Snow Day (kind of. . . )

Today was supposed to be our first snow day but because of rain warnings we had to get creative!

We used our Snow Cone machine to make a little snow!
We decided that snow is very cold and very delicious! 😋 We also noticed that our hands were as red as strawberries the longer we played with the snow.
We made snow covered trees thanks to Ms. Monica and her art project.

Today wasn’t the day we expected but we still enjoyed it. We are already excited about doing it again tomorrow!

2021 News and Reminders

We love the month of love and are looking forward to all the exciting things that will happen over the next four weeks!

Snow Days – Thurs., Feb. 4th & Fri., Feb. 5th

We are so excited to announce that our Snow Days are back on the schedule!

Starting on Thursday, February 4th, we are turning the back end of the preschool parking lot into our very own winter wonderland with actual snow! The snow will be provided by an outside company, Arctic Glacier, who specializes in snow/ice events. Each classroom will have an opportunity to explore the frosty fun as an extension of their classroom’s yard time.

We recommend bundling up your little ones on those days and sending snow appropriate clothes and footwear plus sending extra clothes to change into after the event. Each classroom will have a half hour window of time to play in the snow on both Thursday and Friday.

*This event will be postponed if the forecast calls for rain on either of our planned days.

Valentine’s Day Parties – Wed., Feb. 10th & Thurs., Feb 11th

Each classroom will be celebrating the holiday with special festivities in their classrooms on both Wednesday, February 10th and Thursday, February 11th. Please be sure to keep a look out for classroom specific details about what they’ll be doing. This includes how each classroom will handle Valentine’s Day favors.

Here are a few quick suggestions…

Avoid edible treats. Instead, themed pencils, crayons, erasers, stickers, or other small items would be a great gift idea.

Simple and small is always best.

On the cards, sign – To: My Friend         From: Your Child’s Name

Due to flux schedules, not all the kids know each other but it makes it easier to give to everyone vs. figuring out who comes which day. The classrooms will provide a total head count for each room.

Please avoid the “Boy”/”Girl” Valentine trap. Allow your child to select a Valentine’s they wish to give vs. worrying about who is a boy and who is a girl. The kids get more out of reflected diversity of their peers’ interests rather than specific “gender themed” cards.

There is no obligation to give out Valentine’s card/treats but you are welcome to participate as you see fit.

Teacher In-service Day – Fri., Feb. 12th – PRESCHOOL CLOSED

Teacher In-service Days are crucial and provided us the much needed time for training, planning, preparation, and cleaning that can’t be achieved while the children are on campus. We are grateful for these opportunities to grow and improve all that we do in service of the children and families.

Presidents’ Day – Mon., Feb. 15th – PRESCHOOL CLOSED

While we don’t typically do a deep study of American history or civics as a part of the preschool experience, we are happy to celebrate two of our nation’s most influential leaders and the role presidents play in shaping and guiding our country.

Let us raise standard to which the wise and honest can repair; the rest is in the hands of God. – George Washington

My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right. – Abraham Lincoln

Handprint Fundraiser – February

We are excited to share that we still have a few tiles available for this school year’s Handprint fundraiser. 2020 will live large in our memories for many reasons but one of the prime reasons, for the preschool, is marking the 20th anniversary of serving our PCS community. You still have a chance to be a part of the amazing legacy of families that comprise our Handprint wall. Leaving an indelible mark on our preschool during a challenging but also truly remarkable year.

All the proceeds of our Handprints go towards offsetting the costs of special events such as our Farm and Snow Days. If you are interested in adding to our wall, please click the link below to see our flyer and Handprint payment form (hard copies available in the preschool office upon request).

If you already participated in the Handprint fundraiser at the beginning of the school year, we wanted to let you now that those tiles have been created, are in process, and soon to be added to the wall.

Happy Birthday Ms. Terri!!!

Our first birthday of 2021! Today is Ms. Terri’s birthday and we all got to celebrate together!

We put up a few decorations.
Ms. Terri brought us a special snack so we could celebrate with her! Strawberries, raspberries and blueberries all topped with a dollop of whipped cream.

We sang Happy Birthday and altogether it’s a great start to our day!

Flying into a New Year

In Room 2, we painted and built an airplane! Our dramatic play area transformed into an airport and we integrated a few thematic elements into our classroom activities, small groups and books we read.

Some of the fun roles our room 2 friends took on in our airport included: pilot, air traffic control, airport employee and traveler!

In our math small group, we played a fun number recognition game. We rolled the dice, counted dots and flew to the “cloud” with the corresponding number.

This is an example of emergent curriculum. When we returned from Christmas break, our friends were discussing travel so we facilitated fun ways for them to keep the conversation going. We built on their experience and knowledge of the world around them. They piloted our play and this is where we landed!

January News

Way to have fun inside our class. We had a chance to explore the freezing ice blocks and watch it slowly Melt in the sun.

Louise Nevelson Inspired Art

Louise Nevelson was an American sculptor known for her single colored monochromatic, wooden wall pieces and outdoor sculptures. Her sculptures appeared puzzle-like, with multiple intricately wooden cut pieces. The students looked at samples of her work and learned about her life. This projects purpose was to create a monochromatic puzzle like wall piece inspired by Nevelson’s artwork. They did a fabulous job. – Ms. Monica; Art Teacher

National Popcorn Day!

Today is National Popcorn Day! Huzzah! And of course we couldn’t let that go by without a little celebration. Today for snack we had a little popcorn along with our regular snack (apologies to parents who packed a home lunch and you see a lot of it go home today).

We played with ice and small hammers. We were safe and wore our goggles.
The Baby Sharks did Baking Soda eruptions with vinegar!
The Rainbow Unicorns learned about the letter N.
Room 3 loves a good story. Ms. Terri had most of the class surrounding her!
We love the patio and the many different things we get to do to there!

All in all it was a pretty good day!

Chapel – January 2021

We are so excited to be back together at the preschool and to have our very first Chapel of 2021!

Today we discussed what we remembered about the Christmas Story and the birth of Jesus. Where he was born and who Jesus’ first visitors were. Then we learned about the Wise Men from the East and read Matthew 2:1-12 as well as the Rhyme Bible. We learned how the Wise Men (Magi) followed the star from far away to find the new born king (Messiah). The children had a wonderful time learning the first two verses of We Three Kings and discussing the three gifts that the Wise Men brought. It was a fantastic way to start a new year together.

We three kings | Christmas songs lyrics, We three kings, Christmas carols  lyrics
Those gifts from the three wise men have health, wealth benefits - New York  Daily News
Top: Myrrh Middle: Gold Bottom: Frankincense

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.

John 3:16a

Big Field

Recently we have visited the Big Field on the main campus. We have a picnic snack and we read a story and then we get to run and play in the grass.

Red Light, Green Light is the game of the moment. And one day when I’m not running with the class I will remember to take some pictures of them playing it!

This week we read this story. Why did she swallow so many things?

Room 3 Antics!

It is January and we are busy with the important work of playing. And Room 3 friends play hard!

Really big paintings have been done during our patio time and we are really enjoying the different shades of blue.
During small groups we talked about squares and we made some of our very own!!
We love to build with blocks and to do puzzles. Our block area is usually full of construction as we build everything our imaginations can dream up.

We also love puzzles and spend a lot of time switching back and forth between our favorites.

The marble maze is a new favorite activity during patio times as well as our hammering with golf tees and styrofoam.
Sand writing/ drawing is another favorite activity on the patio. As well as playing with our magnetic letters. Making up words is fun!
Building towers with our cubes is a challenging activity for the late afternoon. Sometimes we can build higher than our heads!
The trampoline is a much loved activity and we have been so great about taking turns while we jump.

Inside and outside we play hard and have fun and we get to learn along the way. What more could you ask for? 😀