People of Now and Long Ago: Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Break!

We had a jam-packed week full of Thanksgiving fun where we focused on comparing people of today with the Pilgrims and Native Americans of long ago. We ready many non-fiction texts about the First Thanksgiving and also lots of fun, silly turkey stories!

We made "Thankful Pies" while wearing our chef hats and they're hanging on our bulletin board in our classroom! So many of our kiddos said they were thankful for school (and even some said me) and that makes my teacher heart so happy! They love to learn and I am SO thankful to be their teacher this year.

They also loved writing and sharing about their turkeys in disguise! I was so impressed with the creativity, but also their writing! I didn't have them write in small group... but just gave the directions and said, "Go to work!" and I am amazed at how STRONG their independent writing is already. Have I mentioned that I love teaching in small groups?! It so clearly shows how effective it is.

We also had some fun in math with addition! We read a Hershey's kisses book about adding and acted out the problems with REAL hershey kisses... which we of course ate afterward! :)

We also earned our second paw party and had our "lego party" the last hour of the day on Friday!

Thank you so very much to everyone who came to our Thanksgiving Feast on Wednesday! I am thankful for your amazing support!

Ask Your Child About:

-Phonics: We've moved on to handwriting for capital letters! A, B, C, D, E, F - How are E and F similar?

-Phonological Awareness: What is the middle sound in hot? mat? jet? What letters make the /sh/ sound?

-Reading: We sequenced the events in "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed A Pie"- What does it mean to sequence events? (Put them in order) Can you retell your favorite turkey story from this week?

-CENTERS: We had so many FUN centers this week- What was your favorite reading center? Sight word sandwiches? Table settings? Environmental Print Puzzles?

-Social Studies: How was the First Thanksgiving different than our Thanksgiving today? What were the "3 sisters?" (corn, beans, squash)

-Math: Addition within 10- What are some strategies you can use to solve addition problems? What's your favorite new addition center?

-Writing: How can you plan before you write your sentences? (circle maps, tree maps)

Also: Go check out the Mve Cubs Facebook page to see our Mannequin Challenge! With how much we move in our classroom, being a mannequin is quite the challenge...but they're always up for a challenge!

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving break and I hope that you find a little time each day to read or work on skills! I'm off to Florida to see family, friends, and my "old kids!" :) I still keep in touch with SO many of my kiddos and their families, so I hope you know you're stuck with me for a lot longer than just this year! Ha!

With SO much love (and thanks),

Ms. Ham