Happy Birthday Pete!

I have to share a very special happy birthday wish today to my best friend in the world, my sister, Laney, who is officially 50 years old! I think you'll agree that she doesn't look a day over 21, but it is her real birthday, this close to Halloween, so we celebrated with a costume party! (Her nickname was lovingly bestowed upon her by Marshall when he was just a little boy...so Happy Birthday Pete!)

I Am Thanking Jesus

Here is a short video taken at the end of our day. It is a fun song that we learned when we talked about children all over the world. This song is from the children in Tanzania, Africa. We looked at a picture of local children taken by my sister-in-law when she visited two years ago. It is always a good learning experience for the children because these children are thankful for the basic necessities in life. They have no beds or running water in their home and their village has no electricity. The words to the song actually translate to mean, "I am thanking Jesus with all of my heart." As you can see from this video our children are thanking Jesus for those wonderful candy treats. This was one of those spur of the moment ideas and I think it will make you smile. Some of us aren't paying any attention at all to the song, some of us are singing to our candy and some of us are just having fun...either way, we are having fun thanking Jesus for this day! (PS... Don't you just love the giggling?)

Don't Throw These Away

Here is our basket of child created books (of course these are mine) but they are the very same books we have been making since the beginning of school. We keep them in our book center and have lots of fun reading them during center time. I hope you are enjoying them at your home. Our latest book, Orange Pumpkin, was completed today and was a huge hit. It is true that Mrs. Laura says "reading makes your brain grow" and our little books are food for our brain. So keep on feeding your brain with reading activities...even road signs and fast food signs are great practice.

What Is This?

It was a very special day for our class because my mother in law sent in some special treats for the children. She loves hearing stories about the fun in our room, so she sent in a surprise box of goodies for Halloween. We had the most fun trying to guess what could possibly be in this little box. It was almost like a scientific process because we looked at it, smelled it, held it to weigh it and made some guesses about what it could contain. Right away we ruled out a bear and ice cream. In the end the children were delighted to find some cute Halloween chocolate lollipops. We made sure to discuss proper care for these delicate treats and reminded everyone that they should not be left in our bag in the car. It was a special treat for a great day at school. (Hopefully they shared because these chocolate candies smelled so good.)

A Day In The Life

Just a few snapshots to let you know how our classroom operates during the day. Some of us are working at tables and some of us are playing in centers. One of us is missing from the group photos because he was busy helping with a special art project that requires painting feet. It is so much fun to work with your children at the tables and watch them negotiate the structure of our classroom. They are growing up so fast!!!

Joy Break!

I just have to share that our classroom is alive with the excitement of learning and sharing God's love! Every day I am amazed by your children. They are working hard to master the skills needed for kindergarten and encourage each other to do their best. You can hear the silliest laughter that makes the entire hall smile. You can also hear car noises as we drive around the rug and pretend teaching from those playing "teacher." It may be loud to those that are visiting, but it is the sound of childhood. I also hear some of the most wonderful things about you (their families.) Like: dad makes the "juiciest steaks;" prayers for a little brother's hurt ear, hopes for a fun birthday party, and happiness that Jesus loves us all. It is the kind of thing that makes any heart smile...so if you need a "joy break" stop in. I promise it will do your heart good!

Pumpkin Bling

Well, we did it! We decorated our pumpkins! (Finally, as the children would say with an exasperated sigh.) I thought it was a great compromise because we just glued on some super cute jewels, added a fancy bow and sent them home for a re-modeling if needed. Of course after it was decorated, no one talked about changing it into one of the suggested ideas from a previous post. They were so proud of these little guys and could not wait another day to "bring them home." As you can see, some of us made faces and some of us just added sparkle...but either way, they turned out really cute. I am sure that they will find the perfect place in your home for this harvest season!

Carl the Candy Corn Man

If you have visited our classroom lately, you might have seen our little candy decorations hanging from the ceiling. They are our candy corn creations. Since we had some newspaper left over from our Harvest Wreaths, we recycled a little bit more to make these cute little guys. They look so cheerful hanging over our work tables and make our room feel so cozy. They also remind us of a favorite Halloween candy treat...yummy candy corn.

Our Class Pumpkin

You should have found a note on your child's bag today announcing the "First Annual Pilgrim Preschool Pumpkin Contest." Each class was given a pumpkin to decorate and submit to the preschool raffle. (Each ticket costs $1 with all proceeds going to the preschool.) Our class used our pumpkin to make an autumn angel. We used our beautiful hand prints to make the wings and found little gifts from nature to make the face. Below, you can see other class pumpkins. They will be on display in the morning and at the church harvest festival on Sunday night. Take a few minutes to come in on Thursday morning to buy a ticket and vote. They are all so cute, it will be hard to decide on a favorite.

This Little Light of Mine

Today was our chapel day and it was so much fun. Of course every week has been a fun Bible lesson, but today Mrs. Denise dressed up like a pumpkin and helped act out a story read by Mrs. Nikki. The children had a great time learning about letting their lights shine and especially loved Mrs. Denise's acting skills. This is just a little reminder to always let your lights shine too and NEVER let anyone blow it out because Jesus loves us all the time!!!!

Pumpkin Observations

As school progresses we incorporate problem solving in all areas of our classroom. We make observations and do math problems all day long. (So don't be surprised if your child starts asking you how much 3 plus 2 is or 13 take away 1.) This week we had lots of fun with our little pumpkins. As you recall, we were guessing about how long our pumpkin line would be if we lined them up from smallest to biggest and would it be longer than our counting caterpillar. Well the answer is as follows:The counting caterpillar was only slightly longer than our pumpkin chain. Can I tell you how smart your children are? They really thought about the question and guessed correctly. Then we each made a pumpkin book with all of the scientific data about our pumpkins. We counted the lines, measured the circumference and weighed it. We also made a sequence about how a pumpkin grows. They really loved working with their pumpkins and waited patiently for the fun part...decorating it.

Pumpkin Problem

I am telling everyone now that I have huge "pumpkin problem." As you saw from a previous post, the children already visited the pumpkin patch and collected their own little pumpkin. It has been a huge struggle to convince them that we are going to use them in the upcoming week for some science and math projects so they needed to remain at school. (I am really shocked that there were no tears today because they really love these pumpkins.) Well, here is my problem ... how do we decorate our small orange treasures? I usually have a consensus from our class on what to do with them, but here is our suggested list...I will be the first to admit that I am ambitious and creative, but this list is too much for me. So I am letting everyone know that the outcome will be a surprise. There are so many fabulous ideas on this piece of paper and I promise they are totally child generated. Believe me when I say that the children were very specific in their suggestions...so who knows what will come home next week. We will just wait and see.

Chilly Weather

It felt like Fall today. The wind was blowing and there was a little "nip" in the air... just the right recipe for a fun time on the playground. You can see some rosy cheeks in these pictures but can't imagine the laughter as they ran around and played. There is so much to be said for free play and unstructured social time for children. They make new friends, learn new games and build confidence. I love it when I see a child approach an unfamiliar face and say "hey do you want to play with me?" That is what childhood is all about!

Reading Is Fun

During center time, our friends have recently started visiting our book center. I had to sneak this picture today because it was obvious that this book was really good and I love their concentration. It is always so much fun to see children get inspired to read and then inspire others to read with them. I can't tell you the name of this book, but I would love to be sitting and listening right along with my students.

O Is For Okra

I hope you found our special art project for this week in your child's bag. It was our okra angel. Of course the children all had no idea what this dried pod was before it turned brown and hard, but most of them had an idea that it wasn't anything they would eat. It was okra that I saved from the a friend's garden this summer and we used it to make this beautiful fall angel. Now as a mother, I know that okra isn't really a child favorite to eat, but when it is all dried up they seem to really like working with it. It even inspired more art projects...they want to make okra bats and okra ghosts... so keep checking your bags because we aren't sure what we will do with our remaining okra pods. Thanks to the letter O and okra for our inspiration art project.

The Veterinarian

On Wednesday, we had a visit from a very special community helper. Her name is Dr. Brooks and she is a veterinarian. She comes to our school every year to help us learn about her important job as an animal doctor. The children love to see all of her educational props (like a heart with heart worms) and the cool x-rays of injured animals. It might sound a little bit scary, but it helps the children understand that she really is a doctor that helps animals feel better. Her honesty also seems to help them understand the importance of taking care of your pet, even if it is a bird or fish. Even if you are only four years old, you can help take care of your pet by feeding them, taking them for a walk or making sure they stay safe in your yard. Thanks Dr. Brooks for taking time away from your pet clients to help us learn about your job.

Our Pumpkins

Here are our pumpkin friends. They are fresh from the patch outside, but we love them so! We will use them next week to measure, weigh, etc...(you know to make our scientific observations.) The boys and girls in the class even want to line them up from smallest to biggest and see if the line of pumpkins is longer than our counting caterpillar. (Aren't they smart for thinking up this big question all on their own?) Here we are showing off our first big find of Fall. (You will see a new friend in our pictures. She joined our class on Monday and everyone is so excited! We knew that she was coming and couldn't wait for her to actually come to our room - so her arrival plus the pumpkins made this an extra special week!)

A Perfect Day

It was a perfect day for the pumpkin patch. The weather was a little overcast, but set the right mood for picking out our pumpkins. We took a short walk around the playground to look for some signs of the changing season and found this tree going up the hill. Sure there are lots of trees around our school, but this one had summer and fall leaves. Can you believe that while we waiting to go to the pumpkin patch, we actually saw some leaves fall? AMAZING!!! Well at least we thought so! When we got to the patch, there were little pumpkins on the ground just looking for someone to pick them for their very own. It was so funny to watch everyone carefully choose the one pumpkin that called to them from our little patch. Each child was so excited with their choice and could hardly stand to leave it at school. Isn't it amazing how such a simple thing can light up a child's eyes? I think it is the wonder of what it will become when it is all dressed for Halloween. Oh the possibilities....
I think this picture should be called "A Perfect Day!" Good friends, God's love, pumpkins, and Halloween just around the corner. I think if you try to remember your childhood you would agree.

Jack O'Lantern Names

Our Bible verse this month is from Isaiah 43:1. It says, "I have called you by name, you are mine." It is so amazing to know that God loves us so much that He knows each of us by name and knows all of the prayers in our hearts. To help us understand this a little bit better and get us in the Halloween mood, we made some Jack O"Lantern names. The children had to sort their punched pumpkin letters and glue them down to spell their name. We put them on some bright yellow paper to "light" them up and added a spooky night time sky. They look pretty neat in our hallway and they really do feel like super special Jack O'Lanterns made special for us.

Random Fun

Just a few pictures from our classroom. Although it was a rainy week, we managed to have lots of fun. We are growing so much and learning so many important new skills. It is always a good day in our room when are learning social skills and how to be a good friend. Smiles abound and that is all we need to see!

Fire Safety

If your children came home today talking about fire safety, it should be no surprise that we had a visit from the local fire department. We watched a video of a puppet show about fire safety and took a look around the big fire truck. We also listened to the firemen as they showed us their fire gear. They taught us to never play with matches and to practice fire drills at home. We also learned that if there is a fire in our house, we should never hide from the firemen. They might look scary, but they are our friends. You can see from this picture that their fire suits have special glow in the dark strips to help when houses are too dark to see. It was good for the children to see our fireman friend in his entire uniform and to hear him talk. He does look a little bit like a scary monster, but under all of that gear is a really nice man. We also talked about what it means to stop, drop and roll. So take a little bit of time to reinforce fire safety. Practice fire drills at home and establish a safe meeting place away from your home, if you need to evacuate. Even though your child is four or five years old, they are ready to start this safety drill. Should there ever been an emergency, you will be glad that you did. You can see our precious little class standing in front of this enormous truck. We observed that the truck is so tall, the tires are almost taller than the students in our class. (Now that is really big.)

Did You Meet Mr. Columbus?

It has been a crazy, fast week in our class. Since Monday was a holiday, we worked really hard to get everything finished in three days. I hope you enjoyed meeting Christopher Columbus on Tuesday. I am not so sure that his clothes were so colorful, but the children had fun learning about him. He was a brave explorer who discovered America so many years ago. Although few teachers spend time learning about this important friend from history, we took the time to talk about what it would have been like to sail from Spain. Almost all of us thought it would be fun to be an explorer, but not so many were ready to sign up knowing that they wouldn't have television or a comfy bed to sleep in. Happy Belated Columbus Day!

Autumn's Glory

Just a few reminders of God's amazing creation. We went to North Carolina this weekend and the trees are just starting to turn those fiery fall colors. You can see the trees across the lake and almost feel like you are there. Lake Junaluska is very close to Maggie Valley and Waynesville, North Carolina. There are many apple orchards nearby and so many trails on the Blue Ridge Parkway. If you have never ventured out in this direction, now is the perfect time. Driving time with stops is about 3 hours and it makes a great day trip.
Of course, I had to share my handsome boys. They enjoyed some great fishing, but it was catch & release for us. They also had fun riding bikes around the lake and enjoyed the cool autumn air. (See what I mean that your children grow up in the blink of an eye. Marshall is going to be 13 in December. I promise it seems like just yesterday that he was a tiny baby in my arms. Looking at this photograph reminds me of how fast life moves these days. Enjoy your children because they really do grow up so fast!)