biggest)
- Heavy Baby (weighs about 5 pounds)
- Newborn Boy (anatomically correct male)
- Famous (she was on KWCH 12 news once in a Safe Sleep segment)
- Sleepy Baby (the eyes open and close)
Christmas Wreaths: our project for the month is adding layers to our Christmas wreath. This week we are painting the base layer with different shades of green.
Color of the Month: December’s Color of the Month is red and we’ve switched things out: the playdough and tools, the Tiny Things, the books, items in the Family Corner, puzzles and dress up clothes.
Here are 3 questions to learn more about our day:
What did you eat for snack today? We are so thankful for our new snack trays! Children started carrying them today from the kitchen to their spot at the Big Table.
In the morning we had Juicy Juice boxes, jelly jam filled muffins and colby jack cheese from Millie. In the afternoon we had Christmas fruit snacks, freeze dried strawberries and 2 kinds of Christmas goldfish crackers from Owen. Thank you so much friends!
How do you think Little Porcupine got down from the tree?
During Story Time we read about Little Porcupine “saving the show” by being the star but we never find out how he got down!
We decided he could have jumped, climbed or gotten a ladder. We imagined if he had jumped and then had the option of jumping off the table like he would have from the tree! Ms Kristin demonstrated first:
Did you jump in Jumping Land?
Some friends chose to watch only and some friends chose to take a turn to jump. You can watch it with a song on Instagram or with humming your own tune here:
Coping Skill of the Week: Jumping Jacks
This week we are practicing jumping jacks! Jumping in any form can be a coping skill for children to release and manage intense emotions, such as excitement.
Jumping can also be a therapeutic tool that helps children develop gross motor skills, improve proprioception systems, and boost the lymphatic system. Jumping involves complex motor planning, which requires coordination between muscles, timing of movements, and spatial awareness. These cognitive skills are important for tasks that require precise movements and adaptations to different environments.
newcreationpreschool.com 