Newsletter 2/26/14

Important Dates to Remember:
March 8-16 - Spring break; no preschool (noon dismissal at 12 noon on Friday, February 7th)

THIS WEEK’S LITERACY EXPERIENCES
Morning Books
"The Three Billy Goats Gruff" by Paul Galdone
"Foxy!" by Jessica Souhami
"The Z was Zapped" by Chris Van Allsburg

Afternoon Books
"Dirt on my Shirt" by Jeff Foxworthy
"Alphabet Trucks" by Samantha Vamos

PLANNING & RECALL
We used puppets this week for planning and recall time. Children enjoyed impersonating different animal puppets and stuffed animals to share their work time plans.

BIBLE LESSON
God took care of his people, the Israelites, in the desert and led them to camp at the base of a mountain called Mount Sinai. Moses went up the mountain and God spoke to him there, telling him to remind the Israelites how He had let them out of Egypt, taken care of them in the desert, and now urged them to listen and obey him. There at the top of Mount Sinai, God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses. Moses shared them with the Israelites, giving them them the opportunity to show love for God by keeping and obeying these Commandments. We also have the opportunity to show our love for God by obeying him. And for all the times we know we fail to keep the Commandments, we thank Him for sending Jesus to die on the cross to pay for those sins.
Bible verse: Psalm 119:47 "I delight in your commands."
Bible song: "Go Down Moses"

MUSIC
In Music this week we continue to explore the concept of pitch. We use a song called "Driving Down the Highway" to sing ascending and descending scales, while also using a picture to search for things on the ground and in the air. We tie this concept of high and low objects to the concept of high and low pitches. Children are quickly catching on and are able to match my high and low pitches.

MOVEMENT
This week we take a little "field trip" upstairs to our fellowship hall to play a game called "Clean our Neighborhood" with the balloons. We divide into two groups, each with our own neighborhood sectioned off with a jump rope. The object is to keep our neighborhoods clean by trying to get all the balloons into the other team's neighborhood. Self-regulation, teamwork, and participation are key skills we learn this week as we play this game.

SMALL GROUP TIME
This week during small group time, we’re focusing on the Key Developmental Indicator (KDI): Alphabetic Knowledge. Alphabetic knowledge means understanding the alphabetic principle, which is the systematic relationship between letters and sounds. Children acquire this knowledge by building letter recognition and building an awareness of letter-sound connections. Young children learn letter names and sounds in the context of their playing, reading, and writing. They do not benefit from memorizing isolated letters or studying the "letter of the day". Some of the things we do at Small Group Time to increase specific letter recognition include working in teams to match letter hearts, tossing bean bags on to large letters on the floor, using geoboards to connect letters, and going on a letter hunt around the classroom and school.

Newsletter 2/19/14

Important Dates to Remember:
March 1 - "Raising a Healthy Preschooler" Workshop; 9:30AM-1:30PM
March 8-16 - Spring break; no preschool (noon dismissal at 12 on Friday, February 7th)

THIS WEEK’S LITERACY EXPERIENCES
Morning Books
"The Little Red Hen" by Paul Galdone
"Find a Cow Now!" by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel
"Under the Baobob Tree" by Julie Stiegemeyer

PLANNING & RECALL
This week at planning time, we turned the lights off and used a flashlight to shine on the area in which we wanted to work at Work Time. Part of supporting children at planning and recall time includes providing props or games which help maintain children's interests. Adults converse with children about work-time experiences - inviting children to talk about what they have done, commenting on their play, and asking open-ended questions.

BIBLE LESSON
The Israelites had been delivered from the hand of the Egyptians and were now on their way to the land that God promised to give them. However, after journeying for a while, the Israelites began to complain to Moses and Aaron. They were tired of walking and they were hungry. They said, "In Egypt, at least we had food. But you have brought us into this desert to die." The Lord knew his people were complaining and he showed his love for them by sending bread from heaven called manna, and small birds called quail in the evening. The Israelites were to gather as much as they needed for one day. Each day God provided for their needs, and the Israelites had plenty of food to eat. God also provides us our "daily bread" when he supplies things like food and drink, clothes, shelter and many other blessings in our earthly lives. 

MUSIC
In Music this week we begin to explore the concept of pitch. The children have previously explored how two sounds can be either the same or different and this week the specific concept of high and low pitches is explored. With the song "Simon Sings", we use hand motions and body movements while singing high and low sounds, and we also use instruments to produce high and low sounds.

MOVEMENT
This week we warm up with the songs "Hokey Pokey" and "Caterpillars to Butterflies". Our movement lesson this week is an introduction to balloons. We practice holding on to our balloons as we tap them to different body parts, balance them between our legs, and reach them up in the air. We also enjoyed creating static electricity and making the balloons stick to our shirts without using our hands to hold them there! We finished Movement Time with the song "Keep it Up!" where we practiced keeping our balloons in the air using various body parts. 

SMALL GROUP TIME
This week during small group time, we’re focusing on the Key Developmental Indicators (KDI): Observing and Experimenting. To meet the KDI this week, we playing with a variety of materials that test our senses. We use our hands to observe and play with Oobleck, we experiment with various objects to test what sinks and floats, we use our eyes to watch reactions when various liquids are mixed with baking soda, and we use our hands and eyes to pour multiple liquids into a clear bottle and watch the denser liquids fall to the bottom, creating layers. 

Playing in the moon sand

The tired puppy and her owner

Working together to put an alphabet puzzle together

Balloons!

Playing with the sticky Oobleck

Reading a story before we go outside

Newsletter 2/12/14

Important Dates to Remember:
February 15 - Preschool Open House for the community; 10AM-1PM
February 17 - No Preschool; President's Day
March 1 - "Raising a Healthy Preschooler" Workshop; 9:30AM-1:30PM

THIS WEEK’S LITERACY EXPERIENCES
Morning Books
"Why are Animals Blue?" by Melissa Stewart
"The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog" by Mo Willems
"Corduroy" by Don Freeman

PLANNING & RECALL
Instead of using any materials or props for planning and recall time this week, a little phrase was spoken that goes like this, "Jingle, jangle, jax...it's your turn to plan if your name is 'Max'". Using a rhyming chant increases children's ability to identify the concept of rhyme - especially when it's tied to something as personal as their names.

BIBLE LESSON
In this week's Bible lesson we learn how Moses obeyed God's command to tell the king of Egypt to let the Israelites go. At first, the king refused and God sent 10 plagues or troubles to the land of Egypt. Finally the king permitted the Israelites to leave. After the king realized that he lost all his slaves, he changed his mind and sent his army to bring the Israelites back. God demonstrated his love and protection for his people by parting the Red Sea - creating a path of dry ground for the Israelites to walk across, with a wall of water on each side of them. The Egyptian army pursued them, but after all the Israelites made it across the sea safely, God caused the water to come crashing down on the Egyptian army, killing all of them. The Israelites called upon God for deliverance from the Egyptians and he rescued them with his almighty power. God also invites us to call upon Him in the day of trouble. He will deliver us and that gives us the opportunity to honor him. (Psalm 50:15) 

MUSIC
We continue to explore sounds that are the same and different with the song "Hey! Mister Big Drum!" At the beginning of the week we continue to use our bodies to create sounds, but as the week progresses we also include instruments. We are also learning some sign language to the new song "The More We Get Together", and we work with rhyming words when "A-Hunting We Will Go" to catch animals like foxes and put them in boxes before we let them go. 

MOVEMENT
This week in Movement time we practice our balance by tightrope walking. By using a tightrope (tape on the floor), we practice walking on our tiptoes as we place one foot in front of the other. Some challenges we try include walking on the rope backwards, sideways, and by turning around in a circle. We get inspired in our tightrope walking skills by dancing to the song "Circus Dance"

SMALL GROUP TIME
This week during small group time, we’re focusing on the Key Developmental Indicator (KDI): Tools and Technology. Working on this KDI allows children to become familiar with and learn to use tools and technology found in their everyday environment. They learn the functions of a variety of equipment and learn to use it with safety and care. Tools and technology can also support their play. Some of the tools we explore this week include scissors, pencils, measuring cups and spoons, and rulers. 

Completed that Alphabet puzzle!

I like to build castles.

Walking the tightrope

Tool of the day: scissors

Cutting out different kinds of lines

Almost there!

Newsletter 2/5/14

Important Dates to Remember:
February 7 - School Art Fair; 6:30PM
February 15 - Preschool Open House for the community; 10AM-1PM
February 17 - No Preschool; President's Day

THIS WEEK’S LITERACY EXPERIENCES
Morning Books
"The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle
"Madeline" by Ludwig Bemelmans
"Pete the Cat Rocking in my School Shoes" by Eric Litwin

PLANNING & RECALL
This week during planning and recall time we use a planning board showing the different interest areas in the classroom. When their "letter" is drawn from a cup, then it is their turn to share their plan or to share what they did at work time. The children more experienced in the process are enjoying modeling planning time to our new students this week.

BIBLE LESSON
God had a plan for Moses' life. God planned to help his people, the Israelites, leave the land of Egypt, and he chose Moses to be their leader. One day as Moses was tending to some sheep out in the fields, he saw a burning bush. Then he heard a voice from the bush call his name. The voice said, "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." God informed Moses that he was the one chosen to lead God's people out of Egypt. Moses was afraid of the large task he was given and God continued to reassure Moses that he would be with him. He gave Moses the ability to perform miracles, which would prove to Pharaoh that Moses was sent by God. Moses' final fear was that he wouldn't know what to say. God told Moses that his brother Aaron would go with him and that God would give both of them the words to say. God chose Moses for the special and important task of freeing his people from Egypt. God gave Moses all the help he needed to perform his task. God also helps us as we go about our daily tasks, the most important of which is to share the good news that our sins have been forgiven by Jesus.

MUSIC
In music we face the challenge of creating different sounds to the song "Not One, but Two". The song encourages children to create sounds using their voices or parts of their bodies. The challenge comes in creating two sounds that are different from each other. Some of the concepts children learn include that two sounds can be different in a variety of ways: soft or loud, slow or fast, high or low, and sounds with different timbres

MOVEMENT
Movement time starts with the warm up song "Step on the Stones". Children pretend the carpet area is a large pond and the squares on it are stones we step on so our feet do not get wet. We walk around, finding the color of the stones that are called out and try to balance so we don't fall in the water. Movement time also include more work with the balls as we roll them to each other in a game of "Hot Potato". We end by working our bodies to movements like reaching, bending our knees into squats, bending at the waist, and turning our bodies in a circle.

SMALL GROUP TIME
This week during small group time, we’re focusing on the Key Developmental Indicator (KDI): Patterns. On Monday we creating patterns using a variety of bottle tops and caps. On Tuesday we used Lego patterning cards to create Lego patterns. We also use counting bears and order them in a variety of patterns, on Thursday we manipulate 2D colorful shapes into patterns, and on Friday we create our own patterns using materials from the classroom. 

Working on fine motor skills
by threading beads on pipe cleaners.

Using tweezers to pinch beans.

We built a castle!

"Bat-girl" with her puppy.

Fixing the broken part of the castle.

The girls enjoy painting together.

Working on patterning with Legos.

Small Group Time patterns.