Faith Lutheran Preschool eNews: Newsletter 9/10/14

Important Dates to Remember:
September 15th - "Making Life Better" class with Pastor Ewings; 6:30PM-8:00PM
October 17th - End of First Quarter; noon dismissal

Special Notes:
In order to make it easier for you to attend the "Making Life Better" classes with Pastor Ewings, we will be providing free care for your child(ren) in our preschool room while you're upstairs attending class. Please speak to the director if you plan on bringing your children and need care!

THIS WEEK’S LITERACY EXPERIENCES
Morning Books
"The Kissing Hand" by Audrey Penn
"The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?" by Mo Willems
"Almost an Animal Alphabet" by Katie Viggers

Afternoon Books
"Franklin Wants a Pet" by Paulette Bourgeois
"Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?" by Eric Carle

PLANNING & RECALL
By planning, children come to rely on their own capacities to make choices and decisions. According to research by psychologist Daniel Jordan, “children who grow up having no experience in setting their own objectives and pursuing the steps required to achieve them never become fully independent, responsible, and self-reliant human beings.” Planning time gives children opportunities to experience in concrete terms the relationship between their intentions and actions and the result of their actions. This week we drew letter links out of a bag when it was our turn to plan.

BIBLE LESSON
The world was forever changed from a state of perfection to a world of sin when Adam and Eve broke the command God gave them not to eat from the tree in the middle of the garden. Adam and Eve sinned but God still loved them and promised to send them a Savior. Life was difficult for Adam and Eve, but God continued to provide for them and give them blessings. God blessed them with children – Cain and Abel. Cain grew up to become a farmer and Abel took care of flocks of animals. One day Cain and Abel brought an offering to God as a way to show love and thanks to God. Cain brought some of his crops, and Abel brought the best of his animals to sacrifice as an offering. God was pleased with Abel’s gift since it was given with a heart full of love and faith in God. Cain’s offering was displeasing to God because he didn't give it with a joyful heart or a heart filled with faith. God showed his displeasure in Cain’s offering, which made Cain angry and led him to hate his brother Abel. Cain took Abel out into the field one day and killed him. God, who knows all things, saw what Cain did. The consequences of Cain’s sin were that he would have trouble growing his crops and would wander from place to place on the earth. Cain’s hard life would be a reminder to him of his sin. Cain was a sinner and needed God’s help—the promise of a Savior to come. We too are sinners and need to be reminded of that. We also need the sweet reminder of God’s promise to us which was fulfilled in Jesus—who came to die in our place to take away all our sins so that we could be with him in heaven.

Bible verse: John 3:16 "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son."
Bible song: "For God So Loved the World"

MUSIC
This week the children will continue to explore loud and soft sounds. In the song “This is What I Can Do”, children have the chance to follow loud and soft patterns made by a leader using different vocal or physical sounds with our bodies and with a drum. We also have been learning the songs "5 Green and Speckled Frogs", and "A-Hunting We Will Go".

MOVEMENT
This week during Movement Time, we begin with the song "Knees Up Mother Brown". We march our knees up and down, hop on one foot and then the other, and twirl around and around. Children then have a chance to practice their auditory discrimination skills as we play the game "Ready, Spaghetti!" Children stand on one line and have to wait to hear "ready spaghetti" before they can walk across to a line on the other side of the room. If they hear "ready cabbage", "ready hot dog" or other silly combinations of food, they have to stay put on the first line. Children have enjoyed playing this game as they practice their listening skills.

SMALL GROUP TIME
The KDI for this week’s small group activities is classifying. Young children love to explore the similarities and differences between objects. They enjoy making collections, sorting things into categories, and comparing their attributes. This week we classified groups of opposites. We classified large and small items, soft and hard, loud and quiet, items that change when placed in water or not, and on Friday we grouped ourselves into different groups based on hair color, height, and gender. Classifying helps children organize their lives. The more they learn, the larger and more diverse the collections of things they categorize become.