North to Alaska

We are headed north in our theme this week! To Alaska!

Table activities are an Arctic sensory bin, coloring and adding fur trim to an Inuit coloring page, Alaska coloring pages, stacking to make totem poles.

Small group activities are making a process art polar bear and making the Northern Lights with chalk.

Our KDIs for the week are-

Geography: Children recognize and interpret features and locations in their environment.- We look at different animals in different places. Alaska is still part of the United States, our country, but it is far away and very different.

Use of resources: Children gather information and formulate ideas about their world. - Sometimes children take the table activities they are offered and turn them into something totally different. That is great!! They are using their creativity and imagination! 

 Jesus Time- This week we are hearing about Jesus feeding more than 5000 people with two fish and five small loaves of bread. Jesus had been teaching and healing a large crowd of people as they walked along following him. When mealtime came, they were far from home or towns. The disciples told Jesus to send them all home and Jesus instructed his disciples to find food for all the people. The disciples protested, saying it would take more than a year's wages to feed all these people, besides there was no where to buy that much food. One disciple found a young boy with a lunch of two fish and five loaves. He instructed the disciples to get the people seated and he took the lunch, thanked God for it and began to break it into pieces and give it to the disciples to pass out. Everyone ate until they were full. Then Jesus instructed his disciples to pick up the leftovers. They came back with 12 baskets full of leftovers! Unfortunately, this made many of the people want to make Jesus their king because they'd never have to cook or buy food again. That wasn't why Jesus came. He came to give us spiritual life! 

Books of the week are "The Itchy Little Musk Ox" by Tricia Brown, "Have We Met?" by Gina Edwards and "Alaska's Three Bears" by Shannon Cartwright.

Have a super week!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!! We are celebrating Valentines and the letter Vv this week!

Table activities include Valentine's Slime, stringing heart beads on pipe cleaners, building with toothpicks and heart shaped marshmallows and a Valentine's sensory bin.

Small group activities are decorating our Valentines bags and delivering our Valentines and painting a giant heart taped to the wall.

KDIs for the week-

Phonological awareness: Children identify distinct sounds in spoken language- making those 'v's really tickle our lips! How does a letter look and feel and sound like? 

Empathy: Children demonstrate empathy toward others.- How can we show love? We are learning to put ourselves in other's places. 

Jesus Time- Wow, Jesus showed a lot of love in our stories this week. First we hear of how he healed a paralyzed man who was lowered down in front of him from the roof of a house. Jesus was preaching and healing in a small town and the house he was in was full. Four men, friends of a fifth man who was paralyzed, were desperate to reach him. So they carefully climbed with their friend to the roof of the house Jesus was in and removed some roof tiles to let their friend down right in front of Jesus. When Jesus sees this man, he has compassion and says to the man, "Be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven." Some of those listening thought, how can he say that? Who does he think he is? They were not happy with Jesus message of full and free forgiveness, they wanted people to follow their rules to be saved, not rely on a Savior who would do it all for them. To show his power, Jesus also said to the man, "Get up, take up your mat and walk." And the man did!! Jesus is God! We also heard the story of Jairus' daughter. Jesus was in a city, people were pressing all around him and a synagogue leader came to beg him to come to his home and heal his young daughter who was sick. When he and Jesus arrived at his home, he was told it was too late, his daughter was dead. Jesus said, "She's not dead, she's only sleeping." The grieving people thought he didn't know what he was talking about. Jesus went in with the girl's parents and his disciples. He took the little girl by the hand and said, "Little girl, get up." And she did! He told her mother to give her something to eat and he went on his way. Jesus showed so much love to those around him. He didn't do things for his own glory, just to help people who he loved. Just to help US! 

Books of the week- "Love Bugs" by David A. Carter, "Pete the Cat Valentine's Day is Cool" by Kimberly and James Dean, "Hedgehugs" by Steve Wilson and Lucy Tapper and "I Love Hugs" by Camilla de la Bedoyere.

We passed our Valentines out today and we'll play Valentines on Thursday too!

Bring your attendance slip for Belle Isle on Thursday. There may be a cost to park, if you have a recreation passport for the state park system it is absolutely free, but there is a booth, but I have heard that no one is ever there. Just so you are aware there might be.

Have a week full of love!

Mrs. Schneck

Books from last week and this week

I don't know why, but I keep forgetting to put the books of the week up,

So last week's snow books are - "Best in Snow" by April Pulley Sayre, "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" by Tim Hopgood,  "The Snowy Day" by Anna Milbourne and Elena Temporin and  "Snowflakes Fall" by Patricia MacLachlan and Steven Kellogg.

This week's opposite books are "Opposites" by National Geographic Little Kids Look and Learn, "Marta Big and Small" by Jen Arena and "Big Bear, Small Mouse" by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman.

Have a great week!

Blog for February 6 and 8

Probably the best opposites your child knows are "yes" and "no", this week we are talking about all sorts of opposites!

Table activities this week- Painting with white paint on black paper and black paint on white paper, sorting big and little pompoms, opposite bottles, warm/cold sensory bins.

Small group activities- figuring out what the opposites are- today we felt and looked at heavy and light, tall and short, long and short, warm and cold, big and little, soft and hard, wet and dry, full and empty, new and old, thick and thin. On Thursday we will do a day and night picture.

KDIs for the week-

Vocabulary: Children understand and use a variety of words and phrases.- Lots of words mean close to the same thing-big, tall, large, etc. How do we use all these words?

Classifying: Children classify materials, actions, people, and events. - Where does each thing fit? Is it cold or warm, long or short? 

Jesus Time- This week we see that Jesus even has power over the weather. Jesus had been preaching, teaching and healing all day. He and his disciples were going to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee for some peace. Because of the land around the Sea of Galilee, storms could whip up without warning. That is what happened this evening. Jesus was exhausted and he lay down on a cushion and fell asleep. Suddenly, a storm whipped up! The waves were crashing over the sides of the boat, the wind was gusting. The disciples thought they were going to die. Remember that the disciples were fishermen, they had experienced a storm or two in their lives, for them to be this afraid, it must have been quite a violent storm. Finally, they woke Jesus up, and asked him, "Don't you care if we die? We are about to drown!" He asked them, "Why are you so afraid? Don't you believe I can save you?" He then spoke to the storm, "Peace. Be still." 
Immediately, the wind and waves stopped. The disciples were amazed, they asked each other, "Who is this that even the wind and the rain obeys him?" He is our Savior, he is the one who not only created the wind and the rain, but he created us and he knows everything about us! How many hairs are on our heads, what dreams we have and how much we need him. He loved us enough to die for each one of us! He will always love us, even if we don't love him back.

Scholastic book orders went home today!

Belle Isle attendance slip went home today, but here it is if you didn't pick one up-

Have an amazing week!
Mrs. Schneck

On Thursday, February 22nd, Peace Lutheran Preschool is taking a field trip to Belle Isle Aquarium, 3, Inselruhe Ave, Detroit, MI 48207

Our scheduled time is 9:30am.

It is a self guided tour, so you can take as long as you like at each exhibit. They are beautiful! Fresh water sting rays, Dory and Nemo (trigger fish and clown fish), eels, turtles and more.

The cost is only $1 per student.

Please let me know by Friday, February 16th if you are attending or not.

We do not have school on February 19 and 20, the Monday and Tuesday right before the field trip, so keep it in mind!!

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________________________________ will be attending the Belle Isle Aquarium field trip.

(child’s name)

_______________________________ will not be attending the Belle Isle Aquarium field trip.

(child’s name)

___________________________________________ ______________________________

Signature Date