Celebrating Our Rock Knowledge

We have been having a fantastic week so far! Our days have been jam-packed full of learning, and I'm so pleased with all of the growth I am seeing in the children!

We are wrapping up our rock study this week. On Monday, the children voted on how they would like to celebrate their knowledge. I presented two choices to the children: writing a book or creating a rock museum. The children in both classes voted to create a rock museum.

Today, they got busy creating their rocks for the museum. They have been using all kinds of things (everything from pom-poms to yarn to fur and fabric) to make their rocks look cool and unique. We'll continue working on our rocks tomorrow and Thursday.

Our museum will be open on Monday and Tuesday. I plan to set the museum up in the hallway outside our classroom. Please check it out when you drop-off/pick-up your child! The kiddos are so proud of the work they've been doing on their rocks, and I know they will be pleased as punch to share their work with you!

Today, we also spent some time learning about fire safety. The Lake Mills firefighters visited us during both sessions. Experience has taught me that this can be a scary time for preschoolers. Seeing the firefighters in their full uniforms (including mask and helmet) is a new experience for most of them. This was definitely true today. While we talked about the firefighters coming, how they would look, and what they would sound like, a handful of children were scared. We fought through it though, and most of the children had an enjoyable time!

After talking a bit about fire safety (calling 9-1-1, stop, drop, and roll, and having a meeting place), we got to meet the fire pup! One of the funnier moments of the day came when one of the students caught on that the fire pup was really a person wearing a costume and asked, "Can we see your face?" We also got to go out and see the fire truck. We heard the sirens and the horn and got to see the lights.

Overall, I'd say the firefighter's visit was successful and got many of the kiddos thinking about fire safety.

Just a heads up for Thursday: I will not be at school on Thursday. I will be attending a conference in Des Moines. Rebecca May will be my substitute.

(I apologize for the lack of pictures from the morning class. I used two cameras today - one for the morning and one for the afternoon. I left the one I used this morning at school. I'll try to edit this post and add pictures tomorrow.)

The Best Day Ever (Two Days in a Row!)

We had the best week this week! In planning the last week of school, I never imagined how wonderful and fun all of the events would be. It was truly the best way to end a great year!

I'm going to talk about our East Park trip tonight, and I'll share our luau fun tomorrow.

First of all, I figured that the van trip was going to be a super exciting for the kiddos since we had never taken a trip like this before. Their faces were so happy and shiny as we headed out! The kiddos in my van were noticing all kinds of things on their way - everything from cows, to trains, to flowers - and these things kept them talking the whole way!

As soon as we got to the park, we piled out of the vans and had a quick snack.

Then it was off to play! If you have never been to the giant playground at East Park, you absolutely need to go sometime! When I lived in Mason City last year, I used to jog right past this playground and I always thought that it looked cool. Cool doesn't even begin to describe this park. There were so many towers and tunnels and obstacles for the kids to maneuver through that the kids would have been content to play forever, if we had let them.

Initially, the kiddos were mostly interested in the equipment - bouncing, balancing, running, swinging, climbing, etc. After a while though, there was some pretty cool dramatic play happening. I saw kids pretending to be in cages, to have magic powers, and to drive trains. It was also super cool to see the morning kiddos building relationships with the afternoon kiddos. It's amazing how my two groups really became one big group this week - I loved it!

After we played for over an hour, it was time for lunch. Lunch was a bit of a struggle, because of the crazy, crazy winds. We had milk and ranch everywhere from our blown-over cups and baggies. Everyone got their fill, though, and then we quickly reapplied sunscreen and headed back to the playground.

Finally, it was time for us to go home. The kiddos were covered in sweat, dirt, and chocolate milk, but they were still beaming. What a great day! On the trip home, we had a few sleepers, which made me smile. They played so hard!

Throughout the day, I heard a number of kiddos excitedly saying, "This is the best day ever!" That is music to a teacher's ears, let me tell you! Sharing this day with all of the children made my heart so stinkin' happy!

Just the Beginning to a Crazy Week

Goodness! I can’t believe it’s Tuesday night already. The last two days have flown by. I’m sure a lot of that has to do with the visitors and phone calls I’ve had the last couple of days. I swear that phone is going to ring itself out one of these days.

A good chunk of time was spent on hearing and vision screenings on Monday. I’m grateful these services can be offered at SON Shine. It is incredibly beneficial to catch hearing and vision problems early! In general, the children just thought it was a lot of fun to be out of the classroom (we were in the Fellowship Hall) and to be playing “games” with new people. They had a great time. (Plus, they got stickers. I think I’ve said it before, but giving a preschooler a sticker is like offering them a lifetime of happiness.) While they weren’t being screened, they spent some time drawing and writing at the table. 

Today, we were back to our hard work on our bodies. We’re almost done! One more day on each body and we should be good to go. Here’s what our bodies look like now:

Morning:

Afternoon:

 

I had the kiddos do some interviews today. My hope was for them to practice a few social skills (using nice voices while talking and listening to each other), writing skills, and letter-sound correspondence through writing. We worked as a small group to pick out three questions they wanted to ask their classmates. Then, I sent them off with clipboards and pens to find the answers. They looked so grown up as they conducted their interviews. Asking all the questions and writing down their answers – they looked like adults. The really cool thing about this was how they decided to forego returning to their centers so they could continue the interview process instead! 

 

Next Tuesday is Kindergarten Round-Up. (Seriously?!? How did that happen? We just started school yesterday, right?!?) Preschoolers who will head over to the big school next year will come to SON Shine just like a normal day. I’ll walk the children across the street and stay with them during the Round-Up process. We’ll be back at SON Shine for you to pick them up there at the end of their class. If your preschooler normally comes on Tuesday/Thursday but will not be headed to the big school next year, you will have a day off from school on Tuesday – Enjoy!

Please remember to sign up for a time to help out at our tip day on March 10. Again, you can sign up for as little or as much time as you have available. Thank you, in advance for your time! I am so grateful to have so many fabulous families at SON Shine!

My Mommy Says I Can't Play with Shaving Cream

Okay, first of all, I'm very, very sorry I haven't blogged yet this week. For those of you who don't know, we're preparing for our verification from the state department of education. This means I've been working on a portfolio full of everything we've done at SON Shine, getting child files all organized and ready to go, making sure the classroom is in tip-top shape, and working with LMCPD and the school on our program portfolio. In other words, I've been spread a little thin for a while. I'm excited about this work though. I started printing my portfolio this morning and I can't wait to share it with you! Since the portfolio is directly tied to the state standards for early childhood, it is the perfect way for me to show you how SON Shine is a high-quality preschool. Our site visit will happen during the second week in February, and then I should be able to spend way more time on this blog. Just hang in there with me!

This week, we spent a lot of time working with the story The Three Little Pigs. First, I read it to the kids. Then, I told it to the kids using flannel board pictures. Then, the children acted the story out. (This was the coolest thing, by the way. I wish I had a video camera so I could record this for you, but maybe I'll work it into our graduation program at the end of the year.) Then, on Thursday, we compared the original story with The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieska. It was so much fun to experience the story this way with the children!

 Telling the story with flannel board pictures

Acting the story out

On Wednesday, we were finally able to cook with Jodie again. There had been conflicts for the last couple of weeks, and the kiddos were excited to get back downstairs and do some cooking! We made grilled cheese sandwiches and apple slices. The children had the opportunity to use a couple of new cooking utensils: an apple slicer and a pizza cutter. Those apple slicers require lots of muscles though, so the children worked in teams.

I think the favorite activities for the children this week involved shaving cream. First, we used the shaving cream to write in. Like I mentioned last week, we've really been working on letter recognition, so we practiced writing some letters in shaving cream. The kiddos loved it! At first, though, they didn't believe I was going to let them play with it. One of them told me, "My mommy says I can't play with shaving cream." She was so excited when I told her it was okay for her to play with it while she was at school! We also used the shaving cream to make our own puffy paint. It is made out of glue, food coloring, and shaving cream. The children had a blast painting many, many pictures using this puffy paint, but I think they enjoyed the feel of the pictures when they finished drying even more. The paint keeps its puffiness after it is dry, which is pretty cool! I'm hoping to hang these up in the classroom next week, so stop on in and see them if you get the chance.

Just a reminder: Next week, we will be preparing for our cheering performance on Friday. We will be practicing on Tuesday and Thursday at 3:30 in the high school foyer. (I will walk the afternoon class over after preschool, and you can meet us there.) I'm still not sure on what time we need to be at the school on Friday for the performance, but I'm sure we will find out on Tuesday. I'll be sending home reminders with the kids throughout the week, and I hope to see everyone there!

Have a great weekend!

From Pinatas to St. Lucia Day Hats

These last two days have felt like the most hectic days so far. I’m sure that’s just because I’m tired though. (Christmas break is only a week away!)

We talked more about Las Posadas yesterday. I’m hoping we can make a piñata one of the days this week. The kids love hearing about the different traditions in Mexico.

In the sand and water area, I put out some boxes and all the supplies the kiddos needed to wrap some presents. They were very excited about this! It’s fun to watch their different approaches to wrapping the present. I had some kids cut the wrapping paper into tiny pieces and then tape each piece onto the box until it was completely wrapped. I had some kids who set a tiny box in the center of a giant piece of wrapping paper and they just squished and taped until it was all covered and stuck. Then, of course, there were a few who must have had some experience watching their moms and dads wrap presents, because their packages were near perfect! Anyway they chose to wrap was an excellent exercise for those small muscles in their hands and fingers. 

Today was St. Lucia Day! We started the day by watching a video of a Swedish choir dressed in traditional clothing and singing the St. Lucia Day carol and by learning a bit about how they celebrate.

Afterwards, the kids made their own St. Lucia hats. The hats they made are traditionally worn by the boys in the procession. I had a few crowns (minus the candles, of course) for the kids to experiment with as well. 

 The afternoon class has been working hard to get ready to sing on Thursday for WELCA. (The morning class has been learning the same songs, so they’re definitely not being left out!) We’ve been working on a few Christmas carols to sing, and we’re even using instruments this time. The kiddos are super excited, and I can’t wait for everyone to see! We’ll be singing at 2:45 if you are interested in seeing it for yourself.

For the next couple of days, we’ll be finishing up our Las Posadas celebration and diving into Kwanzaa! It’s been a really fun study so far!

From Freezers to Safes to Paint Mixers - Our Walking Tour of Lake Mills!

Our study of Lake Mills is in full swing, and it is turning into one of the most exciting studies so far!

Our walking tour of Lake Mills yesterday was a great experience! My goal was for the kids to start thinking about what kinds of experiences they’ve had in Lake Mills and what kinds of workers there are in this town. I had originally only planned to walk by the businesses on the sidewalk, but Judy and I decided it would be even more beneficial to the kids if we went into those businesses and asked the employees what kind of work they did. I’m so glad we decided to do that!

We got to see the different areas the mechanics use to fix cars at Dave’s, explore the ice cream freezer at the grocery store (Brrrr!), see the librarian in action, walk into the safe at the bank, examine the paint mixer at Singelstad’s, and learn all about what kind of workers it takes to run The Grand! We were even surprised to find some bakers in Lake Mills. I was so proud of the kiddos who were brave enough to walk into these stores and ask the employees what their jobs were! What a fantastic experience we had.

 Learning about being a mechanic at Dave's!

 In the freezer at the grocery store!

 Watching the coin machine at the bank!

Also, I need to send a huge thank you to Judy for changing her schedule and coming on a Monday! Without her, we probably wouldn’t have been able to go, so thank you, Judy!

We spent some time writing our very own stories yesterday too. We created characters for our stories by cutting shapes out of peanut butter sandwiches. Then everyone helped write a story about these characters. It was so much fun to see how different their stories were! Children really do have the very best imaginations! 

Today we spent a chunk of time opening a Pizza Ranch in our dramatic play center. Many of the children asked to go into Pizza Ranch on our walk yesterday, but I didn’t want to walk in without letting the employees know first. I’m hoping I can set up a field trip specifically to Pizza Ranch in the next couple of weeks, but I’m still working on that.  Until then, the kids will have fun pretending to work in a pizza restaurant at school!

Dramatic play scenarios like this are perfect, real-life experiences for the children to practice writing skills! Take a look at some of these notes the children wrote while they took orders. Keep in mind that there are stages of writing. Everything from scribbles to letter-like figures to inventive spelling are typical of preschoolers and all lead up to the writing skills they will learn in elementary school.

I'm so excited to see where this study will take us! 

Please remember to sign up for a conference time for next week!

F.Y.I: On Thursday, we will not be having our afternoon preschool class. The school district is getting out at 1:30 to allow for families to head to the volleyball game, and I want to make sure you all have those same chances.

Costume Party Fun!

Happy Halloween!!!! We had a blast at our costume party today! Here’s what we did:

We started the day off with one of my favorite Halloween books, The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything. It’s a lot of fun to read with young children, because there are many opportunities for them to help tell the story. They really got into it!

We made some Spooky Hands with Mrs. Twedt. This was a great exercise in fine motor control; it was kind of tricky getting that popcorn into those gloves! The children loved it, though. Most of them took it out of their bags to share with the parents and family members who picked them up at the end of the day!

Then it was time for our parades. In the morning, we walked over to the “big school” to visit Mrs. Hunchis and Emma’s mom in the AEA office, the secretaries in the high school and central office, and the lunch ladies. I want to thank all of those people for letting us stop in and show off our costumes! It meant a lot to the kiddos! In the afternoon, we were able to be a part of the elementary school’s costume parade. The children had a blast showing off their costumes and looking at everyone else’s. Most of them were very excited to see the 3^rd grader dressed as ketchup to match my mustard costume!

After the parades, we came back for a much needed snack. We made Mummy Pizzas! When I first told them we what we were going to make, most of the kids looked at me with disgusted looks and said, “I am not eating that!” Once they saw what they really were, they were a hit though.

To finish off our day, we had a game and an art activity. The group was split in two and one group played a game with me while the other did the art activity. The game was called Mix and Match Pumpkins. The kids took turns racing to some big cut-out pumpkins and gluing one piece of the face to it. By the end of the game, we had some pretty crazy looking pumpkins. Painting pumpkins was the art activity. The kids got creative as they painted. One kiddo even said, “They can be anything we want them to be, Mrs. Hansen!” That’s the kind of creativity I love to see.

What a great day it was! Thank you to everyone who made it wonderful!

Don’t forget to help your child with his/her homework tonight! It shouldn’t take long at all, and you can send it back with him/her tomorrow! Thanks!

Have a great time trick or treating!

We Read Up A Storm at Our Read-A-Thon!

Our Read-A-Thon was a blast and a half! The night had two purposes: first, I wanted to take some time to educate families about how they can build early literacy skills in their children, and second, each book we read helped us raise money for St. Jude's Children's Hospital!

We began the night by enjoying some delicious pizza from Pizza Ranch. I want to make sure to thank them publicly for helping fill us up for our big night of reading! Make sure to thank them if you visit any time soon!

After our supper, we headed up to begin the reading. We rotated through a cycle of a read aloud, family reading time, and an activity for the next two hours. Here are some highlights of our evening:

The kids enjoyed three read alouds, including two from our special guest readers: Mrs. Wagner and Mr. Sherman! 

We sang some awesome songs, including our favorite: Tooty-Ta! If you weren't able to make it, I'm going to try to work this song into another program this year so you have a chance to see this. It's hilarious!

We went on a scavenger hunt throughout the church to find the letters in our names. I think we're still missing an i, so if you find it while you're here some day, you definitely win the prize!

We ate spiders made from Oreos, licorice, and M&Ms!

Most importantly, we...

enjoyed some quality family reading time!

When the evening was all said and done, we gathered a rough estimate of how many books we read and how much money we made for St. Jude's. 

We read about 80 books and made about $350 for St. Jude's!

Great reading everyone and thanks for coming! 

The Worst Thing That Can Happen To A Preschool Teacher...

Well, as many of you who I see on a daily basis noticed, I completely lost my voice this week. I felt wonderful - I didn't have a sore throat or a cough or a fever or a headache or any other sign of the flu or a cold - I just simply lost my voice. That has never happened to me before, and I hope it never happens to me again! I realized fairly quickly that this is the worst thing to happen to a preschool teacher. Thankfully, it was almost completely normal today. The kids did a fabulous job being super listeners to help me deal with the lack of a voice! I was actually pretty amazed at how well they listened when I told them my voice couldn't get any louder than a whisper! Thank them for me!

Now, on to the good stuff. Yesterday, we had an afternoon visit from the firefighters. It was a blast for the kiddos, and it went very smoothly. I was so happy that no one was afraid of the firefighter in the full uniform (although it might help that this particular firefighter was Keely's dad - Thanks, Ryan!). Last year, I think I ended up with four kids trying to sit in my lap because they were scared. They learned all sorts of ways to stay safe from fire, and, of course, they got to see the fire truck! What a fun time everyone had!

We did a few more investigations with water. We learned about sinking and floating by making boats out of aluminum foil. The kids made a prediction about how many bears it would hold. I got all sorts of predictions from 5-115! Then they added bears one at a time while we counted to find out how many bears would make it sink. Mrs. Twedt was surprised that one of the boats held 64 bears!

We also did an investigation of how water reacts on wax paper. The cool thing about water is that it really wants to stick together, so on wax paper, which repels the water, you can push the drops of water around to see this sticking in action. We used eye droppers to make drops of water on wax paper. Then, we took pencils and dragged the drops around the paper. Some kids tried to break the water drops apart, which is actually pretty hard to do. Some kids tried to push all of their drops together to make one mega-drop.

We also did some cooking today! Since we weren't able to cook with Jodie this week, I brought the cooking into the classroom. We made Doughnut Muffins - they're muffins that taste exactly like doughnut holes! The kids read a recipe to find out what and how much to add. They did all the stirring, the measuring, and the pouring (with some guidance from me, of course). After the muffins came out of the oven, we rolled them in butter and then cinnamon sugar! Yummy! They were a hit! Even one friend after saying, "I'm not sure if I like these," told me they were tasty!

I got a newsletter out on time today, so check your child's bag/folder! Don't forget our Read-a-thon is next week! I'm really, really excited, and I hope that you are too. There's a note on the newsletter about signing up for the supper before the Read-a-thon. We need to know for sure how many people are coming, so we know how many pizzas to get!

Have a fantastic weekend!