Pp is for pumpkin

This week we are playing with pumpkins and listening for the letter Pp.

Table activities include pounding golf tees into pumpkins, feeling pumpkin guts and seeds in a pumpkin sensory bin, making paper jack'o'lanterns and pumpkin playdoh.

Small group activities are painting pumpkins and adding our first page to our letter journal with the letter Pp.

KDIs of the week are-

Gross-motor skills: Children demonstrate strength, flexibility, balance, and timing in using their large muscles.- Pounding in pegs, bowling with pumpkins, lots of strength and timing used in our play this week.

Phonological awareness: Children identify distinct sounds in spoken language. - Picking out the p's in our speech and making the sound. 

Jesus Time- This week we are learning about the 10 plagues that God sent to Egypt when Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go. God changed water into blood, sent frogs, tiny flies, sickness to the animals, sores, hail, darkness and locusts. Finally God sent the worst plague of all, death of the firstborn. But the Israelites were kept safe through it all. God gave them directions on how to avoid the final plague so the angel of death would pass over their families. 

Each time, Pharaoh promised to let God's people go and each time, he changed his mind when the troubles were past. How often we do the same, "God just get me out of this mess and I promise I'll go to church more or read my Bible more." Trouble passes and we forget. God's love for us is constant, it's our love for Him that needs work. Keep trying, don't turn your back on God, he is always there!

Books of the Week- "Inside a House That is Haunted" by Alyssa Satin Capucilli,  "Pumpkin Heads" by Wendell Minor and "Pumpkin Pumpkin" by Jeanne Titherington.

We had a great time wearing our costumes and trick or treating in the big school today!

Have a super week!

Let's build!

 We are building this week! This week was planned as an emergent week. We look at what the children have been choosing to play and we intentionally plan activities that include it. Lots of kids have been building, so here we are!

Table activities include building with different kinds of blocks, making paper houses and building with playdoh and popsicle sticks.

Small group activities are building with sugar cube bricks and glue mortar- so don't eat them! On Thursday we will build bridges and see which one holds the most.

KDIs of the week are-

Engagement: Children focus on activities that interest them. - We are intentionally focusing on an activity that seems to interest most of the children. Everyone built with something today!

Problem solving: Children solve problems encountered in play. - How can I get my tower to stay up? What kinds of blocks can I use together? How to build my bridge? We had frustration sometimes today, but it's okay! Frustration can lead to innovation! That's what we encourage!

Jesus Time- We skip ahead in our Bible stories. We are still in Egypt, where we left Joseph and his family, but now there is a Pharoah who doesn't remember Joseph. This Pharoah is threatened by the number of Jacob or Israel's family who live in Egypt. He decides to curb the growth of these people by having the baby boys thrown into the river to drown. One Israelite mother, Jochabed, saves her little son. She cares for him for three months, hiding him and trying to keep him quiet, but then he just grows too big! She makes a basket-boat for him and with his big sister watching, sets him to float down the Nile. An Egyptian princess sees the basket and asks one of her servants to fetch it for her. She is surprised to see it is a baby. She wants to keep it and immediately, the baby's sister is there, offering to find someone to care for it for her. She runs to get her mother, who gets to take care of the child until he is about 5 years old. The princess names the baby Moses, which means drawn from the water. At 5 years of age, Moses goes to be raised by the Egyptians in the palace.

Books of the week- "The Three Little Wolves and the Big, Bad Pig" by Eugene Trivizas- led us to building with flowers today and "This is the House That Jack Built" by Simms Taback.

This Thursday is PICTURE DAY!! You should have received a picture pamphlet, if not, you can still order even after you get the proof of the pictures.

Also- this Thursday and Friday are Parent Teacher Conferences. I only have a few more who haven't signed up! I will include the link in the email.

Have a fabulous week!
Mrs. Schneck

We are rockin'!

This week we are using rocks to help us listen for the letter Rr and classify!

Table activities this week are looking at and classifying rocks, playing with rocks and water, using rocks to follow lines and stacking rocks.

Our small group activites are painting rocks and using glue, sand and gravel to make conglomerate rocks.

Our KDIs of the week are-

Vocabulary: Children understand and use a variety of words and phrases.- Vocabulary to use when talking about rocks and that rock has different meanings, like rock music!

Classifying: Children classify materials, actions, people, and events- we are classifying rocks.

Jesus Time- This week we are finishing the story of Joseph. After Joseph was thrown into prison for something he did not do, he was able to help out two workers in Pharaoh's palace who were also in jail. They had some strange dreams and Joseph told them what they meant and they came true. When Pharaoh also had some crazy dreams, his servant told him about Joseph. Joseph came before Pharaoh, told him his dreams and what they meant and Pharaoh put him in charge of half the kingdom. There was a famine that swept through the land, but they were prepared. Joseph's brothers weren't. They came to buy food in Egypt, from their own brother. They didn't recognize Joseph, but Joseph recognized them! He put them through several tests to see if they had changed. When it was clear they had, he invited them and their families to move to Egypt. What they had meant for harm, God used for good!! Joseph forgave them for all they had done to him and their family was reunited!

Books of the week- "Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse" by Leo Lionni and "These Rocks Count" by Alison Formento.

You should have received an email instructing you to sign up for next week's parent-teacher conferences. Sign up!! :)

This coming weekend is Fall Fest at Camp Killarney! If you enjoyed our field trip there, you'll have fun at Fall Fest!!

Trunk or Treat is taking place in the Peace parking lot from 10am-12noon on Saturday, October 27! Come and fill your bags! Invite your friends!

Have a week that rocks!!

Mrs. Schneck

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a cloud!

This week we are taking a look at clouds and the letter Cc!

We read about all sorts of clouds in "The Cloud Book" by Tomie dePaola, and "Now I Know Clouds" by Roy Wandelmaier.

Our morning activities are making clouds on sticky paper, squeezing the "rain" out of cotton balls and watching them get filled with water again, playing with cloud dough and finding treasures in the cloud sensory bin.

Our small group activities are watching it rain- we used a clear container, filled it 2/3rds with water, made a cream cloud on top and used food coloring to see the colorful rain pass through the clouds. On Thursday we will paint puffy clouds.

Our KDIs of the week are-

Observing: Children observe the materials and processes in their environment.- looking at clouds and how they look when it's about to rain.

Natural and physical world: Children gather knowledge about the natural and physical world.- what do different kinds of clouds mean? What are clouds made of?

Jesus Time- This week our story is about Joseph. Joseph was one of Jacob's sons. When Jacob fled to his Uncle Laban's house, he ended up marrying both of Laban's daughters. This wasn't how God intended things to be. His favorite wife was Rachel and Joseph was Rachel's son. Rachel's sister Leah had 10 of Jacob's sons. Joseph was his favorite and he showed it. The older 10 sons were responsible for taking care of Jacob's hundreds of sheep and goats. Joseph would be sent out to make sure they were doing their job. Joseph also shared some dreams he had that he felt meant they would one day bow down to him. The last straw was a gift of a multi-colored coat that Jacob gave to Joseph. It was a sign that he was the overseer, the boss, over his older brothers. One day, when Joseph was making his way out to check up on his older brothers, they saw him and began to plot to get rid of him. They threw him in an empty well, took his beautiful coat and thought about killing him. When a merchant caravan came their way, they decided to sell him. Joseph was on his way to Egypt as a slave. They took his coat, ripped it up, dipped it in the blood of a goat they had killed and told their father that they found the bloody ripped up coat on their way home. Joseph must have been killed by a wild animal. Their father believed it and was very sad. Joseph meanwhile, was made a slave to Potiphar in Egypt. He worked hard and was made the head of Potiphar's household.  
Joseph had some pretty bad things happen to him, worse are yet to come! But through it all, God was with him always- in the pit, as a slave, everywhere he goes! God is with us too, always!

Next Tuesday is our field trip to Camp Killarney! I look forward to playing in tents and hoping for a beautiful day with some cumulus clouds! If you haven't gotten your slip in, it's not too late! Bring it Thursday or even come on Tuesday and give it there!

Next week we DO NOT have school on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.

We will be in Stevensville, MI for a teacher's conference!

Have a fantastic week!
Mrs. Schneck