Grace Garden Preschool

The energy and excitement of the holidays could be felt in our room this week.  Thanksgiving was long forgotten and Christmas was the new topic.  Getting into our theme of "Winter Holidays" was easy.  The Dragonflies were introduced to two new holidays, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah.  We had fun counting the candles that represent these celebrations.  Our bookshelf had books that showed us more about these special times in December.  Our Sensory Table transformed into a winter wonderland.  The children had a blast driving their cars and trucks through snow created by foam.  We changed up the driving conditions by adding ice and sand.  The season of winter was seen in our art projects: new placemats, snowflakes and a snow scene with trees.  We will use the snow scene in a book we're making for the holidays. 

For our Special Areas this week:

Garden:  We took a train ride in our wagon to see the whole bed.  Our mint plants are coming back after the hot summer.  The basil plant is still growing.  Our squash plant has several blossoms.  We are eager to see the squash.  The Ladybug's radish plants are thriving.  Ms. Kym pointed out the lovely Passion Ivy that is wrapping around the fence.  We can't wait to see the purple flowers in spring.

Chapel:  Was canceled due to an event at St. John's Church.  Ms. Jessica read a Bible story from a special book given to her by her grandparent's when she was a little girl.  Then we sang some of our favorite songs.  We also said a prayer for Pastor Amy.  She has just recently had surgery and will return in January.

Music:  Ms. S. used our theme and found some fun songs for Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Christmas.  We look forward to the visuals she makes to go with the songs.  She is truly a gifted artist.

Julie and Will, thank you for the delicious snacks.

Next week our unit is, "Christmas Around the World." 

Another book we read this week was Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney.  It's a great story about this busy time of the year and the stress we can all feel.  The antidote for this condition is cuddling with our Mama.  So remember to cuddle your little Dragonflies even more in the weeks ahead.

Take a deep breath,
Ms. Mary and Ms. Jessica