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All About Me

As our "All About Me" theme for September comes to a close, I thought I would fill you in on what your child has been learning about his month. We have gone through different body parts each day and talked about how God created those parts to do special things. It worked out nicely that the first bible lessons were about Creation. The kids learned over and over again "GOD LOVES ME!" and created them special and wonderful. I already mentioned we talked about our hands and made painted hand prints (they are so cute!), and our listening ears where we made music shakers. These are the other body parts we talked about:

Hands - this time talking about the importance of hand washing. I made a paper plate face mask and cut a hole for the mouth. I filled a spray bottle with water and then showed the kids what happens when we sneeze or cough without covering our mouths. The kids giggled when they got wet, but I think they really got the point! I then showed them how to properly wash their hands. They got lots of practice since I put soap, cloths and baby dolls in the water table.

They also made a really fun craft with germs: we traced around their hand to make a hand print and then your child used a stamp pad to put fingerprints all over their hand drawing. This symbolized germs on our hands and the importance of washing them well.


Teeth - We talked about how we have bacteria on our teeth that like to eat the food we have eaten so that causes holes in our teeth called cavities. We prevent cavities by brushing our teeth well. We practiced with our fingers the proper way to brush our teeth. We had real dentist x-rays and teeth molds at the science center for the children to examine and explore which was really exciting. I had also made a poster of "Tommy Tooth" that I hung on the wall. I drew Tommy on dry erase poster board with a permanent marker. The children colored on Tommy's teeth with dry erase markers and then brushed his teeth with real tooth brushes to make the marks disappear. The kids got a kick out of Tommy Tooth! Everyone took a turn drawing on his teeth and then brushing them.


Eyes - I showed the children pictures of sunsets, beautiful flowers, mountains, trees and waterfalls and we talked about how God created all these things. He also created our wonderful eyes to see all the beauty He has created. I put quite a few really cool "I Spy" books in the Library that came complete with magnifying glasses. At the art table we colored a picture of our eyes to match our actual eye color. The children also got to practice their cutting and gluing skills by cutting pictures out of magazines and gluing it into the "What Do I See?" section of the page.



Feet - God gave us feet so when can go where He calls us. "He will teach us His ways so that we may walk in His paths." Isaiah 2:3 Teaching the children about our feet tied in really well to beginning our bible teaching about Abraham. God called Abraham to a new land, so he packed up his house, his family, and all his animals and walked to the new land. We also did feet tracings and then decorated them with glitter and foamy shapes...we all have very beautiful feet. As an area of interest, the house was swapped out of our dramatic play area and I set up a Shoe Store. The children have loved trying on all the different kinds of shoes, buying and selling using a cash register and money and using the shoe polisher.



Our Bodies - Sadly I was sick this day, but Teacher Michelle said my lesson plans were a hit with the kids! They talked about how we should take care of these amazing bodies God gave us: lots of exercise and playing games with our friends, eating fruits and vegetables and healthy foods, brushing our teeth, taking a bath regularly and getting lots of sleep. They sang the song "Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes". The kids got to do an interesting science project where they stepped on the scale and weighed themselves and the teacher recorded their weight. They were also measured for how tall they were. The teacher made them guess how long they thought they were on a piece of yarn and then she measured and cut the piece of yarn to their height. Their height surprised them! I heard this center was a big hit and ALL of the kids made it through. All the results were recorded in their "All About Me" book.


Heart - Tomorrow is the last day of our theme. The perfect way to end is talking about our happy heart and how we love one another. We will also talk about (as we always do) how God loves us. They will do a craft for hiding God's word in our hearts like Deut 11:18 tells us. We are also going to do a fun activity where we paint vinegar over tissue paper heart cut outs... the results are really cool! I'll also have a heart memory game set up in the puzzle area for kids to play with one of the adults.





September has been a really fun month of learning our body parts and how amazing they are. God is such a creative God!

Father Abraham

Oh no! I got really sick with a stomach virus. Teacher Michelle is taking over today and going to do a great job. The kids are continuing with the story of Abraham.

Last week during our bible time the kids learned about Abraham. God told him to pack up his whole house and move to a new land. We talked about how there were no cars so he had to pack up all his things on camels backs. This week, we are continuing with our story about Abraham. God promised Abraham he would be "father of many" (which is what the name Abraham means) and he would have as many children as stars in the sky. That's a lot of children! For a fun movement activity the kids will sing the song "Father Abraham".



I hope I am better soon. Your children are in good hands with Teacher Michelle!

October Newsletter

Wrapping Up September
This month we have been working on the theme “All About Me”. Each class we focused on a new part of the body and how God created us so intricately. We are all so wonderfully made! We talked about our hands and how to wash them properly, our teeth, our listening ears, our wonderful eyes, our beautiful feet and how each of our body parts work together. Each class we made a new page for our “All About Me” booklet. They should be finished and sent home near the beginning of October. If your child’s booklet doesn’t have many pages (or no pages) it is because there are other centers that interest them more than the craft table  It’s a good sign that my science, water, puzzle, book, toy and house centers are full of learning and interesting things to do.

This month we have also focused on the song “Jesus Loves Me”. Your child is getting very good at singing along with us and doing the actions as well.


Focus for October
As we move into October, our new theme will be “Opposites”. We will be talking about all things opposite like up/down, on/off, black/white, yes/no, etc. It should be a very fun topic as there are lots of rhymes and songs that we will be singing. I will also be introducing a “Catch of the Day” during Circle Time. We will be focusing on one letter a week until the end of the year and talking about the sound it makes and what words start with that letter. The letter of the day will be displayed in our calendar area and we will sing rhymes for each letter. This should help children start to recognize letters of the alphabet as well as working on pre-reading skills….and of course it will also be a lot of fun!


Music with Wendy
Even though we sing many songs throughout the day which helps children to soak up learning like a sponge, we have a wonderful music teacher who has volunteered to come in and teach the children music. She has come twice in September already and will continue to come every Thursday in October (with the exception of the last Thursday). The kids are enthralled with Wendy’s teaching: they have worked on high and low sounds as well as forte (loud) and piano (soft) sounds. Wendy will also be teaching the kids songs for the Easter concert. We are so glad to have Teacher Wendy with us!


Lancelot the Lamb
I will be starting a new take-home program this month and it will run until the end of the year. I will have a stuffed lamb named Lancelot who will come equipped with a backpack, clothes and other odds and ends as well as a scrapbook. Lancelot will get to go home with one student each Thursday and spend the weekend with the child. As the parent, you get to help your child fill in their page of the scrapbook. They can dictate to you what things they’d like you to write about their time with Lancelot. They can also use the space to draw a picture or you can take a picture of them and glue it in…it’s all up to you and your child. On Tuesday, Lancelot will come back to school with your child where they will get to stand up at Circle Time and have a little show and tell to share with their classmates about the fun they had with Lancelot. I think this will become a great feature in our classroom! I will send home more information when I actually begin the program later in the month.


Hallelujah Party
With this month being October we have Halloween coming up. Being a Christian Preschool we won’t be having a Halloween party, but so as to still have fun we will be throwing a Hallelujah Party. On the last Thursday of the month October 29, the kids can come to school dressed in a costume and we will have candy, games, crafts, etc. I encourage the costumes to have some kind of bible theme or be the child’s favorite bible character, but your child can also come in any costume that is not scary or gory. Please no vampires, witches, goblins, etc. Princesses, animals, superheroes and cartoon characters are all fine. Please be considerate with your child’s costume…we don’t want to frighten any of the other children or infringe upon anyone’s beliefs. You are welcome to stay for the festivities and help your child make a craft, participate in the games and enjoy the day with them.

At 11:15am, we will have a parade of costumes for the parents. If you can come early to see your child and take pictures I’m sure they would love that.


It's going to be a great month!

Teacher Kindra

Music with Teacher Wendy

Music is so important to a child....they become little sponges when you sing songs with them or introduce them to concepts through music. Even though I sing with the kids through out the day, we have a wonderful music teacher named Wendy who has volunteered her time to come and teach the kids music. She has taught the kids twice already and we have her booked for every Thursday in October (with the exception of the last Thursday).

Wendy's classes are fun and interactive. The kids are learning about how sounds can be HIGH and sounds can be LOW and she lets them play the keys on the piano to find the high and low sounds. Through games and songs she is also teaching them FORTE (loud) and PIANO (soft) sounds. We are so happy to have Teacher Wendy with us!

Through Wendy's years of experience in teaching kids music, she is also undertaking the project of teaching our kids songs to sing for Easter as a concert at church. Her first song is "All Creatures of Our God and King" which happens to be one of my favorites. I was very excited to see that she is teaching our kids such a wonderful hymn. Here is a video of "All Creatures of Our God and King" as performed by David Crowder. The music in Wendy's version is a bit different, but all the words are the same. If you would like to listen to this song with your child or would like a copy of the music just let me know at school. The more your child listens to the song, the easier time they will have learning it. We have lots of time before Easter, but listening to the song and learning it won't hurt a bit ;)

Our Listening Ears

As part of our "All About Me" theme we talked about our ears that God created for listening. The kids told me about different things they liked to listen to with their ears. At one of our art centers I had materials set our for making Music Shakers. This was a very popular center! I had clean jars with lids, dried beans, dried chick peas, buttons, glue, stickers and foam shapes. The kids had so much fun with Miss Fran as they filled their jars with their choice of noise maker, glued the lid shut and then glued fun foam shapes on the outside to decorate. There was lots of "shake, shake, shake" sounds to be heard all over the classroom!



During Circle Time at the beginning of the day and then again at the end of the day, I brought out a toy telephone. We talked about how we use our ears to listen to the phone. The phone got passed around the circle in a song we sang called "Hey There Someone's On the Phone". It was a great way to reinforce the learning of everyone's names. Here's a video of the song if you would like to sing it with your child at home. (It's the third song on the video).

Hope you all have happy listening ears!

First Day

Our first day of preschool was a success! The children had fun getting to know one another, making hand print paintings, playing amongst the centers, singing songs and reading stories. During story time we read The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn which is a really cute story that tells children to remember their Mom and Dad love them and to take their kisses with them while they are at school. I gave each student a heart sticker in the palm of their hand just like little Chester in the story.

The song we sang together during Circle Time was "Jesus Loves Me". I plan to sing this song with the kids for the next couple week's so they can learn it really well. Here is a video of the song with actions if you would like to sing this song with your child at home.



I hope your kids were just as excited about their first day at preschool as I was :)

Circle Time

Circle Time is a great way to introduce structure into a preschoolers day. It helps them to learn the skills of sitting with their hands to themselves, listening to the teacher and interacting with one another. It allows me to greet all of the kids as well as for them to greet each other. This is the song we sing to greet everyone in the morning:




We use the calendar to learn counting, the day of the week and the month. My special helper of the day (your child's special day is the same as their snack day) points to the calendar and helps me to count. They really like being able to help. I also use Circle Time to teach the children songs and fun activities. I love being able to start our day with singing and saying hello to one another.

Orientation Newsletter

Welcome Parents and Children!

Here is some general information for your family to get the new school year started:

Separation Anxiety
Separation anxiety is typical in 3 and 4 year old behavior. Your child may express this anxiety by crying, screaming, refusing to let go of you or refusing to enter the classroom. This is a process that you and your child will need to go through together. Here are some tips to help:

• Do not leave the classroom without your child’s knowledge. This upsets the child and they panic when they discover you are gone.
• Enter the classroom with your child. Help them put on their name tag, grab a carpet and join the group in our Circle Time area. Sit with them for a moment to help them feel more at ease.
• Time is too abstract for young children to understand. Tell them something specific, such as “I will be back to pick you up at lunch time.”
• Be firm, positive and consistent. Tell your child you love them, hug and kiss and then leave the class.
• The assistants, volunteers and I are here to help support you and your family through this challenging time. Just speak to one of us if you feel your child is having a difficult day, or if you need to get to work, etc.
  

Schedule/Planning
Each month we will focus on a new theme for our fun and learning. Learning will be based on this theme in our circle time, whole group activities, and the centers. For example: This month we are learning “All About Me” and as part of that we will talk about hygiene. We will sing a song during circle time about washing our hands and do a fun group activity where we learn how to wash our hands properly. Then during center time there might be soap and cloths at the water table, various towels and “play soap” for the dolls in the house, etc.

Here is our daily schedule:

8:45-9:00 - Parents are dropping their children off and getting them ready for the day:
• Put on indoor shoes and hang up jacket
• Go to the bathroom
• Put on nametag
• Sign in
• Get a carpet and help child sit down in our designated circle time area

9:05 – Circle Time
• Pray
• Calendar, counting/letter recognition, singing songs, stories, finger plays, etc

9:15-10:00 – Center Time
• This will be free play for the children to explore and play throughout the centers with their peers, supported by the educators.

10:00-10:10 – Clean up, hand washing and bathroom check

10:10-10:15 – Story Time
• Teacher will read story while assistants set up snack

10:15-10:40 – Snack Time
• Pray
• Serve snack
• Clean up

10:45-11:10 – Gym Time/Outdoor Time
• This will be a time for children to get active through a variety of free play and structured physical activities.

11:15-11:30 – Bible Story
• Read stories from the bible along with puppet shows, finger plays and songs
• Pray

11:30 – Home Time
• Put the child’s nametag back in their basket and check if there are any newsletters
• Change children from indoor shoes to outdoor shoes
• Sign out

Attendance/Illness
Please arrive at the school no earlier than 8:45am. This ensures enough time for your child to change their shoes, hang up their coat, go to the bathroom, put on their nametag and bring your child to circle time. Please remember that my assistant and I are still setting up the classroom, so we are not able to monitor the children until 9:00am. Also remember to pick your child up at 11:30am. Children can become very sensitive to being consistently picked up late. If you are not picking up your child, I must have WRITTEN CONFIRMATION including the adults name and your signature. I will also need to see photo ID from the adult picking them up. I say adult, because I am not allowed to release children to children, even if they are siblings with your written consent.

If your child will be absent, please call the preschool phone at 892-6627 and let me know. Also please inform me of any illnesses your child has come into contact with since being enrolled at Little Lambs (this is important if a child presents with similar symptoms while under my care.) If for any reason you need to drop off early or pick up late, arrangements can be made. Just please be courteous and call me first.

Supplies
Your child’s day will be filled with lots of varying activities from the moment they arrive to the moment they leave. It is important to dress your child appropriately for the day.

Your child will need:
• Durable play clothes (that can get dirty)
• Indoor/Outdoor shoes (appropriate for activity and weather)
• Extra set of pants, socks, underwear, and shirt (you can leave these in their basket)
• Weather appropriate outdoor clothing

What your child does NOT need is:
• Super special toys that they do not want anyone else to look at, touch or play with
• Any makeup, lip gloss, nail polish, tons of hair clips
• Small toys that are similar to classroom toys or that are really easy to lose
• Gum, candy
• Extra food

At the beginning of the year, it is fine to bring an item from home that genuinely soothes them and makes them feel more comfortable. Just explain that others will not know that is their toy from home. If you are having a late morning and couldn’t feed your child breakfast, please ensure they either wait for snack time (10:15ish) or eat out in the hall. I cannot have any outdoor food coming into the classroom.

Communication
The preschool cell is 892-6627. I answer the phone on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30am-3pm. There is also voicemail if you need to leave a message. If you have email, I can be reached at: kindrabirss@hotmail.com If you have questions, concerns or something you need to know, don’t hesitate to call or email. Whenever there are notices, newsletters or any information I need to send home, I will put it in your child’s basket. Please check your child’s basket at the end of each class. I will also be setting up a blog for further information on our classes, activities, and songs. The website address is: http://littlelambslethbridge.blogspot.com/. This is a resource center for all parents of little ones in Little Lambs Preschool.

If your child has severe allergies please inform me ASAP.

Ensure all your information in your registration form is complete and current. Please ensure all emergency cards are filled out and all required information and post dated checks are on file.

I wish you and your child a wonderful year!

Sincerely,
Teacher Kindra