The Truth About Preschool (Sometimes)

Today, I feel the need to be honest with you all. Here's the deal: preschool is not always sunshine and rainbows. These last couple of days have been an example of that. The children are starting to get very excited about Christmas, and I certainly don't blame them - I'm excited too! This just makes it hard for us to get things accomplished. We've spent lots of time this week doing different relaxation techniques (e.g. deep breathing, taking short rests, practicing quiet vs. loud), and they have helped some. I've also been trying really hard to point out the children who are following directions. If your child has been coming home covered in stickers, that is why. Accentuating those positive behaviors helps the children who might be struggling to see exactly what behavior is expected.

I've been trying to take my cues from them. If they're not interested in something, I try not to force it on them. That's why I made a complete change in lesson plans this week. Instead of learning about Kwanzaa (I tried to get them interested in it, and those attempts, unfortunately, didn't work.), we've just been focusing on Christmas.

I created a couple of Christmas-themed games for the kiddos to play when they first arrive at school. The main focus for this week was letter recognition, but we also worked on some problem-solving skills and fine motor skills.

We talked, again, about the different traditions people have as they celebrate Christmas. One of the traditions we talked about was writing a letter to Santa. About half of the students were able to email Santa this week. If you'd like to check out how we did that, check out http://emailsanta.com . It was so much fun helping them type their letters and watch the video in which Santa reads their email and responds to it!

Since we've been stuck inside much of the last few weeks, we've been playing a ton of gross motor games inside. The children's favorite is definitely Color Monster, but they also enjoy Red Light, Green Light and What Time is it Mr. Fox?.

The afternoon class did a fabulous job singing for WELCA today! There were many laughs from the crowd as the children danced and sang! I was very proud of them! (Of course, I forgot to bring my camera down, so I don't have any pictures...I'm sorry about that.)

I know next week is probably going to be just as challenging as this week, but I love to watch the kids get so excited about the upcoming holidays. We'll get through the last three school days together, and then spend some much needed time with our families!

Just a note about winter weather: We follow the Lake Mills Community School's decisions. If they cancel, we cancel. If they are delayed, our morning class will be canceled, but our afternoon class will be normal. If they get out early for bad weather, we will get out early as well (I'll give you a call if this happens).

In order to keep our floors as dry as possible, I would like it if each child has a spare pair of shoes (could be slippers, tennis shoes, or whatever you else you might have) they can change into when they arrive. (Of course, right now, it doesn't matter so much, because all of our snow is gone - what a weird December!) It works best if the pair of shoes can stay at school. Let me know if you need any help finding an extra pair for your child! If you could bring a spare pair of shoes for your child before Christmas break, I would appreciate it.

Have a great weekend!