Water and Wind

 

For our last two days of preschool before summer, we are going to have some fun!

On Monday, we will have a water day! Please wear swimsuits or shirts/shorts that can get wet. Also wear shoes that can get wet please. We will be playing with orbeez, water and boat play, playing with squirt guns and water balloons and having fun in a sprinkler. We will have some time indoors for our watercolor print making, but most of the time will be spent out of doors, so put on some sunscreen and bring a towel! 

Tuesday will be wind day! We are planning on making windsocks, pinwheels and decorating and flying kites. We will again be outside much of the day! 

We will have story time and Jesus time each day along with snacks. Some parents may be bringing some ice pops or popsicles or ice cream to share. You are not at all required to! If you would like to, let me know and I will make sure we aren't overwhelmed. 

Then WEDNESDAY!! Our graduation and celebration of the end of a great preschool year!! We made it pretty much in person for the entire year!! Individual kids were out, but we never had to close down school!! Thank you God for this amazing blessing! Please bring your student in comfortable, but nice clothes, to the classroom door you regularly enter by 10:30am on Wednesday. We will get ourselves together with our hats and our props for our songs and appear on stage for a short program at 10:45. After each child receives their certificate and gift, Mrs. Fager and I will pause for a picture and send them to sit with you. You may invite as many people as you would like. The invitations weren't meant to limit, I just purchased them and thought you might like to use them or save one for scrapbooking. After the program, the school picnic provided by CEA will take place at 11:30.

We were so grateful to be part of you and your child's life this year!! We wish all of you well over the summer and hope to see you again once school starts if you're returning to preschool. If you're heading on to kindergarten either at Zion or elsewhere, we wish you God's greatest blessings and hope you'll come visit us sometime!! If you are interested in coming to Zion for kindergarten and haven't yet signed up, I'd encourage you to apply. Kindergarten is filling up more quickly than I thought! If you wait, there may soon be a waitlist. 

Have a fabulous week!!

What Do I Want to be When I Grow Up?

 

We fill our last week of preschool with pretending and imagining what we would like to be when we grow up! 

Some kids know and will stick to it for the rest of their lives, some are still undecided and might be for a while. Play is the time to have fun pretending to be anything you want to be!

Our KDI for the week is Community Roles. Children recognize that people have different roles and functions in the community. We will pretend and talk about what they want to be, what mom and dad do and who we see working in our community.

Table Activities- This week we will have dramatic play to choose from - Flower Shop, Restaurant, Airport, Art Studio, Post Office, Doctor's Office, Grocery Store and Construction Work.

Small Group Activities- Several days we will have the opportunity to extend our dramatic play during small group, other days we will make a name badge and add a "What do I want to be?" page to our journal.

Large Group Activities- We will keep up with the dramatic play outside and even try our hand at job charades.

Books of the Week- "When I Grow Up" by Al Yankovic and "The ABC's of What I Can Be" by Caitlin McDonagh.

Jesus Time- This week we hear the story of the Holy Spirit coming to the disciples. After Jesus ascended, the disciples continued to stay in Jerusalem, waiting for the gift that Jesus had promised them. As they were waiting, ten days after Jesus ascended, a noise like a great wind came and little tongues of flame came and sat on the heads of those gathered. The disciples were filled with boldness and courage. A great crowd gathered outside of the buildings where the disciples were. The disciples came out to speak with them. Many were gathered who spoke different languages and the disciples were able to speak with them in their own language! The Holy Spirit had given them the ability to speak so they could be understood and to begin the work that Jesus had given them to do - to spread the name and work of Jesus through out the entire world! Peter spoke bravely about who Jesus was and what he had done and many were added to the church that day! Through faith, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit. It may not show itself the same way it did for the disciples, but it always empowers us to tell others about the wonderful things that Jesus has done!!

Some pictures from the zoo and playing with our new magnet dolls and white boards!

Yy is for yarn

 

This week we are covering the last letter, Yy! We will be playing with yarn and looking and listening for the sound of Yy.

Our KDI of the week is Appreciating the Arts. Children appreciate the creative arts. So many children love creating! This week we will do some "process" art. It isn't supposed to look like anything, just interesting to look at. I loved their paintings last week of zoo animals- some looked like the animal, others were very impressionistic! Art is what you make of it! We all have different ideas of what we like to see and experience.

Table Activities- This week we will have a yarn cutting bin, paint with yarn, sticky yarn numbers and creations, wrapping pets in yarn, wrapping sticks, wrapping yarn around chair and table legs and activities to go with our books Extra Yarn and Charlie Needs a Cloak. 

Small Group Activities- We will be working on our process art- gluing yarn and then painting between the spaces left, adding Yy is for yarn to our journals, sewing plastic canvas shapes with yarn.

Large Group Activities- Dancing with yarn, making a yarn trail and seeing how far you can throw yarn.

Books of the week- "Charlie Needs a Cloak" by Tomie dePaola, "Extra Yarn" by Mac Barnett, "The Great Fuzz Frenzy" by Janet Stevens. 

Jesus Time- This week we have the story of Jesus' ascension. After 40 days of appearing to his disciples and other followers, Jesus asked the disciples to meet him on a hill outside Jerusalem. When they were gathered there, he told them that he would be leaving them, but that he was going to send a counselor to them who would give them courage and power to be his witnesses not only in Judea, but to the ends of the earth. As Jesus was standing there, he was lifted up into heaven and the disciples stood watching him go until he disappeared behind the clouds. An angel appeared next to the disciples and asked them why they were standing looking up into the sky. He let them know that someday Jesus would come back to earth in the same way he was taken up into heaven. 

Jesus gives us the gift of faith and power through the Holy Spirit! We are his witnesses, just like his disciples were so long ago! We are waiting for Jesus' return, but we don't stand staring at the sky, doing nothing! We work and tell and show others Jesus and his amazing love for all sinners!

Have a super week!

Zz is for zoo.

 

This week we are listening and looking for the letter Zz and talking about zoos! We even are visiting the Indian Creek Zoo in Lambertville on Thursday!

Our KDI of the week is Measuring and Comparing- children measure to describe, compare and order things. We will be looking at the tallest animal and the shortest, the biggest and the smallest.

Table Activities- Our table activities this week include animal pattern blocks, zoo animals and playdough, animal puzzles, painting with zoo animal cookie cutters, an ISpy animal sheet, zoo scene with stickers and building zoos for our plastic animals with blocks and popsicle sticks.

Small Group Activities- This week we will "sew" cages for our animals, paint an animal from a picture and add "Zz is for zoo" to our journals.

Large Group Activities- We will dance and move to the song "Animal Actions" and make a pretend zoo outside.

Books for the Week- "Goodnight, Gorilla" by Peggy Rathman, "Put Me in the Zoo" by Robert Lopshire and "Going to the Zoo" by Tom Paxton.

Bible Story- This week our Bible Story is about the Peter and Jesus and applies to the rest of us! The disciples had seen Jesus and knew he was alive. They weren't sure what their role was now. Peter, Andrew, James and John had gone back to fishing, their original occupation. One morning, while they were fishing, they saw a man on the shore. He called out to them and asked them how the fishing had been. When they replied that they hadn't caught anything, he told them to put their nets on the other side of their boats. When they did that and their nets immediately filled with fish, John knew at once who that man was- Jesus! Peter didn't even wait for the boat to get back to shore, he jumped out and swam back. When they reached the shore, Jesus had started a fire and there were some fish and some bread cooking on it. He asked for some of the fish they had caught also and cooked them and they all sat and ate breakfast. 

Before Jesus had been arrested, he had told Peter that he would deny that he knew Jesus. Peter boldly proclaimed that he would do no such thing!! However, when Jesus was in the high priest's house, Peter was waiting in the courtyard to see what would happen. When people approached him and said that he was Jesus' disciple, he denied it. Three times! The third time, vehemently, even swearing that he didn't know Jesus. The rooster crowed, fulfilling Jesus prophecy that before the rooster would crow twice, Peter would deny him three times. At that point, Jesus is being led to another place and Peter sees him. Jesus looks right at Peter and Peter runs and weeps bitterly. He still loves Jesus and is ashamed of his actions. Now we see Jesus sharing forgiveness with Peter and reinstating him.

After breakfast, Jesus asked Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter replies, "Yes, Lord, I love you." Jesus tells Peter, "Feed my lambs." Jesus asks Peter again and Peter replies the same again and Jesus tells him to take care of his sheep. Jesus asks a third time and Peter replies vehemently- "Lord, you know that I love you!" Jesus tells him to feed his lambs and also tells him that the time is coming when Peter will also be killed because of his faith in Jesus- someone will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go. Peter was martyred for his faith in Jesus eventually.  

There are times when we act like we don't know Jesus, but he will always know and love us, even if we walk away. He died for us, so that we might live for him!

Have a super week!