Do You Know Who Lazarus Is?

Did you find a mummy jar in your child's bag? Be sure to ask them to tell you about Lazarus and why we made these lanterns. The children were very, very excited about taking these lanterns home and about this Bible story. (Oh and they were excited about the treats inside the jar - especially the pencil and notebook.) Have a safe & happy Halloween.

It Was A Harvest Party

Today was our Halloween party and would you believe I forgot my camera? The children were so well behaved for such a candy heavy party day. (Even though we didn't eat any - they sure were excited about getting treats.) We played fun games and had a yummy spider cupcake. (Thanks Mrs. Beth, Aunt Abigal & Mrs. Marisol.) We did spend time during circle talking about Halloween safety and the real message that Jesus wants us to share is letting our lights shine - just like the candles in our jack o'lanterns.

We Met A Mail Man

Today we met another community helper. It was a mail man. He talked to us about the duties of a mail man and even delivered some mail to us. He was very nice and even showed us what he wears in the rain. We really like his safari rain hat. He helped us understand why our address is important. Thank you Mr. "Mailman" for visiting with us today.

Pumpkins, Pumpkins - Everywhere

It has been pumpkin madness at the preschool. If you bring your child in, take a few minutes to walk around and see every one's creative endeavors with the orange gourd. It is really fun to step back in time and see with the eyes of our children. Life is so simple, especially on holidays. We have been enjoying this theme very much. We measured our height with pumpkins...how many pumpkins tall are you?
We also visited the school pumpkin patch and had so much fun picking out a pumpkin of our own.

And we also did some science observations and made a little pumpkin book of our own. We love pumpkins.

How Big Is This Leaf?

This huge leaf was brought in by a friend for show and tell today. It was so big that we used it to measure different things in our classroom. The children enjoyed this "math" activity and wanted to measure everything in relation to our leaf. We could only imagine how tall the tree is that this awesome leaf floated down from this fall season.

Our leaf is two sizes taller than Little Mouse.
Our leaf is much taller than a classmate's hand.
Our leaf is a little bit taller than our paint bottle.

A House For Little Mouse

Today was the big day. We waited for friends to bring back their pumpkin homes and we read our book about Little Mouse and her Halloween home. The children did a great job and really, really loved meeting Little Mouse. Here are the results of our first homework assignment.

This friend had food already available for Little Mouse and on the other side, he made a bed. It was complete with a bedside table with a clock and a pet goldfish.
This friend even had a TV for Little Mouse that was already tuned in to the food channel. Little Mouse loves to cook and entertain and a jack o'lantern home is perfect for this harvest season.
These jack o'lantern homes were just right for Little Mouse. Another "green"project for the students to learn about re-purposing things. Although we used our imagination to make a home for Little Mouse - they were excited to brainstorm ways to re-use things from home.

The Candy Corn Man

If you haven't visited our classroom lately, you do not know that we have been invaded by candy corn friends. The children made candy corn friends for a recent art project. They are all different and are so friendly. It is so much fun to see each child's artistic skills - they are all very creative. We learned about the candy corn prayer that goes as follows: White is for our sins that Jesus washed away. Orange is for new hope that Jesus gives us each new day. Yellow is for His wisdom and words so sweet - all wrapped up in this candy corn treat.

Jack O'Lantern Names

Today we started our week of harvest festivities. We learned about how a pumpkin grows on a vine and had fun making our tiny pumpkin sequence. We also continued our name practice by making some fun glowing pumpkin names. The children had so much fun seeing their names light up as we found the right letters and glued them down to the paper. Our Bible verse this month is from Isaiah43:1 - I have called you by name, you are mine. This was fun way to reinforce our Bible verse. It is so reassuring, even to our class, that God knows each one of us by name and loves us no matter what we do.

Did You Learn About Fire Safety?

This is what a fireman looks like with his reflective stripes and full gear. We know that we should never be afraid of a fireman in case of emergency. It is so important to start teaching your children fire safety - even at preschool age. They are so smart and are ready to be helpers in the family. The children had a homework assignment over the weekend, however, only you know if they did it. Did your child show you our smoke detector and ask to see where yours is located in your home? Did they show you our safety phone and demonstrate how to call 911? These were two of the most important topics covered by our firemen who visited the preschool. Practice these things at home and ask your child to share what they learned from our community helpers.

Every Day Is A Gift

Just a word of thanks for those who sent loving thoughts to my friends. Their daughter went to be with Jesus on Thursday and through it all, they felt God's love. My heart was heavy throughout last week and I apologize for not updating this blog. It is with much resolve that we begin again and they encourage each and every one of us not to take any moment for granted. God has showered us with so many blessings - so love your children, your spouse and anyone that is near and dear. "This is the day that the Lord has made - let us rejoice and be glad in it...."

Fall Is Here

The playground was perfect today. The wind was gentle and the temperature was just cool enough for a light jacket. We went out just a little bit early to enjoy this wonderful day.

Working Is Learning!

Doing our best work is what we do. If you have heard your child talk about their "best work" - we really do say this in our classroom. Mrs. Laurie and I encourage each child to try their very best at each task and sometimes play centers are just to distracting. When you review your child's papers on Thursday, you should be able to see "hurry" work vs. "best" work. Here is one of our friends taking his time with a paper project.
We also learn in centers - even though the children don't really know this. Here is one friend showing off the letter of the week in "playdough." (He didn't even know that he was showing off his learning skills. We are sneaky in our teaching practices aren't we?)
Here are friends playing and doing a great job being neat and orderly. Some of the tasks of growing up includes being organized in our play and cleaning up at the end of the day.
Learning is really fun. See our friend's beautiful smile. She is working hard and actually having fun. God is so good to us all the time. Thank you for entrusting your children to us to teach and for reinforcing learning skills at home.

Caution - Readers At Work

We love books! These boys and girls are readers and that is wonderful. Thank you parents for instilling a love a good book in your child. Here are some pictures of readers at work in our classroom.

Life Is Good

Even with the sadness of this weekend, life is truly good. All of the smiles of your children show God's love at work everywhere. We have been working very hard in our preschool day and it is amazing to see the growth in each child. If you haven't seen the scarecrow garden that has grown up on the wall outside of our classroom - please take a few moments to let your child show off their artistic creations.

Perspective

It is not often that I will ask for your prayers, but today I humbly make this request. Please keep a family friend in your thoughts as they lose their only child. This is one of those times when we should all take a moment to love our life and children and take nothing for granted. Our preschool class is full of life and energy and love and no matter what takes place - it is all good! Perspective is getting that eye opening phone call that something terrible has happened - so I rejoice in life today. Thank you so much for praying with me for my friends.

Picture Day Is HERE!!!!!

Say Cheese!!! Picture day is scheduled for Tuesday, October 13, 2009. Our photographer wanted to take fall pictures outside, but I'm not sure if Mother Nature is going to cooperate. Our class is scheduled to go last in the rotation and we try our best to keep children camera ready -but we can't make promises they will be as perfectly styled as when they arrived. (In an effort to keep as neat as possible, I have not scheduled any painting projects on this day.)

Did You See Columbus Today?

You should have seen 16 small versions of Christopher Columbus leaving our room. It was a rainy day; just right for an imaginary voyage to discover America. We had lots of fun learning about this brave explorer and especially loved making our spy glass. It was covered with tiny foil star stickers because Columbus used the stars to navigate by on his voyage to the new land. Since we are still learning about our five senses, we all learned how important our sense of sight is. (Of course, the children were instructed not to use the spyglass as a megaphone - but sometimes a paper towel tube is so enticing.) Happy Columbus Day 2009!

October Is Really Here

Part of our morning circle time is review of the days of the week, the four seasons and months of the year. It was a big deal when September went away and October came in to our room. We have been learning the "Macarena Months." If you get some time, try this fun song and dance with your child. They are doing a great job with these skills and yes - OCTOBER IS REALLY HERE! This is the news every day because Halloween is coming.

Thank You God For Sunny Days

After three rainy days, the playground was so much fun. The temperature was just right for running and playing. We love to play chase and do flips and slide on the sliding board. There is really nothing better than playing outside on a beautiful day.