It's January and I'm Blogging About Gingerbread Men

Yes, I know I haven't blogged in awhile.  I've been busy.  Really busy!! When I saw pictures I still had from back in December I knew it was time to sit down and spend some time blogging.  Time to play catch up!

Here are some pics from when we decorated gingerbread men.  The kids had a blast and ended up eating LOTS of candy!!

We also created a "Wish List" for Santa.  Students came up with great ideas on what Santa might want or need.

The Classroom Gingerbread Man That Didn't Get Away

Today we conducted an experiment.  Our question was, "What will happen to our gingerbread man if we put him in water?"

The kids made predictions.  Some thought he'd float, while others said dissolve, and break apart.  We drew pictures, wrote what we would need, and observed throughout the day.  The first observation was the color change of the water.

This is how he looked before lunch.  Our poor little gingerbread man!  He didn't have a chance.

We also took time today to decorate gingerbread cookies. They worked so hard and this is how they came out.

Then the UNTHINKABLE happened.  Look away if you must!!

The cookies were DELICIOUS and I hope your child wasn't too sugared up after school...just full of sweetness!

What's Your Favorite Gingerbread Story?

We've finished reading different versions of The Gingerbread Man!

Today, kids turned and talked about their favorite book and then wrote an opinion piece.  We tallied up which book was the favorite (Gingerbread Pirates WON) and gave reasons why we might like each book.

ALL kids have an opinion, but I will say my class is getting better at giving LOTS of reasons why and writing a wrap up sentence.

Here are some samples of their work today.

Working in groups they had to write one reason why they liked the book and create a wrap up sentence.  It was quite cute when I began taking pictures.  Most wanted an ACTION shot of them running.

As I'm posting these pics I noticed that YMCA came up in a couple of their closing sentences.  Now how in the world did that get past me?  I can't wait to ask them about it tomorrow.

Run, Run As Fast as You Can

We've been reading SOOO many versions of the gingerbread man.  We've been keeping track of the setting, characters, and how each story ends.

Students will be writing an opinion piece tomorrow.  They'll be writing about their favorite version of the story.  I can't wait to read their reasons why.