Xx is for boxes.

This week's theme is the sound of the letter Xx and boxes.

In your packet you have-

• a box, square, to decorate anyway you would like, you could make it a die or a window, use your imagination
• a gift box with the materials to make a name necklace
• a box with your name in foam letters to decorate with a surprise inside
• the book "Not a Box" which is yours to keep
• activity sheets to go with "Not a Box"
• Box Memory game- different kinds of boxes and people who work with boxes
• a couple flattened boxes to color and tape, so you can make little boxes
• the big box that all these come in can be decorated- there is a gallon ziploc bag with things to decorate and a bunny from "Not a Box" to make this "Not a Box" your own.
• An upper case and lower case letter Xx to trace and make the sound

Jesus Time this week is the story of Thomas. Thomas was one of Jesus' twelve disciples. His name Didymus which is mentioned in the Bible means 'twin'. Thomas was not in the locked room with the other disciples on Easter evening. He didn't get the chance to see Jesus or hear the women's testimony that day. He didn't hear the story of the men who were on their way to Emmaus and talked to Jesus. I like to think maybe Thomas was warning his twin brother that trouble may be on the way. All of the disciples were sure they were going to be next to be arrested and maybe even crucified. They were sure the Jewish leaders were looking for them, especially after Jesus' body went "missing". So, when Thomas returned and heard all the stories about Jesus being risen from the dead, he doubted! Why wouldn't he! How could what they were telling him possibly be true? He told them, "Unless I see the nail marks with my own eyes and his side where they pierced him with the spear, I will not believe."

One week later, the disciples were again in a locked room and Jesus did appear. He went right to Thomas and said, "Come, put your fingers in the nail marks, put your hand in my side, stop doubting and believe." And Thomas did, he fell to his knees and proclaimed "My Lord and My God!" Jesus was so glad to see that he believed and then he talked about us! You and Me! He said, "Blessed are those who have not seen, but yet have believed." That's us, we haven't seen Jesus, but we believe. 

We have missed you all soo much and hope that we can have some sort of graduation celebration this summer, even if it is a drive in graduation! I think we'll be able to do something outside. As we get closer to the end of May we'll get something more solid. 

I love putting together activity packets and I love seeing what you're doing on our Peace Lutheran Preschool page! 

More stories coming this week!

Mrs. Schneck

Zz is for zoo!

This week should have been our zoo field trip! Hopefully we will be able to meet at the zoo this summer and enjoy each other's company again!!

Even though we can't go to the zoo, we are going to pretend and play zoo! Some screen time options for zoo tours are the Cincinnati Zoo Home Safaris, San Diego Zoo Kids and others. If you have a good recommendation, please share it!

Our zoo activities for the week are-
- Invite to create an animal- you have received a bag of animal print paper to make into your own animal any way you'd like!
- I Spy Zoo Animals- on this page you need to find out how many of each animal there is on the page and do your best to write the number on the bottom
-Stripe the tiger and the zebra- you have a tiger and zebra, but they are plain, draw or paint stripes, any color you would like
-Sort the animals into their habitats-there are six different habitats and lot of animals. Where are they supposed to live? Answers are on the back of the habitats for the grown ups :)
- Animal puzzles- make six different animals, you can mix them up too!
- Zoo coloring pages, some in the support of the Detroit Zoo
- Sew a cage and make a cage from styrofoam and popsicle sticks- I know that we don't really put animals in cages, but it's fun to make. To sew a cage, use the plastic needle and yarn to make the "bars" of the cage and choose and color one of the animals to put in the cage. To make the styrofoam/popsicle stick cage, each one has an animal and you can use popsicle sticks to press into the styrofoam to make a cage.
- Zz is for zoo- trace Zz and draw your favorite zoo animal
- Sandpaper Zz to trace
-An animal action die to roll and do what animal action comes up

- Paint an animal- let me know if you need watercolors. I have enclosed sheets with animal pictures so you have a model to paint from.
- Have a snack of Animal Crackers!
- Move like the animals in the following videos- I highly suggest just listening :) We have the CD at school - I didn't realize just how old  these are!  Animal Action 1 and Animal Action 2




Jesus Time- This week we have the story of the disciples on their way to Emmaus. Two disciples of Jesus were heading out of town on Easter evening, discussing the events of past week. A third man joined them and asked what they were talking about. They were amazed he hadn't heard about what had happened. They told him about Jesus, his entry on Sunday, his beating and crucifixion on Friday and even that some women said that angels said Jesus was risen. They didn't know what to believe! Jesus patiently went through the Scriptures with them, from the Old Testament prophecies to the New Testament fulfillment and showed how Jesus fulfilled each one. Jesus kept them from recognizing him. As they were stopping for the evening meal, Jesus made that he was continuing on. They invited him to join them and as he broke and blessed the bread, his identity was revealed and he disappeared from sight. They were astonished! They ran back to Jerusalem to tell the disciples what they had just seen! He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Praying that all continues to go well with you!! Let us know if there is any other assistance you might need at this time!!

See you at packet pick up or drop off!

Insects!

This week our packet is all about insects! We have some wonderful Painted Lady Butterflies that have come out of their cocoons. I am feeding them paper towels saturated with sugar water. Hopefully the weather will warm up soon and I can let them go! Our praying mantis egg case hasn't opened yet, but I will post pictures as soon as it does!

In your packet-

- a butterfly sun catcher- grown-ups can put the butterfly outline on the clear contact paper, you can fill it with tissue paper, try to use your pincer fingers to take one piece at a time! Then, grown-ups can put the other piece of contact paper on and trim it!
- pieces to create a paper bug- remember three body parts and six legs!
- bug stickers to create a bug scene
- bug fossils- a piece of gray playdoh with a couple plastic bugs- press the bugs into the playdoh and pull them out, then let the playdoh dry so you have bug fossils!
- Butterfly matching game
- tissue paper butterflies to catch- your grown-up can drop them from up high and you try to catch them as they flutter down
- model magic and pipe cleaners to make a bug- you can color the model magic once it dries- three body parts- head, thorax, abdomen and six legs
- butterfly life cycle- first the butterfly lays eggs on a leaf- so glue down the leaf and grains of rice for the eggs, then a caterpillar hatches- use the pompoms to make a caterpillar, then the caterpillar makes a chrysalis- glue down the stick and crunch up some of the brown paper to make a chrysalis, then a butterfly comes out of the cocoon- use the butterfly shape and the black piece of paper to make a body(you can color the butterfly)
-bug action cards to move around with
- a little jar to catch a bug in and take a closer look at- don't forget to let them go!

You also received the book of the month which is "Fly Guy Presents: Insects" by Tedd Arnold- I thought it fit very well with our theme this week. This book is yours to keep, so I hope you can learn about insects all summer long!!

Our Bible story is about Jesus resurrection. Last week, our story seemed pretty hopeless and sad. Jesus had died and was buried. After Jesus was buried, the women who followed Jesus decided that they would go and prepare his body better. That Friday afternoon they had to rush and didn't give Jesus the treatment they felt he deserved. They made plans to get up early Sunday morning and go to the tomb to wash and anoint his body and wrap it in clean linen. On their way there, they suddenly remembered- The Stone! How are we going to move the huge stone that was rolled in front of the entrance to the tomb? They walked on, hoping guards or gardeners would be able to help them. When they arrived at the tomb, they were shocked! The stone was rolled away and Jesus' body was no longer there!! Then an angel spoke to them, "Why are you looking for  the living among the dead? He isn't here, go tell his disciples he has risen from the dead!" The women ran back to tell the disciples. One woman, Mary Magdalene, hadn't seen the angel, she walked into the garden sobbing, wondering where Jesus' body could be, looking for answers. A man asked her why she was crying. She said that she was looking for the body of her Lord. The man said, "Mary," and she looks up. It is Jesus!! He is risen from the dead!

Also included in your packet is an Easter activity book. I had hoped it would have been here last week, but things are a little different right now! I hope you can still enjoy it!!

Watch for Mrs. Oetzel and I to still read stories and take a look at our Facebook page-https://www.facebook.com/groups/1325982474252262/ I think you can join, because I invited everyone. If I missed an email address- just request to join and I will include you! We are mostly posting pictures from the past year and you are very welcome to post pictures of what you are doing during this time!!

Love and miss you all!!

Easter Celebration!

Happy Easter!

This week our activities all center around the Easter celebration.

In your packet this week you have

- a set of watercolor paints and q-tips to paint a white construction paper egg and an egg garland.
- a plaster egg and set of paints to decorate
- directions to make 2 Easter lilies with a handprint and chenile stems
- colored construction paper to practice your scissors cutting
- a bag of jelly beans to graph- sort by color and count
- two white plastic eggs to color - you can use any markers
- Easter slime
- eggs to hide in your yard
- a set of Resurrection Eggs to lead you through the story of the Holy Week

The Bible story enclosed is the story of Jesus crucifixion. Last week we heard the story of Jesus entering Jerusalem. Jesus spent the week in Jerusalem preparing for the Passover. He spent time in the temple and with his disciples. On Thursday night, he and his disciples sat down in a rented room for the Passover meal. Many unusual things happened that night. Jesus acted as a servant and washed his disciples feet. He showed that we should serve others through his actions and put others above ourselves. He instructed his disciples in a new command- Love one another as I have loved you.
He took unleavened bread or bread without yeast and wine and introduced communion to his disciples which we still practice today. He sang a hymn with his disciples and they went to a garden called Gethsemane. While they were there, Jesus went to pray. After he had prayed, he woke his disciples. He knew that his betrayer had come. A group of soldiers met them in the garden with one of his disciples named Judas. Judas came up to Jesus and gave him a kiss. The soldiers than arrested Jesus and brought him first before the Jewish leaders, where they falsely accused him. They then passed him over to the Roman ruler named Pontius Pilate. He condemned Jesus to death based on the charges brought against him. All these things happened because Jesus willingly gave himself up to die. He could have called down any number of angels at anytime to stop what was happening. He was quietly accepting of the punishment that was meant for humankind. On Friday morning, Jesus was given a large cross bar to carry to a hill outside Jerusalem to be crucified on. He was so weak that he couldn't do it. A stranger from Cyrene was enlisted to carry the cross the rest of the way. Once Jesus arrived, he was crucified between two thieves on a hill outside Jerusalem. Above him were printed the words, Jesus of Nazereth, King of the Jews. He spoke only seven times. 1)Father, forgive them, they don't know what they are doing- said about the soldiers who were nailing him to the cross, 2) Today you will be with me in paradise- said to one of the theives who became a believer on the cross, 3)Woman, behold your son, Son, behold your mother- said to his mother and his disciple, John, as they were with him at the foot of the cross. He was making sure his mother would be taken care of. 4)My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? - God the Father had left Jesus alone, he was carrying the sins of the entire world. 5)I thirst- this was said to fulfill an Old Testament prophecy in Psalm 69:21. 6)It is finished- Jesus completed the sacrifice necessary to pay for our sins. 7) Father, into your hands I commit my spirit- Jesus trusted his Father to care for him again.

Just know that Jesus loved us enough to give up his life for us so that we can go to heaven to be with him!

May God bless your Easter celebration!!

Next week, I'll give packets on Tuesday from 11am-3pm and Wednesday from 8-11am so we have Easter Monday off!

We miss you so much!