December is the perfect time to talk about “shapes”.  The Christmas season provides us with so many examples: the triangular tree, square and rectangular presents, circular ornaments, and stars!  The children enjoyed thinking of the many different shapes that are hidden all around us.  We also played a guessing game.  Several wooden shapes were hidden in a bag.  The children put their hand into the bag, and using only their sense of touch, tried to identify the shape.  They enjoyed pulling the object out of the bag to see if their guess was correct! 

We then spent time talking about Christmas, of course.  The children shared their knowledge about the very first Christmas.  We talked quietly and reverently about Jesus’ birth.  The following week we had more lively discussions as the children excitedly told us about their own preparations for Christmas!  They love to share their experiences of decorating, shopping, baking cookies, and visits to Santa.  It is a very exciting time at our school!

This week we will take the children upstairs to visit the beautifully decorated sanctuary.  As the children sit in the pews, we will retell the story of Jesus’ birth.  It is always a very special time for the teachers, as well as the children.  It is deeply moving to see 36 young children sitting together in the pews, their eyes wide with innocence, bright with awe, and full of hope and expectations.  The verse that comes to mind is Matthew 9:14 “for the kingdom belongs to such as these.”

PRIMARY CIRCLE TIME

The children were excited to be back at school after the Thanksgiving break, and we started off by talking about transportation – what a big word!  We had fun thinking of many ways to get from one place to another.  We also classified each of these ways as to whether they were used on the ground, in the water, or in the air.  Next we talked about shapes – triangles, circles, squares, rectangles, ovals, diamonds, stars and hearts.