We combined my favorite holiday and favorite science unit into one AWESOME week of learning! Each day we concentrated on one of the senses. We started with the sense of sight. This was an easy one. The students were told to look at the Christmas lights (which were turned off) and tell me what their sense of sight told them. Then I turned them on. We talked about the words we use to describe things we see; shiny, bright, dark, their color, etc. The next day it got more interesting. We explored our sense of touch. The students reached into a special box with holes cut out of the sides and described what they felt. Using only their sense of touch, they decided it was a cookie cutter - and they were right!
The next day we went on a smell hunt. I held a cinnamon scented pinecone in my hands in a way that the students couldn't see it. Then I had the students smell it. They described how it smelled and we listed the descriptions on the board. All the while, Mrs. Taylor and Ms. Groom were hiding the pinecones all around the room. Then the kiddos went on a hunt to find where that smell was coming from. 
On Thursday we had a taste test! The students were shown a red candy and were asked to make a prediction about its taste. They chose between sweet, salty, sour, or spicy. Most of the students thought it would be sweet like a strawberry or cherry. Boy, were they surprised!
It was a Hot Tamale!
Our last day explored many senses at the same time. The students made cinnamon dough ornaments with dough they could feel - it was squishy, see- it was brown, and smell- DELICIOUS!
We also painted their hands to make a cute, little, non-breakable snowman ornament!
The centers have been very engaging the last few weeks, as well. The students had to use their counting skills on the "Wheels of Christmas Senses" in number work, then pin the coordinating numbered clothespin to each amount. This week they have used the counting bears to make all kinds of connections and patterns with numbers.
As a nod to the sense of taste, the students played "Cookies on a Plate" in the math games center last week. Students took turns rolling a dice (with numbers 1-3 only) and putting that amount of cookies on their plate. When all the cookies were gone, the students counted how many were on their plates to see who won. This week they played Trim the Tree addition. The students took turns rolling two die and adding up the dots. They had to find that number on their Christmas tree ornaments and cover it with a matching counter. 
The blocks center also got a makeover last week. A Christmas tree was placed in the room for the students to decorate however they chose. This may have been their favorite center but word work was also a close contender. The kiddos reached into Santa's Bag (ok, it was a ziplock baggie) and found some of the most in-demand Christmas wishes. They used letter magnets to spell the words on magnetic boards. If you're looking for a good stocking stuffer, letter magnets would be agreat idea! They LOVE them.
And what about our beloved Snowflake? Well, she was touched (gasp) but all is well. A letter was sent to Santa (thanks to a wonderfully gracious and cooperative parent) and, voila, her magic was back! Here are some of the places we've found her, and the tiny little letter she brought along explaining how she got her magic back.
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| You can just spy Snowflake to the top left of the bulletin board |
