Let's look at our ABC's

 

This week we will look at all the letters. We will try to place the letters in our name in order, recognize the sounds letters make and match them to the initial sounds of objects and have fun playing with letters!

Our KDI of the week is alphabetic knowledge- Children identify letter names and their sounds. As we work through our letters our ears should be able to recognize which letter makes which sound, or scientifically, which grapheme (written letter) matches which phoneme (spoken sound). This is the foundational skill needed for reading (decoding) and spelling (encoding). Taught in isolation and by direct instruction, ie. Tt makes the /t/ sound, /t/, /t/, /t/. We practice how our mouth moves to make it and look at what it looks like. Then as we get to know more sounds, we can blend them together- /t/ /a/ /p/ makes tap. If you know the sounds the letters make, you can sound out thousands of words, as opposed to memorizing sight words. Most words can be sounded out! So we are learning the basics to help us read for the rest of our lives!

Table Activities- This week we will have fun with a letter sensory bin, dot painting letters, letter playdough mats, magnetic letters and cookie sheets, sticky paper letters, letter coloring pages, letter beading and giving our letters a bubble bath!

Small Group Activities- This week we will arrange the letters in our name, letter/sound match, and add our name to our journal.

Large Group Activities- We will see if we can shape our bodies like letters, have a letter hide and seek and write some letters with sidewalk chalk.

Books of the Week- "Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom" by Bill Martin and John Archambault, "The ABC's of What I Can Be" by Caitlin McDonagh and "A, you're Adorable" by Buddy Kaye, Fred Wise and Sidney Lippman.

Bible Story- This week we hear the account of Jesus interaction with his fishermen disciples. Peter, Andrew, James and his brother John were all fishermen on the Sea of Galilee, near Capernaum where Jesus set up his home base. Jesus had been preaching and the crowd was pressing close to him. He asked Peter if he could step into his boat and Peter could take his boat out a little and Jesus preached from in the boat. Peter and his brother had been fishing during the early hours and had caught nothing. After Jesus had finished preaching, he told Peter to go out a little further and let down his nets.  Peter protested, saying they had been working hard all night and had not caught a thing! But because Jesus asked, he'd put the nets out. When he did, immediately his nets were so full, they were in danger of sinking the boat! He called out James and John to help him pull them in. They filled both boats!

Peter fell to his knees and said to Jesus- "Get away from me! I am a sinner!" They were so amazed at their great catch of fish!!

Jesus told him that he would no longer be catching fish, but catching men!  Jesus was taking smelly, poor, uneducated Galilean fishermen for his disciples. Through their sharing the story of Jesus, they would bring many to faith, including you and me!

Do we ever think we know better then Jesus? But because he asks us to , we will do what he calls us and sometimes there are amazing results, sometimes there aren't, but we are the better for it because we did His will. God loved us enough to send his Son and we show our love for him by doing what He asks! Who knows who or what we will catch!

Some pics from our jungle week-

Jj is for jungle

 

This week we are listening and looking for the letter Jj! We will be talking about jungles or rainforests and what they are like, what animals live there and what plants grow there. On Tuesday, we will see what animals live in the area we live in when we have our field trip to Oakwoods Metropark and attend the program "Animals of Oakwood". We can compare and contrast our wilderness with the wilderness of jungles!

Our KDI of the week is geography- Children recognize and interpret features and locations in their environment. We'll get to know what is special about the animals and lands where we live and how it is the same and different as other places around the world.

Table Activities- This week we will use animal print paper to make an animal, make a jungle with plastic animals, trees, and playdough, color some jungle animals, make a jungle scene with stamps, enjoy a jungle sensory bin and explore the layers of the jungle and which animals make their homes in each layer.

Small Group- This week we will practice our cutting skills by making a paper plate snake, add Jj is for jungle to our journal and take a virtual rainforest/jungle tour.

Large Group- We will do some Animal Actions along with our music and dance with our paper leaf umbrellas.

Books of the Week- "The Umbrella" by Jan Brett and "Welcome to the Green House" by Jane Yolen.

Bible Story- This week we begin our stories that take place during Jesus' public ministry. After the account of the boy Jesus in the temple, we don't hear about Jesus until he is baptized by his cousin John. He begins to teach and preach and already has some disciples following him when he is invited to a wedding in the village of Cana. 

In those days, weddings were large affairs, often lasting a week. During that time the families of the couple would provide lodging, clothing, food and drink. It was an embarrassment if something ran out! This wedding might have been a family member or family friend of Jesus, since his mother was also there. It was towards the end of the celebration and the wine had run out. Because Mary knew who Jesus was and his abilities, she told them that they had run out of wine, perhaps hoping he would do something. This makes me wonder if this was only Jesus first public miracle, if he had done some privately, because Mary knew it was possible for him to do. It isn't really important, because Jesus shows himself to be true God to his disciples through this miracle. 

When Mary spoke to him, he told her it was not yet time. She went and told the servants at the wedding to do whatever he told them to do. Later, Jesus came to the servants and asked them to fill the large water jugs. Then he dipped out a cup and told them to take it to the master of the banquet. When they did this, the water had turned to wine! The master of the banquet called the bridegroom to him and said how delicious it was! Usually the worst wine was served at the end, but they had saved the best for last! When Jesus does a miracle, he gives his best! Jesus told the servants not to tell anyone what he had done. 

Jesus was not doing a miracle to get attention for himself in a prideful way, he did it to help someone and build and strengthen faith. What a blessing that our faith can be encouraged by this event that happened 2000 years ago! 

I didn't get many pictures of our exploration week- thanks for braving the cold to come to school!

 

Ee is for exploring!

 

This week we look and listening for the letter Ee and have fun exploring. We will look at maps and our world!

Our KDI for the week is use of resources- children gather information and formulate ideas about their world. We will take a look at maps and atlases and see the world we live on and in. We'll have the opportunity to explore in pictures and pretend trips.

Table Activities- This week our table activities include making pretend binoculars, following and figuring out mazes, coloring world maps, looking at far away places through View Masters, puzzles of our world, our country and our solar system and shaping the continents on clay mats.

Small Group Activities- We will make a map of the school, add Ee is for exploring to our journals and make a model of a compass.

Large Group Activities- This week we'll have some fun with globe beach balls and follow a map outside.

Books of the Week-  "The Moose Belongs to Me" by Oliver Jeffers, "The Trek" by Ann Jonas and "As the Crow Flies" by Gail Hartman.

Bible Story- Our Bible story this week is the account of the boy Jesus at the temple. From the time Jesus' family flees to the safety of Egypt and returns to Nazareth, we don't hear anything about Jesus childhood years. When he is twelve years old, Jesus accompanies his parents to the temple in Jerusalem for the celebration of the Passover. They went with friends and family, probably traveling as a group from Nazareth to Jerusalem. As they were returning to Nazareth, they realized the first night that Jesus wasn't with them. They were worried and as soon as they could, returned to Jerusalem and spent three days walking around the city, looking for him. They found him at last, sitting in the temple, asking and answering questions from the teachers. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his insight! 

When Mary and Joseph found him, they were astonished. They were worried about him, didn't he know that. Jesus answer was not disrespectful, just a reminder of who he was and what his job was to be-The Son of God who takes away the sins of the world!

He went back to Nazareth and was obedient to them in all things. Mary remembered this and thought about it. Jesus grew in wisdom, stature and favor with God and men. How important it is for us to teach our children that even though Jesus was perfect, he still sat and listened to his parents and his teachers, sinful they might be. Our children are given the responsibility to listen to and learn from those in authority over them. We aren't perfect and neither are they, but we still help them to grow in wisdom, stature and favor with God and man.