An Attitude of Gratitude

I try my hardest to instill a sense of gratitude within my students as they navigate  their world.  This is a concept that is present in our classroom all the time and not just during Thanksgiving!  One of the first songs we learn together as a class is one of gratitude:

Gratitude Song

(tune: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)

Thank you, thank you very much

For everything that I can touch.

Thanks for all of nature's food,

And for when I'm feeling good.

Thank you, thank you very much

For my family, friends, and such!

I share the following photos from this week with my own sense of gratitude for the opportunity to work with such a talented, intelligent, and unique group of children!  Thank YOU, my students and their parents, my readers and followers of this blog, and mostly my dear family for giving me their understanding and encouragement while I set out to do what I love each and everyday!  :)


Understanding Geography concepts with the Land and Water Forms:  Peninsula and Gulf



This child has combined the Sound Box objects with the Sandpaper Letters, allowing him to make meaningful connections to the letter sound and symbol.  While I typically do not present this as a formal lesson to my students, I encourage this association if it is child-initiated.



Three-Part Cards of the Continents.  Here, the child is in the process of making his own set of cards, an idea he came up with completely on his own! :)



And here is the the self-made material after one and half morning sessions of hard work!



Elements of the Earth:  Land, Air, and Water
(Click on caption above to read more about it.)



Art Appreciation with Child-Sized Masterpieces: Matching identical paintings.



Writing words with the Moveable Alphabet.



Using our November poetry basket to read and dramatize our 'Thanksgiving' poem.



Practicing the preliminary Practical Life exercise of Sponging, this month with the help of leaf bowls!  :)

Refinement of the thermic sense with the Thermic Tablets.

Learning the countries of South America with the Puzzle Map.  This child came to school with a book about Pink River Dolphins of the Amazon.  So, we got out the map and later...

...wrote about them with the Moveable Alphabet:  'Pink river dolphins.  Their ears are inside their heads.  They live in the Amazon river.'

Fun sensorial work with the Smelling Bottles.
(Click on the caption above to learn more.)

Seasonal Practical Life:  Tonging Acorns

Grading and pairing the Touch Tablets from 'rough' to 'smoothest.'  This exercise is not only beneficial for training the tactile sense, but also in preparing the hand for writing by practicing lightness of touch.

Practicing threading a needle.
(Click caption to read more.)



Preparing our 'Thanksgiving Gratitude Snack'.
(Click on caption if you missed that post!)

 I'll be taking a little break from blogging during our vacation, but am looking forward to sharing with you all that I have planned for December upon my return.  Wishing you all a wonderful time with your families and a very Happy Thanksgiving!