December 20 – Noon Dismissal; Christmas Service at 6:30PM
December 21 – January 5 – Christmas break, no preschool
THIS WEEK’S LITERACY EXPERIENCES
Morning Books
"Who is Coming to Our House" by Joseph Slate and Ashley Wolff
"Grumpy Badger's Christmas" by Paul Bright and Jane Chapman
"Hedgie's Surprise" by Jan Brett
Afternoon Books
"Hickory Dickory Dock and other Nursery Rhymes" by Carol Jones
PLANNING & RECALL
This week during planning and recall time, we used the silver star as a planning board again. For young children, anything can become a learning experience. With the planning board, the children have been curious about the texture and smell of the tin foil covering the star. They also enjoy using their fine motor skills to pin their clothespin in the area they are planning. Observing children's interest in these materials helps guide educators to plan experiences based on these interests. This week tin foil, clothespins and other textured paper was placed in the sensory table for further exploration.
BIBLE LESSON
The time was arriving for Mary to give birth to God's Son, Jesus. Caesar Augustus, the ruler of the land at the time, issued a decree that a census should be taken to see how many people were living in his land. Everyone had to return to their home towns to register. Mary and Joseph, who had been living in Nazareth, had to travel to a town called Bethlehem, their home town. After arriving in Bethlehem, they discovered that all of the inns were full. Instead, they found room in a nearby stable with the animals. When the time came for Mary to give birth, she had a son, whom she named Jesus. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger. Shortly after Jesus' birth, angels shared the joyous news with shepherds out in the fields tending their flocks. The shepherds found Jesus in the stable just as the angels had told them, and they rejoiced in his birth! The shepherds, Mary, Joseph, and we too rejoice in Jesus' birth. Jesus, the promised Savior who came to live a perfect life for us, die on the cross for our sins, and rise from the dead to defeat death so that we may live with Him forever in heaven!
MUSIC
We used music time this week to revisit many of our old favorite songs. We used the bells we made to sing "Jingle Bells". We also used the bells to keep the beat on different parts of our body like shoulders, toes, arms and knees. Some other songs the children chose to sing again include "5 Green and Speckled Frogs", "B-I-N-G-O", and "Seesaw, Margery Daw". We also learned a new Christmas hymn this week -- "Away in a Manger".
MOVEMENT
During movement time this week we saw many different animals emerge! Our first song is called "Bunny Jump" where we jump like bunnies, wiggle like fish, and kick our hooves. We then try some animal movement challenges: moving like cats, elephants, ostriches, rabbits, frogs and fish. The children use their large motor skills as well as their imaginations to become all these different animals.
SMALL GROUP TIME
This week during small group time, we’re focusing on the Key Developmental Indicator (KDI): measuring. For preschoolers, measurement is about realizing that things have measurable properties and making comparisons on these dimensions (height, volume, age, time, older and younger, lightest and heaviest, short, medium and tall).
Some of the experiences this week that focus on measuring include using unifix cubes to measure the length of different objects, measuring volume of water by seeing how many cups it takes to fill different containers. We also measured sound volume by using different musical instruments to discover loud and soft sounds. Finally, we used yarn to measure larger objects in the classroom and compared the lengths.
AFTERNOON EXPERIENCES
After rest time, the children revisited materials used during small group time or previous experiences that gained their interest. Lower student numbers in the afternoon allows for more freedom to let the children take initiative and choose which activities interest them. Often times they choose books, puzzles, or art activities.
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