Grace Garden Preschool

5..4..3..2..1..Blast off!  The Dragonflies launched their homemade rockets yesterday on the playground.  They practiced in the classroom to make sure that they worked. The children also made star telescopes.  It was fun to see their faces after they created their stars.  Our Sensory Table had purple glitter sand with astronauts and other space items.  Our Play-Doh Center turned clay into space creatures with lots of eyes and pipe cleaner arms.  In our Art Center the easel had a space alien to be painted.  The children chose the color of paint and how many eyes they wanted on their alien.  Today we dressed up as an astronaut and moon walked on large sponges.  The Dragonflies did a good job keeping their balance.  Our last space activity was gluing Cheerios on our moon cutout for craters.  It was a big temptation to eat them!  

Our Special Areas this week:

Garden:  The tomatoes are bigger but still green.  We have more flower seeds sprouting.  The summer sessions should have some flowers to water.

Chapel:  Pastor Amy retold the parable of the mustard seed.  She recruited several students to help add birds to her visual display.

Music:  Ms. S. played our favorite alien counting song.  We enjoyed singing our other favorites, too.

Pre-K Graduation:  Please join us this Saturday, the 19th, to see our Caterpillars get their wings.  It's a memorable occasion.

Water Day:  Next Wednesday, the 23rd we'll celebrate summer with water!  Please send your student in his/her bathing suit and water shoes, as well as a towel.  Later we will change into dry clothes that you will provide in their backpacks or bag.  

A big thank you for supporting our Garden Party fundraiser.  Your children will be excited by all the new items that will be added to their play area. 

Next week our Unit of Play will be all about Summer.

Get ready for the heat!
Ms. Mary and Ms. Jessica

"I love you right up to the moon," he said, and closed his eyes.  This is from Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney.  That sentence contains the topic for our classroom this week, as we combined Space and Mother's Day.  The Dragonflies were excited as they worked on their Mother's Day projects.  They really enjoyed the one that included their mommas.  (It was fun to see their moms hands covered in paint.)  We shared all our handmade goodies at our Tea Party today.  We also spent some time exploring Outer Space.  Our Sensory Table helped set up the mood with our "moon sand" and space items.  The excitement of playing in flour was evident by their clothes.  They all looked like powdered doughnuts when they were finished.  We learned the nursery rhyme, "Hey, Diddle, Diddle".  To go along with this rhyme we made a cow stick puppet.  One of our favorite things is counting down and blasting off in our rocket ships.  We look forward to more space adventures next week.

For our Special Areas this week:

Garden:  We had a chance yesterday to check on our tomato plant.  We now have three small green tomatoes growing.  Our flower seedlings are starting to sprout.  All this rain is helping our garden.

Chapel:  Pastor Amy talked about curiosity and how that leads us to discovering new things, such as space exploration.  She did a wonderful visualization showing the different sizes of the Earth and Sun.

Music:  We sang some of our favorites such as "Jesus Loves Me", "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and some songs about mothers.

Upcoming Event:  Garden Party this Saturday the 12th from 5-7pm.  Please join us for this fundraising event geared towards renewing our playground area and equipment.  Bring your family, a picnic dinner and a blanket and come to enjoy the home baked goodies AND music by Joe McDermott! 

Thanks to Julie and Will for the delicious smoothies.  They were a class hit.

We would like to thank you for the beautiful bouquet of flowers for Teacher Appreciation Week.  What a great surprise!

We wish all the Dragonfly moms a wonderful Mother's Day.
Ms. Mary and Ms. Jessica

For all our "water babies" this week's Unit on the Ocean was a dream come true.  They got to explore sea creatures in our water tables both inside the classroom and outside, too.  Our Sensory Table was turned into a pond with fishing poles and fish.  We created fish and small sea plants out of play-doh.  The Dragonflies had fun choosing a color for the large fish they painted on the easel.  Glitter was added to make them shiny.  Our Tuesday art project was sponge painting around a dolphin cutout.  The children were delighted to see another dolphin underneath.  Yesterday we painted seashells, then sprinkled sand on top of them.  Today's project was making a starfish using Cheerios.  It was difficult for the children not to eat this project.  Please enjoy reading together their book about Oceans.  They did a good job following directions and coloring while making this book.  In Circle we learned, "Five Little Seashells" and an ocean movement song.  The letter O was highlighted this week.

For our Special Areas this week:

Garden:  The Dragonflies were thrilled to find one tiny green tomato.  We also observed the leaves that are being munched on by bugs.  Yesterday it was our turn to water the garden.  Our flower seeds are starting to sprout.

Chapel:  Pastor Amy let the Dragonflies pick out a seashell from a plastic container.  They enjoyed looking at the different kinds of shells. She also reminded us that God’s love is larger than the ocean.   Later we sang a thankful song about three sea animals suggested by the Caterpillars.

Music:  We sang some of our favorite songs such as "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star".  Then Ms. S taught us some new songs to go with our Unit.

Upcoming Event:  Garden Party on May 12th from 5 to 7pm.
Remember:  Parent Conferences next Monday, May 7th.
Thanks:  Jessica and Merrill for the big bunch of bananas.
Next Unit:  Solar System/Mother's Day

Enjoy your "water babies",
Ms. Mary and Ms. Jessica

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle were part of our lesson this week, as well as gaining an   appreciation for our planet Earth.  It's amazing how quickly the children grasp new information.  The Dragonflies were eager to paint their own Earths on the easel. Our Sensory Table had trays of small bears that were sorted into egg cartons, slid through paper towel rolls, and finally put into small plastic containers, which were all used to illustrate one of our three “R’s”. Another activity was cleaning up trash on the playground and the Dragonflies took this job very seriously.  They then received an award for taking care of our planet.  We read some great books on how to take care of the Earth and learned some fun songs about recycling.  We even played "Ring Around the Earth" as each child stood in the middle on a large cutout of the Earth.  Our hope is that they continue to learn and take care of our precious planet.

For our Special Areas this week:

Garden:  We planted flower seeds called Four O' Clock.  They are supposed to be drought resistant flowers.  We also watered our tomato plant, which is flourishing!

Chapel:  Pastor Amy led us through a dramatization of taking care of our planet.  After she trashed the altar, we got into our ‘rocket ships’ to look for another place to live.  We saw other planets with our telescopes but we couldn't live on them.  So, we returned home to Earth to clean it up and take care of it.

Music:  Ms. S surprised us with kazoos made from toilet paper rolls.  She also made some drums from recycled containers.  We then made music with our recycled goods!

Upcoming Event:  We hope you will join Grace Garden's teachers on the playground on Saturday, May 12, from 5 to 7 p.m. for our Garden Party fundraiser! Joe McDermott is performing, and the teachers will be baking their favorite treats to delight your families. We hope you will pack a picnic dinner and come enjoy each other, while considering a donation to new playground equipment.

Thank you to Karen and Ava for the snacks.  The strawberries and other goodies were delicious.

Our upcoming Unit will be Oceans.  This will be a fun one for all our "water babies".

Let's all take care of our planet,
Ms. Mary and Ms. Jessica

"Oh! Mister Sun, Sun, Mister Golden Sun” was our theme song for this week’s unit on weather. The Dragonflies painted large suns with faces on them. We turned our Sensory Table into a weather maker and created rain. We even experimented with “snow” that we created ourselves.  The children made raindrops from Play-doh then placed them on numbered clouds.  For gross motor practice, we threw raindrop bean bags into a box. The Dragonflies practiced fine-motor skills by dropping raindrops – all adorned with words starting with the letter “r” into a cloud box.  On Thursday, we finished our kites and made a weather wheel, which they took home.

For our Special Areas this week:

Garden:  We placed a cage donated by Maya's family around our growing tomato plant. The children cleaned up the bed and pulled up the brown plants.  Then the watering cans were put to good use.  Later we even cleaned out the bin that holds the gardening equipment.

Chapel:  Pastor Paul entertained us this week with his singing and storytelling.  The children were in the palm of his hands.  He shared the story about Jesus and his friends in a boat on a stormy sea.  It was a blessed moment for us all.

Music:  Ms. S started our time together with a favorite, "Good Morning to You".  The Dragonflies have learned the hand motions and they all participate.  We sang some more favorites and learned a new weather song along with a fun finger play called "Here is the Bee Hive, Where are the Bees?"

Upcoming Event:  May 12th from 5 to 7pm, the school will be hosting a Garden Party. This is a fundraiser to raise money for new playground items.  Please look for the posters and more info next week.

Thank you to Shannon and Eli for the snacks.  The Teddy Grahams were a big hit!
Next week our Unit will be Earth Day and the Three R's.

Let the sun shine on you,
Ms. Mary and Ms. Jessica

"Red light! Green light!", has been a popular game with the Dragonflies.  We even added the yellow light to learn the concept of slowing down before stopping. This game helps the children learn to regulate their bodies.  That's not an easy thing to do when you're three years old!  They have all improved in controlling their behavior over the course of the school year.  For our Unit on Transportation we painted a large traffic signal on the easel.  We had new toys in the classroom, such as the airport and car table. These were a big hit!  The children had the chance to play a math game with a vehicle carrier.  The transportation flannel pieces were transformed into adventure scenes.  We also painted on a large piece of paper with the wheels of a large truck and a fire truck.  It was fun to see their faces as they made tire tracks.  Some of the Dragonflies could have spent the entire day making tire tracks.  Our Sensory Table was filled with water so we could sail our homemade boats.  A book on Transportation will be finished next week.  This book has many modes of transportation that have been displayed on our walls.  The Dragonflies also learned a new song, "Twinkle, Twinkle Traffic Light".  We will use this song to help us remember how to regulate the engines inside of us (a good skill for all of us).

For our Special Areas this week:

Garden:  We checked on our tomato plant.  It is thriving and we have a couple of flowers on it.  The children are eager to see tomatoes.  Some of the children watered the bed and a few raked the granite stone areas.

Chapel:  Pastor Amy led us through a visualization activity about being in a boat with Jesus.  We were going to a calmer and peaceful place.  Many of the children closed their eyes and tried it.

Music:  We sang some classics such as "Row, Row, Row your Boat",  "The Wheels on the Bus" and “Down By the Station”.

Thanks to Leslie and Jillian for the yummy snacks.

A BIG hug to you all for my birthday surprise.  I am very grateful for the gift card to Mandola's.  I look forward to using it this weekend.

Coming up next week is our Unit on Weather.  We have been blessed with some gorgeous days.

Go enjoy some sunshine!
Ms. Mary and Ms. Jessica

We hopped so much this week that the Dragonflies turned into bunnies!  You can see this magical transformation for yourself in our hallway.  Music to inspire us this week was by the Veggie Tales and their Easter CD.  The children had fun playing with the different Easter toys and games.  Our Sensory Table was filled with eggs and egg holders made from paper towel rolls.  On Tuesday we had the numbers from 1-12 on the egg holders.  Wednesday and Thursday had letters of the alphabet on the holders.  Inside the eggs were small items to match with a letter.  In Circle Time we learned bunny songs and finger plays.  Our story time centered on the Knuffle bunny books by Mo Willems.  These books thoroughly entertained our class, so we made our own Knuffle bunny in a washer.  Today we finished decorating our bags for the Easter egg hunt. The big lesson today will be sharing the eggs equally.  We might need your help explaining why we did this.  I know your "little bunnies" will enjoy their bag of goodies and this special weekend.

In our Special Areas this week:

Garden:  Our tomato plant almost doubled in size.  Our pansies are still blooming.  The watering cans were put to good use, but the best part was getting misted by the hose.  It was a good way to cool down after our work.

Chapel:  The visual this week was a centerpiece made with one large candle.  Around this candle were small candles representing each class at Grace Garden and Pastor Amy.  She lit the big one and then continued to light the others.  It represented how we share our "light" with each other.

Music:  We learned an Easter favorite, "Little Bunny Foo Foo".  They will be singing this one all weekend.

Thank you to Macey and Maya for the delicious snacks.  The Dragonflies made a thank you card for them for sharing their butterflies with us.  It was an amazing moment for us all.

Beep! Beep! Get ready for our Unit on Transportation next week.

Have a Blessed Easter,
Ms. Mary and Ms. Jessica

The week flew by as we learned about birds.  These feathered creatures fill children with awe and wonder.  They are also fun to chase on the playground.  The children had the opportunity to play with some decorative birds in the Sensory Table.  The Dragonflies placed them in nests and fed them birdseed.  One of our art projects was making a bird from a paper plate.  These masterpieces are now displayed in the hall.    Thank you for helping your child make their bird feeders out of biscuits.  Please let us know if they make the birds happy.  Today in our Sensory Table we had ice and penguins.  We have been enjoying some books by Edel Rodriguez about a penguin called Sergio.  We read Sergio Saves the Game, and Sergio Makes a Splash. Our art project today was making a penguin out of a white paper bag.  The Dragonflies had fun waddling like penguins, too. We finished our bird stick puppets. Their favorite part was flying around the room with them.  Flying is easy for our Dragonflies, so is soaring to new heights.

Our Special Areas this week:

Garden:  We cleaned up the bed and watered the plants.  Our tomato plant has flowered.  We can hardly wait to taste the tomatoes.  We started weeding the area and finished it yesterday.  It was a surprise for Ms. Kym.  This was a great motivator for the Dragonflies.

Chapel:  Jesus on a donkey, palm branches and a crowd singing "Hosanna" was all part of the story Pastor Amy shared with us.  She washed one of our Dragonflies' feet to demonstrate Jesus serving others and being great Leader.

Music:  Ms. S reviewed songs learned earlier this year, which are some of our favorites.  

Egg Hunt:  The Dragonflies will have an Easter egg hunt next Thursday, the 5th of April.  A schedule of the class hunt is being made.  We will let you know our time slot next week.  Each child is to bring a dozen plastic eggs that have been taped shut.  They will open the eggs at home.  If you have any questions, please email us.  Thanks for your help.

Thank you Sarah and Hudson for the delicious snacks.  The smoothies were a big hit!

Next week we will prepare for Easter.

Soar to new heights too,
Ms. Mary and Ms. Jessica

I Love Bugs!, a book by Philemon Sturges started our adventure into the world of bugs.  We learned also what that exclamation point in the title means.  It was great fun hearing them say, "I love bugs!" with enthusiasm.  The fun continued as they played with large "bugs", a tree branch and sand in the Sensory Table.  Some of the Dragonflies were not enchanted by the size of these insects.  The more popular bugs were the ones that glowed in the dark.  We made a tent so they could explore more with the glowing bugs.  The children enjoyed using the bug stampers in the Play-doh Center.  Large butterflies were painted on the easel with watercolors.  Butterflies were also made by tracing their footprints and decorating them.  Their favorite part was taking off their shoes and socks.  We did a sequencing activity about the four stages of a butterfly.  They love to use scissors and glue.  Today we finished our book about bugs.  Have fun reading it together!  For some extra gross motor practice we went to the Fellowship Hall to act like different bugs.  They crawled like worms, hopped like grasshoppers, flew like butterflies, blinked like fireflies and still had plenty of energy.  But the best part of this week was being back together.  The Dragonflies were excited to see each other and get back into their routines.  They did a super job transitioning back this week, especially after the previous night of thunderstorms.  

Our Special Areas this week:

Garden:  We planted a tomato plant donated by Maya's family.  They even gave us a bag of their homemade compost.  The Dragonflies were amazed to hear that it was made from banana peels, egg shells and other vegetable scraps.  Our pansies are still flowering.  

Chapel:  Pastor Amy greeted us with her smile and guitar.  We sang some of our favorite songs.  When his disciples were afraid, Jesus reminded them about the birds around them.  They did not worry about what to eat or where to sleep.  So, we should not worry either.  We are loved from above to love each other and ourselves.

Music:  Ms. S taught us "If I Were a Butterfly" and "The Ants Go Marching."  We also did some pretending with parachute play.  The parachute was our big net and we were catching bugs with it!  

Snacks this week were provide Julie and Will.  The veggie straws and Greek yogurt were a new treat.

Our Unit next week will be about birds.  We are working our way up the food chain.


Welcome back,
Ms. Mary and Ms. Jessica

Spring officially begins on March 20th but "Spring fever" has already hit our classroom.  The Dragonflies were eager to learn about the beauty of Spring.  We had our farm set in the Sensory Table to help us talk about baby animals.  Our Flannel Board Center had baby ducks and number pieces.  We used it to aid in our singing of, "Five Little Ducks".  The Play-Doh Center had green clay and shamrock cutters.  On the easel they painted large green three leaf clovers.  For Circle Time this week we talked about baby animals, Spring colors and leprechauns. We read three more Dr. Seuss books to complete our hat poster.  Our art project on Tuesday was the painting of Spring trees.  They had fun squirting the paint on their trees.  We then covered the trees with wax paper and rubbed.  The children were excited by the results.  Yesterday we read the book, It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw.  We then created our own "cloud" paintings.  It was interesting to hear what they thought their cloud shapes looked like.  Today we finished up our C pocket activity from last week.  Our art/math project today was fingerprint painting a Spring story strip.  The Dragonflies learned more about Spring and are ready for Spring break.

Our Special Areas this week:

Garden:  We watered our pansies and other plants in the garden.  The watering cans are always a big hit with the children.

Chapel:  Spring and new beginnings were part of the message for us.  Pastor Amy also talked about forgiveness being a part of renewal.  Her childhood story of taking a friend's doll had all of their attention.

Music:  Ms. S. prepared us for Spring with a new flower song.  The Dragonflies also enjoyed some of their favorite previously learned music.

Celebrations:  Today the Dragonflies had popcorn to celebrate successful toilet training.  Yeah! 

Thank you Merrill for the snacks.

Our Unit when we return on the 20th will be Insects/Birds. 

Have a fun and safe Spring break,
Ms. Mary and Ms. Jessica