I am a HUGE Christmas fan. I love the music, décor, and all-around
joyous spirit that fills the air during this magical time of year, which is why I get so excited to bring any Christmas-themed
activity into our classroom. So, during the first week of December I thought
that it would be a neat idea to write a letter to Santa Claus as a class. At circle time we wrote a fun letter to
Santa, his elves, his reindeer, and of course Mrs. Claus. Instead of writing
him a wish list, our goal was to fill the letter with questions. This was a good
way for us to practice the skill of asking questions as well as
brainstorming. This was challenging at
times for some to hold back their magical wish list items however we all did it
and the letter was done!
Unfortunately, Santa's response arrived
after our last day of class however it was still exciting because we got to
open and read it on our first day back. The letter answered some of our questions
and described Santa's and Mrs. Claus's passion for gardening. Because their
garden is magical they are able to grow plants that thrive in warmer and cooler
climates. The letter explained that they often bring home plants and seeds from
their travels all over the world to grow in their garden. The letter also
included a pack of sunflower seeds for us to grow in our classroom. Everyone
had an opportunity to either plant or water the seeds. The children were
thrilled to be able to bring a bit of Santa's magic to our window sills.
Until next time
Jordan
We began one of our circle discussions with a question for the children, “What would you like to learn, wonder or hear about?” Here is what they said: “Skateboarding, Soccer, Perches” (Connor) “Bikes” (Taylor) “Going outside to see if I left my toy” (Jun) “The Sun” (Jack) “Rollerskating and Swimming” (Daniella)"Skating” (Noel) “Ball” (Sofie) “Scooter and Tricycle” (Masaki) “Shoes” (Ashlan) “When you put something under a pillow you can find it” (Tia) “Soccer” (Kyle) From my list I noticed quite a few of the children were interested in wheels, so at our next circle discussion we looked closely at a scooter and a pair of roller skates – as well as the wheels on a long board. The conversation brought up more questions and answers, which the children confidently discussed amongst themselves. One of the questions was “What makes this a scooter?” The conversation followed with “The scooter has a handle and a brake” and “I know how to ride a long board.” ...



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