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