Grocery Store

Teacher Michelle brought in an amazing Grocery Store for the M/W/F Class. The kids loved buying groceries and putting them in the grocery carts! Teacher Michelle's husband Aaron is a manager at Save-On-Foods so he came in a did a little presentation to the kids. He brought all kinds of cool merchandise for the kids to play with like shopping bags and gift cards that the kids used like credit cards.


At the art table, Teacher Michelle had the kids cut groceries and coupons out of grocery store flyers and glue them onto shopping bags. At another table she set up her own little store and the kids got to come "buy" candy from her. She had lots of different candies set up and the children each got to choose 5 candies, pay for them and put them in their shopping bags. So cool, I bet the kids loved that!


The T/Th got to enjoy playing in the Grocery Store the next day as well since we left it set up in the dramatic play center. I know my kids REALLY loved grocery shopping! Both classes also had plastic food to wash in the water table and different grocery pictures to paint at the art easel. Such a fun day.

Fireman

We talked about fire safety in both classes for more than just the one class, but it was pretty cool in the T/Th Class when we had a real fireman come in and talk to us. Fireman Mark was so great. He wanted to show us all his gear and demonstrated on a special little helper.
He told us how his boots and pants are hooked together so he can put them on really quickly.

Then he pulls the pants up.

There are overalls with the pants and some velcro to help them stay up.

Next he puts on the jacket.

The jacket has a nice high collar to protect his neck and face.

Then the helmet goes on. Our special helper said it was really heavy by now!

He looked too cute all dressed up in the fireman gear!

Fireman Mark wanted us to all see what he looked like when HE had all his gear on so kids wouldn't be afraid of a Fireman if they were ever in a fire.

He started by putting on a protectant hood that covered his hair and neck.

He also showed us the tank of oxygen he uses to breathe. He wears it on his back like a backpack and the black thing in his hand hooks on to his mask to give him air.

Before he put on the helmet and mask he told us all that he was still the same nice Fireman Mark and the mask didn't change that. It's not a scary thing, but something that protects his face and lungs.

Some kids did get a little uneasy when he put on the mask but we kept reassuring everyone that he is nice and helps people. It was really good for the children to see that and Fireman Mark was great with them.

He even let them try and lift his big oxygen tank to see how heavy it was.
It's obviously VERY heavy and he has to carry it around on his back!


He also showed us what a smoke detector is and even what it sounds like. It's very, very loud so that we can hear it even when we are sleeping.

Thank you Fireman Mark! We loved your presentation and hope you will come back again!

Fire Safety

Even though we had one day specifically dedicated to firemen, we talked about fire safety all week long. We borrowed a firetruck from another preschool and had it set up for two weeks. The kids played, and played, and played in it...they just couldn't get enough.

We also listened to a Sesame Street song called "Stop, Drop and Roll" sung by Oscar the Grouch. We learned that if our clothes ever caught on fire we had to stop, drop and roll to put it out. The kids had fun listening to the song and rolling all over the floor :)

Both classes also enjoyed fire safety crafts. We made Smoke Detectors by cutting out the image of a smoke detector and glueing it onto a paper plate. The kids colored it and also glued on a little poem about a smoke detector. We learned how very loud they are by listening to a real smoke detector.

We also learned that charcoal is wood that has been burned and that we can draw with it. We experimented by making Charcoal Drawings. Teacher Michelle and I used white cardstock and taped a border around the edge with painters tape. The children drew with the charcoal and smudged it however they liked. It was a very fun and messy art tool to use.

When the drawings were completed they were sprayed with a few light layers of hairspray to secure the charcoal in place and stop them from smudging anymore. Then we peeled off the tape to reveal nice crisp white borders. They are so dramatic and beautiful!

We had lots of cool books in the book corner about fire safety and firemen as well hoses and firemen gloves in the water table with foam flames floating. We had a really great time learning about fire safety.

Remembrance Day

For Remembrance Day, the kids made beautiful white crosses with poppies on them.

The M/W/F class practiced their scissor skills and cut out both the cross and the red poppy and then glued the poppy in the center.

The T/Th Class took small red hearts and glued 4 of them in the middle of a cross to make a poppy.

Thank you to all the soldiers who fought and died for our freedom.

Hair Salon

The teachers and volunteers enjoyed a day of pampering on our Hair Salon Day.

When Teacher Michelle and I set up the hair salon, we had no idea it was going to be such a HIT even with the boys.

No one was exempt from our day of beauty....not even Pastor Nathan!

Teacher Michelle brought a wonderfully funny book by Robert Munsch called Stephanie's Ponytail. We both read it to our classes at the end of the day Circle Time and the kids laughed so hard....especially when Teacher Michelle put her own hair in the ponytail coming right out the top of her forehead just like in the book!

We all enjoyed our day of hair and pampering :)

Construction

I apologize for the sporadic posting...my husband and I bought our first house and life has been a little crazy! I'm going to try and get as many posts in as I can before we lose our internet in the old house and get it hooked up in the new house :)

After we kicked off the Community Helper theme with Police and Safety we moved onto a Construction worker. Teacher Michelle and I set up the dramatic play area with construction work benches, plastic hammers, screws, drills, wrenches, tool belts and hard hats. It was so cute to watch the kids hammer and build things.

The M/W/F Class was lucky enough to run into a real construction worker the class before on their safety walk. Some carpenter's had come to the church to install the beautiful new stained glass window and the children got to see a real tool belt and what all the tools are used for. The T/Th Class was graced with me (Teacher Kindra) dressed up at Circle Time as a construction worker. My husband lent me a hard hat and well used (ie dirty) tool belt from his own construction site. The kids were shocked when they showed up at school to see me all dressed up! I showed them all my tools and we talked about what each one is used for.

As an art project, both classes did some texture rubbings. My husband had given me a rough piece of plywood from a job site and we placed light blue colored paper on top. The kids used dark blue crayon to rub over the paper to reveal the wonderful plywood texture underneath. We also did the same things with sandpaper. The blue rubbings became the background sky for our community pictures.

Both classes did lots of building with blocks, the construction bench and even popsicle sticks and playdough at one of the art tables. The kids had a really great time with our day of construction.

Police & Traffic Safety

To start our Community Helper theme we began by talking about Policemen and Traffic Safety. The Tues/Thurs Class was blessed to have Constable Stodolka come and talk to us during Circle Time. He showed us his policeman belt and the different tools and gadgets he uses like handcuffs, a gun, bullets, writing pad, and gloves. The kids even got to see Teacher Kindra with handcuffs! They thought that was pretty funny :)

During Centers both classes made stop signs by painting an octagonal piece of wood red. When they dried, Teacher Kindra and Teacher Michelle wrote "stop" on them and taped a popsicle stick to the back. This activity could also be done with octagonal shaped paper or cardboard, we were just lucky enough to have some wood precut.

Both classes also made Police badges. Teacher Kindra cut a badge shape out of cardboard and tore up some tinfoil. The children glued the pieces of tinfoil onto the badge and wrapped it around the edges to make a silver badge. The teachers wrote Police on the front so the children had their very own Police badges...they thought that was pretty cool.

During gym time, both classes enjoyed a "Safety Walk" around the school neighborhood. This gave us a chance to walk to the 4-Way Stop and talk about a Stop sign and see how it works. We looked both ways to see if cars were coming before crossing the street.

The Mon/Wed/Fri Class learned a song called "Twinkle Twinkle Traffic Light".

Twinkle twinkle traffic light
Standing on the corner bright
When it's green it's time to go
When it's red it's stop you know
Twinkle twinkle traffic light
Standing on the corner bright

This class also enjoyed making traffic lights that they painted Red, Yellow, and Green and they sprinkled with sparkles so they shone. They look so great!

During story time both classes enjoyed a really cool book called "What to do in an Emergency". It has a little phone key pad built into the book. When you press "911" it talks to you!

Learning about policeman and safety, we got off to a really great start with our community helpers month!

November Newsletter - T/Th

Hello Parents and Caregivers,

Here's our newsletter for November:

Community Helpers
It’s going to be a fun and exciting month focusing on community helpers. We’ll have some in-class field trips where a Policeman and a Fireman will come and talk to the children and show them their uniforms, tools and talk a bit about safety. Check the calendar in the side bar to find out what occupations are scheduled. If you would like to come in and do a little 10-15 minute presentation to the children about your occupation please let me know.


Bible Teaching
We have such a wonderful church community around us. Both Pastor Brown and Pastor Nathan are volunteering their time to teach our children. Once a month the children are invited into the sanctuary where Pastor Brown does a little chapel talk with them, prays with them and sing songs for worship. We also have Pastor Nathan visit our classroom once a week to tell our bible story with an incredible felt board. We are so lucky to have these anointed men share with us regularly.

Catch of the Day
The month of October was so busy with Fall festivities I decided to postpone beginning our “Catch of the Day” until November. This will be an addition to our morning Circle Time routine where each week we focus on a letter of the alphabet, the sound it makes and what things start with that letter. On your child’s special day, not only will they help with calendar, but they will have to go fishing to find out what letter we are working on. It’s going to be a fun way to learn our pre-reading skills! Check the calendar in the sidebar to find out what letter we are focusing on each week so you can help out your child.

Nut Allergy Alert
Please be aware that we do have severe a peanut and nut allergy in the classroom. Please avoid sending any kind of snack that has peanuts or nuts in it.

Thank you all!

Sincerely,
Teacher Kindra

November Newsletter - M/W/F

Hello Parents and Caregivers!

Welcome
I am excited to take the role as teacher starting in the month of November. I look forward to working with your children and will continue to ensure a fun and positive program. I will be collaborating with Teacher Kindra (T/Th) and with my past Early Childhood Experience, we will continue to see this program grow. If you have comments or concerns, please feel free to see me at school or email me at: michelle AT dempsterdumpster DOT com.

Community Helpers
For the month of November we will be learning about Community Helpers. We will also be focusing on Fire and Police Safety. If you would like to come in and talk about your own occupation or Community Helper experience please see me. Check the calendar by clicking on the side bar to see which different community helpers we will be focusing on.

Monthly Focus
This month we will be introducing the letters of the alphabet. Please see the calendar by clicking on the sidebar to see the letter of the week. We will also be learning about the days of the week as well as talking about the weather. We will be starting a Bookpack program where you will be able to enjoy reading with your child and let them draw about it. Have fun with it!

Bible Study
We are blessed to have Sanctuary with Pastor Brown once a month where he does a chapel talk, song and prayer. We are also blessed to see Pastor Nahan for Bible story once a week where he uses a flannel board to tell us our weekly story. Thank you to them for providing a wonderful church experience.

Snack Alert
Please note that we have a child who has a severe peanut and nut allergy. Be aware and avoid sending any snacks that may contain peanuts or nuts.

Sincerely,
Teacher Michelle

Hallelujah Party

Our Hallelujah Party was a huge success! Thank you to everyone who came and helped out and volunteered in our classroom. Our whole classroom and gym was divided into 8 different centers: we had crafts to make jack o' lanterns, decorate the inside of a pumpkin with yellow string and pumpkin seeds and decorate a treat bag. The water table was filled with "Pumpkin Soup" (orange water, foam pieces, string, ladle, pots and cups), there was a snack center for making pretzel spiders, pumpkin puzzles and a spider jumping game at the puzzle table, a story about how a pumpkin becoming a jack o' lantern is like God picking us, transforming us and throwing away our bad stuff so we can shine His love, and a bunch of pumpkin related games in the gym. The kids had so much fun!

Thanks again to everyone who made this such a special day for us.

Outrageous Opposites in October

I fell behind with updating our classroom blog, so bare with me as I do a bit of catch up. Here's how we finished out our Opposite October:

Big & Small/Black & White - The children were really good at giving me examples of what things are really big, and what things are really small. We also learned "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and a new verse to the song, The Big Big Spider.

At the art table we did two really fun crafts. The first was making spiders out of egg carton cups.

The second was making beautiful black and white splatter paintings using chip can tubes. We rolled up a sheet of white paper and put it inside the tube. We squeezed a little bit of black paint into the tube, dropped in a bouncy ball, put on the lid and shook the tube. The ball picks up the paint and splatters it all over the paper in a beautiful pattern.





The results were so striking!

Rough & Smooth - We talked about how something feels when it is rough and when it is smooth. We felt different examples of these textures and made textured trees to illustrate it:

I had brown tree trunks cut out along with leaves cut from many different materials - sandpaper, kitchen scrubby pads, plastic, shiny wrapping paper, flannel, tissue paper and cardstock. The kids got to glue the colorful textured leaves onto their tree and feel the textures as they worked.





Loud & Quiet - Circle time was noisy as we showed each other what LOUD meant, and then we whispered to show quiet. I read a story called "The Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything". This is an interactive book allowing the children to make noises, claps and swishes and the children told me which noises were loud and which ones were quiet. It also gave me a chance to talk to the children about Halloween coming up and why we shouldn't be afraid and scared of the things we might see. At centers, the children made music shakers:

I had a variety of jars and plastic containers and each child filled one with beans to make a shaker that was LOUD when we shook it, and they filled one with pom poms and Styrofoam pieces to make shakers that are QUIET when we shook them. We taped the lids on and the children decorated their shaker with stickers. Music shakers always go over well in our class :)

We had a funeral that day, so we couldn't go outside or to the gym for gym time. Instead the children got a bit of a treat and we watched a Veggie Tale movie for 15 minutes. It seemed fitting that we watched "Where's God When I'm S-scared?" It gave us another opportunity to talk about things that might scare us at Halloween (or anytime) but to remember that God is bigger than anything else.

Up & Down/Hot & Cold - We had a day filled with many different opposites. We learned the rhyme Jack & Jill and talked about UP and DOWN. The children really enjoyed this rhyme:

Jack and Jill went up the hill (point up)
to fetch a pail of water (touch 3 fingers to your lips making the w sign)
Jack fell down (point down)
and broke his crown (grab your head)
and Jill came tumbling after (roll your arms over each other)

The science center had a large pumpkin, some yarn and a scale. The children guessed how much they thought the pumpkin would weigh and how big around it was. They then measured it around with some yarn and we weighed the pumpkin on the scale to find out what it actually measured. We liked guessing.

The water table had a tub with really warm water, and a tub with really cold water for a sensory experience.

Gym time was fun as we did opposite actions: we'd run really FAST and then SLOW. We got ON the benches and then OFF. We stood up HIGH on our tippy toes and then crouched down LOW into a ball. The children really liked the action game and even gave me some opposites to call out.


We had a fun and busy month as we talked about Opposites, Thanksgiving and finished off with our Hallelujah Party.