Welcome back! I pray everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!
First 3 reminders:
Christmas Cheer Service Project…11/30 - 12/4! Each year Zion’s Early Childhood program participates in a Christmas Giving Project. This year our goal is to raise funds for the purchase of TWB gift cards for Friends of Kids with Cancer families in the St. Louis area hospitals. This service project is dedicated to the memory of Drew Albritton (October 2009 - March 2014) and Glenn Markway (January 1992 - August 2015). Funds/gifts cards will be collected this week November 30th - December 4th (another copy of the letter/order form is being sent home today or tomorrow in your child's folder). Donations of cash or checks will be used to purchase gift cards through Together We’re Better in the school office. Families wishing to participate in our service project can send cash or check with the Together We’re Better order form (on the back of the service project letter sent home the week of 11/16 or today/Tuesday) to me the week of 11/30 - 12/4. Each student in the early childhood program has made a Christmas card to accompany our gifts!
St. Nick Nite…Lutheran High School invites children and their parents to “St. Nick Nite” on Friday, December 11, from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. In addition to enjoying boys’ and girls’ Cougar basketball games, you’ll have the opportunity to have your picture taken with “Jolly Old St. Nick!” Unwrapped toys or monetary donations will be collected to benefit the Ablaze! The Lutheran Sidewalk Sunday School ministries.
Preschool and Kindergarten Christmas Service…is Sunday, December 13 at 4:00 pm in Zion’s sanctuary (please have children arrive at 3:45 pm). We will worship together and celebrate the birth of Jesus through songs, pictures, and words spoken by our Preschool and Kindergarten students!
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in preschool!
Our friends were so excited to see that Christmas popped up in the classroom while we were on Thanksgiving break!
Korrinne, Brooke, and Laina enjoy working together as they use the nativity scene to act out the first Christmas!
Some friends improved small motor control as they made ornaments for our class Christmas tree!
The most popular "attraction" today was the candy construction set! We improved hand-eye coordination and practiced working well with others as we explored this new manipulative!
Jonah and SJ noticed the sensory table had changed too!!! Not only did we have our old table back, it was filled with something new...packing peanuts! This time of year these may be used to wrap/send packages to family and friends! But, we enjoyed "snapping" them, strengthening the finger muscles. We loved seeing how they "floated" when tossed into the air! We also learned if we get too "excited" then there are a lot to clean up off the floor!
How great to "read" with friends! Taking a little time, using the pictures to tell the story...an early literacy skill!
Our playground needs a couple days of sunshine and no rain! So, we headed to the commons to get our bodies moving!
"Catch Mrs. Mudd!" Unfortunately, I was too slow, the picture snapped as the ball was flying over my head! It was a good throw by Jonah, even though I missed it!
Peek-a-boo...I see Ben...do you?
Three friends wanted to play duck, duck, goose! So, they started their own little game. By the time we left the commons the game had grown to at least 20 kiddos! Great leadership skills at work!
What creativity by Jeremiah!
Just before I took this picture he said, "Mrs. Mudd, an ice cream cone, yum!"
We finished morning meeting practicing our number recognition and quantifying skills while demonstrating different positional words (all early math skills)!
A few friends took a turn rolling dice, stated/counted the number of dots, and found that number on the yellow sheet! I read the positional word to him/her...then...
He/she put his/her body in the correct position in relation to our big Christmas box! Can you guess what each friend rolled?
We all decided it would not be safe for Madalynn to get "on" the box! So, she put the dice "on" the box instead!
Today we introduced the letter "S" and number "2"!
We remembered start your letter "at the top" then little curve, turn, little curve to write an "S" and big curve, little line at the bottom to write a "2"! Then we came up with words that start with "S" and found "2's" around the room!
Anytime one of our friends thinks of a word that starts with "S" we can add it to our big letter. Or, if at home, your child sees a small picture or item that starts with an "S", bring it in and he/she can glue it to our big letter!
Then we practiced writing "S" and "2" with our special handwriting without tears crayons (nice and short to reinforce proper grip)!
Time for small groups (centers)!
As we remember Jesus' birth this month, we learned "J" is for Jesus! We colored dots in the shape of a "J". Each friend was asked to pick 2 - 3 colors, then color the dots in a pattern! Not only did we improve patterning skills (early math), we also improved small motor control needed for coloring/writing!
With Mrs. Burnham we made ornaments for our Christmas tree! We strung beads (some even did so in a pattern) and jingle bells on to pipe cleaners! Stringing those tiny beads while holding a pipe cleaner sure can be tricky!
We noticed that all our Thanksgiving/fall books were gone and we had "new to us" Christmas books to read! We "read to self" remembering the rules of using a book correctly (orientation: read from front to back and left to right...make sure the letters are right side up...turn 1 page at a time, gently!!! Being able to use a book properly is an early literacy skill.)
Yikes...we had a little snow in the classroom!!! Working together we sequenced snowflakes from smallest to biggest and/or biggest to smallest!
We headed to the gym for more large motor time!!! Our friends were given free choice...most wanted to play Mr. Fox! Great for learning counting and one-to-one correspondence, all while following directions and improving large motor control!
During Jesus Time today we began learning all about the Savior coming! We talked about how having to wait and wait for something is not easy. There were many important people that God used for many things, but none were the Savior, we had to wait. But, don't worry, He had a plan! Finally an angel appeared to Mary, she was going to have a baby, Jesus, the Savior! He was being sent to save us from our sins!
