Three’s Company

We made 6 spiders and 7 frogs with our fingerprints to add to our number book. To reinforce the numbers we say special number finger plays, holding up the correct number of fingers and doing the actions:

• 1, 1, this is 1. Come on one let’s have some fun.
• 2, 2, this is 2, hopping, hopping me and you.
• 3, 3, this is 3. Wave your branches like a tree.
• 4, 4, this is 4. Can you make us sweep the floor.
• 5, 5, this is 5. Squeeze them tight and take a dive.
• 6, 6, this is 6. Come with me and pick up sticks.
• 7, 7, this is 7. Come on 7 let’s go to heaven.

I’m sure you all saw the frogs we made. The children loved blowing their tongues out to catch a bug. If you look real carefully you might see the bug sticker at the end of the tongue.

We used the parachute for the first time and had a blast. We held onto the handles and sang songs while we walked around in a circle, shook it, and even hid underneath it. The next rainy day we will try it again and hopefully get some pictures.

We learned about a boy named Timothy who lived with his mother and grandmother, who taught him about God’s love. When he grew up he found out that God had sent the promised Messiah, Jesus. He was so thankful for what Jesus did he decided to become a pastor and go all over the country to tell others about the love of Jesus. The children shared what they wanted to be when they grew up. A poster is up in the hallway to share their future goals. Jelly, our Bible puppet, gave each child a card that said “Jesus loves you.” They were asked to keep it to remind them of Jesus love or give it to someone else to tell someone else about His love.

Monday 2010-05-01

Tues Thurs 2010-05-13

You all should have gotten information regarding our annual end of the year field trip to Kelkenberg Farms. It’s a fun day to pet, ride, feed and milk the animals as well as go on a hay ride. We end the day with a picnic lunch.

We like to all wear special farm tee-shirts on our trip. Could you bring in a plain white tee-shirt for your child by this Wednesday/Thursday, May 12/13? We will decorate them and return them to you so they can wear them to the farm.

What a great week. Both classes had a chance to get out onto the playground again. We all loved getting some fresh air and we all came in a little tired with all the running around we did.

We made our 4 bumble bees page by making four yellow fingerprints and our 5 fish page by making five orange fingerprints. It is so refreshing to talk about spring with the sun shining and windows open. We made four summer flowers using thread spools dipped in paint and 5 sticks of pussy willows using our fingertips dipped in paint.

Our Bible story was about a man named Philip who faithfully shared with others what Jesus has done for all of us. We talked about what we could tell our friends about Jesus who don’t Him. The children came up with some great answers. They said Jesus helps us when we are sick, sad or lonely. Jesus prays for us. He is making a house for us in heaven. Jesus loves us so much He died on the cross to take away all of our sins. Great answers!

Happy Mother’s Day to all our moms.

Sunbeam Sunday was a great success. The children sang beautifully and it was such a treat for me to worship with so many of my preschool friends and their families. Thank you for coming out. My friend, Paul, who is a talented photographer volunteered to take some pictures:

Sunbeam Sunday 2010-04-24

What a great time we had with Miss Lucy at the Audubon Library. Thanks for making it so much fun. Enjoy the photos.

Library Field Trip Monday Wednesday

Library Tuesday Thursday

We made Jellybean pictures frames to show us how some of the goodies we focus on at Easter time remind us of the real reason we celebrate Easter. The children glued foam jellybeans onto a frame that held the poem: “5 or 6 or just a few, pop them in your mouth and chew. Yellow, purple, orange and blue, just remember it is true Jesus died for me and you.”

After decorating paper Easter eggs, we glued Easter grass and the eggs to our favorite colored Easter basket. We read The Easter Basket which begins with, “The colors in this basket are my own special way for me to tell the story of that first Easter Day.” By using the many colors commonly found in Easter baskets, the author takes us through the entire Easter story, from the green palm leaves, to the purple wine, the red blood, the brown cave, the white angel, and the yellow sun.

We also made bunny bags that will be saved for our party next week. We will be sending home a special Easter card for our parents. The children who have prayer partners also made a card for them.

The Easter story was told to the children using a dozen plastic Easter eggs. Each egg contained an object that helped us understand part of the story. Even though there were some sad parts we were reminded of the miraculous ending to the story when Jesus rose from the dead and went into heaven to prepare a house for us! He sure must love us a whole bunch!

Sue Steege, First Trinity‘s Director of Transformation Ministries shared the story of Palm Sunday in chapel this week. We lined up on either side of the center aisle, ready to wave real palm branches when Jesus arrived riding on a donkey. When Sue said, “Here comes Jesus!” the double doors opened and we imagined Jesus walking down the road. When we turned and looked toward the direction He was going we realized that He was headed for the cross.

Each day ended with some silly Easter Bunny songs that the children enjoyed. We put two fingers up, pretending they were bunny ears, while doing the motions and singing:

1. Here is a bunny with ears so funny and here is a hole in the ground. (Make hole with other hand.) When a noise he hears, he pricks up his ears, (straighten two fingers) and he jumps in his hole in the ground. (Put 2 fingers jump into hole.)
2. Funny little bunny sat on a stump. (Set two fingers on top of fist.) Flicked his floppy ears (wiggle 2 fingers) and then he gave a jump. (Pop 2 fingers off fist.)
3. Tune: Itsy, Bitsy Spider – (Hops hand from foot to knee to shoulder and ear.) The hippity, hoppity Easter bunny is coming straight at me. Closer and closer he hops up on my knee. Up to my shoulder the bunny’s much too near. “Happy Easter!” he whispers in my ear.

We also practiced our two Sunbeam Sunday songs. Please sign up on the bulletin board to let us know if you plan on attending April 11.

Our classroom Easter party is Tuesday and Wednesday next week. Please remember to check ingredients of all items brought in for the party. No nuts or possibility of nuts.  School is closed for Easter vacation Thursday, 4/1  and Monday, 4/5.

Monday Wednesday

Tuesday Thursday

What a great time of the year! I love spring! I saw my first robin this week which always fills me with hope of warm weather and new life (flowers popping out of the ground, more birds in the air, even ants, ladybugs and spiders are making there way out).

With spring comes the celebration of Easter. The Easter story is the foundation of our whole Christian faith:

God created the whole world, including you, to have a personal relationship with Him. At first everything was good, exactly as God made it. He loved us and gave us a free will to love Him too. (If He hadn’t given us this choice it wouldn’t have been love.) Unfortunately, we chose to go our own way, not God’s way. This is called sin. If we honestly looked at God’s Ten Commandments we would know that none of us could ever live up to God’s standards. God knew that too, yet He still loved us and still wanted an intimate relationship with us. But God is holy and good and cannot tolerate sin or allow it to go unpunished. (A good judge would never allow a criminal to go free without punishment.) So God made an unfathomable plan! He sent His Son, Jesus, (fully God and fully man)  to take the punishment for us, for all the wrong things we have ever done, by suffering and dying on a cross. “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” But the story doesn’t end there! Three days later on that first Easter morning, Jesus rose from the dead, conquering death forever.

We don’t have to try to earn favor with God or seek to do good works, hoping that we have done enough or are good enough for heaven. Jesus has done it all for us! Nor do we have to fear that we have done something so bad that it could never be forgiven. When Jesus died on the cross He knew everything we would ever do and still He chose to die for us. What crazy love our Father has for us! To accept this wonderful gift, freely offered to us and the whole world all we need to do is 1) admit that we have done wrong and turn away from that wrong, 2) believe that Jesus died on the cross to take our punishment and rose again to conquer death and 3) follow Jesus.

Just like spring, faith in Jesus Christ offers us warmth and new life in Him. But this hope is not a seasonal phenomenon but a promise that will last for a life time and into eternity.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”John 3:16