On the Go

Weekend News

Henry- I found a slug. I got a Kiwi Crate, I didn't build it but I opened it. I builded a Lego slug. I named it Slimey. Mommy named her Lego slug Sluggy.

Millie- I went to see Santa at Santa's house. I got duckies from Santa Claus. 

Dylan- I played with my friend Lucas. We played with toys. He came to my house and played. Lucas and Barrett were playing with me. Lucas's daddy and my daddy were talking.

Jessica- We didn't go anywhere because it was raining. We stayed inside, watched a movie and played with Teddy. Teddy was too upset because he didn't want to share, he was tired.

Lincoln- I play with my mommy and my dad. Then, I went to the cousins house. I went to the restaurant and see Santa. I talked to Santa, then I took pictures, then I ask Santa what I want for Christmas.

Thea- I went outside on another day because I was by myself with my bouncy ball outside in my front yard. My bouncy ball got lost. My daddy said I needed two people to play with me.

Zev- I watched a little bit of Pocoyo. We did meet gigi and poppy at a restaurant, except daddy was away, I think. Actually, I don't think. 

Asha- I played at home with Savi. I played toys with her, readed a book, and be with her. I helped mommy and daddy. I helped mom make the Christmas cards.

Jaylen- We went to get our tree. After we got our tree, Sadie and Kaya and daddy went to the library. Mommy was resting on the chair and I was walking around.

Gracie-  I played a game with Sophie. That's our babysitter sometimes. We played with toys, we played with trains.

Natey- Jonah and Reecey and Kelly come to my house. There was a lot of games. I went to the restaurant and I ate food. I see Santa and I talk to him. I said, "Let's get a picture," and we got a picture.

Vivian- On the first day, one of my old friends from my old school came over and we made cookies. Chocolate chip cookies! On the second day, I went to my aunt and uncle's house for dinner and Matilda fell asleep in the car, that's why we brought her pajamas. On the last day, I went to the library. I got The Princess in Black.

Today in library, Michelle read The Boy Who Wants Mars.

After library, we had morning meeting and then headed to music rehearsal in the auditorium. Today friends practiced in their costumes! Friends looked great on stage, and cannot wait to perform for you all!

Our show is this Wednesday, 12/19, at 9:00am!

Following rehearsal, we came back to the classroom for snack and a short choice time. Friends worked on the clouds for our savanna scene. Some friends made large clouds, which the teachers helped to cut out, and other friends helped to add texture and dimension by pasting on cotton balls.

We know the amount of pictures is slim today! We captured what we could! 

Ask your Sparrow what they like about being on stage.

Have a great evening!

Year of the Pig

Today, Henry's parents, Julie and John, joined us for family holiday sharing. Julie shared that one of her favorite holidays to celebrate growing up was New Year's. Julie and John asked friends if they celebrate New Year's. Friends were a little unsure, but we said when we come back from school after Winter Break, we will come back to this topic and see if friends celebrated the New Year. 

John read The Great Race: Story of the Chinese Zodiac by Christopher Corr. 

In the story, the emperor held a race to see what animals would make it into the Zodiac. Depending on the order in which the animals crossed the river is how they entered the Zodiac.

Each year has an animal assigned to it, and this year is the year of the dog. Next year, 2019, is the year of the pig.

After reading, friends went to the tables where a paper lantern was set up for each of them. The lantern was pink, to represent the year of the pig. Friends worked on decorating their paper lanterns as pigs. They used googly eyes, foam stickers (some with sparkles!), rhinestone hearts, and markers to personalize their lanterns. 

Friends wrote their names on the star tab attached to the lantern, along with the year 2019. Friends decided to take it a step further and name their lantern.

Ask your Sparrow what they chose to name their pig lantern.

Thank you so much to Julie, John and Henry for coming in to share your family's holiday tradition. Friends loved creating the lanterns, playing with the Zodiac animal figures, and finding out what Zodiac animal they may be!

Make sure to pick up your Sparrow's lantern! It will be on top of their cubby!

Color Mixing

We began Spanish with un momento de silencio.

Alicia then reviewed with friends the names of their savanna animals. Alicia held up the card and it was up to the Sparrows to call out the Spanish words. Must say, the Sparrows did an EXCELLENT job!

Since the Sparrows have become experts on naming their savanna animals in Español, Alicia has moved on to teaching them how to say the body parts.

Nose- Nariz

Head- Cabeza

Beak- Pico

Neck- Cuello

Ears- Orejas

Eyes- Ojos

Legs- Patas

Tail- Cola

Wings- Alas

Feathers- Plumas

Horn- Cuerna

Fins- Aletas

Skin- Piel

Alicia explained that when you are speaking about an animal's legs, they are called patas, but people's legs are referred to as piernas.

The Sparrows LOVE playing Matamoscas!

After playing Matamoscas, friends sang Adios. Today it was Zev's turn to squeeze la vaca. La vaca said "Muuuuuchas gracias," to which all Sparrows replied, "De nada."

Following Spanish, we had morning meeting. Today, Millie read our daily schedule, went over the calendar and hundreds chart. Our attendance person, Natey, went over the Question of the Day, which was "What letter does yellow begin with?" All friends agreed that it starts with the letter Y.

After friends did their jobs, we gathered back in circle to read My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss. The story discusses colors, and how certain colors can sometimes represent different feelings and emotions. Friends went around the circle and shared how they were feeling and what color that made them think of. Some examples are:

Happy- yellow, pink

Excited- orange

Sad- blue, purple

If your Sparrow is feeling a certain way, or would just like to ask in general how they feel, you could ask them a color they are thinking of to match that emotion.

Next, we moved from the rug to one of the tables to discuss colors a little further and do an experiment! At the table were 6 jars, 3 filled and 3 empty. In the three filled jars were the colors yellow, blue and red. 

We first asked friends, "Why do you think we only have these three colors out?" Their response was a puzzled a look. We explained that these three colors are special helper colors and that they have a specific name. A friend's hand instantly went up and without any hesitation, they excitedly said, "Primary colors!" And to that, they were correct.

We explained that primary colors are helper colors that help to make other colors, and today we are going to use these primary colors to make new colors. We started our experiment with yellow and blue. We asked friends to predict what they thought would happen. Recently we read Little Blue and Little Yellow, so friends had a good idea that these two colors mixed together would make green. Each Sparrow had a turn to squeeze the dropper and put it into the empty jar. The Sparrows loved watching the color fill up in the pipette and then squeezing it into the jar to create a new color.

Together we mixed blue and yellow to make green, red and blue to make purple, and yellow and red to make orange.

Along the way friends made predictions and observations, and shouted with glee as they watched new colors form.

We concluded that primary colors, the special helpers, help to make new colors called secondary colors.

Ask your Sparrow why primary colors are so important and/or if they know what any of the color combinations together create.

During choice, friends chose to paint with the watercolors from our experiment. This was a neat and hands-on way for them to see their work in action and make real connections.

Friends are almost done creating their savanna stuffed animals! We can't wait to put them on our Sparrows on Safari display!