Spring Fling

It finally arrived!!!  Spring Fling and the Fun Bus!  I apologize for not getting these pictures up much earlier, but with the middle school band field trip and a church event on Saturday, I am finally catching my breath and posting photos of our super fun day!  I was so proud of our class.  Everyone had their very best behavior and used their manners throughout the day!  Here is the Fun Bus!  (For those of you who did not believe that it was real...well here it is.)

 

 

We played with the parachute but had to be really careful not to get carried away in the whipping wind that swirled around us.

 We used the sidewalk chalk to draw some cool pictures and practice writing our names for the little ones to

see.

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 We also got our faces painted with fun pictures, although some of us opted to get our hands or arms done instead.  There were cars, spiders, rainbows and flowers.  Many thanks to the artistic parents who shared their skills with the children at the preschool.  I hope there wasn't too much of a problem during bath time washing these off.  Some of us were very attached to our artwork.

 

Here we are trying the hula hoops.  I think the children were a little surprised at how tricky it really is to keep the hula hoop going. 

 

 And of course bubbles.  The breezy conditions were just right for watching our bubbles float away.  It is so funny to hear the children talk about where these bubbles might go and how long it will take them get there.  Of course it was also lots of fun to chase them around and pop them.

 

 Since we were the last class on the fun bus with some of our other four year old friends, we got a little bit of extra time.  There was lots of jumping, dancing and sliding.  Thank you Fun Bus for making our day so special.  (I would not be surprised if some of us needed a nap after all of the activity on Thursday.  It was busy and full of lots of physical activity.)

 

  

The highlight of our day was releasing the butterflies that we watched from their arrival as caterpillars.  We weren't sure which ones were Princess Caterpillar or Fenwick Missile, but we are sure they flew away to some delicious flowers.  Thanks be to God for such a wonderful day!  Happy Spring Fling 2012.

 

Looks Like Kindergarten

 

 

 

 

Just some random pictures of our class at work.  Everyone was learning and playing and having a great time.  This was what I like to call a "kindergarten" day.  The children were exploring science cards and animal books and doing puzzles that they described at the beginning of the year as "too hard."  They were working with Legos and blocks and building structures.  Some were reading books and problem solving with friends.  Our play dough table (not pictured because my batteries died in my camera) was making snowmen and exploring different textures.  I am always so humbled by the children and their growth during the year.  Yes they are ready for kindergarten and so eager to learn.  It is exciting for me to think of all that they will learn next year and wonderful to see them ready to go.  (Some of us have even started reminding me that they won't see me next year because they will be at kindergarten.) This part of "growing up" isn't so bad for me because everyone is excited and ready to proceed in "big school."  Thank goodness we have a little more time to work and play together.

Almost A Rainy Day

Wednesday was a very threatening day.  By threatening, we mean it looked really rainy and gray.  The forecast led us to believe that we would have to miss the playground due to rain on the way, so we decided to talk an early walk and enjoy God's creation.  We looked at the clouds and tried to remember what kind they were and had some fun watching for the sun to sneak through and say "hi."  We also measured some trees with the tallest child in our class.  Can you believe that he is taller than this tree?

 But not taller than this one?  We can use our scientific observation skills anywhere and anytime.  We are that smart!!!

 We also found some tiny flowers to show us that Spring is really here.  (But we agreed not to pick them because bees need to share some of their pollen to make more plants bloom.  And because there wasn't enough for everyone to have one.)

 This is our little nature group, having a great adventure even though it looked like rain.  We even had some time to do a little "snake" walk.  (If you don't know what this is, ask your child to demonstrate.  It is almost like follow the leader, but requires a little more concentration because you are walking and following.)  Aren't we so cute?  These smiles are so bright that they can turn any bad day into a good one. I know they make me smile and inspire me.!

Fenwick Missile & Princess Caterpillar

 Over Spring Break our caterpillars made their "snuggly" cocoons.  (Or as a friend in our class called them "their raccoons.")  It wasn't very long after we pinned them into the butterfly net that we saw butterflies emerge.  We aren't sure where Princess Caterpillar & Fenwick Missile are placed in the net, but this could be them.  It is so exciting to see nature at work.  Mrs. Nikki put the net right in front of the school office, so take a few minutes to look at our butterflies when you walk in to school.  So many thanks to God for the gift of life and His beautiful creation.

Happy "Back From Spring Break!"

 We came back from Spring Break with loud voices and lots of energy.  Everyone was so excited to talk about all of the fun things they did while they were enjoying Easter break.  We had fun getting "reacquainted" with the structure of our class, but could not wait to get to the playground!  We had a wonderful day with beautiful sunshine and a gentle breeze to keep us cool!  Thank you very much to the boys and girls for coming back with the excitement to learn!  (I am not sure why two of my friends are making such an unhappy faces, but just before the pictures were taken they were running and playing.  Caution ....Asking a child to stop for a brief second from playing can cause a very serious face.)

Christ Is Risen!

 Happy Easter!  Christ Is Risen!  Here are the last two pages of our little book.  You can see the empty tomb and the happy friends who found it.  Then you can see our very Risen Jesus!  He looks so colorful and happy.  Below is a picture drawn by another friend in our class.  She drew this for me on Thursday morning and said "this is Jesus when they saw that He was alive!"  Hooray for the Good News of Easter!  Jesus Is Alive!

Our Easter Booklet

You should have found a little booklet among your child's papers from this week.  This was something new for my class this year because we usually do a devotional craft based on the book, Benjamin's Box.  This little booklet tells a child friendly version of the events of Holy Week.  We started last Thursday with Palm Sunday and the joyous entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.  Here are our little fingerprint palms.

We then talked about how much Jesus loved his disciples.  It was hard for them to believe that He loved them so much that He washed their dirty, smelly feet.  The children thought this was more funny than serious because they could not comprehend how big an act of love this was for the disciples.  So we painted our little feet to remind us about Jesus' love for us.

Above you will see our page to represent the Last Supper Jesus shared with the disciples.  Each child drew a special meal that they would share with Jesus.  Then below are our little prayer hands representing the many hours Jesus spent in the Garden of Gethsemane before he was taken by soldiers to be crucified.

Finally you see the cross that we painted.  Even though it is really sad, the children focus on the Good News that comes on Easter morning.  As we know this day is called Good Friday, even though it isn't really good at all.  It is the saddest part of Easter, but we added this page to our little book to remind us that Jesus leaves us for three days and comes back to us on Easter morning.  Stay tuned for the last two pages of our booklet and the Good News of Easter morning.

Funny Bunnies

Here are the cutest little bunnies you will ever see.  They were hopping along the bunny trail and we somehow got them all together for a quick picture.  Many thanks to the party mom who brought us these adorable ears. 

Looking For Eggs

 It was a beautiful day for us to have our Easter egg hunt.  It wasn't too hot and the the sun was so shiny.  Here are some pictures of our class in action, looking hard for their seven assigned eggs.  They were such good friends because they worked together.  It was amazing how they all helped each other find their eggs.  I am really proud of their good behavior and awesome listening because no one even attempted to open their eggs.  God is so wonderful.  These children let his light shine very brightly in their hearts today as they worked together.

Getting Ready For Our Easter Egg Hunt

 This was the BIG day.  Finally all of those skills that we have been practicing were put to the test.  It was our Easter Egg Hunt!  91 eggs shown here in these cartons and in the plastic bag, prepared with our information and ready to be carefully "hidden" by Mrs. Laurie.  Six of the eggs contained all of very important information and the other was a "bonus egg."  The bonus egg is something new this year since our class is so smart and eager to learn!  This egg was linked to their information sheet and each child had to find the egg with words that matched their assigned letter.  Sounds to hard...not for these smart cookies!  Don't we look excited?  (I'm not kidding myself, I'm pretty sure it has to do with the treats that were tucked away in each egg.)

On our way to the grassy patch!  "Walking feet" were hard to find as we made this journey around the church.