Back to School....

What a wonderful first day back!!  The day began by each child taking turns sharing their favorite Christmas gift with their friends.  There were stories about who traveled and who stayed home.  There were stories about new pajamas and new toys and new games.  They were so excited to be back at school with their friends. 

We had to spend some extra time on the calendar because there were a lot of changes while we were gone.  The month, the year, and the season all changed while we were on break.  We re-dressed our "weather frog" in appropriate clothes and took the fall leaves off the tree and replaced them with snow!

Outside was cold and damp, but it had finally stopped raining, so the kids all had a great time running around playing.  When the Weekday school came out, there were more stories to share about the holiday break.  It was so neat to see the kids all starting conversations with their friends.  And without even missing a beat, a game of Duck, Duck, Goose popped up right away.

The story today was The Little Snowflake by Steve Metzger.  This story is about a snowflake who dreams of being part of a snowman.  We follow him on his adventures starting as he gathers courage to finally leave the cloud in the sky.  He rides along with a goose for a while, then finally ends up on a rock.  He thinks that his snowman wish may never come true, but the children spot him and find a special place on their snowman for him. 

We made a chart of all the things that we can do in the winter.  The kids used the book for some of their ideas, and they came up with some of their own.  All these ideas had to do with some serious snowfall.....so fingers crossed that we actually get some snow this year!

Art today was making snowflakes.  We used wax paper to make them look "snowy" and aluminum foil to make them look "shiny".  Our book taught us that every snowflake looks different, but they all have SIX sides.  We counted to make sure that our snowflakes all followed the rule. 

We ended the day with some new snow video songs.  The kids were starting to drag a little after lunch.  We could tell they aren't used to a school schedule.  They should all go to bed early tonight....I know the teachers will!!