Tents!

This week we are listening for the Tt sound and playing with and around things connected with tents.

Morning table activities include playing with and in tents, playing with nature items (wooden discs, pinecones, bark, etc), playmobile camp play and using scissors to snip natural items.

Small group activities are using scissors, ripping skills and glue sticks to make a campfire, and making a tent.

Our KDIs this week are-

Fine-motor skills: Children demonstrate dexterity and handeye coordination in using their small muscles.- Lots of scissors skills, ripping and fine motor this week.

Cooperative play: Children engage in cooperative play. - Only two tents- we have to learn to play together.  

Jesus Time- This week our story is about Abraham's grandchildren- Jacob and Esau. Jacob and Esau were twins born to Isaac's wife Rebekah. Even in the womb, she felt these babies wrestling with each other and Jacob was born holding on to Esau's heel. As they grew older, their rivalry continued. Esau was an outdoorsman, hunting and bringing back game for the family to eat. Spending nights away from home on his excursions. Jacob was a shepherd who stayed close to home, keeping his family's sheep. God had promised that Jacob would receive the blessing of the elder son even though Esau was the oldest. When Isaac was very old and close to blind, he instructed Esau to go and kill a game animal and make him the spicy stew that he loved and he would give him the blessing. Rebekah and Jacob overheard and decided to trick Isaac. She told Jacob to kill one of his sheep, dress in Esau's clothes and put sheepskin on his arms so they would feel hairy like Esau's. She made the spicy stew and Jacob served it to his father, pretending to be Esau. He received the blessing.

When Esau returned and brought the stew to his father, he found out that Jacob had stolen his blessing and was furious!! 

Rebekah told Jacob to run away to her brother's house and he did. That night in the middle of nowhere as Jacob laid down with a stone for a pillow, he had a wonderful dream. In the dream there were angels going up and down a staircase and God was at the very top. Even though Jacob had sinned, God still loved him and was with him! 

When Jacob woke up, he anointed the stone and every time he passed that place, he remembered how God was with him. 

He is with us everywhere, too! God loves us no matter what! 

Books of the week are- "A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee" by Chris Van Dusen and "Curious George Goes Camping" by Margret and H. A. Rey. We also had a guest book this morning from Felix- "Jonathan James and the Whatif Monster" by Michelle Nelson-Schmidt.

Our next field trip is coming up quickly! It is Tuesday, October 9th  at Camp Killarney in the Irish Hills. The address is 1200 Chisholm Rd, Onsted, MI 49265. 

We plan to meet there at 10:00 to have some fun in tents and trees!! We will be done with the formal program at 11:30, but you are welcome to stay and adventure on your own!

Have a great week!

Mrs. Schneck

Apples, Apples, Apples

This week we are concentrating on the letter Aa and apples!

Table activities include apple printing, apple orchard sensory bins, using unifix cubes to make apples and apple trees and apple pie playdough.

Small group activities are comparing and contrasting apples- we tried 8 different kinds, and using ripped paper to make an apple tree.

Our KDI of the week is-

 Natural and physical world: Children gather knowledge about the natural and physical world-Looking at how apples grow on trees and how apples make more trees- the cycle that God put in place to keep making apple trees!



Jesus Time- Our story this week shows how God keeps his promises, even though sometimes it seems impossible. We are learning about God choosing Abraham to be the beginning of the line that Jesus would be born of someday and the beginning of our family of faith. God instructed Abraham to move to a place that he would show him. He and his nephew Lot followed God to the land of Canaan where they set up their tent homes. They kept sheep and goats and cattle and camels and waited for what God had in store next. God told Abraham to go out and look at the sky and count the stars. God promised Abraham that he would have that many children. Abraham was 90 years old and didn't even have one child yet, but he believed in God's promise. Years later, three men came and visited Abraham, he served them a meal Sarah, his wife, had cooked. They told him that next year at this same time, he would have a child.  Abraham was 100. Sarah who was 90 at this time, laughed, overhearing them in the tent. She would have a baby??!! But she did, and God kept his promise. Generation after generation of Abraham's children and grandchildren followed God. Not always perfectly and not always all of them, but enough, that when the time came for his promise of a Savior to be born, he was born of Abraham's family. And we who believe in Jesus as our Savior are also children of Abraham- more that the stars in the sky!!

Books of the week- "Under the Apple Tree" by Steve Metzger and "The Little Mouse and the Big Red Apple" by A.H. Benjamin and Gwyneth Williamson

We will see you Wednesday at Plymouth Orchard, 10685 Warren Rd. at 9:30 am- our tour leaves at 9:45, but please be there at 9:30!

Have a apple-tastic week!!!
Mrs. Schneck and Mrs. Oetzel

Blog for September 11 and 13

Magnets and how they work is the theme of our week this week, along with the sound and shape of Mm.

Table activities include attracting pipe cleaner one eyed monsters with magnets, finding the metal in our construction rice bin with magnets, painting with magnets and using magnetic letters to make our own Chika Chika Boom Boom tree.

KDIs of the week are-
 Experimenting: Children experiment to test their ideas. - What is magnetic? How far will my magnet's power reach? 

 Drawing conclusions: Children draw conclusions based on their experiences and observations. - Like magnets only stick to some metals, or one magnet is stronger than another.

Small group activities are building a magnet tower to see how high our magnetic field goes and testing what is magnetic and what is not.

Jesus Time- Our story this week is the flood. We reviewed creation, how God made everything perfect. Adam and Eve chose to not follow God, their children wander farther away from God and a relationship with Him, their children farther yet, and so it went, until only one family was left that had a relationship with God. That was Noah's family. God told them to build a huge ark to carry them and at least two of every kind of animal and keep them safe while he destroyed the world in a flood. It rained for 40 days and nights, covering the world with water to the tops of the mountains. Then it stopped and for 150 more days, Noah and his family and the animals waited for the waters to dry up. When they finally did, the first thing Noah did when he left the ark was to build an altar. He thanked God for keeping he and his family safe during the flood. God placed a rainbow in the sky as a sign of the promise that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood again. 

Books of the week are "Magnet Max" by Monica Lozano Hughes and "Press Here" by Herve' Tullet.

A reminder that this Wednesday is the Preschool Parent meeting- learn more about our K-8 school, finish up any remaining paperwork and get your sign in code for the Ipad. It is at 6:30 pm, should be over by 7. If you cannot attend, just shoot me an email and I will let you know if you have any paperwork outstanding and your code for the Ipad.

Field trip papers due this week for next Wednesday's field trip to Plymouth Orchards!!

Have a fun filled week!
Mrs. Schneck

First week of Preschool

Welcome, welcome to our first week of preschool!! So far we are having a wonderful time!!

This week we are talking about summer and the letter Ss.

Our table activities in the morning are decorating ice pops, collecting bugs, water play with boats and watermelon sensory bags.

Our Key Developmental Indicators of the week are-

Planning: Children make plans and follow through on their intentions. - We all chose what to play this morning, and did follow through on our plans. We did change our plans, especially this first week, there is just so much to explore!! But we did follow through to begin!

Fine-motor skills: Children demonstrate dexterity and handeye coordination in using their small muscles.- Ripping paper to make a slice of watermelon and using our pincher grip to pick up sequins and peel stickers and foam are great exercises to get me ready to write!

Our small group activities really concentrate on summer fun and fine motor. We all ate a piece of watermelon and then used ripped paper to make a slice! On Thursday we will use our pincher grip to peel paper off the foam stickers to decorate our summer sun visors.

Jesus Time- This week we are hearing the story of creation. How God created the world with his word in six days. Day one was light, day two water was created, day three plants were created, four-sun, moon and stars, five- fish and birds, six- all land animals and people. We read a big book with wonderful illustrations and simple rhyming text that ended with, "It was good." 


Books of the week- "Summer Days and Nights" by Wong Herbert Yee and "Summer is Summer" by Phillis and David Gershator.

Next Wednesday, September 12th, there will be a parent meeting for the parents of the preschoolers. At this meeting, Pastor Kieta will be explaining about a program that could make enrollment in our day school something to think about. I will also be giving parents their individual codes for when we switch to our Ipod sign in and collecting any paperwork I am missing at this point. It will be held at 6:30pm at the church! Thank you in advance for your attendance.

On Thursday, I am sending home a slip about our first field trip which takes place on Wednesday, August 19th at Plymouth Orchards- all are welcome to attend!!

Have a fantastic week!
Mrs. Schneck and Mrs. Oetzel


Photos from Day One! -