Grace Garden Preschool

Dear Busy Bee Families,

What a friendly week we have had!  Our question of the week was: How can you be a good friend? The children had amazing responses, such as "taking turns," "saying no thank you instead of yelling" and "giving hugs."  We had a great Valentine’s Day with our yummy Red Lunch.  Afterward the children were able to match their friends’ names with their valentine cards. We also enjoyed using heart cookie cutters with play-doh. Many of the children were making “cookies” to give to their friends.  On Wednesday, we created a friendship quilt that we decorated with shapes and compliments.  It is wonderful to witness the love they have for each other. Thursday, we were delighted to welcome back Ms. Andrea and we enjoyed the day making a friendship tree with our painted handprints. Since we had a few sick friends last week, we talked a lot about germs.  We discussed how to stay healthy by washing our hands and covering our sneezes.

Pastor Amy helped us continue the theme of love during our chapel time. She taught us that we can wear invisible clothing of kindness, just as Paul wrote in one of his letters. We "tried on" these invisible socks, shirts, and pants of kindness and sang a new song about love.

In music we sang about love and friendship. Mrs. S even wrote our own song about our friends to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star:"

We love our friends, they are so neat
When they come over, it’s such a treat!

Next week, we will be covering a new unit on dental health. We can’t wait to talk to your little ones about keeping their beautiful smiles nice and clean.  As always, if you have any questions please let us know. Thank you for sharing your precious child with us!

Have a restful weekend,
Ms. Andrea & Ms. Melissa

Love was in the air this week in the Busy Bee room! We talked about how special Valentine's Day is and what it means. The children agreed with each other that it was all about love. Love for moms and dads, brothers and sisters, friends and even our pets. We shared how we show love for one another, such as, reading together and giving hugs. On Tuesday we made a special hand print valentine and decorated a picture frame with hearts. On Wednesday the kids had fun water coloring with an eyedropper to make the petals of a flower bouquet. Some had the patience for the slow process and others moved on to another center after a few tries at it. On Thursday their little hands had a workout trying to put beads on a pipe cleaner as we made friendship bracelets to give to our special friends in class. This was a great activity for honing fine motor skills. 

We visited our garden this week and started to see some growth! We even pulled two radishes, roots and all. The children were amazed at how long the roots were and how the roots "fed" the vegetable.

This week in Chapel Pastor Amy talked about love. She illustrated to the children that you can be big and strong, powerful and generous; however, none of these things are important without love in your heart.  She read the story of Paul's letter to the Corinthians with the emphasis on verse I Corinthians 13:3. 

As always, Ms. S engaged the Bees with dancing fun during music time. We sang all about the love that is shared with our families and friends on Valentine's Day!

Next week we will continue sharing our love and friendship with each other. We will exchange valentine cards and enjoy our Red Lunch on Tuesday. Also, please be sure to send your little one dressed appropriately for the cold weather. They love the fresh air and we go outside as much as possible in the mornings when it is most chilly. As always, if you have any concerns or suggestions don't hesitate to let us know.

Thank you for sharing your child with us each week,
Ms. Andrea & Ms. Melissa

The dinosaurs roamed through our room again this week! The Busy Bees had so much fun learning more interesting and exciting facts about these prehistoric creatures. On Tuesday they chose their favorite dinosaur and made a fossil print necklace. Their favorite part was mixing the plaster together and getting their little hands dirty. We also did some painting with glitter.  The Bees loved seeing the glitter shimmer through once it was dried. On Wednesday we worked on our matching skills with a worksheet as well as an alphabet board in our writing center. The Bees also put together a dinoaur from horn to tail using nothing but colorful shapes. They were quick to recognize each and every shape!

This week in our sensory table the Bees were archaeologists, digging for fossils in sand using brushes and spoons! Through our story time we have learned how the dinosaurs lived, whether they were carnivores or herbaivores, and how they protected themselves. We've started talking about the parts of a book, for example the spine and the title page. Ask your child what part the author and illustrator have in the book. The Busy Bees have been loving every minute of story time!

In chapel, Pastor Amy taught us that everyone and everything has a special gift, even the dinosaurs. For example, the Triceratops' gift was his three horns, maybe used to keep himself safe from other dinosaurs. She talked to the children about two great gifts they have, which are Love and Words. She reminded us how  love makes us feel special and how important it is to use our words to show our love with our friends and family.

The Busy Bees always look forward to music time with Ms. S. She had our bodies moving and our voices singing along to great dinosaur songs. The children also love to hear old favorites, like The Silly Apple song.

We had a dinosaur fun-filled week! Thank you for sharing your precious children with us. It is truly a blessing to watch them grow and learn. If you have any questions or concerns please let us know.

May you have a restful weekend!
Ms. Andrea and Ms. Melissa

This week we have been discussing a favorite topic - Dinosaurs! The Bees can't seem to get enough information about these amazing prehistoric creatures. On Tuesday we enjoyed making dinosaur fossils by tracing dinosaur bones in Elmer's glue. We also had a great time making dinosaur prints in Play Doh with the many plastic dinosaurs we have around the room. On Wednesday we made dinosaurs hatch out of an egg and then did a  counting worksheet that helped us with our matching skills. On Thursday the children painted their Elmer's glue fossils white to look like the real deal. We completed another matching worksheet that challenged them to match the fronts and backs of different dinosaurs together. They did a great job! 

This week in the sensory table we have rice, funnels and cups, and of course, dinosaurs. We stretched out a tape measure to see how big some of the dinosaurs were and stood next to it to get an idea of just how large these creatures would have been standing next to us. We also enjoyed some very informative and creative books on dinosaurs. The list of names of the types of dinosaurs seems endless!

In gardening we watered our bean plants that were planted last week, and then put them in a spot where they would get rained on. The storm we had on Tuesday night watered them well and was a big topic of conversation on Wednesday. (The Bees learned that even teachers can be a little scared of loud thunder!)

In chapel on Wednesday, Pastor Amy taught us a lovely lesson about the 7 days of creation. She used beautiful oil paintings to signify light, water, and the living things on Earth.  She talked to us about how it is important to take time to rest and reflect on what a wonder this world is, as well as all of the things in it - even dinosaurs!

In music on Thursday, Ms. S had the perfect dinosaur songs for us to sing and they were very action oriented. 

We have had a great week!  We can see a lot of growth starting to happen in this class as your children are playing and learning.  Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Have a great weekend!
Ms. Andrea and Ms.Melissa

This week we continued learning about community helpers. We focused on firefighters, doctors, nurses, and teachers. On Tuesday we made firetrucks with ladders that actually move up and down! We also talked about stop, drop and roll. We practiced this over and over again outside! Speaking of outside, the weather on Tuesday was so spring-like we stayed out to do some extra gardening (we planted some beans) and then remained outside for our picnic snack. On Wednesday we talked about doctors and nurses. We had a box full of real items that come from a doctor's office such as tongue depressors, surgical masks, empty bottles of medicine, and bandages. The kids had a great time guessing what these items were for and then used them to play with during center time. They had a great time putting bandages on baby dolls, stuffed animals and each other. We also made doctor dolls complete with a white coat. On Thursday we talked about teachers and how we are all teachers at different times. We then learned how to make one color out of mixing two different colors. Orange was the most popular! 

We enjoyed reading many books this week.  A couple of our favorites were The Fire Station by Robert Munsch and Ms Bindergarten Celebrates the Last Day of Kindergarten by Joseph Slate. The kids love any books written by Robert Munsch. The repetition of his words guide the children to begin reading out loud on their own. 

Wednesday in chapel Pastor Amy talked to us about communities, helping each other within a community and why this is so important. We learned that we can make a community anywhere there are people and that helping one another makes us feel good. What a great lesson to learn no matter how old you are.

Thursday in music Mrs. S had some great songs about community helpers.  An old Sesame Street favorite was "The People in Our Neighborhood."  Do you remember that song?   

It was a great week! Next week we will begin our unit on Dinosaurs. This unit is a favorite among the kids.

Have a wonderful weekend,
Ms. Andrea and Ms. Melissa

Our first week back after Christmas break has been terrific! We had a great time being together. On Tuesday we eased back in to school with some simple crafts and a lot of laughter. The Bees enjoyed some new toys in the classroom as well as some familiar ones.  

This week our theme was Community Helpers and we talked about mail carriers, bakers and police officers. They colored a picture that they put in an envelope to be mailed home to them.  They all attempted to write their names on the envelope and then sealed them shut and stuck on a stamp. They made letter carrier bags, as well, and then we were lucky enough to see the neighborhood mailman delivering mail while we were playing outside.  On Wednesday we talked about bakers and had some fun in the sensory table with flour, cinnamon and mixing bowls.  We made chef/baker hats and menus to play restaurant in the classroom. The children were very clever in coming up with names for their restaurants! They carefully chose and then glued pictures of the different types of foods they would serve. They put them to use right away in our kitchen center! On Thursday we continued our discussion of bakers and made mini pizzas! We also talked about policeman and why they are our friends and why they are so important to our communities. The kids had a great time making and wearing police badges. 

We took a break from Chapel this week in order to have a little more outside play time and to make coming back to school an easier transition. We will resume Chapel with Pastor Amy next week.

Please remember to have a labeled, change of clothes in your child’s cubby. Make sure these clothes still fit and are appropriate for the cooler temperatures in the months ahead. 

We hope you enjoyed your time away.  We are so happy to see all of you and your sweet children again. We would like to thank you all so very much for our Christmas gifts!  How generous of you to treat us with gifts. It is our pleasure to teach and help nurture your children and we look forward to a wonderful second semester of school. They will grow so much during this time. Please always let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Have a wonderful weekend,
Ms. Andrea and Ms. Melissa

The Busy Bees were all about Christmas this week! Tuesday we had a great time getting our little hands painted and making hand prints ornaments as a keepsake. It's always nice to hang this ornament and see how much your child grows each year.  You can look back on these early years fondly. We also made some jingle bells to use with our favorite Christmas carol – “Jingle Bells".

The children had a great time with the sensory table this week. We had a small Christmas tree with ornaments that kept everyone busy for a while. They enjoyed decorating the tree but also sorting the ornaments in to different categories. There was definitely a lot of Christmas spirit in our room!

On Wednesday we made Santa faces complete with white fluffy beards and we enjoyed hanging them up in the room. They made us happy all day long! We also made a paper Christmas tree, decorated ornaments and hung these on the tree. Wednesday in chapel we heard the story of Baby Jesus. Most of the kids were familiar with this story but were so excited to hear it again. On Thursday we had so much fun in music singing Christmas songs.  What a week!

All week long we enjoyed some beautiful Christmas stories. We read about what Santa must be doing to get himself all ready for his big trip. We talked about the magic of Christmas and the wonderful feelings that we feel all through this special holiday. We ended the week with “Twas the Night Before Christmas.” A true classic.

We topped the week off caroling to all the classrooms. We took our jingle bells with us and showed off our singing skills. Lots of fun!

We hope you enjoy your time away from school and will be wishing you a very merry Christmas!

Take care,
Ms. Andrea and Ms. Melissa

This week the Busy Bees learned about Christmas traditions from Germany, England and Mexico. Tuesday we talked about Christmas trees and how this tradition started in Germany. Wax candles were used on these early trees for decoration. So, we made our own construction paper trees with tissue paper glued on to look like wax candles. The children all worked so hard on this! On Wednesday we talked about how the practice of sending Christmas cards started in England and then we made our own Christmas cards. They glued on a felt Christmas tree with glitter and then had free use of mixed media to decorate these however they wanted. On Thursday we discussed Christmas traditions from Mexico and made poinsettias. On our map, we put a mark on Austin to see where we live. We then put a mark on Germany, on England and lastly on Mexico so they could see how far away these places are from Austin. Many of them decided they could walk to all of these destinations and still be home in time for bed! They have all done a great job this week participating in the art projects and we have witnessed them being very proud of their work. It's great to see!

In chapel we had the opportunity to hear a story from Ms. Sally. She talked to us about the most wonderful gift that God gave all parents - their children! She emphasized this by showing them a "present" as they walked out of chapel. It was a mirror so that they could see themselves and realize that they were the most precious gift of all.  

In music  we sang Christmas songs from all around the world, such as "Feliz Navidad", "Mele Kalikimaka," and "The 12 Days of Christmas".  It was great fun for all!

Next week we will be celebrating our 'traditional' Christmas customs. We will create many fun art projects and will listen to a variety of Christmas stories. If you have any special Christmas books your child would like to share with the class, please feel free to send them to share.  We have a story time in the morning and again in the afternoon.

Please be sure to send a winter coat with your child on cold days. We go outside in the morning and the afternoon, and it's been chilly!

This week we are discussing winter holidays. How appropriate, at least by Texas standards, that it has been cold!  We started the week off with a guessing game that let each child choose a clothing item out of a bag.  They then had to guess if this item would be worn in the summertime or wintertime. They had a great time with this and wanted to feel all the cozy winter clothes. We also read several books about snow. Since most of the time we are deprived of the frozen precipitation, some of our friends from colder places told us a little bit about what they remember about snow and living in a cold climate.

Our class had a great time playing outside as well as inside. There was a new mound of sand on the playground, so many of the children had a great time playing in that with either trucks or their hands.  Inside the Bees were busy artists painting mittens, snowflakes and snowmen. Some of them even made a snow globe.

We continue to fill our kindness jar up a bit more by witnessing acts of kindness or by hearing kind words being used.  We are hopeful that this continues and then becomes a routine. They are so excited when they realize they have done something kind and can't wait to get a pom pom to put in the jar.

Next week our unit of study will be Christmas around the world. We will talk about the different ways Christmas is celebrated as well as learn new traditions.  Then we will devote an entire week discussing how we celebrate Christmas. We can't wait to hear about some of the traditions in your family.

(Please remember to send a jacket or coat for your child. Weather permitting, we go outside once in the morning and once in the afternoon.)


Take care,
Ms. Andrea and Ms. Melissa

This week our unit was about Thanksgiving and being thankful. After a brief discussion of the meaning of thankful, the bees all had great ideas of what they are thankful for. Some were of few words and others could not quit thinking of all the things they are grateful for in their lives. But the one thing they all said first and foremost is that they are thankful for their families. What sweet hearts they already have!  They are so very blessed to come from such loving families as yours. Please check out their turkeys hanging in the hallway, as these reflect their prococious and grateful thoughts.  The bees also worked very hard on making pine cone turkey centerpieces for our Thanksgiving Feast. We hope you enjoy the handmade decor for years to come. 

Due to the rain on Tuesday (which was wonderful!), we just watered our class plants for our gardening time and talked about the rain and why it's important. The kids had a great time sitting by the back doors watching the rain fall.   In chapel Pastor Amy discussed the first harvest by telling the story of the Five Grains, and how lucky we are to be able to plant seeds and grow our own food. And, of course, how wonderful it is to share that food with the people we love.

A couple of reminders: please exchange your child's extra clothes for the change in season. Although it's hard to predict the appearance of cold weather here, it would probably be safe to replace shorts with long sleeves and pants.  Please also send a jacket for your child, and remember to label all of the clothing! 

As Thanksgiving approaches we teachers also like to reflect what we are thankful for. We are definitely grateful for ten little people:  Rebecca, Joaquin, Wesley, Gray, Ruth, Connor, Marlee, Naomi, Draden and Caleb. And we are so thankful that you share them with us. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

Love,
Ms. Andrea and Ms. Melissa

Here is a song the kids have enjoyed singing this week:

"The turkey is a funny bird. His head goes wobble, wobble.
And he only knows just one word. Gobble, gobble, gobble!"