Gingerbread Fun

Today our read aloud was titled The Gingerbread Man.  The children listened to this story on a CD.  I must say that they truly enjoyed the readers use of different voices for each character in the story.  This week we are learning about the letter "C."  We can't talk about the letter "C" without talking about cookies.  Each day this week we will read a different version of the story The Gingerbread Man.  Through our discussions we will compare and contrast the characters in each story, the problem, and the solution in the story.  

Today for centers the children made gingerbread dough.  During this lesson the children learned what ingredients are, why we use a recipe, the difference between wet and dry ingredients, and how they don't like the smell of vinegar, ginger, or cloves.  We also worked on the beginning sound and letter that started each ingredient's name.

Today when the children entered our classroom they found that it was transformed.  Our classroom now looks like Santa's Workshop.  In the writing center the children can make cards for loved ones, write a letter to Santa using words from our word wall, or by sounding out the word and writing what they hear.  They can also color Christmas tree ornaments or string beads on a pipe cleaner to make ornaments for our class tree.