Happy Easter!

 

Happy Easter!! This week we are going to do activities centered around Easter.

Table Time Activities- This week we will make playdough eggs, sort jelly beans by color, paint Easter dot paintings, play in an Easter sensory bin, decorate a wooden cross, color some Easter coloring pages and make Easter cards.

Small Group Activities- We will make a paper Easter lily with a cut out of our hands, decorate an egg, graph jelly beans and make some Easter decorations.

Large Group-  We will do an Easter hop and stop, hunt for eggs, try out the bunny hop and look for the empty tomb!

Books of the Week- "Sad News, Glad News" by Mary Joslin and "The Parable of the Lily" by Liz Curtis Higgs.

Jesus Time- Our Bible Story this week is Jesus on the Cross. We hear about Jesus being arrested and tried and put to death, even though he was innocent. In His great love, Jesus chose to die for the sins of the world. He was put to death by the Roman government, but they wouldn't have had the power to do it, if Jesus hadn't allowed it. Everything that Jesus went through, the beatings, the crown of thorns, being crucified, were all fulfillments of Old Testament prophecies meant to show that He was the promised Messiah. This story will be a difficult one for preschoolers to understand, but as they grow and mature and understand more and more how much Jesus loves them and the lengths he went to so they would be saved, I think it's a necessary story for them to hear. May God richly bless you during this Holy Week and give you a joyous Easter!!

A reminder- Spring Break is after next week!! April 5-9! We'll see you back in school on Monday, April 12th!

Lots of white board drawings lately!!

Mo Willems Author Study

 

This week we are going to look at books by the author Mo Willems. We will be talking about his illustrations and his stories!

This week's KDI is Reading-Children read for pleasure and information. We will compare and contrast books that we have read and decide what kind of books Mo Willems usually writes.

Table Activities- Table activities this week include giving the pigeon a bath, picking up cookies with clothespin pigeons and ducklings, Gerald and Piggie playdough, fingerpuppets, coloring bookmarks and Mo Willems coloring pages, adding a Knuffle bunny to black and white photos and playing with "cookie" playdough.

Small Group Activites- This week we practice scissors by cutting out cookies for pigeon and duckling to share, make pigeon, Gerald and Piggie with paper shapes, adding a Mo Willems page to our journals and follow directions to try to draw the pigeon.

Large Group Activities- We are doing alot of dancing this week- like Pigeon, Gerald, Piggie and ourselves!

Books of the Week- As many Mo Willems books as I can fit in!

Bible Story- Our story this week is leading up to Jesus last days here before his crucifixion and resurrection. We are talking about Palm Sunday this week- I am also sending the story of Zaccheus home. On Palm Sunday, Jesus enters Jerusalem for the last time. Jesus and his disciples are just outside Jerusalem, at the home of their friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus (whom Jesus earlier rose from the dead). Jesus and his disciples are going to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. Jesus tells his disciples to get a foal of a donkey for him to ride in to Jerusalem. The symbolism of riding a donkey means a king coming in peace. Jesus was indeed coming to make peace between God and man. As Jesus is riding the donkey, a huge crowd is gathering. Jesus has a reputation and people begin shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" Hosanna means "save us". The people believe that Jesus is their savior, but from Rome, not from their sins! People line the streets, placing their coats and palm branches on the ground for Jesus to ride on! It's like a parade, everyone shouting and cheering for Jesus! The crowds love him and welcome him!! It's so much, the Pharisees corner Jesus and scold him- Tell your followers to be quiet! Jesus tells them if his followers are quiet, the very rocks will start to shout! Jesus enters to a hero's welcome and he and his disciples spend the next week in Jerusalem. By Friday, the crowds are shouting something else at Jesus- Crucify Him!  Jesus goes through all of this for us. May we welcome him into our lives and hearts always! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

Kk is for kangaroo.

 

This week Kk is for kangaroo! We are going to look at the letter Kk, kangaroos and the other animals that live on the island continent of Australia.

The KDI for the week is geography. Children recognize and interpret features and locations in their environments. We will look at features in Australia, deserts, coral reefs, grasslands and see what we have in Michigan that is like Australia.

Table Activities- This week our table activities include decorating boomerangs, Australia sensory bin, aboriginal art, kangaroo stamp painting, coloring Australian animals, matching model animals with animal cards, decorating our pockets and coloring Australia.

Small Group Activities- We are going to paint a kangaroo shape in the aboriginal style, rock art, add Kk is for kangaroo to our journals and decorate some aboriginal clapping sticks.

Large Group Activities- Australian animal action dice, kangaroo hop, pocket relay and dancing to Australian music with our clapping sticks.

Books of the Week- "Over in Australia: Amazing Animals Down Under" by Marianne Berkes and "Marsupial Sue" by John Lithgow are our books this week.

Bible Story- This week our story is another parable that Jesus told his followers. It is part of three stories Jesus told about seeking the lost. The first story is about a shepherd who had 100 sheep and lost 1. He left the 99 and sought everywhere to find the one missing sheep. When he found it, he rejoiced greatly! The second story is about a woman who had 100 coins and she lost one. She swept the house top to bottom until she found the one missing coin. 

Then Jesus tells the story of the lost son. No inanimate object, this son became lost on purpose. There were two sons whose father was a wealthy farmer. The younger son was unhappy living on the farm and asked his father for his inheritance, before the father was even dead. The father, seeing how unhappy his son was and there was no changing his mind, gave his son his inheritance. The son went into the city and spent his money on riotous living. Finally, the money was gone and so were the friends that had come with it. The son was broke and alone, no one to offer him a bed or a meal. He decided to beg for a job and finally found one feeding pigs.

Meanwhile, the father never forgot his son and was constantly on the watch to see if he would find his way home. The older son faithfully worked, in his heart he believed he was obviously the better son. He didn't leave his father in the lurch, he worked hard every day. 

The younger son looked at the pods he was feeding the pigs one day and realized he was so hungry, even the pig's food looked appetizing. He made the decision to go home. He was sure that his father wouldn't give him the privilege to be his son again, but knew that his father's servants were treated well. Maybe his father would let him be a servant in his household. The young son started to make his way home.

While he was still a long way off, the father saw him coming and ran out to meet him. When they met, the son knelt at the feet of the father, begging him to take him on as a servant. His father lifted him up and hugged him and welcomed him home. He told his servants to bring out his robe and his ring and kill the fatted calf- his son who was dead was alive!! Let's celebrate!!

The older son, working hard, came home when the party was already going. He was incensed! What is this? I work hard for you every day and I don't even get a goat to share with my friends and this brother who has wasted everything you gave him gets welcomed home with a party? The father tells him, all this is yours, you never asked for anything. Be glad and rejoice that your brother is found! 

How this speaks to all of us, whether lost or found! God will welcome us home always! But if we've never strayed and feel like God owes us for being faithful- he will give us what we need and ask for. He is gracious and generous! Be happy and rejoice when the lost are found!

Have a wonderful week!

Nn is for noodles.

 

This week Nn is for noodles. We are looking and listening for the letter Nn and playing with shapes and noodles!

Our KDI for the week is shapes- Children identify, name and describe shapes. We will be focusing on shapes along with our noodles and making some noodle shapes!

Table Activities- This week table activities include playing with noodle sensory bins, both cooked and uncooked, cutting paper shapes, using dry spaghetti as a paint brush, putting dry spaghetti through holes in a colander, making shapes with cooked spaghetti, painting on cooked noodles and gluing noodle creations.

Small Group- Our small group activities include making a noodle sculpture, making a noodle necklace, adding Nn is for noodle to our journal and making a noodle picture.

Large Group- This week we will be dancing like noodles, taking a shape walk, passing the noodle and playing with pool noodles.

Books of the Week- "Noodles" by Sarah Weeks, "The Shape of Things" by Dayle Ann Dodds and "Today is Monday" by Eric Carle.

Bible Story- This week we will begin looking at the parables of Jesus. A parable in the Bible is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Our first parable we will hear is the Good Samaritan. Jesus is approached by a teacher of the law who wants to know what he needs to do to be saved. Jesus tells him to follow the law. He knows that the law says you should love  God and love your neighbor. He wants details and to justify himself! He asks Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus replies by telling him this story- There was a man who was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stole his belongs, took his clothes, beat him and left him on the side of the road. A priest came down the road, saw the man and passed over to the other side. So, too, a Levite, who was a worker at the temple. Neither one stopped to help the man. Then a Samaritan (whom the Jews looked down on) came down the road. He stopped to help the man. He cleaned and bandaged him up, gave him some clothes and drink, loaded him on his own donkey and took him to an inn where he took care of him. When he left, he gave the innkeeper money to continue to care for the man until he was well enough to travel. He even promised to return to the inn to compensate the innkeeper if there were more expenses.

Jesus asked those standing around him, "Who was the man's neighbor?" They all answered the Samaritan. Jesus instructed them to go and do likewise.

Jesus was teaching that everyone is our neighbor, especially those in need. And even if they have been our enemy at some point in time or still are our enemy. So opposite of what the world teaches as society seems to put us all into categories and separate us, we are all neighbors and should love one another as God loves us!

Have a wonderful week!!

Here are some pictures from the last couple weeks!