Skip to main content

Cookies Theme

Who doesn't love cookies? We have an entire theme based on cookies and it is one of my favorites! We incorporate a lot of counting into our cookie theme. We count chips onto cookies in our Math Center.
 We count cookies and clip the correct numeral in our Fine Motor/Sensory Center.
 We serve cookies at the bakery in the Dramatic Play Center.
 We also practice numeral recognition and matching and fine motor skills using cookies and pom poms.

 We have taken a field trip to a local bakery some years and other years made cookies together as a class but in both situations, we have decorated them and enjoyed eating them.

 There are several cookie stories we read including:
*"The Gingerbread Boy"
*"The Gingerbread Girl"
*"Whose Stole the Cookies from the Cookie Jar?"
*"The Doorbell Rang"
*"May I Please Have a Cookie?"
*"The Duckling Gets a Cookie"
*"If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"
At our Art Center, the students create their own gingerbread boy or girl.
For Letter practice, a paper cookie can be hidden behind a letter and students take turns guessing which letter the cookie is behind.
We also sit in a circle and pass a paper cookie behind our backs. Then we guess who stole the cookie using the chant from the corresponding book.
Finally, rolling and cutting playdough is a great hand strengthening exercise and fun for the students while they pretend they are making cookies.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pumpkin Theme

 Every October we learn about pumpkins. Mini pumpkins are brought into the Science Center for every child and we investigate them with magnifying lenses and our senses. We also cut the top off of a large pumpkin and scoop the seeds out to investigate as well.  I allow every child who is interested, a turn scooping seeds out. I never require the students to help if they are not interested.  In the Literacy Center, we use mini pumpkin erasers to trace around letters. Pumpkin stickers can also be used.  We take a field trip to a local pumpkin patch where every child is allowed to pick a pumpkin to take home.  In the Fine Motor/Sensory Center, we make pumpkin pie with orange playdough and rolling pins.  We also count and make patterns in the Math Center with pumpkin erasers or manipulatives. In the Pumpkin STEAM box, I include mini pumpkins, leaves, acorns, magnifying lenses and orange slices of pool noodles that the children can play and e...
Post a Comment
Read more

Back to School

 The first week of school each year, I spend a lot of time practicing routines with my students. I make it a goal of mine to make every child in my class feel loved and safe so those first few weeks are so important in setting the atmosphere. I introduce one or two centers a day until all of the centers are open and running smoothly. I take pictures of areas around our classroom and make routine books that we read and reread throughout the first couple of weeks. I create Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math boxes that I place at our Science Center,  along with magnifying lenses and a scale. The STEAM boxes match whatever theme we are covering.  I separate our blocks by color and store them in matching colored boxes so that children are easily able to replace the blocks when they are done playing. These are stored in our Block Center.  I label our toy cubbies with pictures so that children know where each toy is stored and they are easily able to find ...
Post a Comment
Read more

All About Me/Feelings Themes

The first week of school, we spend practicing our routine and getting comfortable with coming to school.  The next couple of weeks, we spend getting to know ourselves and each other. We do an All About Me Theme followed by a Feelings Theme.  We create cutouts of ourselves and display them to show our differences and connectedness. I love how each cutout looks different.  We talk a lot about how we are each special and unique. We compare eye colors and hair colors. We talk about our families and who is in each family. We draw pictures of ourselves and our families including any pets we have. We do name activities where we count how many letters are in our names and then we use letter tiles to make our names.  We compare each child's name to the other names in the class and look at beginning letters and syllables.  We also graph some of our favorites, such as colors, animals, foods, or sports. We draw pictures of our friends and copy our friends' names....
Post a Comment
Read more