Blog for December 12 and 14

 It's beginning to look alot like Christmas!! Lots of snow out there make for a messy commute, but any time you get here is great!! We love to have you, so take your time and be safe and arrive when you can! Until the weather warms up a bit we aren't allowed to go outside. The licensing rules keep us in at 30 degrees, we may stretch that down to 28. So until temps are in the 20's we'll be having inside recess.

We are concentrating on Christmas this week!

Table activities are playing with jingle bells and magnet wands, Christmas clay mats, Christmas slime and a Christmas cutting bin.

Small group activities this week have us using our senses while we try the items Bear smells from "The Sweet Smell of Christmas" by Patricia M Scarry- today we looked at apple pie, pine tree bits, candy cane, hot cocoa, gingerbread men and an orange. Thursday we'll be using our small motor pinching to peel little stickers up and place them on lines to decorate Christmas trees.

The KDIs we are concentrating on this week are-

Observing: Children observe the materials and processes in their environment.- With all our senses.

Moral development: Children develop an internal sense of right and wrong. - We are having some trouble cleaning up and listening at clean up time, we are trying to help with self control and doing what's right. 

Jesus Time- This week we enter the stories that tell us about Jesus. Jesus' mother was a young woman who lived in Nazareth.  She was promised to be married to a man named Joseph. 
One day when she was working in her home, an angel appeared to her and told her that she was going to have a baby. She wondered how this could be since she wasn't married to Joseph and hadn't been with a man. The angel told her that the Holy Spirit would make her pregnant with God's Son. He told her the child would be named Jesus because he would save his people from their sins. Mary accepted what the angel said. When she told Joseph, he didn't believe her at first. He was going to quietly cancel their wedding and try to cause as little embarrassment as possible for Mary. As Joseph was struggling with what decision to make and how to make it, he had a dream in which an angel also came to him and confirmed what Mary had said. Joseph did make Mary his wife and became Jesus father on earth.

Next Tuesday the Scrapmobile will be here from 10-11 am. Please fill out the attendance slip and put in your $7 if you would like to participate.

Preschool has school until Tuesday, December 19th. However, I will be leaving on vacation early. My oldest daughter graduates from college on Sunday, December 17th in Anchorage, Alaska, so I will be traveling up north for Christmas! I leave after school on Friday, December 15th.

May God richly bless you with a wonderful Christmas season and a terrific and healthy break!!

Mrs. Schneck

Blog for December 5 and 7

Run, run, as fast as you can! You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!

This week we are listening for the other sound of Gg in gingerbread!

Table activities this week are gingerbread playdoh, decorating foam gingerbread people, decorating gingerbread people with clay on playdough mats and dramatic play gingerbread kitchen.

Our small group activities this week are decorating a gingerbread man and lacing a gingerbread man shape.

Our books of the week are "The Gingerbread Man" retold by Louise Martin and "Gingerbread Friends" by Jan Brett.

KDIs we are working on this week are-

Pretend play: Children express and represent what they observe, think, imagine, and feel through pretend play.- making "cookies" with playdough, working in a kitchen, being policemen using binoculars, all part of play seen so far this week.

 Sense of competence: Children feel they are competent.  - More and more as we work to put on our own slippers, shoes and coats. We just need the time to be able to do it ourselves!

Jesus Time- This is our last Old Testament story. This week we hear about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, the three young men brave enough to stand up to a king. 
Last week we heard the story of David and Goliath. David eventually became king and Israel went through a long list of kings, some good and some bad, many leading the Israelites away from God and to idol worship. After a time, God gave the Israelites a wake up call and the country of Babylon invaded and took Israel's brightest and best young people captive. The rest of the nation was scattered among other nations Babylon had conquered. King Nebuchadnezzer, Babylon's king, had a strict regimen he wanted his young captives to follow, including diet. When the Israelites informed the Babylonians that they followed their own dietary laws, they were upset. Over several weeks, the Israelites were given a chance to show that their way would work. By the end of the trial period, they were stronger and healthier than the rest of the captives. They gained the respect of the Babylonian government. 
King Nebuchadnezzer then had a dream where he felt he was led to erect a giant gold statue for his subjects to worship. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused. The punishment for not doing what the king asked you to was to be thrown into a blazing hot furnace. The king gave the young men one more chance. When they refused again, he ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than normal. The boys were bound hand and foot and thrown into the furnace. The furnace was so hot that the guards who threw them in were instantly killed.
When King Nebuchadnezzer looked into the furnace, he couldn't believe his eyes, not only were the boys walking around unharmed, there was also a fourth man in the furnace who looked like the son of a god- he was the Son of The God!! Nebuchadnezzer called the boys out of the furnace and ordered his people to only worship Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego's God. Our God is a Mighty God!!

Please remember to sign up for the Christmas Service you are attending on December 17th-Christmas Service sign up

Also we are having Christmas Service practice this Saturday, December 9th from 9-11am. Just drop off your child at the church and we will practice the service, have a little snack and play a bit and probably practice walking in and out again.
See you then!!

Also Arts and Scraps at school field trip on Tuesday, December 19th- note coming home Tuesday!

A reminder to send hats and mittens, and boots when the time comes, with your little ones! The weather quickly changes here in Michigan. We will go outside as long as it is above freezing and not raining too hard.

Blog for November 28 and 30

Things that go and the letter Gg is our focus this week!

Table activities include playing with planes, trains, cars, boats and trucks, making cars go on shape tracks and making vehicles from paper pieces.

Our small group activities are classifying transportation, does it go by land, water or air? And track painting and color mixing.

The KDIs we are concentrating on this week are-

 Classifying: Children classify materials, actions, people, and events.- Classifying and reading about the way things go.

Empathy: Children demonstrate empathy toward others. - Paying attention to the feelings of others is also part of this week as we strive to travel together.

Books of the week- "Yellow Copter", "Red Truck" and "Blue Boat" all written by Kersten Hamilton and illustrated by Valeria Petrone, and "Vroom" by Annie Simpson.

Our Jesus Time story this week is about David and Goliath. Samuel had been the leader of the Israelites for many years, but the Israelites decided they wanted a king, like the nations around them had. Samuel anointed Saul to be the first king, tall and strong, he looked very much like the king every one had imagined. However, he did not always look to the Lord for his direction and was not very repentant when confronted with his sins. So, God chose another man to be the second king of Israel when he was just a boy. Jesse had several sons and after parading them all past Samuel waiting for him to choose one of them to be king, Samuel asked if there were any other sons. Jesse said, there was one more, David, the youngest, who was a shepherd out watching the sheep. Samuel said David was the one God had chosen to be king. Samuel anointed him, but he would wait to take his throne until Saul's reign was over.

Meanwhile, the Israelites are fighting against their enemies, the Philistines. David's brothers are soldiers in the army and David is sent to them with food from his father. When he arrives, he finds all the soldiers cowering in their tents. The Philistine champion, nine foot tall Goliath, is in the valley between the armies, challenging the Israelites and mocking their God. David can't believe he is getting away with it. "Will no one fight him?" he asks. He volunteers to fight and, much to the embarrassment of his brothers, goes to the king. Saul can't believe it, this boy willing to fight a giant??!! Saul offers him the protection of his armor. David can't move in the heavy metal, so he fights Goliath just as he has fought off the bears and lions who have attacked his father's sheep. He takes five smooth stones from a stream and his slingshot.

He goes to meet Goliath in the valley. Goliath laughs and says "Am I a dog that you come after me with sticks?" David tells Goliath , "I come in the name of the LORD Almighty!" One stone goes in the sling and with God's help connects with the forehead of the giant, who falls down dead!

God defeats our giants for us- sin, death and the power of the devil- with two sticks and a few nails- the cross on which our Savior Jesus died for us- and he rose again, so that we too will rise!! We have God on our side!!

Book orders available, due December 8th.

Christmas is fast approaching- Sign up for which Christmas service you would like your child to attend here-Christmas Service sign-up

Have a great week!

Mrs. Schneck

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope that your day gathered with friends and family is blessed!

Today we looked at and made the sound of the letter Tt.

Our table activities were creating a turkey out of paper and playdough play with beads and skewers. (It was originally going to be playdough turkeys, but some of the kids had other ideas)

Our small group was a 'name' turkey, we named each letter in their name and pointed out how the capitol letter comes first and how the letters have to go in a certain order to make their names.

Name letter recognition and fine motor skills were a few of the things we worked on today.

Jesus Time- This week we are hearing about Samuel who is Israel's last judge. The Israelites had conquered the promised land and had established themselves as it's residents. God was their ruler and he made his will known through judges that he chose. The priests were from the tribe of Levi and they ran the worship in the tabernacle, kind of a tent church, that many Israelites went to for the special celebrations. One Israelite family that attended worship there was a man named Elkanah and his two wives, one of which was named Hannah. Hannah had not been able to have any children and Elkanah's other wife teased her about it. The priest Eli found Hannah sobbing in the tabernacle and asked her what was wrong. When she told him, he assured her that she would have a child by the next time they would visit the tabernacle. That son was Samuel. When Hannah again came to the tabernacle with Samuel when he was 5 years old, she presented him to Eli and told him that she was giving the boy back to God for service in the tabernacle. Samuel lived with Eli and his family and his mother made him a new coat and brought it when she visited each year. One night as Samuel was sleeping, God called to him and told him that the Israelites would soon fight a battle in which Eli's sons would die. Samuel would then be responsible for Israel's worship at the tabernacle and telling the Israelites God's word. Eli's sons were not honoring God in the way they lived their lives and Eli had not disciplined them, teaching them right and wrong. Because we love God and love our children, we want them to know what God says and hold them accountable for their actions before it leads to consequences that are life changing! 

If you are interested in getting some Peace Spirit Wear with our panther logo on it, here is the link-http://www.inkorporategraphics.com/spiritwear/98-peace-lutheran

The order will come before Christmas!

Also, next week I will send home the last book order before Christmas. If there is an item you've ordered that you would like to be a Christmas gift for your child, I will hold the orders in my office/kitchen or wrap them in a paper bag and slip them in your child's backpack. Just let me know!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Mrs. Schneck

Blog for November 14 and 16

Eat your vegetables!!

This week preschoolers are learning about vegetables and the letter Vv.

Table activities are- a sensory bin of corn, vege printing, pretend vegetable garden, vege seed explore and vegetable sorting by color.

Our small group activities are exploring different vegetables, do they grow on top of the ground or underneath? Also sculpting with veges.

Books of the week- "Growing Vegetable Soup" by Lois Ehlert and "Tops and Bottoms" by Janet Stevenson.

The KDIs we are targeting this week are-

Classifying: Children classify materials, actions, people, and events.-veges growing on top or under

Sense of competence: Children feel they are competent. - They can do it themselves! Especially when we come to the season of dressing for outside and inside shoes- they take time, but they can do it themselves!


Jesus Time- This week we are hearing the story of Joshua and the Battle of Jericho. The Israelites had entered into the Promised Land and God told them to take over. They were not an army and the cities in the Promised Land were well fortified. They came to the city Jericho which was surrounded by a wall so thick that people lived in it. After spies came back and told them how strong a city it was, God gave them marching orders. The people were to march around the city once a day for seven days, then on the seventh day they were to march around it seven times, then shout and blow the trumpets. When they did this, the walls of the city came crashing down. God gave them the victory and He gives us the victory too! Not over cities or people on earth, but over sin, death and the devil through the life and death of his Son, Jesus Christ!

Next week is Thanksgiving, so we will only have preschool on Tuesday of that week!

Have a fantastic week!

Mrs. Schneck

Blog for November 7 and 9

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo. How about you, you, you? You can come too, too, too! We're going to the zoo, zoo,zoo!!

We are headed to the Detroit zoo tomorrow! We will meet there at 10am. I will be near the ramp from the parking structure to the main gate, near the water tower parking lot. We will go in as a group, members in the rear. After we get through the gate, I will give you your parking ticket, a map and an animal checklist and then you are off on your own!

This week we are talking about the zoo and the sound of Zz!

Table activities this week are building block cages for plastic animals, making cages for little plastic animals out of playdoh and popsicle sticks, animal cookie cutter paint printing and using animal print paper cut in different shapes to make animals.

Our small group activities this week are painting our favorite animal with watercolors in an upright position and sorting animal crackers.

Books of the week- "1,2,3 to the Zoo" by Eric Carle, "Goodnight, Gorilla" by Peggy Rathman, and "Put Me in the Zoo" by Robert Lopshire.

KDIs we are concentrating on this week are-

Classifying: Children classify materials, actions, people, and events.- We will sort our animal crackers into animals and then talk about each group, which ones eat plants, which ones eat other animals.

 Art: Children express and represent what they observe, think, imagine, and feel through two- and three-dimensional art- As we tried using models for our painting of animals, we used colors that suited us and painted as we saw.

Jesus Time- This week we have one last story with Moses before we skip ahead. The Israelites are safely out of Egypt. God provides water from a rock and food in the form of manna and quail as they are traveling through the desert. Because God wants them to be a people set apart, he meets with Moses on Mt. Sinai and gives him many rules for His people to live by. One section of that still helps us today and that is the Ten Commandments.

We talked about how we are not able to keep the Ten Commandments perfectly, but Jesus did and he shares that obedience with us. We also talked about how the commandments show us how we can show love to God and to others. We talked about the two tables of the law- You should have no other Gods, Use God's name to pray, praise and give thanks, and worship God! Those are all showing us how to better show love to God. Honor and obey your parents and others in authority, do not murder or hurt anyone, do not steal, honor marriage, do not tell lies about people, do not want something someone else has so badly that you plan a way to get it or complain constantly how it's not fair they have it and you don't.

We can't do any of these things all the time, we sin all the time. But thank God that He sent Jesus who did and suffered our punishment in our place!

I would like to share a great graphic that I saw about the importance of reading at home- We do read at school, but what a way to help your little ones get a great start! And books are FREE!! All you need is a library card!

Have a terrific week!

Mrs. Schneck

Blog for October 31 and November 2

This week we are playing dress up!!

We looked at the word "Dress-up" today and at each letter that makes a sound.

Table activities are dressing up, using clay to make clothes or faces on playdoh mats and  playing with paper dolls.

Our small group activities are mask making and decorating t-shirts.

We danced to "Late Last Night" by Joe Scruggs and we'll dance more, pretending to be different things!

Books for the week - "Hats Off to You!" by Karen Beaumont, "I Like Old Clothes" by Mary Ann Hoberman, and "Princess! Fairy! Ballerina!" by Bethanie Deeney Murguia.

Our KDIs for this week are-

Gross-motor skills: Children demonstrate strength, flexibility, balance, and timing in using their large muscles. - As we dance and pretend to be other things like a swimmer or ballerina, we move to the beat and try to keep our balance.
Fine-motor skills: Children demonstrate dexterity and handeye coordination in using their small muscles. - A lot of this in use this week, playing with clay, peeling foam stickers, drawing, buttoning, taking dress up clothes off and on. 

Jesus Time- This week we continue the story of Moses. Moses was raised as an Egyptian prince, but he never forgot that he was an Israelite. When he saw one of his countrymen being mistreated by an Egyptian slavemaster, he took matters into his own hands and killed him. Then he had to flee the country. In the countryside, he met some shepherdesses who took him to their home. He married one of them, Zipporah and became close to his father-in-law, Jethro. Moses also became a shepherd and one day, at the ripe old age of 80, he spotted a bush that was on fire, but not burning up. As he went over to investigate, the LORD called out to him. Letting him know that he was standing on holy ground, God called on him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. After refusing several times, Moses finally accepted the job. He went to visit Egypt and Pharaoh. God used Moses to save the Israelites. It took a lot of courage and faith to do Moses' job.  Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go and God sent ten plagues to convince Pharaoh to do what he asked him, through Moses, to do. Pharaoh often relented and then changed his mind at the last minute. 
God used Moses to save the Israelites, God uses Jesus to save us. God also calls us to do somethings that we may not want to do, He will give us the strength, courage and faith to accomplish what he has set before us to do!

Parent Teacher conferences are this Thursday and Friday afternoon/evening. If you haven't signed up yet, please do at the following link- http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0c45afa72fa3fe3-1stquarter.

Zoo field trip a week from Wednesday!

Have a great week!!

Mrs. Schneck

Blog for October 24 and 26

Remember our Picture Day is this Thursday, October 26th!

This week we are using our noodles!

Looking at different shapes of pasta and the letter Nn.

Table activities this week are spaghetti play, poking angel hair pasta into colander holes, dry pasta sensory bin and making patterns with pasta.

Our small group activities are stringing pasta necklaces or snakes and making crazy pasta sculptures.

The KDIs we are concentrating on this week are-

 Fine-motor skills: Children demonstrate dexterity and handeye coordination in using their small muscles.- Lots of practice with the pasta and colander and using pasta to string on yarn and pipe cleaners. Even using tongs to pick up cooked spaghetti noodles.

Alphabetic knowledge: Children identify letter names and their sounds.-This week the letter Nn and recognizing our names when we see them without the pictures. 

Jesus Time- Many years have passed since we left Joseph and his family. The Pharoah who put Joseph in a high position has died and the following Egyptian generations don't know what those Israelites did for them. They just see them as a strange people living in the land of Goshen and as a possible threat if an enemy army ever attacks Egypt. Whose side would these strange people take? The Egyptians begin to make the Israelites their slaves. They treat them badly, but the Israelites stay strong and there are a lot of them! The Egyptian Pharoah tries to keep the Israelites down by instructing the Egyptian midwives to take any boy babies born to the Israelites and throwing them in the Nile River to be eaten by crocodiles. One mother, Jochabed, keeps her pregnancy a secret, she gives birth to a boy and hides him for three months. Then when he is getting too big to hide, she makes a basket boat, coats it with tar so it's waterproof and sets it afloat. The baby's sister, Miriam, watches closely as the basket floats down the river to where the Egyptian princess is bathing. When the princess hears whimpering coming from the basket, she tells one of her maids to fetch it. She discovers a little boy whom she names Moses, which means "drawn out of the water". Miriam offers to find someone to care for the baby for her and runs to get her mother. Moses' own mother takes care of him until he is 5 years old. He is then returned to the Egyptian princess to be raised as a prince of Egypt. God was getting Moses equipped to lead his people out of slavery. Moses had no idea that was his future. Sometimes we wonder why things happen to us, maybe God is getting us ready for something we will do years down the road!

Time to bring in those inside shoes as the weather gets messier and wetter everyday. Some have brought them already, thank you! Slippers or soft shoes with your child's name on them somewhere are great!

Zoo information-(sorry none of this was on the slip!!)

We will meet at the zoo at 10 am, when it opens. Parking is $7 per car. There is no formal program at the zoo, we will just go in together to get the group rate. You are free to stay as long as you like- the zoo is open until 4 pm.

Lastly, the link to sign up for Parent Teacher conferences if you have not already done so is <http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0c45afa72fa3fe3-1stquarter>

Have a terrific week!
Mrs. Schneck

Blog for October 17 and 19

We are the dinosaurs! Marching, Marching!

We are looking at and playing with dinosaurs this week and the letter Dd.

For table activities we are printing with dino tracks, building a dinosaur with paper pieces, making dino tracks in playdoh and playing with dinosaurs big and small.

For small group we are making lava for our dinosaurs to wade through with baking soda and vinegar. We are also digging up fossils to find dinosaur bones.

For large group we are looking for dinosaur eggs and doing some dinosaur actions.

We sang the song, "We are the Dinosaurs" by the Laurie Berkner Band this week. and read "Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs" by Byron Barton, "The Day of the Dinosaur" by Stan and Jan Berenstain, and "How to Dinosaurs Say Good Night?" by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague.

The KDIs we are concentrating on this week are-

Movement: Children express and represent what they observe, think, imagine, and feel through movement- especially as we pretend to be dinosaurs!

Fine-motor skills: Children demonstrate dexterity and hand-eye coordination in using their small muscles.- Even fun stuff like using eyedroppers to squirt colored vinegar and make lava is working those fine motor muscles, getting that pincer grip ready to hold a pencil and write.

Jesus time- This week we hear the rest of Joseph's story. When we left Joseph last week, he had just been made second in command of Egypt and helped to plan the storehouses of food that would last through the seven years of famine. Egypt wasn't the only place that was experiencing a famine. Joseph's brothers had no food either. So, when Jacob heard that there was food that could be bought in Egypt, he sent his sons. Joseph's first dream was about to come true. Ten of his brothers approached him seeking to buy food. He knew them, but they had no idea who he was. He accused them of being spies and imprisoned his brother Simeon. He told them he would keep Simeon in prison until they brought their youngest brother, Benjamin, along with them to Egypt. He then gave them their food, placing the money they had paid for it back inside the bags of grain. When they returned home and told their father what had happened, he didn't want to send Benjamin, he had already lost Joseph! Finally, the brothers convinced him. They went back to Egypt along with Benjamin to purchase more food. When they arrived, Joseph had them escorted to his home where he had a meal laid out for them. They were told which seats to sit in and they were arranged according to age. As the portions were passed out, Joseph's servants gave Benjamin more than the rest. Joseph was listening behind the scenes to see if there was any jealousy or hatred of Benjamin because he was favored. He heard none. To give the brothers one final test to see if they had really changed, Joseph sent them back home with sacks full of grain. He placed the money back in their sacks, but in Benjamin's sack, he placed his own silver chalice. He let the brothers get a head start, and when he caught up with them, along with his soldiers, he accused them of stealing the silver cup from his home. The brothers reassured him that they had not stolen anything. The bags were searched and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack! The older brothers spoke up, offering to take Benjamin's punishment, no matter what it was. Then Joseph finally revealed himself to them and told them that God had placed him in this place to accomplish the saving of many lives. He also assured them that he forgave them for what they had done to him. Joseph asked them to go get their father so that they could all live in Egypt and have all the food they needed. So Jacob and his family settled in the land of Egypt in a place called Goshen. God has a plan for us! To get us to be in heaven with Him, along the way we can share what He has done for us and keep our eyes focused on Him and hopefully others will see that trust and ask us why. And we can share our journey with them!

Have a terrific week!

Attendance slips for the zoo went out on Tuesday! Here is the link to sign up for a parent teacher conference on November 2nd or 3rd- http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0c45afa72fa3fe3-1stquarter

Mrs. Schneck

Blog for October 10 and 12

Falling from the trees!! This week we are looking at leaves! And the letter Ll.

Our Table time activities are painting with leaves, looking at leaves with a magnifying glass and doing leaf rubbings.

Our small group activities have to do with leaves also, today we made leaf people or animals and Thursday we will use a "sticky wall" to collect leaves we find outside.

Our large motor activities are tossing leaves in the air and raking leaves. We are going to enjoy this outdoor weather as long as we have it!

Our books this week are "Clifford's First Autumn" by Norman Bridwell, "My Leaf Book"  by Monica Wellington and "Leaves" by David Ezra Stein.

The KDIs we are concentrating on this week are-

Body awareness: Children know about their bodies and how to navigate them in space.- We also look at the parts of our bodies the children include in their leaf person or animal. Head, body, legs, arms, eyes, mouth, what other parts are we made up of?

Natural and physical world: Children gather knowledge about the natural and physical world. - This continues our discussion and discovery about why leaves change in the fall from Nankin Mills. We will keep talking about that this week. 

Our Jesus Time this week includes a large portion of Joseph's life. Joseph was Jacob's favorite son, born from his wife Rachel. Joseph was one of his younger sons, but he was put in charge of the elder sons, in fact Jacob often sent him out into the fields to make sure his older sons were doing a good job watching the sheep and goats. Joseph also had dreams that he shared with his family. One dream was that Joseph dreamed each brother was a sheaf of wheat, all the brothers sheaves bowed down to his sheaf. He also had a dream where he was standing in the night sky and 11 stars and the sun and the moon all bowed down to him. His father showed his favoritism by gifting Joseph a beautiful, multi-color coat. This time, when he went out to check on his brothers, they decided to get rid of him. Some of them even thought about killing him. When he arrived, they grabbed him, pulled off his beautiful coat and threw him in a pit. When traders on their way to Egypt passed by, they pulled him out and sold him into slavery.
 Meanwhile, they ripped up his coat, killed a goat or sheep and dipped the coat in its blood. When they returned home, they showed their father the coat as proof that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. 
Joseph is sold into slavery in Egypt where he works hard and is made head over the slaves, until his owners wife accuses him of doing something wrong. Then Joseph is thrown into jail, where he again works hard and becomes the one in charge of the prisoners. At one time, there are two prisoners in jail who both worked for Pharaoh. They have strange dreams and heard that Joseph could interpret dreams. He prays and asks God to give him the meaning to their dreams and when what he says comes true, he asks the former prisoner to remember him and tell Pharaoh about him.
Time passes and Pharaoh has some crazy dreams about cows and wheat. Finally, his official remembers Joseph and they get him out of prison. Pharaoh demands that Joseph tell him his dreams and what they mean. When Joseph is able to tell Pharaoh and gives suggestions to solve the problems the dreams foretell, Pharaoh makes Joseph second in command of all Egypt.

An Amazing Story!! God is with us wherever we go and whatever happens to us!


Have an amazing week!!
Mrs. Schneck

Blog for October 9, 11 and 13

One more week for camping in this beautiful fall weather. We are looking at and listening to the Tt in tent this week!

KDIs we are concentrating on are-

Cooperative play: Children engage in cooperative play. - Two tents and lots of kids, we figured out how to play together. Friends also grouped up to do the Nature Scavenger Hunt. We'll be working together a lot this week.

Reading: Children read for pleasure and information.- Great books for pleasure and information! Kids love to be read to!


Morning/Tabletop activities are tent play, a wilderness scene to play with playmobile in, campfire art, forest playdoh and camping play.

Our small group activities this week include making a triangle shaped tent, a lantern craft and adding a Tt for tent to our journals.

Our large group activities this week include a nature scavenger hunt, playing in a real tent, and the action song "Going on a Bear Hunt".

Our Jesus Time this week includes a large portion of Joseph's life. Joseph was Jacob's favorite son, born from his wife Rachel. Joseph was one of his younger sons, but he was put in charge of the elder sons, in fact Jacob often sent him out into the fields to make sure his older sons were doing a good job watching the sheep and goats. Joseph also had dreams that he shared with his family. One dream was that Joseph dreamed each brother was a sheaf of wheat, all the brothers sheaves bowed down to his sheaf. He also had a dream where he was standing in the night sky and 11 stars and the sun and the moon all bowed down to him. His father showed his favoritism by gifting Joseph a beautiful, multi-color coat. This time, when he went out to check on his brothers, they decided to get rid of him. Some of them even thought about killing him. When he arrived, they grabbed him, pulled off his beautiful coat and threw him in a pit. When traders on their way to Egypt passed by, they pulled him out and sold him into slavery.
 Meanwhile, they ripped up his coat, killed a goat or sheep and dipped the coat in its blood. When they returned home, they showed their father the coat as proof that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. 
Joseph is sold into slavery in Egypt where he works hard and is made head over the slaves, until his owners wife accuses him of doing something wrong. Then Joseph is thrown into jail, where he again works hard and becomes the one in charge of the prisoners. At one time, there are two prisoners in jail who both worked for Pharaoh. They have strange dreams and heard that Joseph could interpret dreams. He prays and asks God to give him the meaning to their dreams and when what he says comes true, he asks the former prisoner to remember him and tell Pharaoh about him.
Time passes and Pharaoh has some crazy dreams about cows and wheat. Finally, his official remembers Joseph and they get him out of prison. Pharaoh demands that Joseph tell him his dreams and what they mean. When Joseph is able to tell Pharaoh and gives suggestions to solve the problems the dreams foretell, Pharaoh makes Joseph second in command of all Egypt.

An Amazing Story!! God is with us wherever we go and whatever happens to us!

Our books this week are "Charlie Goes Camping" by Carrie Weston and Tim Warnes, "Explorers of the Wild" by Cale Atkinson, "Don't Blink" by Tom Booth and "Duck Tents" by Lynne Berry.

Have an awesome week!!
Mrs. Schneck

Blog for September 26 and 28

Pets are great!! And we are talking about pets this week and the sound of Pp.

Table activities this week are role playing "Pet Shop", washing the dogs, matching pets with their homes and a pet sensory bin. We had alot of fun this morning pretending to brush, walk and feed our dogs and cats.

Small group activities- This morning we mixed dough to make dog biscuits, we then pressed it flat and used all our muscles to cut bone shaped cookies for dogs out of them. Mrs. Schneck is taking the dog cookies home to bake and we will get them on Thursday. On Thursday, we will make a dog house for our puppies out of cardboard and decorate it.

Large motor this week involves tossing a ball to a dog and dancing to "My Dog Rags".

Our Jesus time story this week is about Abraham. Abraham was an old testament believer who was born years after Noah and the ark. God planned to set apart a special people from whom the Savior would be born and Abraham was the beginning of that people. God gave Abraham a promise that he would have more offspring than the stars in the sky or the sands on the beach. When God gave Abraham that promise, he was 90 years old and his wife Sarah was 80 and they had no children. 
Finally, when Abraham was 99 and Sarah 89, two angels and the Angel of the Lord (which is the Old testament name for Jesus) came to visit Abraham. He shared a meal with them and they informed him that at this same time next year, he would be holding a baby in his arms. Sarah overheard this and laughed. When the men asked her if she had laughed, she denied it. They told her that her son would bear the name Isaac, which means laughter. Sure enough, Isaac was born within the year! 
Even when it seems impossible, God keeps his promises! We can trust Him!

The KDIs we are emphasizing this week are-

Empathy: Children demonstrate empathy toward others.- This includes ours or other's pets. Learning how to nicely treat a pet is great practice in how to nicely treat others. Being kind and gentle and not teasing are all good ways to interact with others.

Pretend play: Children express and represent what they observe, think, imagine, and feel through pretend play.- As we pretend to be pet owners, shopkeepers or pets ourselves, we use our imagination muscles!!

A reminder that next week we have the Nankin Mills field trip on Tuesday. There is no school for the rest of the week as the teachers will be in Bay City for a teachers' conference.

Have an awesome week!!

Nankin Mills field trip

I will have a hard copy sent home on Thursday with each student, just for your information!

On Tuesday, October 3, 2017, preschool will meet at Nankin Mills Interpretive Center, located at 33175 Ann Arbor Trail, Westland, Michigan 48185.

We will meet at 10 am for a program called “Fall Frolic”. I will supply each preschooler with a plain, white t-shirt for a leaf print craft. The cost is $6/child and $2/adult. The field trip includes a program that lasts for about an hour. We will be outside and walking the nature trails, so be sure to wear appropriate gear!

Feel free to stay and play anywhere at Hines Park after our program is over!

Please fill out the bottom of this slip and return it and the payment by Friday, September 29th.

Thanks!

Mrs. Schneck

----------------------------------------------------------------

My child, ____________, will be attending. ___ children total ___ adults

My child, ____________, will not be attending.

____________________

Signature

Blog for September 19 and 21

Having fun with feathers is our week this week!

We are listening for the sound of Ff, talking about what kinds of animals have feathers and investigating and doing different things with feathers.

This morning at table time we put feathers into the holes of colanders to improve fine motor control. We also had a table for a feather investigation with different types of feathers and magnifying glasses to see those feathers up close. On Thursday, friends will have the opportunity to paint with feathers or string beads on feathers.

For our small group activities this week, we are working alot of fine motor control. Today we cut and glued feathers. On Thursday we will trace the letter Ff with our fingers and glue feathers on in the shape of Ff.

For our large group activities this week we danced and acted like different animals. We will also use our breath to blow a feather during a relay race!

Our books are "Five Little Chicks" by Nancy Tafuri and "The Perfect Purple Feather" by Hanoch Piven.

Some of the KDIs we are concentrating on this week are-

Fine-motor skills: Children demonstrate dexterity and handeye coordination in using their small muscles.- poking through holes, beading, cutting and gluing.

Building relationships: Children build relationships with other children and adults. - They are doing an excellent job at this. They are playing together, they are cooperating, taking turns, it is great to see!

Our Word of God story this week is the story of Noah. After Adam and Eve were made to leave the garden, people just became worse and worse until there was only one family left who believed in God. This was Noah's family. God told Noah to build an ark and get ready to be onboard for a long time. It took Noah 100 years to build the ark, the other people on earth were given 100 years to come to faith. Instead they made fun of Noah as he built a giant boat nowhere near the water. God had animals come to him, at least two of every kind, to be saved on the ark. When God was ready, he closed the door and it rained for 40 days and 40 nights. The whole earth was covered with water. Finally, after many days, the ark came to rest on top of a mountain. Noah and his family and the animals came out of the ark when there was enough dry land to support them. The first thing Noah did was to build an altar to give thanks to God for keeping them safe through the flood. God placed a rainbow in the sky as a symbol of the promise that he would never again destroy the earth with a flood.

We do have a change in the next field trip coming up. Our Nankin Mills Fall Frolic field trip which was scheduled to take place October 12th is now taking place on Tuesday, October 3rd. More information about that will come home on Thursday!

Hope to see you at 9:15 at Plymouth Orchards Wednesday!

Have a terrific week!
Mrs. Schneck

Blog for September 12 and 14

Week two of preschool is off to a magnetic start!!

This week we are playing with magnets. On Tuesday, we experimented with magnetism. We looked at a mixture of items and tried to guess which ones would stick to a magnet and then we tested our guesses. We also looked at the magnetic field and how magnets attract and repel.

On Thursday, we will continue playing with magnets, painting using a magnet to move a nut through paint, making magnetic sculptures which reinforce the idea of a magnetic field, and listening for the letter Mm for Magnet.

Our Word of God story for the week is about Adam and Eve and the first sin. God created a beautiful world and placed Adam and Eve in a beautiful garden where all their needs were provided for! They had all the food they could eat, no weeds grew. They had work to do, but it was a pleasure. God had placed two trees in the middle of the garden, The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life. God told Adam and Eve not to eat from those trees. This was a way that they could show their love for God, by doing what he asked them to do. Satan, in the form of a snake, came and tempted Adam and Eve to eat, and they did. 
God removed them from the garden so they wouldn't eat from the Tree of Life and live forever in sin. He told them life would be hard for them from now on, but He also promised a Savior who would come, live a perfect life and die an innocent death for all our sins.

Some of the KDIs we are looking at this week are-

 Experimenting: Children experiment to test their ideas.- what is magnetic?

Vocabulary: Children understand and use a variety of words and phrases. - we do introduce scientific words with explanations just so they have heard the word and they may make a deeper connection later!



An informational slip went home today about the field trip next Wednesday to Plymouth Orchards and Cider Mill. We will meet at the Orchard at 9:15 and you are free to stay as long as you like! Please return the slip whether you are going or not, so I have an accurate number and know if we still need to wait for someone for the hay ride!

Have a terrific week!!
Mrs. Schneck

First Day!!

Wow! What a first day!!

The only tears that were shed were the ones when our friends had to go home!! We look forward to seeing everyone on Thursday!

We started out our preschool year by getting used to our routine and by playing with balls. Our letter is Bb this week and we listened for its sound and saw how it was made, we said its sound as we bounced balls, played with beach balls and made ball shapes out of playdoh.

Our table activities this week are playing with balls, painting with balls, pretending with yarn spaghetti and pompom meatballs.

We listened to the book "Froggy Plays Soccer" and talked about the different things they do with the ball, like kick it, head it, but don't touch it with your hands unless you're the goalie. On Thursday, we'll read "Froggy Plays T-Ball" to see what else we can do with balls. Both of those books are written by Jonathan London. During Morning Meeting, we also figured out what number comes next for our calendar, what color it should be and we practiced saying the Pledge of Allegiance. We also talked about our letter.

Next, we planned what to play after we bounced a ball- we are still figuring this out, but it will come!

After play time, we cleaned up! And then we listened to the story of how God created the world.

For small group time, we made balls out of playdoh. On Thursday we will make a Bb page for our journal.

For large group time, we danced with beach balls to the song "Bananaphone" by Raffi.

We ate snack and went to play outside.

It was a terrific day!!

Some of the Key Development Indicators we are focusing on this week are-

Fine-motor skills: Children demonstrate dexterity and handeye coordination in using their small muscles.- Playdoh balls and coloring.

Counting: Children count things.-  Bounces, days of the month.

Have a great week!
Mrs. Schneck

Last week of school!!

Sorry the blog didn't come out earlier this week, it was very busy!

We had a grand time playing with anything to do with ice cream this week! We graduated some amazing 4 and 5 year olds and are ready for a little vacation!

We look so forward to seeing you next year and growing with you in all sorts of ways!

Don't forget to grow over the summer! Some great ways to grow are by going to camp! Camp Killarney, which is run by our own Mrs. Dostal, is an amazing place for kids to grow! Check it out here <http://www.killarneycamp.org/> or like it on Facebook!

Another way to grow is to go to Vacation Bible School! Peace Lutheran is holding a VBS on July 24th! To register, go here
<http://www.atpeacewithgod.org/site/dbpage.asp?page_id=140009447&sec_id=140003484>

We look forward to seeing you this summer or next school year! We will begin the Tuesday after Labor Day if you are 3, or Wednesday after Labor Day if you are 4!!

Have a terrific summer!

Enjoy some ice cream and graduation pictures!

Blog for May 23 and 25

We are rockin' it on this second to last week of preschool!!

Table activities are painting rocks, looking at some special rocks with magnifying glasses, testing rock hardness and playing with rocks and playdough.

Some KDIs we are looking at this week are-

Classifying: Children classify materials, actions, people, and events.- We can sort rocks.

Number words and symbols: Children recognize and use number words and symbols.
Counting: Children count things - We counted rocks today, matching the number symbol with an actual quantity, we looked at what number was bigger/smaller, fewest/most, least/most and more or less.

Jesus Time- Our story this week is about Philip and the Ethiopian. Philip was one of Jesus' disciples and was there when Jesus gave the command to go and tell all nations. He was there on Pentecost to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. He was also given another gift and unique experience. He was directed to go to a certain road by an angel. There he saw a man from Ethiopia reading the book Isaiah. He asked the man if he understood what he read, he said how can I understand unless someone explains it to me? So Philip rode with the man and explained what he was reading and connected the prophecies in the book of Isaiah with their fulfillment in Jesus. The Ethiopian believed and desired to be baptized. So, he and Philip went to water alongside the road and he was baptized. At that moment Philip was wisked away to spread the good news elsewhere.
There are still Christian churches in Ethiopia today, perhaps from this man's sharing of the good news of Jesus so long ago! Go into all the world!

Books of the Week- "Sylvester and the Magic Pebble" by William Steig and "Stone Soup" retold by Heather Forest, illustrated by Susan Gaber are our stories this week.

Please RSVP for both graduation and last fun day! For graduation, we will be singing "Jesus Loves Me" with actions and having refreshments afterwards! The Fun day starts at 10am and ends at 11:30 with a picnic lunch!

Have a super week!
Mrs. Schneck

Blog for May 16 and 18

We are really cooking this week! Our theme is cooking and playing like we are cooking.

Table activities are playing with oatmeal with measuring cups and spoons, painting bread with colored milk and then toasting it, making salad with green paper and playing with it with tongs, making playdoh cookies.

We are looking at the following KDIs this week-

Data analysis: Children use information about quantity to draw conclusions, make decisions, and solve problems.- how much oatmeal fits in this bowl, spoon, cup? How many little cups does it take to fill this big bowl?

Tools and technology: Children explore and use tools and technology.- We are using cooking tools this week. Whisks to stir, flipping pancakes with a spatula, tongs to grab salad, etc.

Jesus Time- This week we hear about the first Christian martyr Stephen. Stephen was chosen to help the disciples out when the church got so large on Pentecost. He helped make sure the church was helping those who needed help and also proclaimed the truth about Jesus. The Jewish leaders brought him in to threaten him to try and get him to stop talking about Jesus. He refused and testified to the Jewish leaders, showing them through Old Testament prophecies that Jesus was who he said he was. They were furious! They took him outside, threw him down and threw stones at him until he died. They placed their coats at the feet of a man named Saul. Stephen gave a courageous testimony about Jesus and Christians spread the news about Jesus all over the known world.

Books of the Week- "Pancakes, Pancakes" by Eric Carle, "Peanut Butter and Cupcake" by Terry Border and "If You Give a Mouse a Muffin" by Laura Numeroff.

Have a great week!

Mrs. Schneck

Blog for May 9 and 11

Windy, windy, windy!
We are talking about wind this week!

Table activities include decorating paper to make a pinwheel, blow painting, bubble painting, and making kites.

KDIs we are focusing on this week are-

Experimenting: Children experiment to test their ideas.- Today we looked at a variety of objects and made guesses whether or not we would be able to move them by blowing them. Then we tested our guesses. Then we tried to figure out why things worked out the way they did.

Moral development: Children develop an internal sense of right and wrong- We have been talking about good ideas and bad ideas, helping our friends to do the right thing, not tempting them to do wrong, etc.

Jesus Time- Jesus ascended into heaven in last week's story. This week we see the disciples waiting in Jerusalem, just like Jesus told them to. They heard the sound of a loud wind and saw little tongues of fire on each other's heads. They had received the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gave them the ability to speak in other languages so that the visitors to Jerusalem could hear about Jesus that day. We call that day Pentecost because it happened 50 days after Jesus rose from the dead. The Holy Spirit gave the disciples the courage and the ability to carry out the work Jesus had given them- to tell the whole world about him! We know about Jesus today because they told people long ago and the Holy Spirit inspired men to write down God's Word in the Bible! Now we can go and tell!

Books for the Week- We have a some "Mom" books this week, since it is Mother's Day on Sunday!
"Safe in a Storm" by Stephen Swinburne, "Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother Too?" by Eric Carle and "Mama, Do You Love Me? " by Barbara M. Joosse.

Three year olds are invited to join us here tomorrow from 9:30-10:30 for the Reptile/Amphibian Encounter presented by Nankin Mills!! I look forward to seeing you then!

Have a super week!
Mrs. Schneck

Blog for May 2 and 4

Our caterpillars all got into their chrysalises last week and now we are waiting for them to become butterflies! Hopefully it will be warm enough when they do to set them free outside! This week we are taking a special look at butterflies!

Our table activities are making a "stained glass" butterfly with tissue paper, contact paper and black construction paper, coloring glittery butterflies and flowers, matching butterfly halves, and butterfly collage art.

Some KDIs and concepts were are talking about this week are-

Art: Children express and represent what they observe, think, imagine, and feel through two- and three-dimensional art- Lots of artistic work this week as we look at one of God's most artistic creations!

 Natural and physical world: Children gather knowledge about the natural and physical world.- This week we are talking about the butterfly life cycle and the symmetry of butterflies and a lot of animals and us! We tried to show that symmetry in our butterfly painting today where we painted one half of a paper and squished it together and cut it out in the shape of a butterfly.

Jesus Time-This week we see Jesus ascend into heaven. Jesus has shown himself to his disciples, he has eaten breakfast with them on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, he provided a huge catch of fish once again. He reinstated Peter and gave him the job of feeding his lambs and sheep ( Christians) with His Word. He now meets with his disciples 40 days after Easter on a hill outside Jerusalem. He gives them the charge of making disciples of the whole world and promises never to leave them. He also tells them to go and wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit who will enable them to share the message of Jesus in ways they can't begin to imagine. Then, right before their eyes, he ascends into heaven. They stand there, watching until he is hidden by some clouds. Then two angels standing next to them ask why? The same way you have seen him go is the same way he will return someday! He is preparing a place for us! He gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit who works faith in our hearts and lets us share what we know about Jesus! Go and tell!

Books of the Week- "Here Comes Spring" by Kevin Henkes and "The Butterfly Book" by Michael Berenstain.

Next week, Nankin Mills will be visiting preschool on Wednesday, May 10th from 9:30-10:30 to share a Reptile/Amphibian Encounter! All are welcome! There is no cost for you for this presentation and we'd love to have you there! Hopefully we can even do it outside!

You should have received an invitation for Preschool Graduation today! It will take place May 31st at 6:30pm. The three year old class has been working on "Jesus Loves Me This I Know" with actions! I would love for them to celebrate with the four year olds! The actual service will probably only last 1/2 an hour with a reception afterwards! Hope to see you there!

There will be no school next Friday, May 12th. It is an all school track meet, which all teachers help out with, so pray for good weather and enjoy your day off!

Have a super week!
Mrs. Schneck

Blog for April 25 and 27

Our caterpillars are just about to turn themselves into chrysalises and we are looking at insects this week!

Table activities this week are bugs in beans, picking up rubber ants with tweezers, making bugs out of playdoh and creating paper bugs- three body parts, six legs!

Our letter this week is Ii for insect.

Some KDIs we are concentrating on are-

 Fine-motor skills: Children demonstrate dexterity and handeye coordination in using their small muscles.- using tweezers, writing, playdoh play, gluing all use those fingers and hands!

Classifying: Children classify materials, actions, people, and events.- Knowing the difference between bugs and insects- worms, millipedes, spiders- people call them bugs. Insects have 6 legs and three body parts- we look for that as we study bugs.

Jesus Time- Have you ever heard a story you just couldn't believe or you thought was too good to be true? That is where we see Jesus' disciple Thomas this week. The women were coming to the disciples with accounts of Jesus resurrection, the tomb was empty, the disciples were scared. Ten of the remaining disciples locked themselves in a room in Jerusalem out of fear of Jesus' enemies. Thomas was not with them, we don't know where he was, but he was a twin, perhaps he was warning his brother of what might happen. As the disciples were hiding out, Jesus appeared in their midst. He invited them to touch him, put their fingers where the nails had been, put their hand where the spear had entered. The disciples thought at first he was a ghost. He asked them for something to eat to prove he wasn't. They believed!
When Thomas rejoined the disciples, they told him what had happened and he didn't believe it. He said, "Unless I see the nail marks and put my fingers in them, touch his side and put my hand in the spear wound, I will not believe." Next Sunday evening, 11 disciples are locked in the same room, including Thomas this time, when Jesus appeared. He stood before Thomas and Thomas fell to his knees, and declared, "My Lord and My God!" Jesus invited him to touch and see and then he said, "Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed." That's us! We haven't seen Jesus, yet we believe in Him! We are blessed! Stop doubting and believe! May the Lord give us firm faith to weather any storm of doubt that may come our way!

Books of the Week- "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and "The Very Lonely Firefly" both by Eric Carle and "Diary of a Worm"  by Doreen Cronin.

On Wednesday, May 31st, at 6:30 pm- we will have Preschool Graduation. I would like to invite the three year olds to come and sing a song that they have learned also. It will be held in the church with a reception afterwards in the Multi-purpose room. The Graduation itself will only last about 1/2 an hour. An invitation will come home next Tuesday.

Have a blessed week!

Mrs. Schneck

Pictures

Last week we looked at eggs and I wanted to post some nice pictures of our friends playing with them! Thanks to all who came out to Domino Farms! It was a little damp, but still a fun time!

Blog for April 18 and 20

Happy Easter! I hope everyone had a wonderful day!

This week we are focusing on Easter on Tuesday. On Thursday, we will meet at 10am at Domino Farms for a petting zoo field trip. If you are not going on the field trip, there is no school.

Today in table activities we had an Easter sensory bin and baskets and printing with plastic eggs.

Our small group activity was making a chick with lots of gluing!

Our KDIs for this week are-

Diversity: Children understand that people have diverse characteristics, interests, and abilities.- We don't all do the same things or have the same traditions surrounding Easter, but we do all celebrate it!

Natural and physical world: Children gather knowledge about the natural and physical world. - As we pet animals on Thursday, watch our caterpillars, frog, guinea pig and plants grow and change and react to the world around them.

Jesus Time- He is risen! He is risen, indeed! We learn about Jesus' resurrection from the dead this week. Jesus was placed into a tomb provided by Joseph of Arimathea. The women who had followed Jesus to the cross made plans to further prepare his body for burial on Sunday morning, after the Sabbath. Jesus' enemies were still concerned that his disciples would try to steal the body and claim that he rose, so they pestered Pilate to place guards in front of the tomb and seal the stone. During the night, the ground shook, angels appeared and the stone rolled away. The guards fainted only to gain consciousness  later to see the tomb empty. When the women came, they worried about how they were going to roll away the stone, only to see angels who gave them the message that Jesus had risen and to go tell the disciples.
The disciples doubted the women's words, but Peter and John rushed to see what had happened. They saw the empty tomb.
Later, Mary Magdalene returned. She was weeping, trying to find her Lord's body, when he appeared to her and told her he was alive, just as he said!
We sang the song "Alive, alive, alive forevermore! My Jesus is alive, Alive forevermore! Alive, alive, alive forevermore, My Jesus is alive!!

Books of the Week- " The Happy Easter Book" by Josie Jones and "Today is Easter" by P. K. Hallinan.

See you Thursday at Domino Farms! 3001 Earhart Rd. Ann Arbor, MI

Have a great week!
Mrs. Schneck

Blog for April 11 and 13

Happy Easter, almost!
We aren't talking about Easter yet, I am saving that for next week. We are talking about and experimenting with something we see around at Easter and that is EGGS!

Table activities this week include play with and sorting plastic eggs, putting things in them, snapping them shut, finding their match, dot painting on Easter themed pictures, building with eggs and playdoh, and balancing eggs on straws.

Some KDIs we are focusing on this week are-

Drawing conclusions: Children draw conclusions based on their experiences and observations.- What lays eggs? Why are the babies in eggs? We took a look inside a chicken egg today and learned what was in it that helps babies to grow.

Fine-motor skills: Children demonstrate dexterity and handeye coordination in using their small muscles. - Matching eggs, putting them together, putting things inside them, building with them, all great for working fingers.

Jesus Time- This week's story is a difficult one- Jesus is before Pilate and is crucified. After Palm Sunday and his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Jesus spends the week teaching and preaching in Jerusalem, in the temple courts, all over! Jerusalem is packed full of people ready to celebrate the Passover, their annual remembrance of God leading the enslaved Israelites out of Egypt long ago. On Thursday evening, Jesus and his disciples are celebrating their Passover meal. Judas leaves to report to Jesus' enemies where he is and betrays him in the Garden of Gethsemane later that evening with a kiss. Jesus is arrested and taken to the Jewish leaders, but they do not have the power to condemn him to death. He is taken to the Roman ruler, Pontius Pilate, and Pilate is told that he claimed to be a king. Treason against the Roman Caesar! Pilate is stuck, he knows Jesus is innocent, but if word gets back to Rome that he let a man who claimed king go, he would be in trouble. He has Jesus whipped and beaten to try to evoke sympathy from the gathered crowd. Instead he is confronted with demands of "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" Pilate washes his hands to demonstrate that he is not taking responsibility  for Jesus death and hands him over to be crucified.
Jesus is so weak, he can't carry the part of his cross that they give him. He is nailed to the cross, but says, "Father, forgive them, they don't know what they are doing."
The only disciple who remains with him to the crucifixion is John. He gives his mother, Mary, into John's care. He asks for a drink. He tells the thief on the cross next to him that he will see him in heaven after that thief comes to faith. He cries out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" during the time of darkness from 12noon until 3pm. He proclaims "It is finished" when he has suffered for our sins and then says "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." Then he dies. All for us! We talked about Jesus being buried in a cave by Joseph and Nicodemus. But the kids would not let Jesus stay there, they wanted to know the rest! He is risen!! We will talk more about the next part of the story next week!It is a hard story to hear and understand. God bless your Holy Week! 

Books of the Week- "National Geographic Kids Ducklings" by Marfe' Ferguson Delano and "Daisy and the Egg" by Jane Simmons

You should have received a permission slip for Domino Farms today. That field trip takes place April 20th and the cost is $6 per student, which includes admission and animal feed.

The address for your GPS is 3001 Earhart Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48106.

There is no school on Monday due to Easter! Have a blessed Holy Week!

Mrs. Schneck

Blog for April 4 and 6

Hickory, Dickory, Dock, the mouse ran up the clock, the three year olds have just begun learning nursery rhymes, what fun!

We are talking about nursery rhymes this week.

Table activities are sensory bins this week- Humpty Dumpty, Itsy Bitsy Spider, I'm a Little Teapot and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star are represented.

Some KDIs we are concentrating on this week are-

Phonological awareness: Children identify distinct sounds in spoken language- Rhyming words and sounds especially this week.

Book knowledge: Children demonstrate knowledge about books.- As we read more books, which are true, which are stories, which are poems. They "read" them by themselves.

Jesus Time-We are listening to the story of Palm Sunday this week. This Sunday, April 9th, is Palm Sunday. We celebrate Jesus entering into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey which signifies peace. He came to bring peace between God and man by his sacrificial death on the cross. We talked about how the people shouting "Hosanna" were the same ones shouting "Crucify Him!" on Friday. Thanks be to Jesus that he continued on his journey to the cross for us.

Books of the Week- "The Itsy, Bitsy Spider" by Iza Trapani, "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" and "There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe" both by Jane Cabrera. Mother Goose, of course!

Have a terrific week!!
Mrs. Schneck

Blog for March 21 and 23

Twigs, branches, sticks and leaves! We are talking about forests and trees this week! What covers trees like their skin? Bark! Bb is for bark is our letter this week!

Table activities are making sculptures with playdoh, twigs, string and other stuff, matching trees to a shape, leaf printing and an evergreen sensory bin.

Some KDIs we are looking at this week are-

Natural and physical world: Children gather knowledge about the natural and physical world- learning about what trees do, how there are different kinds of forests in different places in the world.

Ecology: Children understand the importance of taking care of their environment- How do we treat trees? What can we do so we don't use up trees?

Jesus Time- Our story this week has a tree as a main character. A tax collector named Zaccheus was anxious to see Jesus. He had heard that Jesus was friends even with tax collectors who everyone usually hated. Zaccheus had one small problem, he was small, short, and there was no way he could see Jesus over the crowds. So, Zaccheus climbed a tree! As Jesus passed by, he looked up in that tree, called to Zaccheus and invited himself to his house. Jesus went to Zaccheus' house for the evening meal and Zaccheus turned his life around. He stopped stealing from his fellow Israelites and paid back double what he had stolen. We should be just as desperate to see and hear from Jesus. He loves us and wants to be with us!!


Books of the Week-"A Busy Year" by Leo Lionni and "The Umbrella" by Jan Brett.

Don't forget to sign up for parent-teacher conferences at the following link-<http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0c45afa72fa3fe3-parent>

If your child tells you we went to the basement today, they are telling you the truth. It's the time of the year that we have a tornado drill, so we went down into the basement and pretended we were "rocks" curling into a ball and covering our heads. So, if some version of that story is told, that's exactly what we did!

Next week, NO SCHOOL, it is Spring Break!! We will see you in April! 
Show and Tell schedules will go home on Thursday!

Have a great week!
Mrs. Schneck

Blog for March 14 and 16

North to Alaska! We are looking at Alaska this week! The Great Race, the Iditarod is coming to an end, Mitch Seavey is on his way to his third win with his son Dallas close behind as they complete the grueling 1000+mile trek from Fairbanks to Nome via dogsled.

Our table activities are reflections of the Arctic, we played with Arctic animals in the snow, painted on snow, play in the iceberg dotted waters and colored a sled dog.

Today for small group we made a "snow" sculpture and we will add a page to our journal with "Aa is for Alaska" on Thursday.

Some of the KDIs we are working on this week are-
Natural and physical world: Children gather knowledge about the natural and physical world.- Looking at mountains and rivers and the cold Bering Sea. Figuring out where Alaska is in comparison to us.

Geography: Children recognize and interpret features and locations in their environment.- Alaska is part of their country.

Jesus Time - This week we see Jesus take time to bless some little children. Traditionally, children weren't part of worship until they were 13. The disciples thought they were doing Jesus a favor by keeping the children away from him, but He told them not to do it! The kingdom of heaven is made up of those with child-like faith and trust. Those children believed that Jesus was their Savior, they didn't doubt it or question it, they believed that He had to do it all, they couldn't do it for themselves. He blessed each child and loved them too!

Books of the Week- "Granite" by Susan Butcher, "The Salmon Princess" by Mindy Dwyer and other Alaska themed books as we have time.

Wednesday is our field trip to Leslie Science and Nature Center located at 1831 Traver Rd, Ann Arbor, MI 48105.

We will meet there at 10:00 am and we will be outside, no matter the weather!

Also, I don't know if preschool parents are aware, but I have been teaching 7th and 8th grade in the afternoons due to the teacher in that classroom suddenly resigning. Due to this, I will be doing parent-teacher conferences for the 7th and 8th grades. I will not be able to do 46 conferences in two afternoons! So, I would like to postpone preschool conferences to the week of April 3-7. I will send out a Sign Up Genius by the end of the week for you to schedule them.
Thanks for your understanding!

Hope to see you tomorrow at the Leslie Science and Nature Center, if not, see you Thursday!

Mrs. Schneck