Flu & Illness Prevention

Flu and cold season is officially upon us and unfortunately, and at times, it seems the only things little children are willing to share are germs!

Please click here to visit the CDC’s “ACTION STEPS” for fighting the flu!

At preschool, we are taking every measure possible to prevent the spread of germs at school such as disinfecting surfaces and toys with an EPA approved, school-friendly disinfectant, washing hands regularly, and as required by law, checking students daily for signs of sickness. Students who exhibit symptoms will be sent home to recover.

We appreciate every parent who has been proactive in checking their child(ren) daily for signs of sickness before coming to school. Please remember to keep your child home if they are exhibiting any symptoms of sickness, including lethargy, fever, vomiting, coughing, sneezing, excessive crankiness, disrupted sleep patterns, etc.

If your child does get sick, please remember that there is a mandatory 24 hour waiting period after the final symptoms of fever, vomiting, or diarrhea without the aid of medication.

Finally, if your child does exhibit signs of the flu, it is highly encouraged to see a doctor right away as your child may be eligible for an anti-viral that will shorten the duration of the sickness.

December Days in Room 3

From festive fun to memory making moments, we have really enjoyed the month of December with our little ones!

We have been working hard, and by that I mean playing our cozy Christmas socks off! Playing isn’t only fun for the tiny humans, it is also the means by which they improve language, navigate social interactions, become critical thinkers and so much more! Take a look at some of the fun we’ve been having in Room 3…

This is Armen sorting by color, building with imagination, classifying each lego dinosaur with detail, and using words to vividly communicate his thoughts about his creations.

What may look like a simple moment of play is actually so much more! This sweet interaction between Jordyn and Harper is an example of our little ones practicing how to be cooperative and how to respect each other’s words—all while smiling and having fun together!

Performing arts isn’t defined by the stage you have or the costumes you wear, sometimes inspiration strikes while you’re walking through the garden with your tissue box guitar. This is Paloma, Zachary, Elijah, and Harper performing Jesus Loves Me, with a strong finish!

Here is just a glimpse of some of the Christmas activities we enjoyed doing together…

Mr. Tim, Max, and The Grinch visited our classroom for holiday story time!

Who doesn’t love a Christmas ornament decorated by their little one? Check out the Christmas gift to our Room 3 parents with love from your little angels and shepherds…

What a joy it is to celebrate the birth of our Savior! Our prayer is that amidst all the festive fun, our little ones know and share the true meaning of Christmas.

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year with so much love from Room 3!

Happy Birthday Jesus Party

What a blessing it is to work with these little ones each day! It is also a joy to be able to share the love of Christ with them and to sing about His birth this Christmas season! Thank you, parents, for sharing them with us!

Our annual Happy Birthday Jesus Party was a huge success! Each and every one of our Littles did such a spectacular job performing on stage!! Games, crafts, pizza and cupcakes were a special treat for a job well done!

Thank you to all the teachers who made this show possible and to our parent volunteers who helped make this event a success!!

Pre-k 1 & 2 sang a medley of songs. This is their performance at Grandparents’ Day.

Room 3 (younger 3s) recreated the manger scene by singing “Oh What a Special Night”.

Rooms 4 & 5 (2 year olds) sang a peppy version of This Little Light of Mine and One Little Finger.

Great Shake Out Earthquake Drill

PCS participated in the Great California Shake Out Earthquake Drill again this year and it was another successful event! After 2 minutes of simulating the duck and cover position (we call it Bunny in the Hole), we headed up to the big field to “safety”. While the preschoolers enjoyed a snack and songs, the elementary students and staff simulated everything from broken bones to a pretend fire in the science lab. A few teachers were “trapped” in classrooms and several people were taken to “triage” for assessment. While we pray we never need to use these skills, it is affirming to know we are well prepared in the event of an emergency!

Bon a-PANCAK-étit

Our little chefs in Room 3 measured, poured, mixed, and cooked up some delicious pancakes this week, with Ms. Thelma!

Our friends flipped for our first cooking project! They licked their plates clean so it’s probably safe to say this one was a success.

Cooking with preschoolers promotes math, science and literacy skills. It also is a great opportunity to practice taking turns while building community, collaboration, and confidence.

Check out the pancake fun!

A huge THANK YOU to our generous parents! You made this fun project possible.

Color Eruptions in Room 3

This past week in small groups, we conducted a color eruption experiment.

Our tiny scientists practiced using pipettes to transfer liquid to a mixture of baking soda and food coloring. They made observations, verbalized predictions, and initiated a chemical reaction–AN ERUPTION!

The outcome of this experiment was validated in “WOW”s and excited screams!

Check out our scientists at work…

All About Three

Welcome to Room 3! We are off to an exciting start!

Our classroom is the final stop before reaching Pre-K A or Pre-K B. What is our focus, you ask? Play is our focus! Embedded in all our fun, are so many valuable skills, concepts, and values which are fundamental to becoming a little learner. While we play, we socialize, use language, solve problems, make decisions, expand our understanding of the world around us, and learn how to let our light shine for Jesus.

Above all else, we pray that every little heart connects to Christ. As we worship, pray, and read God’s word daily, we confidently expect those seeds that are being planted to take root. John 15:5 says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit…”

The Fruit of the Spirit so completely encompasses the “good” attributes we hope to instill in our children. Thankfully, God gives us (YES, even 3 year-olds!) The Holy Spirit— to help us, comfort us, and guide us so we are able to possess His attributes (love, patience, kindness, and self-control, just to name a few).

3 year-olds are AMAZING! Everyday new friendships sprout, curiosity grows, independence asserts itself, and imagination is taken to new heights. As educators, it’s our duty to ignite that curiosity, provide opportunities for independence, offer safe/appropriate choices and create an environment that builds confidence while learning. Here are some ways we strive to do that and more in Room 3!

We explore the Outdoor Classroom and Enrichment Patio!

We enjoy free choice play in our classroom!

At morning meeting, we sing songs, choose weekly helpers, discuss the calendar, count together, and pray over our day.

We enjoy family style snack! Our responsible “littles” bring their cups and napkins to the table, pray together, count the pictures on our snack board, serve themselves, pour their water, and practice table etiquette such as, taking turns talking and cleaning up after themselves! Serving and counting snack promotes autonomy, fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination and one-to-one correspondence.

We love Bible time! The Rhyme Bible Storybook is one of the children’s Bibles that we read from. It’s short, colorful and captivating—PERFECT for our growing attention span! To keep Bible fun and engaging, we implement visual aids, interactive skits, and so much more!

At small groups, we explore: Literacy, Writing, and Math/Science. We plan fun, age-appropriate games, activities, and projects to target an objective and practice a skill.

Art is critical for neural development, representation, expression and more! We have a creative God who made us in His image. Therefore, we have an amazing capacity to create!

We explore important concepts–like lines and colors through art.

Print is fascinating to us. We love to promote print awareness starting with the ability to recognize letters. We are seeing ALOT of self-directed exploration of letters and print in our environment.

At Big Field we exercise, practice gross motor movements, coordination, cooperation in a large group game, and listening skills. Our first fun pursuit was Red Light, Green Light!