It snowed this morning! Only a few flakes but still enough to cause squeals of delight!
These stunning illustrations and classic story by Ezra Jack Keats come to mind each year at the first sight of a snowflake!
It is the 50th Anniversary of the most famous children’s book about snow!
Teacher: “What do you know about Martin Luther King?
-“He was a King, he told people what to do.”
-“No! He was trying to stop hatred!
Teacher: “What’s hatred?
-“Like fights and stuff”
-“He got shot by a white guy”
-“The angels carried him to heaven”
Carolyn, age 6, drawing of Dr King
Martin was angry and sad that there were unfair rules but he never used a gun. He used his words. “Fight hate with love” he said.
Some people think they are better because of the way they look on the outside. Is anyone better than anyone else? See what happened to the Sneetches!
Teacher: What is happening in this picture?
-“He’s telling them his dream!”
We watched a little bit of his most famous speech:
Learn more:
We started talking about hibernation today when we read a book about winter.
What is hibernation?
What kinds of animals hibernate?
“Snakes hibernate and their skin comes off too!”
“Bears! Bears hibernate!”
Why do animals do it?
Why do they do it in winter?
What do animals need to hibernate?
Do deer hibernate?
This is a video series about a bear named Griz you might enjoy
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Can you draw and label the steps in how to make this origami cup?
We tweet every morning with Kindergarten friends around the world! These are our friends in Calgary, Canada on TV!
Our Kindergarten Around the World partners in Cairo have been tweeting us while we are on break for Thanksgiving!
Here is a little about them and what they are doing in their class:
1. They live in Cairo, Egypt but they are from: England, Korea, Canada, Spain, South Sudan, and Australia
2. They are collecting soap for Africa Hope
3. and learning about Native Americans
4. They have a hamster named Squeaks!
5. They learned about the letters X and Y and Ch and Th and the tricky words: you, your, come
6. They are practicing Christmas songs
7. and thinking about light and dark and shadows!
They sent us this video from Reading Rainbow!
Sometimes we see turkeys at Thanksgiving. Are turkeys cartoons? Are they real or pretend? Do they dance around with Pilgrim hats on for Thanksgiving? Have you ever seen or heard one in real life? Where do they live? What do they eat?
Photo by Tim Simos NWTF
Turkeys are a symbol of generosity. What does that mean? Generosity is a fancy word for sharing. What do generosity and Thanksgiving have to do with one another? What does a turkey share with people?
Photo NWTF
Look at all the food everyone at school brought in for people who can’t buy food at the grocery store. Why can’t some people buy food? What were the big girls thinking about when they made this food mandala?
How can you show generosity and share with others? What things are you thankful for? Why is sharing and being thankful important to your family?
Best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving!
Watch: Eric Carle paint a very large red mural!
Read: Eric Carle: Reading List
Click: for All About Eric Carle
Please feel free to comment and tell about YOUR favorite Eric Carle book or to share any links you have found about this author and illustrator!
Are you a leaf reader? They tell you their name just from the way they look:
We looked at them under a microscope in our lab:
Leaves have veins.
Why?
“To help the leaves get water!” -Sophia
“Like people! People have veins!” -Kelly
We made rubbings of the leaves and labeled their parts. We looked in books to find what kinds they were.
What colors do they turn? Why do they turn colors? When? How? Is it magic? Fairies? Does someone paint them?
Your Mom and Dad probably read this book when they were little. Ms Echternacht’s teacher read it to her when she was a little girl. It’s a classic. What’s a classic?
“Something old and good that everybody knows”
“Do they read Blueberries for Sal in Egypt?”
What is happening in this picture?
“The mother is getting ready for the day”
“The boy is in his pajamas having breakfast”
“No! She’s pouring something!”
“The stove!”
“It looks like olden times”
“She’s pouring beans in a jar”
“They are at the farm. They have to pay to pick the blueberries”
“They are poor that’s why they are picking blueberries for the winter”
“No! They have a car and a house and clothes, they aren’t poor, but they aren’t rich either.”
“Sal likes blueberries that’s why the Mom is getting them for her for the winter”
“You can save the blueberries in a jar so they don’t rot”
Is it a royal animal book? An around the world book? What is the thread that ties these things together?
The Treehouse 
