December Class Activities
Language
Arts... 
Holidays
Around the World 
Some
books we read this month....
The
Gingerbread Man & The Gingerbread Baby 
Rudolph the
Red-Nosed Reindeer 
Shopping and
Ice Cream by Joy Cowley 
Letters/Sounds we focus on this month....
Gg Rr Review letters Ss, Tt
Mathematics.....
Review numbers 0 - 15 while making sets with various
objects in the house.
Ordinal numbers ~ first, second, third, fourth, fifth
sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth.
Writing
Activities....
Identify and write about the main idea of a story,
the characters and the events in sequential order.
Our sequential activities will be done together
as a whole group! The other activities will incorporate
simple words we have been practicing and, as always,
our "invented" spelling!
RECIPES
6 c. sugar 3 c. cold water 2 T. light corn syrup 1/8 t. salt 1 t. cream of tartar flavoring OIL (peppermint, etc., found at pharmacies and specialty stores) food coloring Combine sugar, water, corn syrup and salt in a heavy 6/7 quart pan. Heat and stir until sugar crystals are dissolved, then stop stirring. Bring to a rolling boil and wash down the crystals, then add the cream of tartar. Boil rapidly to the hard crack stage. Pour two-thirds of the syrup out quickly onto a slab or greased flat pan. Pour the rest into a buttered glass pie pan. and do not move until partly set. Turn the edges in on each portion and add flavoring to each, about 6 drops of oil to the large portion and 3 to the small. Add food coloring to the small dish. As soon a humanly possible, start to pull the portion in the large container until pearly-colored. (It will be really hot. .butter your hands and set it down when it gets too hot!) Form it into a ball. Meanwhile gather up the colored portion and form it into a rope and wrap it around the ball. With one person on each end, start to stretch and twist the ball in opposite directions to form a long rope with the traditional stripe. Cut into lengths as necessary. When the desired diameter is achieved, cut and form into canes (roll it on the board to get it smooth). If it gets too cold to work with, put on a wooden breadboard in a warm oven to soften. Hints: Try a small batch first at 325 degrees. Even two degrees too hot can make it virtually impossible to work with. Too cool and it doesn't set up hard, although it's still good. My second batch is always better than the first one. Experiment with the temperature a little. Hope you like it!
Slash the flat side of each chestnut with a sharp knife. Place on a cookie sheet in a hot oven (400F) for about 15-20 minutes, tossing occasionally. Serve Piping Hot! Santa loves 'em!
Mix first 6 ingredients in a bowl. Shape into 2-inch balls. Melt wax and chocolate or butterscotch chips in a double boiler. Dip the balls into the mixture and place on waxed paper to harden.
