Gingerbread fun!

Yesterday morning we had our chilly, winter concert.  We rocked!!

We continued with our holiday fun by reading about the gingerbread girl.   Then we created our own gingerbread people.

We enjoyed tasting yummy gingerbread men and we graphed where we took our first bite

Last, we graphed whether or not we like gingerbread cookies..... Hmm.... I think the answer was a resounding YES!

What part of the gingerbread cookie did you eat first?  Why do you think you chose that part??

Another great day in first grade...

"What I liked today was reading with my friends, Sam and Pasha,"  babbled Dylan.

"I liked tracing my hand on green paper," explained Teddi.

"Playing the memory game was fun," said Max.

"Making my little snowman was really fun," roared Ella.

"I liked when we sang "Frosty the Snowman" in music class," rejoiced Pasha.

"Getting my cub kudo was fun," thought Sophia S.

"Doing pointers with my friend was wonderful,"  added Jeremiah.

"I liked when we moved to the art class because of the skunk,"  dictated Morgan.

In the season of giving...

I love this time of year.  In class we have started to learn about the different continents and winter traditions around the world.  We learned about Sinterklass (in the Netherlands,) Hanukkah, Christmas in Australia.    In our class we created a special present to give

to our parents . 

Thinking of this reminds me of one of my favorite presents.  When I was 14 years old my mom gave me her high school I.D. bracelet for Christmas.  I liked it, but what I really  wanted was something new and popular, like a swatch watch 

 or a record player.

I put the ID bracelet in my jewelry box and there it sat gathering dust for a few years.  When I was a senior in high school, I gave the bracelet to my best friend, as a way of saying that we would be friends forever.  After a while, my friend and I lost touch but she kept the bracelet with her.  It reminded her of me even though we never got to see each other.  Many years passed, and one day when I was feeling very sad my friend brought me my mom's ID bracelet.  I was shocked.   I had completely forgotten the bracelet existed. I was amazed at how beautiful my mom's name looked engraved in the shiny silver.  It was the perfect gift.

What is the best gift you have ever received? 

 Is there anything special you want as a gift this year? 

Daily News

"I liked reading from my book box," said Nic.

"We made penguins with Dylan's mom and I really liked it," babbled Juliet.

"I liked making the penguins," said Allie.

"I really liked when we went outside to play,"  explained Jalyn.

"I liked learning about the reading animals," stated Max.

Family Traditions

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As our weather in Southern California has finally changed, it’s beginning to feel like we are heading toward the winter holidays.  At this time of year, people look forward to certain family traditions. A tradition is “the process of handing down a belief or custom from one generation to the next.”  This week in our class we will start learning about different winter holidays and traditions around the world.

My family has a number of traditions.  My mom was a kindergarten teacher, and one of my favorite holiday traditions was helping her prepare for the winter concert at her school.  Each year I would cut out paper snowflakes until my hands were tired and help her decorate the stage for the school production.  As a mom, I eagerly await my son’s Holiday Winter concert with the school band.  This year will be his 9^th winter concert.  At Chaparral, our winter concert will be held on December 17^th, where we will showcase our fabulous singing for parents and the school.

Holiday Concert 2012

A second family tradition for my family is that on Christmas Eve we get to open one present.  When I was a child, that one present always ended up being pajamas.  As a parent, I have continued this tradition and my son gets to open up one present, of his choice from under the tree.

Do you have a favorite holiday tradition?   

November