Gingerbread Houses

On Friday, December 17th, our class made gingerbread houses! The excitement had been building for several weeks as we collected ice cream buckets, frosting, and supplies for decorating. Finally, the big day arrived, everything was ready, and it was time to begin! Each child had to invite one guest as a helper. We had moms, dads, grandmas, friends, and siblings join us as we created our houses.

We started the event by singing a few songs to entertain our guests.

We got our instructions on the Smartboard by looking at pictures from last year's blog post showing the whole process. We got lots of good ideas!

Everyone listened so well (adults, too)!
Finally, we could start.

The first step was to frost a foil-covered lid as a base for the house.

Then, we frosted an empty milk carton for the house.

Next, we stuck graham crackers to the cartons.

Frosting made great glue,

and it tasted good, too!

We also frosted ice cream cones for trees.

Then, the decorating began! We took turns going to the supply table to choose what we wanted to use to decorate the house.

There was lots to choose from!

Now, what to do with it all?

Everyone got a little sticky :-)

Work in progress!

Almost done! You can see from the smiling faces that all the kids had a good time.

Eli's little sister was having great fun sticking the pretzels in the frosting and then licking them (she probably wasn't the only one)!

The kids were very creative with all the gum drops, M&Ms, licorice, cereal, teddy grams, pretzels, etc.

Colored sugar, sprinkles, and coconut added extra color and texture.

It was hard to resist licking the frosting cans.

She's still licking those pretzels!

Mitch's mom couldn't be there to help (his grandma came instead), but she was able to stop in to see some of the finished projects.

The kids had so much fun and were so proud of their creations. Hopefully, they all made it home in one piece. Thanks, parents, for all of your help, and for taking time out of your busy day to take part in this fun activity!
Happy Holidays, and remember to read lots during vacation!

November Students of the Month

Congratulations to our November Students of the Month!

Mrs. Giese presented this month's awards to Jacob, Megan, and Mitch!

Good job, kids!

We're Learning to Read!

Have you listened to your children read lately? They have made so much progress! Learning to read is such an amazing process, and I am truly privileged to be a part of it! We work hard on reading every single day, and from the mini-books that come back signed each week, I know that you practice at home, too. Your children do have homework every night - read, read, read! Thank you so much for your help!

We have lots of leveled books that go with our themes.

Sometimes we have to share, but that's fun!

We have learned to work independently, too.

We work everyday in our practice books.

And, most days, we get to go to Centers!

http://www.starfall.com/ is a favorite web-site at the computer. Check it out at home! There are tons of activities for beginning readers.

We have lots of games to choose from at the Math Center, and there are addition and subtraction flash cards to practice facts. It's time to memorize the facts to 12!

The manipulatives/legos center is always a favorite, but since we rotate centers each day, no one is there more than once a week.

I think we need a center to practice tying shoes! If your child doesn't know how to tie, PLEASE practice at home! Many children have shoe laces dragging on the floor now that it's boots season.

We recently read a story called "At the Aquarium," so, of course, we had a Fish Center where we read books about sharks, whales, dolphins, and many other underwater creatures, and then we worked on a giant floor puzzle of a coral reef.

Our next big project is making gingerbread houses on Dec. 17th. Just a reminder that your child will need an adult to come to school by 8:30 am that morning to help with the project, and please be sure to have all the supplies to school by Dec. 10th. A letter was sent home on Dec. 3rd with all of the information. If you didn't get it, please call the school or send a note! Thanks in advance for your help with this fun activity!