Monday, December 14, 2015

The 3rd Sunday of Advent!!!

When we light the 3rd candle of the Advent Wreath we'll sing "Light one candle for joy, one bright candle for joy. He brings joy to every heart, He comes! He comes!

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd~ We'll have a presentation "The Annunciation to Mary," Mystery of the Incarnation.

The children will here the message that angel Gabriel gave to Mary revealing God's plan of salvation in choosing Mary to be the mother of Jesus. To help the child ponder the proclamation terms: Rejoice, Do not be afraid, The Lord is near.

We'll sing "Gabriel came to Mary, my Lord.
                   Gabriel came to Mary, my Lord.
                   Gabriel came to Mary, Gabriel came to Mary,
                   Gabriel came to Mary, My Lord

                   3.  What did he tell her, my Lord?
                   4.  He told her about the baby, my Lord.
                   5.  What did she name him, my Lord.
                   6.  She named the baby Jesus, my Lord.

When we return from Christmas break we'll start the song with:
                   1.  Mary had a baby, my Lord!
                   7.  Angels were a-singing, my Lord.
                   8.  What were they singing, my Lord?
                   9.  Glory Hallelujah! my Lord.

December 16th~ Birthday Celebration, Happy Birthday Heidi Blanton!

December 17th~ Good Shepherd Preschool Christmas Party,  we are back to our schedule with the only parents being the party volunteers Jennifer Howe/Christmas Craft, Jiezel Almeda/Christmas Stories, Jennifer Lee Jackson/Cookies and Decorations, Kari Blanton/Healthy Snack! Thank you in advance!

Sound of the Week~ the children may bring something to do with Christmas!

We'll read the story "The Legend of the Poinsettia" retold and illustrated by Tomie dePaola,         "The Christmas Story" a Little Golden Book by Jane Werner, and "The Legend of the Candy Cane" by Lori Walburg.

Zoology~ Parts of the Reindeer Booklets
Botany~ Parts of the Western Hemlock Tree Booklets
Math~ Counting Teens with colored bead stair and golden ten bead, 1-9 with colored bead stair, counting Candy Canes 1-10, counting Jingle Bells 1-10, counting Reindeer 1-10!
Language~ Sandpaper sounds, Metal Insets, Froebel pinning, Blue Blend Board, Pink Object Boxes, Word Lists, Sentence and Phrase Cards.

Have a wonderful week,
Ms Karen





             
               

The second Sunday of Advent!!!
December 8th~ Feast of Immaculate Conception

Today when we light our 2nd candle on the Advent Wreath, we will sing
"Light one candle for peace, one bright candle for peace.
He brings peace to every heart. He comes! He comes!

New song in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd;
                                                                   King of Kings
He is the King of Kings, He is the Lord of Lords. His name is Jesus,  Jesus,   Jesus,   Jesus,    Oh!.
He is the King.

Our Presentation this week in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd "Prophecy of Names".
This presentation is to increase the child's prayer language through the use of the holy names of Jesus, reinforce and lay a foundation that God reveals Himself through the Holy Bible, and pinpoint the paradox of a small baby with great names which give rise to praise.

Our Sound of the Week " b " as in Bible, bells, baby, boy, boat, bubbles, balloon, brush, basket, bag, broom, bee, and butterfly.

Story "The Big Bell and The Little Bell" by Martin Kalmanoff. Counting Bell work 1-10.

Botany~ 3-part cards of The Western Hemlock Tree, followed by booklets.

Language~ Metal Insets

Math~ Quantity and Symbol

Sensorial~  Maze with the Red Rods

Practical Life~ Menorah Candle Work

Have a wonderful week,
Ms Karen

                                       We are in a new season, the season of Advent!!!

November 29th,~ First day of Advent
November 30th~ The Feast of Saint Andrew
December 6th~ Hanukkah begins
December 6th~ St. Nicholas Day

Tomorrow in The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd we will have a Celebration. We'll begin with a procession of singing and musical instruments, the children will place the purple cloth, Scripture card, Advent wreath with candles, Holy Bible, and statue of Mary on the Prayer table. We will light one purple candle on the advent wreath.

We will sing "Light one candle for hope, one bright candle for hope.
                       He brings hope to every heart. He comes! He comes!

Followed by the "Advent Wreath Song," and Scripture Reading,  and sing "Come Lord Jesus"!

Also this week we'll have the Presentation "Prophecy of Light". Song "The People Who Walked in Darkness".

The children will be singing beautiful and meaningful songs during Advent. I hope they'll share these songs with you.

Sound of the Week "j" as in Jesus, jelly beans, jump rope, jam, juice, jeans, jacket, jet, jar, jellyfish, jaguar, jackal, jewel, Julia, Jacob, and John!

Math~ Counting Reindeer 1-10, counting Jingle Bells 1-10, counting Candy Canes 1-10.

Language~  Froebel pinning the shapes of the Metal Insets: circle, square, triangle, rectangle, oval, ellipse, quatrefoil, pentagon, trapezoid, and curved triangle.

Sensorial~ Geometric Solids

Zoology~ 3-part cards of the Reindeer/booklets of the Reindeer and story "The Littlest Reindeer" written by Joanna DeWitt and illustrated by Phoebe Erickson.

Thank you Stefani, Jennie, Jiezel and Ben for the Thanksgiving Feast!

Let's all take time, slow down, be still, be awake to the Divine Mystery that looks so common and so ordinary yet is wondrously present  during our preparation.

Have a wonderful week,
Ms Karen

The children are now singing the song "Simple Gifts" found in the book "Sing With Joy".  Here are the lyrics;                  
'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed,
To turn, turn twill be our delight,
'Till by turning, turning we come round right.

It's a beautiful song with some dance moves we will be learning.

Our Thanksgiving Party is this Thursday, I have sent an email to all our GSP families regarding new information for our get together. This will be a wonderful time for the children to see all of us together! We might actually have to spread into the hall if it gets to crowded in our classroom.

 Just a reminder,  Monday Mollie Overa is covering for me while I attend the Love and Logic conference. She will be outside to gather the children and bring them inside. Ms Elena will be waiting to greet them as usual in the classroom.  Mollie made  the corn muffins for our corn tasting circle last week...Thank you!

Our sound of the week is "t" as in turkey, tabernacle, toys, turnip, treasure, toes, tray, table, etc.

We are still making our booklets of the "Turkey".
Did you know male turkeys called toms, are larger than female turkeys, which are called hens. Adult male turkeys are sometimes called gobblers after the loud gobbling sound they make when proclaiming their dominance. My first year in the Good Shepherd Preschool I was telling the children this information. Then I asked the children "what do you call a baby turkey"? One little girl shouted out ( I know its a "goblet".) My heart melted, then I had to tell her it is called a poult. Personally I like goblet better.

Tuesday we will learn a little about  "The Wampanoags and the First Thanksgiving".  Where the Pilgrims landed and why they set sail, and what they brought to the new land. How the Wampanoags lived and what shared with the pilgrims. Massachusetts state flower is the Mayflower, their state bird is the Chickadee.

This time of the year goes so quickly, there really is a short amount of days and time for learning. I like to make it enjoyable for the children and it seems history is a great way to introduce many of the Holidays.

Than you John for bringing the french bread and apple butter for food serving last week. That was a huge hit with the children.

Looking forward to our Thanksgiving Celebration!

Have a wonderful week,
Ms Karen

I would like to say to our Veterans and those in Active Duty "With Respect, Honor, and Gratitude on November 11th and Every Day, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You and God Bless You!

Last week went by so fast it doesn't seem like we had time to stop and enjoy each others company. I love when the children share their stories, dreams, weekends, and especially their thoughts about God. Watching them draw pictures of shepherds, angels, and sheep was such an amazing feeling. I really wish Teacher Gina was here to see them. Of course she would need a box of tissues to make it through. I've seen our students grow in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, I hope you are seeing it also.

The children seemed to enjoy the corn tasting circle, they continued to ask me questions through out the week. We finished off the rest of corn supply on Friday.

This week we will learn about the Turkey, where he lives, what he eats,  does he fly, etc. Followed by the Parts of the Turkey Booklets. It seems every year while introducing the 3-part cards of the Turkey to the children, when we get to the caruncle and wattle they start giggling.

We will start making our Handprint Turkey Centerpieces for the children to bring home for Thanksgiving.

Sound of the week "s" as in snowman, sled, santa, slippers, star, starfish, sand, snoopy, sister, soup, scarf, etc. Thank you for helping your children to find a sharing item and bring it on Thursday and Friday for sharing.

I will be using Sign Up Genius this week for Teacher Parent Conferences for Preschool. Hopefully this will help those of you with sibling conferences. If for some reason you are unable to attend conferences on the 23rd & 24th we can schedule after Thanksgiving.

Just a reminder School will be closed Wednesday, November 11th for Veterans Day.

Thank you Frankie for the Bananas!

Have a wonderful week,
Ms Karen



 

November 1st was All Saints' Day, the 2nd All Souls' Day we'll be praying for the ones we've lost.

We spend lots of time and energy preparing the perfect meal and giving thanks on Thanksgiving Day. This year I am going to think of all the people who have made a difference in my life and each day tell one of these people "Thank You."

Today I'll bring in the Thankful Tree! The children can tell us something they are thankful for, we'll write it on paper for them and they can hang it on the tree. On November 19th the Good Shepherd Preschool Brunch you can find them on the tree and read them.

A big "Thank You" to Shannon, Anne, Jessica, Stefani and Kari for making our Halloween Party so special! The children decorated Pumpkin cookies, made Ghosts and Jack-O-Lanterns, played toss the rings on the giant spider and the witches hat, listened to spooky stories, and ate healthy spooky treats.
It was fun seeing many of you at the village for trick or treating!

During the month of November we will begin our unit on the Continent of North America. Mainly focussing on the USA, the state flowers, birds and capitals. We'll also talk about the First Thanksgiving Day and how it was celebrated.

Our Sound of the Week is "e" as in elephant, elk, elf, engine, envelope, echidna, eggs, etc.

In the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd~ the children will be introduced to free drawing. They can draw pictures of the Good Shepherd, the Prayer table, Angels, Mother Mary, Baby Jesus, the Cross, anything we discuss in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.

Math~ continuing with 0-9, 1-10 quantity and symbol.
Language~ sandpaper sounds, rainbow letter booklets, moveable alphabet, word lists, sentence and phrase cards.

Botany~ continue Parts of the Pumpkin Booklets and Parts of the Corn Plant.

Practical Life~ tweezing the kernels of corn off the dried corn cob to strengthen their fine motor skills.

Thank you Aiden for the green, yellow, red and orange peppers!

November 7th~ Happy Birthday Clara Wolf!

Have a wonderful week,
Ms Karen

Let's prepare ourselves for the last week of October! Get as much rest as possible before Friday, and plan a restful, healthy eating day, on Sunday. I think you just have to roll with it on Friday and Saturday! Oh, also have fun, laugh, take pictures, and have a Happy Safe Halloween!

Having the parents in the classroom is working out wonderfully. I am enjoying the interaction I see with each individual child and their parent. Honestly this is something we will continue through out the year. Please feel free to send feed back of your visit to myself and Mrs Burdett.

I feel very blessed that I attended Spring Valley Montessori Academy for my Montessori Certification. Madeleine Justus is the founder of Spring Valley Montessori Academy which she opened in 1951 in the state of Washington. Mrs Justus wasn't teaching while I was there; however, she did come to share her stories with us. She is 99 years old and still involved in the school. She met Dr. Montessori at the League of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, attending the Symposium on "Children in an Impending War". Mrs Justus said Dr. Montessori was the most eloquent speaker, and as always interested in the well being of the children. "One test of the correctness of the educational procedure is the happiness of the child," by Dr. Montessori.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd~ After our procession and during  "The Enthronement of the Holy Bible", I asked the children why do we place flowers on the prayer table? Some of the children stated "because they make the prayer table look beautiful." I asked "could we place the flowers on the prayer table to show our love for God?" "Oh yes," the children said. Then one of the children pulled a little blue car out of his pocket and said "I want to give my Dodge to Jesus, and teach him to drive." He was giving one of his most precious toys, what a lesson for all of us!

This week we will finish with our "Parts of the Bat Booklets."
Botany~ Parts of the Pumpkin will continue through November.
Geography~ The Continent Booklets are a work in progress.
Language~ Picture-and-Word Cards, Picture-and-Sentence Books, Matching Games and Sound of the Week.
Math~ Quantity and Numerical Symbol, and Group Games with Number Rods
Friday~ Halloween Party, children not scheduled on Friday may come from 10:00/11:00 dressed for Halloween!

Sound of the Week "g" as in ghost, goblin, and goodies!

Thank you Heidi for bringing the Cantaloupe!

Have a wonderful week,
Ms Karen

October has been a growing month in the classroom! Observing the children, the works they are drawn to, and supporting them during this sensitive period. This of course is a work in progress, getting to know each child's individuality, and making that connection will help foster their emotional and cognitive development.

It will be a wonderful experience watching the children working in the classroom while their parent is visiting. They may want to share with you the works they have accomplished and ask you to do the work with them. We have a reading area in the room if you like you can read with them. We do support a quiet classroom environment for our children's concentration and focus on their work. If you have any questions about your child's day or the work they are doing we can meet at 11:30 for discussion.

The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd~ These children love doing the procession! While we are at recess and it's time to line up the children will ask can we do the procession? I am very excited for you to see the love your children show for The Good Shepherd! They were introduced to "The Liturgical Colors of the Year" through song and the "Chasubles" Father wears for each season.

This week our sound is "d" as in dog, duck, deer, doll, digger, dump truck, dress, dropper, domino, Dalmatian, dancer, daisy, daffodil, dragon. dinosaur, and dragonfly. Last week everyone did not bring sharing. Some children might have brought their sharing; however, did not put it in the sharing basket. If your child attends preschool 5 days a week their sharing is on Friday, all other children share on Thursday!

The children are using their Grace & Courtesy when doing food prep and serving. It's so sweet to hear them speaking with their peers! Just a heads up (if a child asks you if you'd like a piece of carrot please hold your hand out and they will place it in your hand) they have washed their hands before prepping the food so they can touch it.

Last week we were finishing up with our Parts of the Spider Booklets and Apple Booklets.

The children did an art project with Ms Elena using their fine motor skills by tearing strips of  red paper to make apples!

Botany~ Life Cycle of the Pumpkin, Parts of the Pumpkin Booklets

Zoology~ Parts of the Bat Booklet

Thank you Jacob for the yummy carrots!

Have a wonderful week,
Ms Karen

We are having the most delightful Autumn weather! I was walking through downtown today and I could smell the leaves in the air.

The children are talking about their Halloween costumes, we'll have quite the variety. We have been reading a few Halloween stories in the classroom. We also have some Jack-o-lantern counting work 1-10, Bat counting 1-10, and building Mr Bones our skeleton.

Last week our classroom helpers were assigned their first jobs in the classroom. Mila and Zoe are the classroom librarians, Kathleen and Heidi are in charge of watering the plants, and Clara and Leighton are the pencil sharpeners for this week.

Ms Elena helped the children with their cutting skills to create beautiful pictures of Fall trees with leaves made of paint using a wine cork. They enjoyed doing this and showing their creativity.

Our first week of sharing was wonderful! All the children brought items they enjoyed sharing with their friends. This week our sound is "a" as in hat, mat, bat, can, man, bag, mask, fan, map, apple, pan, jam, etc. Thank you for helping your child to bring their sharing to school.

We'll have a presentation of "The Liturgical Colors" this week in our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. This work includes tracing packet for the children also cutting and pasting collage of the chasubles.

We have more zoology~ the parts of the "Bat"!

Botany~ The Life cycle of a Pumpkin!

Thank you to Tatum for our food prep and serving of Celery and Cream Cheese.

Have a wonderful week,
Ms Karen

It seems the children have become familiar with their environment, daily schedule, and their classmates. Being the Line Leader and Candle Snuffer are responsibilities the children look forward to. This week the children will be introduced to a few more responsibilities such as watering the plants, pencil sharpening, dusting the shelves. These will be done weekly with a partner.

We will finish with our apple tasting this week. Scarlett Obrien brought several different varieties for us to try. Thank you to all the parents for contributing to tasting circles, and food prep & serving for the children to learn these valuable skills in Grace and Courtesy.

We are ready to begin our Sound of the Week and Sharing Circle. Starting on Mondays we will talk about a letter and the initial sound that letter makes. This Monday our sound is "c" as in cat, cup, and candle. I will have a tray with objects that begin with the sound "c" and a wooden letter of "c", we'll talk about these items and gather more words from the children during circle. 

For Sharing Circle the children can bring an item from home that begins with the sound of the week. For instance this week the sound is "c", they can bring a cup, candle, toy cat, cap, something that begins with the sound "c"!
Thursday sharing children are Tatum, Heidi, Julia, Heather, Jacob, Aiden, John, Bella, Leighton.

Friday sharing children are Kathleen, Frankie, Grayson, Lucas, Mila, Zoe, Scarlett, and Clara. If you have any questions please email me.

In zoology we will talk about the "Spider" and follow up with a booklet on the Parts of the Spider.

In Science the children will learn about living and nonliving things.

Our food prep and serving will be chopping the celery and using a spreader for the cream cheese!

Have a wonderful week,
Ms Karen

Happy Autumn to everyone!!! I enjoyed seeing all of you at the Fall Festival and being able to see the children outside of the classroom environment. I must say watching Mrs Burdett do the zip line was a real treat.

We've been discussing the seasons during circle, reading stories about the seasons, and making accordion season booklets. Everyone hasn't finished their booklet there are many different steps the children must follow to finish this work. They are using their fine motor skills, hand to eye coordination, and some imagination.

Ms Elena is working with three children at one table on the coloring and pasting of the leaves. It is wonderful to hear their ideas and watch them place their leaves so carefully on the trees. Then the children place the pictures on the counter to dry. The next day they work with me putting the booklets together.

Thank you, to Julia Buckholtz for bringing our apples for the tasting circle. One thing the children found interesting is the Red Delicious apple has an elongated shape with feet at the bottom. The most popular apple was the Braeburn, with its sweet juicy and spicy flavor.

In the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd we have enjoyed doing the procession. Which is a prayer in which we sing, walk and pray to honor God. While processing we sing "Come, Worship The Lord"   Come,        wor-ship   the   Lord,     for we are his peo      -         ple______The flock that he shep-herds.         Al_______  le_______   lu________  ia.
Each child carries something from the prayer table naming it and modeling how to carefully hold it.

• There is a  statue of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.  Jesus said:  I am the good shepherd
• The cloth for the prayer table:  reminds us of the special time of the year we are celebrating.
• The candle reminds us that Jesus is the Light of the World.
• This is the Holy Bible. It is the Word of God that has been given to us. How beautiful.
• The Bible pillow: the Bible is so special we have a special pillow to place it on.
• We have a prayer card here. It is just a few words taken from the Holy Bible.
• We see flowers on the prayer table: We know that we give flowers often to those we love.
• Musical instruments

One procession around the room then the children place the items back on the prayer table beginning with the cloth for the prayer table. After everything is placed back on the table I will hold the 

 Holy Bible in my hands and tell the children "this is our most precious book because it contains God's Word for us, God's special secrets he wants us to know. Let's listen to one of God's messages."  I light the candle and read Psalm 118:27 .

We are continuing with our Continents, Apples, Seasons, Sounds, Numbers, and Sensorial work.

Have a wonderful week,

Ms Karen

Last week in preschool the children were using their listening ears and looking eyes. I introduced Grace and Courtesy during morning circle with little reminders throughout their work time.

By the middle of the week I found myself carrying the camera on a regular basis snapping pictures of children crumbing the table, asking another child “may I watch you do this work”. Your children are amazing little beings, explorers of their universe, and mindful of their surroundings.

Apple tasting was absolutely wonderful! The children were very verbal on the tasting of each apple. The Honeycrisp apple was the favorite for its sweet and tart taste, and crisp texture. We’ll continue with more varieties this week.

Thomas Hoover was so kind to help us with our prayer table last week. He shortened the legs a bit to make it perfect size for the children. Clara was so thrilled that she could place her elbows on the table to pray.

This week in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd we will have a presentation on the “Enthronement of the Holy Bible”. The children will learn a new song “I See the Love of God in You” with movement and gestures.

In Language we are using the Sandpaper Letters (three period lesson), followed by Rainbow Letter Booklets to reinforce the initial sound and writing direction of the letter.

In Math we are counting Spindles, Acorns, and Candles on the Birthday Cakes. Number Rods and Sandpaper Numbers (three period lesson), followed by Rainbow Number Booklets.

Botany~ the Parts of the Apple

Geography~ the Continents and the Continent Song

A huge THANKS to our room mothers Anne Krepick and Shannon Danitz. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Have a wonderful week.

Ms Karen

I am proud to say we finished our first three days of Preschool tear free! It seems the children have settled into their new environment with enthusiasm and eagerness to learn, explore and conquer all the days ahead.

This week we'll begin our focus on Grace & Courtesy, which includes activities that are important for establishing respect for self and others. This covers such tasks as greeting, rolling a rug, respecting someone else's space, tucking in a chair, and asking to observe or participate in someones work.

We will embark on our unit of the Months and Seasons, which continues throughout the year. During our work with the  seasons we will enjoy tasting circles, we will start with Golden Delicious, Gala, and Honeycrisp apples. The children will learn to prepare and serve the apples to their classmates.

In the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd I'll do a presentation on the introduction of the Prayer Table. The children will learn the song "The Lord is My Shepherd". They have been enjoying the Altar Table and placing the Chalice, Paten, and Crucifix on the table.

Kathleen is our first line leader this year, we do this in alphabetical order. When they are line leader they also snuff the candle at the Prayer Table.

School Picture Day is Wednesday the 16th.

We will end our week with a Celebration of Life Circle on Friday the 18th for Scarlett Obrien!

Have a wonderful week,
Ms Karen

                       
                                              Welcome Preschool Families
              
          We are so excited to to start a new year with our returning children and many new little faces also. When you arrive on Tuesday I will be outside to show you the routine of how the children will line up every morning. 

 We will stop briefly before entering the classroom, I will tell the children that our Good Shepherd Preschool is a very special room. We are so blessed to be in this room called an Atrium. Before entering I will demonstrate the dipping of the fingers and Sign of the Cross. We will use our quiet voices and walk softly when we are in this room.

Elena will be waiting to welcome and guide you when inside the Atrium. We'll have a brief introduction to our circle and morning prayer. We'll be happy to answer any questions at this time.

Looking forward to seeing everyone on Tuesday!!!

Ms Karen