December 2015

November was spent studying the mammal. The children began the month with a list of ideas they thought mammals were. These included: mammals have horns/tusks, mammals live in water and mammals do homework. The students were stunned to find out that the list they made was actually mostly correct. The students transferred these ideas to a new list when they verified the information based on the lessons given at circle time. We secured some basic information about mammals. 1) Mammals are living 2) Mammals have hair or fur 3) Mammals have warm blood 4) Mammals have live babies 5) Female mammals feed their babies milk. This information helped the students classify animals as being mammals or not. There are some tricky animals to classify (for example: the dolphin), but the students truly enjoyed stretching their imaginations to make new discoveries about mammals.

We hooked this new mammal knowledge with some previously learned information. The students discovered mammals that can be typically found in North America, and specifically for the month of November, Canada. The children were interested to see that many of the mammals native to Canada can be found around us in the Pacific Northwest.

Our month ended with a wonderful festive gathering. Our Thankful Celebration was a great tradition of taking a small amount each child brings and adding it together to have more than enough for all. Our community shared a delectable variety of veggies that were turned into a delicious soup and scrumptious salad. Each child took a turn cutting vegetables. We didn't need to look for helpers, there were more than enough eager helpers and the soup was yummy!! Hope you enjoyed your family time together over Thanksgiving break.

​Lastly, as the holidays approach I want to ensure that every person is celebrated. If you have a specific tradition or celebration you would love to share, please let me know how we can include you in our celebrations.