Thursday, January 8, 2015

Check out this article about what scientists say about the benefits of dancing in the classroom.  http://teacherpop.org/2015/01/science-says-your-classroom-needs-more-dance-parties/

We love our dance breaks.


December Happenings

Know it's a little late but after a busy holiday season, I'm finally getting around to sharing all of the fun we had.
Room 8 was definitely feeling the holiday spirit.  Reading holiday stories, learning about different holiday traditions, singing holiday songs, making presents, seeing the winter concert, and having a Polar Express pajama day, were just some of the many activities we enjoyed.   Of course, there was plenty of learning to go along with it.


One of my favorite stories to read around this time of year is Gingerbread Friends by Jan Brett.  In this story, the Gingerbread baby loves living with Matty but he is lonely when Matty's not around and goes out to search for some friends.  While he is out having some adventures, we can see that Matty at home busy baking more gingerbread.  What a great surprise it is when the Gingerbread Baby comes home to find so many new friends.  it's such a sweet story and the illustrations are amazing.  The children really enjoyed it.  They then got a chance to make their own beautiful illustrations and write about why they liked the story.  I loved their details.




After learning about Chanukah, the children had fun playing the Dreidel game.




Our Polar Express Pajama Party was enjoyed by all.  What a fun, and comfy way to enjoy the last day of school before Winter Break.  We read the story, sequenced the events to help retell and then made our own Polar Express trains out of Graham Crackers.  Love the creativity.