We Are Full of Joy in the OC! - Teacher Christine

This week was all about holiday gift making! The children worked hard making gifts and cards for their families. 

On Monday we decorated gift bags with stamps and special markers. 

The children also made a beautiful card to give to their families. We had different colors and sizes of paper to make a pretty tree shape on the front of the card.

On Wednesday the children had a great time putting together a top secret gift for their families. ;-)

We made our very own jingle bell shakers to use during the winter program.

On Friday, the children started the process of making a special lantern. They painted glue on the outside of a small jar and then rolled the jar in glitter, sparkly "snow" and epsom salts. Next week, we will add a beaded handle!

The children had so much fun playing the dreidel game on Friday! They loved learning the rules and practiced counting gelt. Many of them came back again and again to play.

The water tub was full of bears, boats, and bubbles this week.

At the light table we had clear plastic ornaments and a variety of red and green items the kids could stuff inside the ornaments and then pull them back out with tweezers. They loved this holiday themed fine motor activity.

Creation station was busy with makers of paper chains, beaded candy canes, gingerbread people, and more.

We had a festive winter scene at our building table.

The class is buzzing with creative and imaginative play! There are kitties, families, chefs, fire fighters and many more creative characters at play all day long.

Circle time was lots of fun this week. We practiced songs for the winter program and had a great time singing songs with our jingle bells. We learned a sweet version of "This Little Light of Mine" and another fun song called "Come Under My Umbrella".

This crew loves to listen to books! We read many books this week both at circle time and in our book nook. This week we read a book about Hanukkah, another book about Corduroy and his special Christmas, and a wonderful Jan Brett book called Gingerbread Baby.

We learned a silly poem about a gingerbread house that gets eaten up!

On Friday we had a special friendship circle and talked about how we let our lights shine in the world. Each child had the chance to share how they can spread kindness. :)

Recess is a great way to get our wiggles out!

Next week we continue to enjoy the fun and beauty of the holiday season. We can't wait to share with you what we have learned this fall during our winter program on Friday!

Warmly,
Christine and Meghan