In preparation for today's first official day of winter and the push to continue practicing efficient dressing for the winter weather, we spent time comparing and contrasting two versions of the old Ukrainian folk tale, “The Mitten”. It is about a young boy who loses one of his mittens in the forest. Encourage your child to retell the story in his/her own words. See if your child can name the nine animals, in correct sequence, that crawled into the snuggly mitten on that cold, cold day. Ask what happened at the beginning, middle and end of the story. Reinforce the difference between telling a story and reading a story. These are all important literacy learning targets.
I suggest that from time to time you substitute the reading of a bedtime story for a story telling time. The children are able to use their imaginations as well as enjoy the literary license to individualize some of their favorite tales! It is a wonderful language activity. Today we viewed the winter classic, The Snowman, in hopes of emphasizing that stories do not always have to have words to relay an important message or idea and that our imagination is a powerful tool. It was a festive way to link together our storytelling concepts.
The excitement was intense this week as the anticipation of the holiday vacation and our holiday party grew closer and closer. We captured that enthusiasm and took a closer look at the many different celebrations taking place within our panda family and community. We learned new and interesting facts not only about Christmas and Hanukah but also Diwali, Las Posadas and Kwanzaa. We were surprised to realize that all these holidays share many of the same type traditions. Each starts with a story and then uses lights, food, decorations, family, gifts, games and songs to celebrate. We are lucky to have classmates that celebrate many of these holidays. The children found it comforting to know that we are all more the same than different. The differences, however, make it so much more interesting and fun! Thanks, too, to all the parents who helped make our winter party such a fun event!
Enjoy your family time. Play hard. Travel safely. Count your blessings.
Merry Everything!
I suggest that from time to time you substitute the reading of a bedtime story for a story telling time. The children are able to use their imaginations as well as enjoy the literary license to individualize some of their favorite tales! It is a wonderful language activity. Today we viewed the winter classic, The Snowman, in hopes of emphasizing that stories do not always have to have words to relay an important message or idea and that our imagination is a powerful tool. It was a festive way to link together our storytelling concepts.
The excitement was intense this week as the anticipation of the holiday vacation and our holiday party grew closer and closer. We captured that enthusiasm and took a closer look at the many different celebrations taking place within our panda family and community. We learned new and interesting facts not only about Christmas and Hanukah but also Diwali, Las Posadas and Kwanzaa. We were surprised to realize that all these holidays share many of the same type traditions. Each starts with a story and then uses lights, food, decorations, family, gifts, games and songs to celebrate. We are lucky to have classmates that celebrate many of these holidays. The children found it comforting to know that we are all more the same than different. The differences, however, make it so much more interesting and fun! Thanks, too, to all the parents who helped make our winter party such a fun event!
Enjoy your family time. Play hard. Travel safely. Count your blessings.
Merry Everything!