NOVEMBER CLASS ACTIVITIES

Language Arts... 

Animals **Farms**     

Thanksgiving **Turkeys, Native Americans, Pilgrims**

Some Books we read this month are..... 

The Big Toe, Farm Concert and Mrs. Wishy Washy all by Joy Cowley

Letters/Sounds we focus on this month.....

Jj, Ww, Ii and Dd

How about making your own Pictionary? It would be a lot of fun! Start cutting out pages from some old magazines  and make a collage about each letter of the alphabet. When your finished, bring it in to share with the class! I would love to see it and so would the rest of the class!

Mathematics        

Practice identifying numerals 0-15 and make sets. We will be drawing different farm animals to make our sets in class (i.e. ten turkeys, eight pigs, twelve cows).

Review positional phrases such as: over, under, next to, left/right, more/less, and greater than/less than.  Perhaps you can play Simon Says and give some directions like......put your hands over your head, under your chin, point up, down, left and right! We play that game in class. 

Writing Activities     

We will continue to practice proper uppercase and lowercase letter formation using lined paper. The journal entries will always focus on using the "invented" spelling which promotes phonemic awareness. I have been emphasizing the use of the following words during our oral drills/writing center: 

  The, A, see, I, is, like, red, yellow, green, orange, purple, brown, 

  black, blue, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, and ten.

The more often your child sees print, the more familiar it becomes. The everyday words we encounter become our environmental print such as the word MILK, BREAD or COFFEE.  At this time, I would like to  encourage each student to try and write at least one short sentence about a picture he/she has drawn.  We are practicing rebus sentences which use familiar words and pictures when necessary. For example:

         I  see  a   brown       

This could be a typical sentence if a child does not know how to write horse yet.  The next stage would be to write something like this:

              I   see   a   brown    hrs.

I would appreciate any time that you could spend writing about a fun activity you participated in over the weekend or maybe on a vacation. Feel free to share your story with us in class! Your child can come and sit in our Author's chair!

Banana Raisin Pancakes

Ingredients

• 2 very ripe, medium bananas, peeled
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup lowfat milk
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 cup pancake and waffle mix
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 recipe Warm Tropical Fruit Topping

Method

1 Break up bananas into a mixing bowl. With back of fork, mash until smooth, about 1 cup. Add egg, milk, and oil; combine.
2 In another mixing bowl, combine pancake mix, raisins, and cinnamon. Add pancake mix to banana mixture and stir until moistened.
3 Heat skillet over a medium high heat. Measure 1/4 cup batter and pour into skillet. Cook as many pancakes at one time as you can. Brown the underside of the pancake and when bubbles appear on the surface, carefully flip pancakes over and continue cooking for another minute. Slide pancakes onto a platter while you continue cooking the remaining batter.
4 Spoon Warm Tropical Fruit Topping over hot pancakes.

Warm Tropical Fruit Topping

Ingredients

• 1 can (8-ounce) pineapple chunks in juice
• 2 cans (6-ounces each) pine-orange banana juice
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 firm, medium banana, peeled and sliced
• 1 orange, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup seedless grapes

Method

1 Drain juice from pineapple into small saucepan. Stir in pine-orange banana juice and cornstarch, blend until smooth. Bring mixture to a boil over medium high heat, cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Turn heat off and carefully move saucepan to a cool burner.
2 Combine pineapple, banana, orange, and grapes in a mixing bowl.
3 When mixture cools to room temperature, about 15 minutes, stir in fruit. Spoon over pancakes. Topping can be used over frozen yogurt or waffles. Keep unused sauce refrigerated in an airtight container. Stays fresh for about 2 days. Heat before serving.

Turkey Nuggets With Pineapple-Orange Dipping Sauce 

Ingredients

 Sauce

• 1 can (8-ounce) sliced or crushed pineapple in juice
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 cup pineapple orange juice
• 1/4 cup barbecue sauce

Turkey Nuggets

• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 3 1/2 cups cornflakes, crushed
• 1 pound boneless, skinless turkey breasts, cut into nugget-size pieces

Method

1 Prepare dipping sauce: Pour un-drained pineapple into the blender. Secure lid and process until it's a thick puree. Pour pineapple into the saucepan and add cornstarch; blend. Add pineapple orange juice and barbecue sauce; blend. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring until sauce thickens, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

2 Prepare turkey nuggets: Preheat oven to 400 F. Whisk the egg and milk together in a small mixing bowl. Place cornflakes in a plastic bag. Dip turkey pieces in egg mixture, then shake with cornflakes to coat. Put coated turkey on a baking sheet. Carefully place baking pan in oven and bake for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the baking pan from the oven. Serve nuggets with warm pineapple-orange dipping sauce.

You  can use chicken instead of turkey if you wish !

Trees In a Broccoli Forest 

Ingredients

Dipping Sauce

• 1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
• 1/4 cup light sour cream
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard

Broccoli Trees

• 2 carrots, peeled
• 3 cups broccoli florets
• 4 cherry tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons parsley leaves

Method

Class News

LINKS TO GRAPHICS USED ON THIS PAGE