n is for nut buddy

totally crafty.

nut buddies

totally not child-centered (all they did was choose a nut with eyes already hot glued on and an acorn cap for the teacher to glue on).

nut buddies

except for the moment they carry their nut buddy around the room and it enters their play.

nut buddy

w is for winter animals

we discussed ways that animals adapt to winter and hid some of our nuts to eat at home.

hiding nuts

hiding nuts

a paper “cave” glued to old mat board, covered with kleenex and paper towels, then nuts hidden inside.

hiding nutshiding nuts

we covered the cave hole with another kleenex.

hiding nuts

that way families didn’t know we had nuts in there.

l is for lame

seldom do i set up a project that is so lame that we don’t continue on.  don’t get me wrong, almost every project evolves once the children get going with it.  what i have in my lesson plans is almost never exactly what we end up doing.

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this project was supposed to provide pages and pages of wood-stamped “nuts.”

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but the wood pieces didn’t hold much wood for printing or rolling, the paint wasn’t a warm brown-more of a greenish gray, the paper kept tearing. i abandoned it almost immediately.

truly a process-only experience.

n is for nut math

we reintroduced the concept of “math sentences” again.

nut math

after using real nuts to demonstrate that no matter how you group them, ten nuts will always add up to ten nuts, the children had paper nuts to glue in and/or out of the basket.

nut mathnut math

nut math by you.

for some reason, this one is the “silly” one:

nut math

but not quite as silly as when there are no nuts in the basket.

n is for nut

nuts

with no nut allergies this year, we are going nutty!

nut time

show and tell this week is “nuts in shells or acorns.”

nuts

we have quite a collection for sorting and counting, feeling and, of course cracking.

cracking

cracked

i is for inspired

new years wishes

at the first circle time i invited preschoolers to start thinking of something they wished they could do.  about an hour later we gathered again and wrote down the ideas.  then there were paper strips to glue (a bit like new years fireworks?).  these are posted in our display cases, so i want to have them here for families who don’t make it down to the classroom.

new years wishesnew years wishesnew years wishesnew years wishesnew years wishesnew years wishesnew years wishesnew years wishesnew years wishesnew years wishesnew years wishesnew years wishesnew years wishesnew years wishesnew years wishesnew years wishesnew years wishesnew years wishesnew years wishesnew years wishesnew years wishesnew years wishesnew years wishesnew years wishesnew years wishesnew years wishes

happy new year.

p.s.  we have a few more preschool friends to hear from, we’ll get there!