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Comments: “Tilly Triangle is here to see you. She has three sides and three points too!” That’s what Tilly taught us about triangles this week.
It might seem strange to sing about ice cream in the middle of winter but we know ice cream cones are shaped like triangles so… Nobody wanted to eat just vanilla so the ice cream got creative and mixed in different flavors and now the children love to eat them:
We sang to the tune of 5 Little Ducks Went Out to Play:
5 ice cream cones at the ice cream shop. No one wanted to buy them with vanilla on top. One little ice cream took some time to think. He mixed in some bubblegum and turned himself pink.
4 ice cream cones at the ice cream shop. No one wanted to buy them with vanilla on top. One little ice cream knew what he should do. He mixed in some blueberries and turned himself to blue.
3 ice cream cones at the ice cream shop. No one wanted to buy them with vanilla on top. One little ice cream was a smart little fellow. He mixed in some lemonade and turned himself to yellow.
2 ice cream cones at the ice cream shop. No one wanted to buy them with vanilla on top. One little ice cream got an idea in his head. He mixed in some raspberries and turned his color to red.
1 ice cream cone at the ice cream shop. No one wanted to buy it with vanilla on top. Alone and sad he really wanted to go, so he mixed in all the colors and made rainbow.
As we sang, each child had a chance to find the ice cream on the flannel board that matched the color in the song, pretend to take a lick and tell us what he thought of the flavor.
We had a lot of fun in Bible as we reenacted the story of Jesus Stops the Storm. Jesus slept and all of His disciples (the children) sat in a boat (double row of chairs) as a storm blew in. We became frightened when the wind picked up (rubbing our hands together to make the sound of the wind), the rain came down (slapping our legs to make the sound of the rain), the thunder boomed (clapping our hands to make the sound of thunder) and the boat began to rock. We yelled, “Jesus save us!” Jesus woke up and said to the wind, “Stop!” and the wind stopped, He said to the rain, “Stop!” and the rain stopped. He said to the thunder, “Stop!” and the thunder stopped. We were amazed! He must be God if He can even control the wind and the rain! If He can do that we know that He is big enough and strong enough to take care of us when we are afraid. We prayed, asking Jesus to be with us when we are afraid. Your child’s personal prayer is on the hall prayer wall. The Bible verse we learned this week is from Psalm 48:1: “Great is the Lord!”
Filed under: Mon-Wed
Sarah’s mom made a short video clip of our morning routine on the day of our Christmas party. These were the first two songs we sang everyday to start our circle time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbE2GlpJPdU
We now have a new morning routine for the second half of the year as I mentioned in my “Happy New Year” blog entry.
Squares:
- Samuel Square shared his secret with us this week. He said, “I’m Samuel Square, that’s my name. I have four sides that are just the same.”
- We made square mosaics. Some said they created tile floors, others made faces with their small squares. What did your child make?
- Wow, Wow Wubbzy is a square character I’ve never met before. Since my own kids are older I have to rely on mom’s with little kids who are in the know. Thank you Mrs. Coon.
- What fun it was eating square snacks this week! Parents, you are so creative in coming up with all these great shape ideas.
Watch for our beautiful “squish paint” hearts that will be decorating the outside windows in February.
What is squish painting?
- Put drops of paint on paper
- Fold paper in half
- Press
- Open it up and see the “squish”
Bible Story: Jesus Chose 12 Disciples
- We looked at a book that showed pictures of Jesus choosing special friends to be His helpers. We were surprised to find a picture of our class on the last page! Jesus wants us to be His special helpers too!
- How can we be Jesus’ special helpers?
- We can be kind and helpful to others and we can tell others that Jesus loves them.
- We learned the Bible verse, : Jesus said, “Love one another.” Ask your child for the fun hand motions that go with it.
After returning from the gym something unusual happened in our classroom. We turned into snowmen and then we went ice skating, right inside our room!
We sang: (Tune of I’m A Little Teapot)
I’m a little snowman, short and fat. Here is my broomstick, here is my hat. When the sun comes out I melt away. Down, down, down I’m a puddle today.
As we lay melted on the floor we learned that the warm sun melts the snow into water. But when the sun goes down at night, it gets real cold and it freezes that water into ice. We all decided we wanted to go skating on the ice so we found some “paper plate ice skates” and skated all over our “ice rink”. (aka: our circle rug) We read a story about penguins who like to go sliding on the ice too: Five Little Penquins Slipping on the Ice.
Looking forward to introducing Tilly Triangle next week!
We had fun with circles this week.
- Cynthia Circle visited our classroom. She “is nice and round, no corners on her are ever found.”
- We played in the gym with the parachute which of course is shaped like a circle too.
- We decorated pairs of mittens with even more circles.
- Singing “Lost my circle what can I do? Lost my circle what can I do? Lost my circle what can I do? What can I do for you?” we searched for hidden circles around our room.
- Thanks to all the parents who brought in fun circle snacks: Cheerios, crackers, pepperoni, cheese, and grapes all shaped like a circles.
Get ready to meet Samuel Square next week!
Our Bible Story was Boy Jesus at the Temple. We learned:
- We are growing bigger and bigger just like Jesus did.
- Jesus went to the temple and learned all about God just like we go to school and learn how much God loves us too.
- We try to listen and obey our parents just like Jesus did.
- We “walked and walked and talked and talked” around our circle just like Jesus went to the distant temple with His family and friends.
Crazy Crafts
- Periodically I will bring out our “crazy craft” box where the children can pick through scrap paper and make crazy crafts by using the paper, scissors and glue.
- Even though they might not look like anything recognizable they were carefully made using the abundant creativity and imagination of your child.
Writing
- We are beginning to practice writing our names by tracing over the letters written in yellow marker.
- Typically, three year olds are vastly different in their ability to achieve this fine motor skill. Some have not developed strong enough muscles, some are more interested in the gross motor and others are raring to go.
- Practicing at home will help them achieve this milestone. Remember to make it fun, quit before they get bored and praise them for their accomplishments, no matter how small.
The kids adjusted well to being back in school. We discussed that we not only have a new month but also a new year. They might be able to tell you the year if you ask. If they forget, give them the cue, “2000 and…” and they should be able to respond with 9.
We have three new songs for our daily morning routine. Here are the words:
1) Tune: Shoo Fly, Don’t Bother Me
Hi there, “name”, I”m glad you came. Hi there, “name”, I”m glad you came. Hi there, “name”, I”m glad you came. 1,2,3 let’s sing hurray.
2) Tune: London Bridges
Jesus is our friend today, clap your hands, sing hurray. Jesus is our friend today. We love Jesus. Jesus is our friend today, stomp your feet, sing hurray. Jesus is our friend today. We love Jesus. Jesus is our friend today, turn around, sing hurray. Jesus is our friend today. We love Jesus.
3) Sometimes, sometimes I gotta (hop, clap, snap, blink). I feel so (hoppy, clappy, snappy, blinky) that I gotta (hop, clap, snap, blink). I just start (hopping, clapping, snapping, blinking), when I feel like (hopping, clapping, snapping blinking) if I feel like (hopping, clapping, snapping, blinking) then I gotta (hop, clap, snap, blink). Sometimes, sometimes I gotta (hop, clap, snap, blink). Hop, hop, hop (clap, snap, blink). I just can’t stop it. If I feel like (hopping, clapping, snapping, blinking) and I just start (hopping, clapping, snapping, blinking). Sometimes I gotta (hop, clap, snap, blink).
This week we learned that Jesus grew big and strong. We put candles on a birthday cake for Jesus, signifying his growing and we learned some of the things Jesus might have done to help Mary and Joseph. We did a lot of squatting and standing and squatting again as we said, “Jesus was small, He grew to be tall, He grew and grew every day. Small. Tall. We grow like Him every day.” We did more squatting and standing with the song, “1 year, 2 years, 3 years old, 4 years, 5 years, 6 years old, 7 years, 8 years, 9 years old. Jesus grew and grew. (Tune: Ten Little Indians) By Thursday I was having a hard time getting up and down. 
My legs have had quite a work out.
I’m back! I took a little hiatus from blog writing these last few weeks and hopefully now I’m back in the loop.
Thanks to all who were able to make it out on such short notice to sing on the Sunday after Christmas. We had twenty children share the story of Jesus’ birth through song. They did a fantastic job! I was so proud of them! I think we have some budding performers on our hands. My son, Jacob, took pictures but a photographer he is not, and I don’t think they are even worth posting. Sorry.
We’re thinking about permanently keeping the Christmas preschool performance to the first Sunday after Christmas in the morning rather than the afternoon on the Sunday before the holiday. Let me know what you would prefer to help us plan for next year.
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