This week was all about welcoming December, jingle bells, candy canes, baby Jesus and jumping! The classroom is decorated and the Dirt Pumpkin continues to grow! We are up to 11 sprouts! We ended both sessions with big swing time (it’s one of the best group activities especially when I sing made up verses to Jingle Bells and take breaks to clean up any messes the children can spy from the swing). 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!
Today we found the same baby from our Feast for Ten book is back for the Christmas for Ten book! Sweet baby. In the Thanksgiving book she fell asleep, in the Christmas book she played a drum (we pretended to be her playing a drum).
J Week Activities
Here are some J things for the week you can look for in photos, conversations and backpacks!
Jingle Bells: We finished up our 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 still 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.
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 a copy of it in our journals and can make the candy cane disappear by closing the journal!
We have our Alphabet Friend, Joey the Jokey J who is dressed up as a candy cane. Today children could make Joey the J babies and take them home. They are so sweet.
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.
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)
Jumping: in addition to our daily practice of this week’s Jumping Jacks Coping Skill (read more below), Jumping Land is back! This happens at the Circle Time rug and uses all the pillows and blankets we have.
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 and different types of paint.
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 carry them to and from the kitchen with ease!
In the morning we had fruit cups (and drank the juice with a straw first), crackers with peanut butter and cheese. In the afternoon we had Joyful Jello, jack fruit and colby jack Cheezits from Malcolm…thank you!!
What candy canes did we use for the game??
Today was a game of “What’s Missing” with 6 different candy canes: Shorty, Tall Guy, Greeny, Bluey, Broken Pink Rainbow and Crushed. I am sorry that I didn’t get a picture of them all!
I can attest to a GREAT set of memories! These kids didn’t miss a single missing candy cane.
Who is getting his hip fixed?
Grandpa Kelven! We worked hard on his Get Well poster today and made up songs about him to the tune of Jingle Bells. Fun fact that the children know: Grandpa Kelven and Ms Brenda are married so she will deliver him his poster.
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 
Love it! Love it!! Love it!!! ❤️