News and Reminders 2024

End of Daylight Savings – Sunday, Nov. 3rd

It is time for us to reset our clocks as we “Fall Back” by one hour. This small change will impact our kiddos, from emotional drop-offs to concerns about how dark it gets while they’re still at school. The classrooms will discuss the time change, and we are prepared to support the children as they adjust.

As it gets darker and colder earlier, we will transition from afternoons spent in the yard and on the patios to afternoons spent inside the classrooms.

End of the Day Classrooms:

Older Pod – Rm 2 for Rm 1 & 2

Younger Pod – Rm 5 for Rm 4 & 5 Friends (Rm 3 will remain in their room.)

Toddlers – Toddler A for all our toddler friends.

Preschool Chapel – Friday, Nov. 8th

This month’s chapel will focus on the story of Noah’s Ark. The children adore this story and its emphasis on family, animals, and listening to God. We can hardly wait to worship and praise God together.

Veterans Day – Monday, Nov. 11th

PRESCHOOL OPEN

The preschool will be open for Veterans Day. We are thankful and eternally grateful to all the men and women who have served and are currently serving our country and the families that support them. We will honor their sacrifice and service with the kids on campus.

Farm Days – Friday, Nov. 22nd

Older Pod Field Trip to Underwood Family Farms

Mark your calendars! Rooms 1, 2, & 3 will be going on our traditional fall field trip to Underwood Family Farm this year; yay!

Information, permission slips, and parent sign-ups will be available at the preschool front desk.

Younger Pod & Toddlers On-site Field Trip

We will continue the Harvest celebration on-site for Rooms 4, 5, and Toddlers with a visit from a few animal pals.

*If you are a Tuesday/Thursday family, please be sure to speak with your classroom teachers and the preschool office regarding how you can join in our farm day fun.

Stone Soup Days – Monday, Nov. 25th & Tuesday, Nov. 26th  

Stone Soup Days are one of the most significant preschool events of the year. Based on the beloved children’s book Stone Soup, each child brings a vegetable/food item to class to contribute to the community/class pot of soup. Your classroom teachers or Room Parents will let you know how you can pitch in and be a part of this beautiful preschool annual tradition.

Wednesday, November 27th  

MINIMUM DAY – NOON DISMISSAL

The day before our Preschool Thanksgiving Break is a Minimum Day. Therefore, the preschool will close promptly at noon.

Thanksgiving Break – Thursday, November 28th – Friday, November 29th

PRESCHOOL CLOSED

The preschool will be closed for Thanksgiving Break in the second half of the 4th week of November. We hope and pray that everyone has a fantastic time off, reflecting on what they are thankful for.

From our preschool family to yours’…

May God continue to bless, protect, guide, and grace you all with His presence, mercy, and love now and in the coming year. Amen.

Speech and Language Screenings – TBA

Speech and language pathologists from Jabberdogs will provide screenings for receptive and expressive language, voice, articulation, and fluency at the preschool. Once we have confirmed the screening dates, permission slips will be available at the preschool front desk.

Grandparent’s Day – Friday, December 13th

MINIMUM DAY: NOON DISMISSAL

Rooms 1 and 2 kiddos will perform specially prepared songs along with the upper campus in our auditorium, while Rooms 3, 4, and 5 will present at the preschool. Our toddlers will host Grandparents/Special Visitors in the toddler classrooms and yard. With parent permission, the Grandparents/Special Visitors will also have a chance to check out the classrooms and even take their students with them at the end of our event.

Happy Birthday, Jesus! – SATURDAY, December 14th, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Happy Birthday, Jesus is a SATURDAY MORNING EVENT. This annual tradition will occur at the preschool and on the PCS main campus in the auditorium.

From 10 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., we will host craft activities at the preschool in all of our preschool classrooms. Children and families are welcome to visit each room to make/create a Christmas craft to take.

At 11:00 a.m., all the parents and family members will drop off their preschoolers in their classrooms and then go to the auditorium to grab a seat for our Happy Birthday, Jesus performance. Each classroom prepares seasonal songs to share with our families (our toddlers we parade but not perform). Seeing the kiddos perform as we ring in the season together as a preschool family is such a treat.

Pumpkin Delight

The Children in Room 3 help to make Pumpkin Delight this past week. Cooking activities are a wonderful way to engage children in hands-on learning. Here are some of the skills developed while making Pumpkin Delight:

Math Skills

  • Measuring Ingredients: Children practiced measuring out ingredients using cups and spoons, which reinforces concepts of volume and measurement.
  • Counting: Counting the number of ingredients or steps in the recipe helps develop basic counting skills. We also counted to 5 while they mixed the ingredients.

Science Skills

  • Understanding Changes: As they mixed and cooked the pumpkin dish, they observed chemical changes (like how the mixture thickens or changes color).
  • Exploration of Ingredients: Discussing the nutritional benefits of pumpkin and other ingredients introduces basic biology and nutrition concepts. They also enjoyed smelling the pumpkin and the spices.

Social Skills

  • Teamwork: Working together to prepare the dish fosters collaboration and teaches the importance of sharing tasks and responsibilities.
  • Communication: Sharing ideas and instructions encourages verbal communication and active listening.
  • Patience and Turn-Taking: Waiting for their turn to stir or add ingredients helps develop patience and self-control.

Fine Motor Skills

  • Cutting and Mixing: Using utensils and handling ingredients helps improve hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.

Cooking activities like Pumpkin Delight provide a rich platform for experiential learning, allowing children to apply various skills in a fun and interactive manner. They had a delightful time learning while creating something delicious!

We Like to Eat Apples… and More Apples

Over the last few weeks, room 3 has been exploring the crispy and juicy glory of apples! We counted and charted them (math), we looked at the parts and tasted different kinds (science, 5 senses), and we painted with them (art).



The students were true professionals with their taste-testing that spanned from Honeycrisp sweet to Granny Smith sour and voted on their favorites. We’ve read books about apples, did paintings with them, and even sang songs learning about the different parts of  them. Our finale of this apple chapter was cooking with them–apple dumplings!



Without a doubt, this was a rewarding and delicious segment to kick start our first two months of preschool. Thank you to our ingredient contributors and volunteers!

“FIRST MONTH OF 2024 SCHOOL YEAR”

Our first month of school has ended and most of our kids have settled down. Our little friends are learning each others names and are also learning to share space and toys. We have exposed our class to the letters “A,”and “B.” Our bible story for this month was Genesis 1:1, we reviewed the beautiful work that God created in six days and that He rested on the seventh day.

News and Reminders 2024

We have so much to do and look forward to in October…

Oh my gosh…we need squash!

Over the first weeks of October, we will collect pumpkins, squash, and gourds of all shapes and sizes in the preschool lobby and create our own Preschool Pumpkin Patch!

If you would like to contribute, every $20 donation counts towards 1 hour of MVP.

After we refresh the preschool on Parent Site Work Day, Saturday, October 12th, we will redistribute all our squash across the campus from the Outdoor Classroom to Rooms 1 through 5 and our toddlers, too.

Thanks for donating! We can’t wait to see how big our Pumpkin Patch will become.

Preschool Chapel – Thursday, October 10th

Our second chapel of the year is here! For our first chapel together, we focused on the Creation Story. We are now moving on to Adam and Eve and discussing the power of choices, consequences, and God’s love.

Parent Site Work Day – Saturday, October 12th 

WE NEED YOUR HELP! Parent Site Work Day is just around the corner; don’t miss your chance to help our preschool, build community, and earn MVP hours.

There are two ways to participate in this year’s event.

  1. Donate materials/supplies.

(CORRECTION: Every $20 spent is worth 1 hr. of MVP.)

  • Help at the event. (Psst…volunteering to work at this event is worth double hours. Work 2 and receive 4. 😉) 

We will clean classrooms, power wash the patios, add sand and woodchips, and more. Please use the SignUp.com link below to join in all the fun.

We’re using SignUp.com to organize. Here’s how it works in 3 easy steps:

1) Click this link to see our SignUp on SignUp.com:  https://signup.com/go/xxvcaYQ

2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.

3) Sign up! It’s Easy – you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.com.

Note: SignUp.com does not share your email address with anyone.

The Great ShakeOut – Thursday, October 17th

Once again, the preschool will participate in the Great California ShakeOut. This will be a full earthquake drill involving practicing “Bunnies in the Hole,” aka duck & cover, and a muster onto the main campus for an official headcount.

The preschoolers will muster in our parking lot and then walk over to the big field grass, where we will read books, sing songs, and possibly have a snack before returning to the preschool campus to resume our day.

Teacher In-Service Day – Friday, October 18th – STUDENT FREE

It is time for a teacher in-service day. These days are crucial and provide 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 we do in service to the children and families.

Parent-Teacher Conferences – Friday, October 25th

Fall Conferences are here! We will sit down to discuss the kiddos, all we’ve done, and plans for the days ahead. Please use the classroom links below to find your classroom information and sign-ups.

Room 1 Click Here

Room 2 Click Here

Room 3 Click Here

Room 4 Click Here

Room 5 Click Here

Toddler A Click Here

Childcare will be provided for all our current preschoolers and siblings. Please see Mr. Tim or Ms. Kohar if you need an older or younger child to participate in the care during your conference.

Candid Student Photos – Tues., Oct. 22nd & Wed., Oct. 23rd

They’re back! We will again be taking Candid Photos of all the kiddos at the preschool this year. These photos are different from traditional school photos as they are meant to catch the kids in action. Our photographer, Adrea Scheidler, is a PCS mom with many years of experience capturing those adorable preschool smiles. Once photos have been taken, Ms. Adrea will provide families with individual links for viewing and purchasing options.

Apple Pumpkin Days – Wednesday, October 30th – Thursday, October 31st

Our annual tradition of Apple Pumpkin Days is just around the corner. During the last week of October, we will celebrate this year’s harvest season with unique themed books, activities, and treats. Watch for emails from your classroom teachers or Room Parents about how you can help support this fun-filled fall tradition.

Volunteering at the Preschool

Will you be volunteering on campus this year?

If you plan to help out in the classroom or during a special event, we will need a signed Volunteer Confidentiality Agreement on file.

Click Here to view the Volunteer Confidentiality Agreement.

Hard copies are available in the Preschool Office.

Older Pod Field Trip to Underwood Family Farms – Friday, November 22nd

Mark your calendars! Rooms 1, 2, & 3 will be going on our traditional fall field trip to Underwood Family Farm this year, yay! It has been three years since we have enjoyed this fantastic outing, and we can’t wait. More details will be released throughout the month.

Rooms 4, 5, and Toddlers will enjoy Farm Days on-site with special farm animal guests.

Lemurs Vs Raccoons 🦝

In our classroom we have a paper lemur that travels around the room. The class gets to find her during morning meeting ( if they haven’t started looking already). We have named her Lucy the lemur. One day a classmate said that Lucy looks like a raccoon and that led to the discussion.

What makes them similar? What are the differences? Here are some pictures from that investigation and what we did to figure out why Lucy the Lemur isn’t a raccoon.

Ms. Heather showed us with a tape measurer the average size of a lemur and that of a raccoon. We got to draw pictures of both.

She also brought weights so we could feel how heavy they are. The weights were passed around in morning meeting and the drawings were done during free play.

Ms. Heather also found some facts about where they live as well what they eat. We all learned something new and had fun investigating what makes them similar and what are their differences.

We learned that while lemurs and raccoons have some similar features that they are not the same animal.

📚🖍️Starting a New (School) Year 🖍️📚

It is already September and this school year has been a time of learning and exploration; from the new class schedule to small groups and our new outdoor environment. We have had fun every day learning and growing together.

Here are a few photos of the year thus far:

We love our new patio area and we are able to run and jump and play and use all of our gross motor skills.

Inside the classroom we rotate our table activities and our block area items. Sometimes we have interesting ideas about how to use classroom materials.

We still get to use the big preschool yard and we really enjoy the time we get to play there! The only thing that is missing is grass and we get that when we go to the big field.

So far this year we have been twice and we are excited for future visits. We played red light, green light. We ran races (the children won most of the time) and we kicked some balls around the field. I get asked every day if today is big field day.

We have started small groups as well! In our small groups we get to explore many different subjects and learn about the world around us. Small group activities are posted in the classroom on the parent board.

So far we have accomplished so much and we look forward to the rest of the school year.

(This is Lucy the Lemur. Lucy travels all over the classroom and each morning we ask the children to find her. Feel free to help the children find Lucy as you drop off or pick up)