We are excited as we enter the Christmas season and look forward to celebrating the season with your children.  This week, we will begin with the Bible story of the angel appearing to Mary and Joseph with the promise of a Saviour.  Our craft activity will include painting glitter wings on an angel.  Also, we will make a nativity scene with popcycle sticks, straw, and paper figures of all who were in the stable.  We are planning to gather each child's Christmas crafts into a book called "Christmas Is . . ." to remind all of the true meaning of Christmas.  We will be enjoying Christmas carols during our opening music and movement time and singing "Joy to the World," "Jesus Loves Me," "Away in a Manger," and "Jingle Bells" during our circle time.  I am also bringing in a xylophone that we can have a sing-a-long as I try to tap out Christmas tunes.  We also have a new fingerplay called "Five Little Candles" (words below) which I have prepared five candles with red felt flames with one through five glittered on each.  For our snack, we will have Teddy Grahams and raisins.  During our opening time, we will continue painting our animals from "Brown Bear."  This week, we will use cotton balls attached to clothes pins to paint "black sheep."  Storytime this week includes "Christmas in a Barn," a Margaret Wise Brown story.  Also, a favorite from last year, is "Llama Llama Red Pajama" about a little llama overcoming his bedtime fears with a little help from Mama.

Please remember to bundle your children up as we will continue to play outside, weather permitting, as long as the temperatures are above freezing.

Have a peaceful Christmas season,
Mrs. Shelly

FIVE LITTLE CANDLES
Five little candles burning so bright. (wiggle fingers)
The first one said, "We make great light!" (arms up)
The second one said, "The child is born." (rock baby)
The third one said, "Our light will adorn." (arms out in front, palms up)
The fourth one said, "We shine for Him." (palms forward at sides of face, fingers spread)
The fifth one said, "Let's not be dim." (cover pointer finger with other hand)
So they stood very tall and glowed very bright.
And the Christ child smiled that very night.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING--
This week will be our Thanksgiving week, and our Bible story is "The 10 Lepers" and how only one remembered to return and thank Jesus for healing him.  We will paint "Thankful Turkeys" using our cut-out handprints for his feathers.  Our songs this week include: "Peace Like a River (joy like fountain/love like ocean)," "I'm in the Lord's Army," "Thank you, Lord for Saving My Soul," "ABC Song," and "I'm a Great Big Turkey."  For snack we will enjoy Fig Newton cookies. 

During opening time along with our music and movement, we will continue painting the animals to complete our "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?" book.  We will paint Purple Cat with purple pom poms attached to clothes pins.  For the final page our of book we hope to include a family picture for each child.  You may begin to bring these in so we can include them at the end of the books.  We will also have coloring time where we will trace the children's hands and make them into turkeys.

Storytime this week includes a new story by Alyssa Satin Capucilli called "Happy Thanksgiving, Biscuit!.  This little puppy and the little girl share all they have to be thankful for as they spend Thanksgiving day together.  Another fun story is "It Looked Like Spilt Milk" by Charles Shaw about spilled milk and the many things it may look like.

We will play our felt board activity of "Turkey Feathers, which is missing?" as we say a rhyme and take away the red, yellow, or green feathers.  The children then say the color that has been taken away.

Please continue to dress your children warmly so they can play outside for about 30 minutes and be happy.  Thank you.

Have a blessed (not stressed) week!
Mrs. Shelly

Thanksgiving is coming so soon, and this week we are planning to make cornucopias full of fruits and vegetables.  I am planning to bring in real examples of the paper foods that we will glue to our cornucopia, so the children can see and feel them as we talk about the names of the foods and about thankfulness.  Our Bible story this week is "Jesus Turns Water Into Wine."  We will learn a new turkey song set to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot" called "I'm a Great Big Turkey" (see words below).  For our felt board, we have a turkey with different colored feathers, which we will be singing a rhyme as I take a feather away.  The children will guess which color was taken away from our turkey (see rhyme below).  Other songs we will sing are "Praise Him," "Jesus Loves the Little Children," and "Thank you, Lord."  Another new song this week is

Fruits and Vegetables are Good for Me (sung to tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star")

Apples, pears, and oranges too,
fruits are sweet for me and you.
Carrots, peas, and brocolli,
vegetables are good for me.

Fruits and vegetables
are good for you.
They keep you healthy
and are yummy too! (rub bellies)

I'm a Great Big Turkey (sung to tune of "I'm a Little Teapot")

I'm a great big turkey
'Cause I'm well fed.
Watch me spread my feathers.
Watch me bob my head.

When I strut around
I waddle, waddle, waddle.
And when I talk
I "gobble, gobble, gobble."

I'm a great big turkey
And I'd love to stay.
But Thanksgiving's coming.
So it's time to run away.

Turkey Feathers

Turkey feathers, turkey feathers,
Red, yellow, green.
Red, yellow, green.
Which one is missing? Which one is missing?
Name it now.  Name it now.

Our storytime this week will be "Today is Monday," an Eric Carle story/song about the foods we eat on different days of the week.  Also, "How are You Peeling? by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers which shares different fruits and vegetables with faces showing all different emotions.

We will continue painting our "Brown Bear" animals for the children's individual books we are making.  This week, we will paint "green frog" with frog feet stamps and green paint.

Our class will attempt to have outdoor play time (weather permitting), even when it may seem a bit cold.  The best mittens we have found for this age group are the thin, knit mittens with a thumb opening and sometimes grippers on the palms.  The children seem to leave these on the best.  Please also send hats for them, and this will help extend our outdoor play time.

Have a nice week!
Mrs. Shelly