Go Tell It....

"Go tell it on the mountain...over the hills and everywhere...."You can almost hear our little carolers sing out from our door. The good news of baby Jesus is everywhere and we want to sing it out loud. We are practicing our songs for the Christmas program next week and are getting excited about performing for everyone. In case you did not know, we will be performing with the other four year old classes, so I am going to do my best to make a "video" of our class singing in our room. Sometimes the anxiety of standing in front of everyone is too much and we don't sing our best. If I can pull this off, you will be able to see us really singing from our hearts. Stay tuned....

Its Beginning To Look A "Little" Like Christmas

I am one to take the approach to Christmas slowly. It is always feels like we rush right over Thanksgiving. We started today with our Advent banner and learning that this season of the church year is all about waiting. The children were happy to work on this art project and to see that there are only 3 more Sundays until Christmas. Waiting is one of those things that is so hard to learn to do, especially with Christmas. We will "light" one candle each Monday that we remain in school and this will come home for the final candle. Baby Jesus is coming... I can't wait.

Back To School, Again?

After our long Thanksgiving break, we came back to school. The children were so excited to see their friends and get back to work. I am always surprised at the eagerness to learn, but it was just so much fun to see them sharing & playing. It is good to be back.

Autumn Splendor

The trees around our preschool have been so beautiful with their colorful leaves, but our windy days are starting to leave our trees bare. This tree is behind the church but is still so red and pretty. We love looking at it and can't wait to pick up the leaves after they fall to the ground. (I know some of you parents have found quite the stock of leaves in your child's bag. Please know that these are carefully gathered treasures by your child just for you.)

New Shoes

In case you did not know, new shoes are just as much fun for boys as they are for girls. One of our friends came in today with brand new shoes and it was very exciting. They are faster than any other shoes and are great for being "Ironman." So - the moral of this story is that even boys like new shoes - even if they are not glittery. (I had to get this picture of the bottom of the tennis shoe because it has red & gray.)

How Do You Cook A Turkey?

In an effort to help everyone with their holiday meal, our class prepared the directions for cooking a turkey. Normally this would be class book, but holiday projects have begun. This is a quick way to share their sage advice for cooking and if you follow these instructions, your holiday should be much easier.

Andrew says - You put it on the oven. I don't really like it. My favorite thing to eat at Thanksgiving is watermelon.
Britton says - You cook it in the oven. I like to eat chicken on Thanksgiving.
Carson says - You put it in the oven. I like to eat it. My favorite thing to eat at Thanksgiving is pizza.
Chloe says - I put it in the oven. I like to eat chicken on Thanksgiving.
Dalton says - Mama puts the turkey in the oven. When it is done, she puts in a secret ingredient...sugar. I like to eat cookies on Thanksgiving. (Chocolate is the best.)
Ella says - You put it on a wood stick. I like to eat chicken on Thanksgiving.
Emma says - You cook it in the oven. I like to eat turkey on Thanksgiving.
Hank says - Mama puts the turkey in a pot, then she puts it in the oven. It is good. I like to eat corn on Thanksgiving.
Hudson says - You cook a turkey in the oven. I know how to do it. My favorite thing to eat on Thanksgiving is pizza.
Madelyn says - I think my mama puts it in the oven. I like turkey with vegetables. I love to eat spaghetti on Thanksgiving.
Mary-Margaret says - I cook it in the oven. My mama cooks it in a fire. My daddy cuts it with a chainsaw. I like to eat turkey on Thanksgiving.
Savi says - My mama buys it already done. I like to eat apple pie on Thanksgiving.
Savannah says - My mama puts it on the stove. She puts juice on it with a turkey baster. My favorite thing to eat on Thanksgiving is chicken.
Thomas says - My mama puts the turkey in a pot in the oven. She puts cinnamon on it to make it taste good. I eat peanut butter & jelly on Thanksgiving.
Wyatt says - You put it in the oven and set the timer for 20 minutes. I like to eat grapes on Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Bracelets

You will find a bracelet in your child's bag today (or on their arm.) To celebrate the first Thanksgiving, we made a bracelet to tell the story. It is still hard to believe that the Pilgrims made that voyage of 66 days to America. I hope you have fun letting your child explain the story in their very own words. I am quite sure there will be some variations from what we learned in class, but we all agreed that we sure are glad we didn't have to sail over on a boat without a restroom, shower or snack machine. PS Our friend lost his second tooth...Watch out parents because everyone wants a visit from the tooth fairy.

Thankfully Playing!

It was such a relaxing fun day. With the feast madness over, we took our time with a few little projects and just enjoyed the day. Our snack was warm biscuits and jam and we had a wonderful chapel with Pastor Karen. (These are the days that I feel guilty about - do I really get paid to do this?) You can see that the children are a little more relaxed here than in the pictures of the feast. Our pilgrims sure are thankful that they don't have to wear those hats & bonnets every day.

After The Feast

After the craziness of our feast, we enjoyed a fun time on the playground. The weather today was so perfect. I am always amazed at God's goodness - this was just the perfect way to end our day. We celebrated friendship and fun by running and playing with all of our four year old friends. Then we came in for carpool and had a few minutes of silly faces. Here are a few of us just "hanging out" after school. Isn't friendship the best?

The Feast

Here we are on "Feast Day." We look the part and are getting ready for this fun four year old gathering in the Fellowship Hall. Our friendship in real life helped us think about the friendship between the Native Americans & Pilgrims. Sure they looked different and didn't even speak the same language - but God brought everyone together to celebrate the very first Thanksgiving.


Then we had our feast! It was great! No really, the children were great & the food was great. They were so well behaved that they even earned a special treat at the end of the day. The menu was: corn & potato chowder, corn & blueberry muffins, & applesauce. (Not exactly the McDonald's menu.) The boys and girls exhibited perfect manners and didn't yell out "I don't like this." Most of them tasted what was on their plate and some ate every bite. What a great thing and I cannot take any of the credit. Thank you parents for sending us such wonderful children. Below you will see our voyage across the breezeway to the "Great Feast."
Here we are waiting so nice & patient for everyone to get settled. (Yes - these are four & five year old children sitting like gentlemen & young ladies.)
Happy Feast Day to all of our four year old students. (Although I am constantly reminded that some of us are already five...)It was a great "First Thanksgiving" at Pilgrim Community Preschool. I can't wait for them to share everything that we experienced today and for you to learn about their favorite food. (See below - the candy/cookie turkey.)

E is for EVERYBODY

This week our letter was Ee. It was a little early for "elf" so we decided that it was best to take a picture of our whole class because Ee is for EVERYBODY!

"Open School Day"

Thank you parents for coming to open house today. I hope everyone enjoyed visiting our classroom. The children were so excited about bringing you back to school today. They called it "Open School." (It is a very big deal to bring your parents to school and show them around.) They are so proud of themselves and their hard work this year. I sincerely apologize for not taking one picture during your visit. I enjoyed visiting with everyone so much that I completely forgot about my camera.
There were lots of art projects to take home to decorate for the upcoming holiday weekend. As we prepared for the upcoming feast on Monday, we spent lots of time talking about being thankful & counting our blessings. I hope you take some time this Thanksgiving to try to "count" your blessings too. (For me there are just too many!) Have a great weekend and thank you so much for all that you do for our preschool.

The Tooth Fairy Made Her First Visit

Well, if you haven't heard the news - our friend lost his tooth. He told our class all about the big event and how he plans to use his tooth fairy gift to buy a game. It was so exciting - the first "grown-up" tooth is making it's way into our classroom. There was lots of lively conversation among friends about dental health and many hopes about losing teeth. Boy they grow up fast!

Do You Recognize These Native Americans?

We are finalizing our plans for our class feast next week with our costumes. Today the children were so excited to make their "head dress." Last week we made a wampum bag, a vest and a "treasure" necklace. After lots of discussion, the children understand the Native American's connection with nature and they picked the most perfect names for themselves. (Of course our nature inspired names must all be preceded by "Chief", "Queen," or "Princess.")

A Gray Day

Today was our very last color day and it was a perfect fit with our weather - gray. The cloudy skies were perfect for this last color celebration. Here are some of our boys and girls looking totally precious in this rather "drab" color.

Salsarita's?

Don't forget that today is Pilgrim's family day at Salsarita's in Lexington. 10% of your meal's cost will go to the preschool as a fundraiser - so don't cook tonight. A flyer was attached to your child's bag -just be sure to present it to the cashier. Salsarita's is located in the same shopping complex as Target. The food is really good and clean-up is even better. Have a great day.

Glittery, Golden Shoes

Childhood is the best. I say it often and I know this right down to the bottom of my heart. Everything is fun and magical and safe! There is so much giggling that you can't help but smile 100% of the time and today these shoes were the greatest thing I have ever seen in my life. (I actually saw them on Tuesday but lost my mind and did not take a picture.) They are so wonderfully glittery and shiny that they carry all of your troubles away - especially if you are 5. Please don't think that I am crazy, but children are much wiser than we all give them credit. I think the serious nature of our times makes us lose perspective and forget the really important things like just living life. Enjoy all of the little things and that makes the "big things" not quite so bad. (This was the rambling of a blessed preschool teacher that is glad God blessed her with a wonderful day!)

Happy Veteran's Day!!!

We salute our soldiers and veterans...words can never express our thanks to these military heroes. We are so young and don't understand what this world is all about (Thank Goodness!!!!) Thank you for brave soldier men & women who keep us safe. This is our special salute to you!

Our First Loose Tooth

This is BIG news...our very first loose tooth. (Actually two loose teeth at one time.) Every day we anxiously wait on an update from our friend -"did the tooth fairy come yet?" It is going to be a major headline when the tooth fairy makes a visit - so stay tuned....

Q is for quiet...

This week's letter Qq wasn't our favorite but here is a thought provoking "quiet" picture. I wonder what he is thinking right at this moment. (except - why are you taking this picture?)

Have A Gobble, Gobble Good Day!

Our latest art project is on display to welcome Thanksgiving. We made some silly turkeys that are waiting to greet everyone. Take a minute to read your child's turkey greeting. Some are quite silly and some are just what you expect..."gobble, gobble."

Our Dream Catcher Project

Native Americans are such wonderful people. They have an amazing history and so many wonderful stories. Today we learned about the dream catcher and how it came to be. The children were so excited about this special project that they "had" to take it home right away. This was a student request art project that I happily worked in to this week. I'm sure the children have forgotten their homework assignment - to share the story of the dream catcher and just had fun hanging it up in their room. Although we know that God is always with us, it sure is nice to have the dream catcher to fall back on "in case of a bad dream." I hope this gives everyone many hours of restful sleep.

God's Glorious Weather

This weather is just perfect. I don't think anyone could ask for anything better. The temperature is just right and nature is changing all around in such beautiful colors. These are the kind of days that make it hard for anyone to stay inside. We have been spending time learning about the Pilgrims and Native Americans - we took time to celebrate this beautiful land they "settled" together. We just call it "our playground."

A Perfect Catch

Since we have been learning about pilgrims, I brought in some simple wooden toys for the children to enjoy. Who would have thought that these games would be such a hit? Pictured here is one of our friends who was the only one in our class to make a perfect catch with the "ball in the cup" game. (She actually did this two times!!!) This is an old game that many of you have played but I don't remember it being quite so difficult. Kudos to Mrs. Cindy & Mrs. Laurie for also successfully catching the little ball.

Purple Isn't For Boys...

On Tuesday we had our "almost last" color day, purple. Next week is gray and we will be finished with our fun color celebration. We found out on Tuesday, however, that purple isn't really a "boy color." Since we were off last week for Election Day there was no pink color day so we will never know if that isn't a "boy color" either. Our ladies look so calm in their various shades of purple. We also enjoyed a yummy purple snack this week - grapes. Yummy - purple tastes so good.