December 20, 2009
The month of December has found our classroom routine a little more settled
than the last two months have been, with Mrs. Mary Downs joining us as our
(almost) full-time classroom aide. She has been a welcome addition and a
Godsend for me. It hasn't been the best time for someone new to aclimate to
our classroom, just coming off of the Feast and going through the exciting
and chaotic season of Advent in preparation for Christmas, but Mrs. Downs
made it to the Pageant! On the two afternoons Mrs. Downs will not be in the
classroom, Mrs. Andrea Patton (Miss Mahoney's part-time aide in second grade)
will be in our classroom. She already knows the children and they know her.
During the month of December, the following skills and concepts were taught:
Religion: The children learned about St. Nicholas as the origin of Santa
Claus. We gathered for Advent song and prayer each morning with the 1st and
2nd grades as we spent the season of Advent waiting and preparing for the
birth of Jesus on Christmas. We read “The Legend of the Candy Cane” as well
as many other Christmas themed books. Our preparations have been focused on
the true meaning of Christmas to us, and how we can show others our love by
giving gifts just as God showed his love for us by giving us his Son. We
will complete our school season of Advent with the Christmas Pageant.
Math: We have continued to work on recognizing and writing numbers up
through 20. During our morning opening we have continued focusing on
concepts of time (today, tomorrow, and yesterday), days of the week and
months of the year. We have focused on recognizing sets that have “more”
or “less” in them. Moneyw as introduced - only the penny so far - with the
children having the opportunity to use pennies to "purchase" candy in our
Legend of the Candy Cane Candy Store. In January we will continue working
with money - nickel, dime, quarater - using hands-on activities,
manipulatives, music, literature, and games. The children will have the
opportunity to use coins to purchase items in our Pet Store as we began a
unit on animals.
Science: The children learned a little bit about the physical science of how
things move, especially familiar types of toys. They learned that some
objects move with a push, others with a pull, and about how wheels make
moving things easier. They had several opportunities to explore "simple
machines" in the forms of inclined planes, levers, and wheels and axles. We
tied in science with our Treasures food unit by learning about the food
pyramid, food groups, good food choices and balanced meals, and other ways to
stay healthy.
Social Studies: The children learned about the differences between wants and
needs - a very important concept at this time of year. They had the
opportunity to use this knowledge as our school participated in a food drive
for St. Mark's food pantry and we emphasized to the children that they could
(should) use some of their money that they might be saving for something they
want to purchase the canned food to donate to people who need food. This is
a very powerful message and at least some of the children really understood.
We also talked about the sequence of events that must happen in order for the
items they need (food, shelter, clothing) to get to them.
Language Arts/Reading: We have been working on our Treasures unit on food.
The new letters we learned phonetically and practiced writing were Cc and Nn;
the next letters are Oo and Ff. Our most recently added sight words were to
and have, and the next words to be introduced are is and play. To reinforce
letter recognition and letter/sound recognition, the children cut out
pictures from magazines with the letter sounds, they practice "writing" the
letters in the air and in sand or paint, form the letter out of Wikki Stix or
Playdough, and listen to poems and music that reinforce letter sounds. The
children continue to do "journal writing" activities two to three times a
week and when we return from the break they will write about the sequence of
steps in making a favorite food or snack.