Endings & Beginnings

This is what our hall looks like when we return in the fall just before we begin our new school year. It is full of wonder, anticipation, worry and excitement. This is also what it looks like at the end of the year in Spring. It is full of pride, contentment, fatigue and excitement. Parents, you are just beginning so many years of beginnings and endings. I encourage each of you to spend some time talking to your child about this past year and about their dreams for the future. This is the best time of their life because the sky is truly the limit. They have not been in a regular school classroom where testing determines their future. Happy Beginning and thank you for a wonderful year! I love you all!

Summer Safety

Before I end our posts for the year I have to share our rules for summer safety. These were created by the children in our class. They covered everything - right down to the bugs.

Graduation

The Class of 2011!!!! If you look at these beautiful faces you can see God's love. I will miss each one of these boys and girls but know that they will brighten the days of their teachers next year. Have a great summer! God's peace be with you all.

Before Graduation

Hooray! Our four year olds are now graduates of Pilgrim Community Preschool and off to kindergarten. Here we are before our graduation ceremony. We look so grown up. Graduation day is one of those days when you can actually plan very little and these boys and girls were so patient and mature!!!!!

Thank You Miss Laney

Many thanks to our helper from the high school. We have enjoyed working with her this year and the children love her so much. Best wishes on her upcoming graduation from Lexington High School. Thanks Miss Laney!!!

Sunny Fans

Since summer is just around the corner, we did take some time the last day to make a sunny fan to help us stay cool. It is perfect to leave in your car - beside car seats and easy to wave around to make a gentle breeze. Cars can be really hot in the summer - so keep our sunny fan at hand to help cool off. Happy Summer!

Last Days

It is official, we are at the end of preschool. There is no way to escape it - graduation is tomorrow. I don't know where this preschool year has gone because it seems like yesterday when we were just learning how to check in and answer the question of the day. Here are some fun pictures of our last two days of learning and fun.

Have You Ever Been To The Poultry Festival?

Yes - you read this correctly. There is a Poultry Festival that is held one time per year in Batesburg-Leesville. It is usually around the second weekend in May and it is great fun. (If you didn't make it this year - mark your calendars for 2012.) Small town parades & festivals are disappearing so quickly but they are such awesome learning experiences. You can visit little towns that are rich in history and have some fun with games and sometimes even see a parade. My boys were in the parade with my dad along with two of his historic vehicles. Here are a few pictures from Saturday's fun.

Last Show & Tell

This is our very last show & tell week for our class. Here are some pictures of friends having fun showing off some fun things from home. As you can see it was not a great photography day because we were so "wiggly." The excitement is building as graduation approaches and it is hard just to be still for one tiny second. We had some little pet friends, a compass, shiny tap shoes, a cool bank that counts coins, a stuffed animal and a special necklace that makes you play baseball better.

The Lamp To Light My Way

Thank you so much for this wonderful lamp. All of those tiny trinkets are so fun and every time I look at it I see something different. This was such a thoughtful gift and I know that it will light many nights of work with children in future classes. So many thanks to the children who, may or may not, have contributed their little trinkets.

Almost Time For Disney World!!!

We have one friend in our class who will be taking a vacation to Disney World and we are counting down the days. You can see from this picture that her excitement is obvious right down to her clothes. I love summer vacation and fun trips. It is the perfect opportunity to learn new things and practice reading skills. It is also a great time to get an inexpensive camera and let your child start their own summer memories journal. You can keep ticket stubs, brochures, postcards, etc... Graduation is next week and the possibilities for summer fun are endless.

Meet Harper

Here is another friend's dog, Harper. He came in to say "Hi," and we loved it! This friend's dog was so happy to see us and he even gave a few kisses. Pets can be so much fun and we use our pet visits to talk about what it means to be growing up and starting "big school." Now we can have special chores and can be responsible for feeding our pets, etc... Thanks Harper for coming by our room today.

Do We Look Hot?

Summer may be just around the corner - but it sure feels like it has already arrived. You can see from these shiny faces that it was one of those hot playground days. If you have been in my classroom you will recall that I "preach" about the benefits of outdoor play. I really do believe that running, getting dirty and playing outside helps children grow up so much healthier. I will reveal my age by saying that when I was a little girl, we knew it had been a great summer day if we wearing a dirt necklace when we came in for dinner. We also played outside until the sun was nearly setting and hated to hear our mom call out that it was time to eat. Nostalgic? I think it is getting worse. We are all so busy driving around from meetings, practices, etc... that this type of fun gets lost in the shuffle. There is much to be said about the art of making summer mud pies and catching fireflies.

Jonah - A Girl?

This week we are learning about Bible heroes. It is always my "most favorite" theme in our classroom because I learn so much from the children. It is really fun to talk about today's heroes and those from very familiar Bible stories. Well today I was informed by one of our girls that Jonah could have been a girl. I could not really dispute this and we had lots of fun talking about how the story would have been different if Jonah wasn't a boy. This might be silly, but it made this story a little more contemporary for some in our room. (Please note the hair bow on the whale and "Joanie.")

Meet Rocky

One of our friends had her mom bring in their dog for a visit today. (As an aside, I usually do a "pet show & tell" week, but with the late Spring Break - I just didn't have the time to plan this for our class.) This friend has been sharing stories about her dog, Rocky, throughout the year and it was her idea to have her mom bring him in at the end of our day. You can see our friend, Mrs. Laurie & Rocky stopping for a picture. He is such a sweet dog and was crazy about getting so much attention. The boys and girls in our class were very excited to have this four paw friend stop in and did a great job showing him their affection with lots of petting.

Puzzles Are Fun

Finally at the end of the year we love puzzles!!!! They aren't nearly as hard as everyone thought and you can see from our faces that we very proud of our hard work. I think that these boys and girls are "sort of" surprised at how much easier it is to do a puzzle when you sit down and pay attention to the task. Yes we have grown up so much this year. Kindergarten here we come!

A Proclamation?

This is Emerson's EAGLE class. (Don't fourth grade students look much bigger than they use to?) These boys and girls helped develop a WIKI page about the history of the town of Lexington. On Monday, they received a Proclamation from the Town of Lexington for their work. (Pretty cool...because I'm pretty sure I have never been mentioned in a Proclamation.) In case you were not aware - it is the 150th anniversary for the Town of Lexington and his class developed this web page to preserve the town's history. Yeah for these students and Happy Anniversary Lexington. (You may go to the student developed website here - http://lexingtonsccivilwarhistory.wikispaces.com/)

Best Friends

"Friends are friends forever..." even if you go to different schools and move to different places. You never forget your best friend from preschool.

Graduates

Get out your tissues because it is getting close. We are almost at the most special day of our year - GRADUATION! It isn't sad, but tears come when I think about what the future holds for each one of these wonderful children. It is the beginning of what will be wonderful years of education and careers that will change the world. These little pictures will seem like yesterday as kindergarten turns into middle school and beyond. "Drink up" your child's energy and innocence. Let it inspire you and do things as a family that are spontaneous - these are the things that memories are made of. "Childhood" is one of those times of life that "kind of" disappears without you really recognizing it and hopefully you won't miss it before it is gone. Sentimental? Yes I am...It was Marshall's 6th grade band concert tonight and it seems like last week when he was starting school. Honestly, did you think parenthood would be so hard? I can deal with fighting and bad grades and being sick - but growing up is not so easy. I guess it is the "letting go" that is the hardest part. For all of you preschool parents this is just the beginning.
So if your future looks like this picture above or this picture below - it is what God will make of it. He knows what spiritual gift your little one possesses. Many praises to each one of your parents who gave your child the gift of His love! Happy 2011 Graduation Countdown! (7 days and a "wake-up" until the big day.)