19 Dec Newsletter | December 14-17, 2015

This was such an exciting and busy week! With all we did this week, the time was flying by! The children worked hard all week on their holiday songs, making cards for the residents of Kimble Farms, making gifts for their parents, crafting their own wrapping paper!

On Monday, the children made paper plate holiday wreaths and their parent gifts. We took advantage of the great weather and took a walk to the Lenox Post Office. While we were there, the children were able to help several people mail their cards and letters! We were also excited to help Race celebrate his birthday! The aftercare friends were very helpful in painting puzzle pieces and making baking soda pine trees for future science fun! We also played a gift wrapping game where the children had to put a specific color or number of bows on a “gift.” It was great practice in color recognition, counting, and following multi-step directions.

On Tuesday we were excited to make treats for the birds with Elise’s mom, Kate. The children spread peanut butter on bagels to get birdseed to stick. They also got to make a treat for themselves with puffed millet and sunflower butter. They hung their treats on the town tree in Lilac Park. We read the story, “Light the Lights” about a family that celebrates both Hanukkah and Christmas and used a Venn diagram to look at the holiday traditions of each and how they are alike or different. We also had time for our science activity that the Monday aftercare friends helped put together. The children who chose this activity used vinegar to “melt” pine trees.

We were thrilled to welcome so many family members to our winter concert on Wednesday! The children were so excited to share their Secret Snowman gifts and their gifts for their families. They worked hard on their gifts and practicing their songs.

On Thursday, Miss Barbara (from The Church on the Hill) came to talk to the children about Advent. She told the children that Advent means “Something’s coming.” She told us that Jesus taught us “Do unto others as you would have others do to you” and that we celebrate his birthday on Christmas. She shared an Advent wreath with us and told us that the candles mean peace, hope, joy, and love.

The rain held off long enough for us to walk to Kimble Farms and back! We were so proud of all the children! They did a beautiful job singing for the residents! We are grateful for the help from Miss Tiffany, Miss Alba, and Miss Stephanie! Many thanks, also, to Priscilla and Kristie for accompanying us! The children sang their songs in two different rooms. The residents and employees all seemed to enjoy our visit! Upon returning to the classroom the children had some well deserved free choice time before lunch!

Remember that the Lenox Preschool will be closed for two weeks and will reopen on January 4th. We have so enjoyed sharing stories and games, crafts and traditions about all the holidays with your children. We wish you the joy and wonder of seeing the holidays through the eyes of your child as well as a Happy New Year. We look forward to seeing you and your children in 2016!

Our stories this week included:

The Snow Tree by Caroline Repchuk

Light the Lights by Margaret Moorman

The Night Tree by Eve Bunting

Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright

 

Quotes of the Week:

Audrey – “This is hard work, but we did it.”

William – “Well, I guess we’re married now.” (to Audrey)

William – “The teachers can handle everything.”

Race – “I have a big head.”

Asher – “That’s just enough friends for aftercare.”

Kane – “I must be getting fatter and fatter.”

Rebecca – “Mimi is my Mimi and Papa is my Papa.”

JJ – “I’m ready to party.”

Cassidy – “I’ve grown from last year!”

Hadley – “Miss Chris, I hope you have a really great time.”

William – “One day, when I’m a teenager and Dad’s off of work, he might teach me how to drive his lawn mower.”

Asher – “Less talking, more eating.” (During lunch)

Luci – “Guess what, Miss Chris! I love salad!”

William – “We’re all good singers.”

Vera – “You know which part I liked, Miss Chris? The singing part!”

Kane – “I did a lot of work today and that makes me tired.”