Yankee Doodle Went to Town

George Washington would be jealous if he saw the hats our class made today!  First, we took a trip back in time to learn what all of the words in the Yankee Doodle song meant.  We were really surprised to learn that 'macaroni' didn't mean our favorite weeknight dinner- it was actually referring to the fashionable 'macaroni' hairstyle of the 18th century.

picture taken from:  http://www.racontours.com/stories/little-italy/pierre-toussaint-refugee-hairdresser-saint/

After learning about the history of the song, we put on our reader hats and practiced creating mental images, or 'brain pictures', using the author's words as 'paint'.  The students worked as the illustrators for the song and drew what they visualized on the construction paper that they used to make their hats.  We then sang and danced to the 'doodle' tune- hats and all!

If you would like to have your child teach you our dance moves for the song, visit the 'Going Deeper' tab on our blog, click on the 'Month by Month' link, and find 'September'.  Scroll down to 'Social Studies' and you will find the music video we used in class.  Don't forget to have your child put on their Yankee Doodle hat for the full effect! 

It's a Grand Ol' Flag!

We have been learning all about America and American symbols!  We especially loved learning about the flag and the pledge.  Our flag manager helps us recite the pledge every morning by tracking the words with a giant pointer while the rest of us follow along on our own copy of the pledge that we illustrated in our symbols book (that we will be bringing home soon :) ).  We learned that we put our hands on our hearts to promise that we will take care of America and the people that live there with us.  The students thought of all kinds of ways we can do this- by picking up trash outside, helping our classmates cut their paper at art center if they are struggling, and even by giving our little brothers and sisters hugs when they are feeling bad.  The blue square on the flag reminds us of the promise we make when we say the pledge and the 50 stars remind us that, although there are 50 areas to live in the United States, we are all part of one big American family.  The red stripes make us think of the brave soldiers that protect our country, and the white stripes help us remember to be loyal Americans, or in other words, take care of each other and the place where we live. 

Our class is currently making a list of all the different places where we have seen the flag, and we would love your help with this!  If you are out and about and see our flag flying, could you assit your Kindergartner in taking or drawing a picture of it?  You can add your picture to the comment section of this post or send it to school with your child to add to the class list. 

Happy flag hunting!