SHOW AND TELL
Bring a symbol of Christmas.
(Think wrapping paper, Christmas ornament, etc.)
Topic: Christmas
Why we celebrate Christmas.
The value is peace, which is a calmness and quietness. It’s like a starry night in the country.
For manners, we’ll talk about saying Hello and Goodbye and how to say thank you for a gift.
Outside, we’ll play circle jump; Santa, your present is gone; and Rudolf, Rudolf Reindeer.
The songs we’ll be singing are Let There Be Peace on Earth, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Deck the Halls, Twelve Days of Christmas, Up on the Housetop, and Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer.
Creative dramatics is The Night Before Christmas.
Our art activities are Santa face lid, standup tree, snowman ornament, candy cane animals, and hand-y Christmas tree.
For motor development, we’ll work on coordination by carrying Santa’s toys and a kind of musical chairs. For proprioception we’ll do standing push-ups, pass a heavy object around the circle, leap frog, and pull a heavy thing.
CAR TRIP SANITY
Many times holidays mean a long car trip. We’re hearing all kinds of bad things about using electronic devices as pacifiers, and the fact is that this is an incredibly fleeting time with your family. Here are some suggestions not only to survive, but to thrive on those trips:
- Sing along – Preschoolers don’t care about your voice. They just want to connect. If you have audio music, pop it in. Finger movements and clapping songs are great. Our songbook at the school is full of common songs if you’re having trouble remembering the words. This is a great time to teach your children nursery rhymes and funny limericks.
- Games – It’s the connect thing again. Lots of naming games, like kids’ names, animals, toys, or foods, can be easy enough for 4’s and older. Another one is “20 questions” where you give clues of the thing or creature you’re thinking of. You can judge how easy or hard to make it. For example, “He lives at the North Pole” is a fun clue. Spotting games are fun, too, like who can see the first cow or who can find the most dented fenders or yellow license plates. Pick an item and think of all the things you can do with it. For example, a “shovel” can be used to stir a giant stew, play tennis, use as a catapult, etc. You’ll be amazed how creative you can be. It’s called higher-order thinking skills.
- Story building – Start a story, then let the next person repeat your part and add their own part. The next person repeats the whole story and adds their part. Let your ‘silly’ run wild on this one.
- Activity boxes – Assemble activity boxes for the kids. Older kids can make their own. If you’re the one doing it, make sure it has things they haven’t seen in a while and things they like to play with. Manipulatives without too many small parts work well. These are nice things to have with you once you get to your destination.
- Books – Coloring books, activity books, and story books all work. Story books that you can read aloud and maybe discuss get that connection thing going. Books with lots of complex pictures and great artwork are wonderful.
- Snacks – Healthy snacks don’t have to be monitored. Your children can eat as much as they want if it’s all nutritious. Dried fruits, nuts, and dry cereal don’t have to be chilled. If you can have a cooler, fruits, vegetables, water, and juices are nice.
- Breaks – Plan to stop often. You can, stop in the town for take-out, and then take a break where the children could run and yell for a half-hour.
On the Calendar
Winter Open House – On Friday December 23, is our Winter Open House. At 3pm we’ll begin the event with students demonstrating some of the work they do while at school, teachers will be nearby to explanation. 3:30 we’ll all gather around the fire place for a joyful sing-a-long. We’ll end the event with everyone gathering in the back yard to take our family portrait. All family and friends are welcomed to attend.
Peace Flags – For a part of our New Year’s theme, we’ll be making peace flags to send prayers out on the wind. Please be thinking what your family’s very specific wish for peace would be. Using a 6”x9” piece of fabric, write the wish with an indelible pin. Then plan to use that flag for the show-and-tell the week after Christmas.
School Closed – The school will be closed December 26 – 30, for Christmas, Monday January 2, for New Years and Monday January16, for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
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