Happy Month of May!

The month of May is devoted to our "Blessed Virgin Mary"!

The children may bring flowers to place around our statue of Mother Mother during this month. We have a Rosary for every child that has been blessed by Father Phil. The children will be introduced to the Rosary this week. We are so very blessed to have this month of May for our devotions to "Mother Mary"!

We will say and sign the "Hail Mary" prayer!

Thank you to our room Mother's, Anne Krepick & Shannon Danitz for starting the fruit and vegetables sign up page once again. The children love chopping and serving these yummy to their classmates. A true Practical Life skill and Grace and Courtesy experience for them. Also healthy eating habits!

Thank you to Shannon Danitz for supplying us with our caterpillars this year. They did not emerge by Friday so I asked Shannon if she would mind taking them home for the weekend. She was a bit worried about transporting them in their chrysalis stage; however she agreed! I am so excited to see what happened!

The children all know that when they change from the chrysalis to the butterfly it is not magic...but it is metamorphosis! Clara always makes sure to remind us of this transformation. Ms Lois tells us that the life cycle of the butterfly is a beautiful part of creation from God. The children  are working on their booklets of the "Life Cycle of the Butterfly". We are also making booklets of the "Parts of the Butterfly.

I know I always say what a busy week we have....let me tell you this one tops them all! We are making our Tea Party invitations to mail to you this week. Please send me an email letting me know which day of the week works best for you. Our Tea Party will be the 3rd and 4th week of May in the mornings during class. We can have 3 sets of parents a morning for Tea.

It is also Mother's Day next Sunday! So "Happy Mother's Day" to all our wonderful, loving and special mothers in the Good Shepherd Preschool! Thank you for all you do!!!

Have a wonderful week,
Ms Karen & Lois

            Happy Good Shepherd Sunday                                                                        

      John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.












Last week we celebrated Zachary's 5th Birthday! Thank you to Zachary for the delicious pizza, chocolate milk, and cupcakes! Happy Birthday Zachary!

We had a special guest come into our room and read a story to the children. This was her sons favorite story when he was little. "Make Way for Ducklings" written by Robert McCloskey, read by Monica Scott. Thank you Monica!

We are continuing with our unit of the "Human Body." The children are working on the 23 page booklet  of the "Bones in a Child's Body." We are having a wonderful time learning together at circle naming all 23 bones. They have their own ideas of building their skeletons out of pasta and beans...they are very creative and unique.

Our caterpillars are getting fat and happy! I bet they are in their chrysalis stage by Monday. The painted lady butterfly should emerge from their chrysalis between 7 and 10 days. How exciting it will be for the children to experience the metamorphosis of the butterfly! Than you Lucas Danitz for this gift!

If there are any grandparents that would like to visit the preschool please send me an email. We can always find time to have you in the classroom. Email me at (kwitkowski@olfatima.org). We can schedule ahead of time if you live out of town.

In the season of Spring the trees start sprouting little buds and green leafs, flowers pop up from the earth, birds make nest's for their little babies. We'll be making our edible nest with edible little Robin eggs inside.

We'll be making chocolate bird nest's out of milk chocolate bars from Theo's Chocolate. Seventy percent of the chocolate at Theo's comes from Eastern Congo, a country in Africa. Everything made and sold at Theo's meet's the highest standards for organic Fair Trade and Fair for Life. A portion of proceeds from the ECI bars are donated to the Eastern Congo Initiative with the potential to positively impact more than 20,000 people living in Eastern Congo.

Continent~ Africa
Botany~ Cocoa Tree
Zoology~ Elephant

Tomorrow we are celebrating John Patterson's 5th Birthday! His birthday is today April 17th, Happy Birthday John!!!

Have a lovely week,
Ms Karen, and Lois

Hoping everyone enjoyed a blessed and joyous Easter!

First things first we will unearth the "Alleluia" and sing it loudly!

A presentation of the  "Liturgy of Light Celebration" will be this week in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. The children will take delight and celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. They will be introduced to the Blessing of the Paschal Candle and procession with the Paschal Candle.

This week for sharing the children can bring something they enjoy at Easter. It could be a bunny,  a special gift they received at Easter,  a picture taken on Easter Sunday, something that reminds them of Easter.

We are continuing with our unit on the Human Body. We are studying the Skeletal System of a child.
They will do an art project making their own skeleton from pasta, also a booklet of the bones labeled to bring home and share with you.

The children are working on writing their names, forming the letters correctly, with first letter in their name uppercase the rest lowercase. I will send home the paper I've prepared with their name and numbers 1-10. You could make copies so they practice their handwriting at home. (This is not homework).

We'll be visiting Africa during the month of April.
Botany~ The Cocoa Tree
Zoology~ Giraffe & Elephant

Have a wonderful week,
Ms Karen & Ms Lois

Palm Sunday...the last Sunday before Easter, and the beginning of Holy Week.

The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
~ Begin with Palm Sunday
~ Presentation of The Cenacle
~ Good Friday

The word "Cenacle" comes from "cena" which means "to eat" or "dinner'. The Latin word Cenaculum was used in the Vulgate Bible for the "upper room" where the Last supper was held. Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with the twelve apostles. The Last Supper was celebrated in the "cenacle" or upper room of a house. Each year in the atrium, typically in the season of Lent, the children are presented the Cenacle.

In Catholic Relief Services this week~ Global Solidarity
Catholic Social teaching inspires and guides how we live and work in the world. In this principle, Global Solidarity, Jesus tells us to love our neighbors, even though they may be different than us. That means the neighbors who live next door and also those who live on the other side of the planet. Jesus reminds us that we are all part of God's great family.

Thank you to the children for their efforts in Almsgiving during this Lenten season. This last week of Lent we are collecting lip balm.

Human  Science~ We will finish our unit of the Digestive System,  and the organs in our body. When we return from Easter Break we'll begin our unit on the Skeletal System.

Geography~ The city of Jerusalem

Math~ practice numeral writing, hanging bead stair 0-9, hanging bead stair 11-19

Language~ Sound Boards, Mail Cards, Blue Blend board

Practical Life~ Dressing Frames, Silver Polishing, Plant Washing

Sensorial~ Rough and Smooth Boards, Thermic Tablets, Sound Cylinders

Thank You to Shannon Danitz for putting the St. Patrick's Day Party together. Also a big Thank You to Jennie Lounsberry for the yummy creative healthy snack, Kate Baker for the beautiful yummy shamrock cookies she baked, decorated, and placed in little baggies for all the children, Stefani Arya for the lovely green and gold bead necklaces and St. Patrick's Day stickers, and Doug Patterson for reading the stories and helping in the classroom all morning!

Thank you to Jennifer Robertson (Grayson's Grandma) for helping in the classroom on Wednesday!

Birthdays~ Aiden Lounsberry March 20th, Happy Birthday Aiden
March 28th, Heather Howe, Happy Birthday Heather

Have a wonderful week,
Ms Karen

March 13th is the fifth Sunday of Lent!

Caring for God's Creation, we remember God created every plant, every mountaintop, every animal- everything! And God said that these things are good.  We find God in these good things, and so we must take care of creation-both  for ourselves and for all of our human family.

For our Almsgiving~Lenten Service Project we are collecting band aids; however, I failed to put in last weeks blog "combs"! When they came to collect our Almsgiving we had one package of combs. This week it will be combs and band aids.

We are continuing to fill our second rice bowl with change! A huge (Thank You) to the parents for all you do!

Last week the children learned American sign language for the song "Jesus Loves Me". You will have to see them all together signing and singing.

We've been doing lots of color mixing with food coloring. This week we will do color mixing with paint. 

The children seem to love drawing portraits of themselves, which are truly a piece of art!

We will be doing more plant washing, table and chair washing, and dusting. Wood polishing, mirror polishing, and silver polishing involve many different steps for the child to follow. There are more than 15 steps to each task, including clean up, and putting the work back in it's home. 

Sound of the week "r" as in robot, reindeer, raccoon, rhinoceros, rabbit, ribbon, robin, rolling pin, etc. Everyone will bring their sharing on Thursday!

March 17th~ Happy St Patricks Day!!!
March 18th~ School is closed for Regional Curriculum Day

Have a wonderful week,
Ms Karen & Ms Lois

March 6th, was the 4th Sunday of Lent!

This week we are reading about Mayra she is 11 years old, and lives in Honduras. She was shy and didn't always like school. Then her teacher noticed Mayra wasn't always doing her homework. She didn't always understand her math and reading lessons. However her teacher invited Mayra to join a CRS-sponsored tutoring program. Now, Mayra is proud of her reading and math skills!

We also talked about the recipes from each country. We have watched a few videos of children at OLF making these meals with their friends and family. If you would like to do this with your child please send me the video and we can share it with our class!

We are learning about the Digestive System! The path the food takes as it travels through the body and what happens to the food they eat when it is inside of them.

Sound of the week "l" as in Lamb, Lion, and Llama.

I will introduce wood polishing, and plant washing in the practical life area this week.

Sensorial~ Rough and Smooth Boards

Math~ the 1,000 Bead Chain counting by tens

Langauge~ more pin punching, metal insets, and pencil sharpening (manual)

Have a wonderful week,
Ms Karen and Ms Lois

February 28th, was the 3rd Sunday of Lent!

Last week read Hongkham's Story from the country of Laos. The children are absolutely enthralled in these stories. They are so excited to bring their money and put it in the rice bowl! They have been so happy and proud to bring the floss and toothpaste. 

Thank you to the seventh grade students that came into our classroom to gather our tooth paste and thank the children for their efforts in Almsgiving! 

This week we'll read Odette's Story from the country of Rwanda. this week we are collecting toothbrushes!

Last week we made a cell out of jello, apricots, and chopped dates. The cytoplasm was jello that is contained by the cell membrane which was the saran wrap. A dried apricot played the part of the nucleus (the brains of the cell) and the vacuoles were made of chopped dates (the storage tanks of the cell). When all said and done were eaten by the children.

This week we are working more on the organs in our body and their function. There is a little science project with each organ which we will be doing.

Sound of the week "o" as in ostrich, otter, olive, octagon, octopus, ox, optical lens, offering, October, officer, etc. 

Math~ introduction of the 100 Bead Chain w/number arrows. 

Language~ continue with metal insets, froebel pinning, writing tray with lid.

Geography~ the animals from 7 continents.

Science~ the human body

Sensorial~ thermic tablets, rough and smooth boards, sound cylinders.

Practical life~ introduce wood polishing, and silver polishing.

Have a wonderful week,

Ms Karen and Ms Lois

February 21st was the 2nd Sunday of Lent!
Burying the Alleluia is a tradition I learned from "Sister Mary Rose Bingham" who is a Nationally Recognized Formation Leader with CGSUSA. I feel so fortunate to have her as my Formation Leader.
The first day of Lent, we roll up that beautiful Alleluia like a scroll, tie it with a purple ribbon, and tuck it away. We do not sing or say the word "Alleluia" for the duration of Lent. Alleluia is an Easter word! We put it away so to speak, and when we reclaim it on Easter Sunday, how joyful it feels to let it roll of our tongues. After forty days of quiet, we are practically bursting with Alleluia. :) Physically burying the word reminds us that joy always follows suffering. We must wait for it, but it will come.

This week in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd we will read "Psalm 23".  We have been getting to know the Good Shepherd and have come to love Him so much. A long time ago a shepherd boy wrote a song to the Good Shepherd. We call it a psalm. Let us listen to this beautiful psalm by David.

The children are having a wonderful time giving their change to the Rice Bowl! They have also taken a huge part in the Almsgiving by bringing the floss last week. This week we are collecting toothpaste!

I am sad to say one of our students is leaving this week. I am sure you all know the family of Jacob Jackson Lee have found a home in Bellevue,  which is a very long commute. We are extremely happy for them; however, we are going to miss our classmate "Jacob".  His last day at OLF will be Thursday the 25th of February! We are having a Good-Bye circle on Thursday.

Sound of the week "n" as in nest, nickel, nose, nail, nap, etc.

Have a wonderful week,
Ms Karen & Ms Lois

Welcome back from Winter break & President's Day!

Almsgiving~ Lenten Service Project
As a school, we want to encourage everyone to add-in a small bit of service to their week. we want to encourage the students to do an additional chore at home to earn money and/or to use their own money to buy a small item that is needed by homeless shelters. Each week, we will be collecting these items as classes and assembling them in the trophy cases. These will serve as a visible sign of our Mercy in Motion.

This week we are collecting floss, please send with your child by Friday! Also this week we are focussing on learning about the country of Columbia, (option for the poor).

We will begin our unit on "The Human Body," starting with the Cell.  This unit will include the organs in our body, circulatory system and skeletal system. We will also discuss Nutrition!
Nutrients:
1. To provide materials for building, repairing, and maintaining body cells.
2. To regulate body process.
3. To provide energy.
The body uses the energy from food to carry on it's functions. Main groups of nutrients are:
1.Carbohydrates        4. Minerals
2. Fats                        5. Vitamins
3. Proteins                  6. Water

The children will also learn how to make Lanterns, to end the Chinese New Year February 22nd with a Lantern Festival.

Thank you to Jennifer Lee Jackson, Jessica Andrews, Heidi, Jennifer Marston, and Amy LaRubbio, for the wonderful Valentine's Day Party.

Have a wonderful week,
Ms Karen and Ms Lois

This week in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd we will be discussing the meaning of Lent. The children will hear Lent is a time of preparation. A 40-day journey of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving beginning on Ash Wednesday, helps us deepen our relationship with Christ.

We are also participating in the CRS Rice Bowl. This information went out in the packets on Thursday. We will have a Rice bowl on our prayer table during our Lenten journey. 

Mrs Burdett will come into our classroom on Ash Wednesday to place the ashes on our foreheads. We'll talk about this with the children Monday and Tuesday to prepare them for this journey. 

Monday is the Chinese New Year! We will learn about distinctive cultures and customs, and celebrate this special festival through the books I have acquired  from my students during my years of teaching. this celebration begins on February 8th and last for 15 days. Today in the Good Shepherd Preschool we will be cleaning our classroom to get rid of the old and bring in the new. Tomorrow when the children arrive there will be many Chinese Lanterns hanging above our heads. We will learn more upon our return from winter break. 

Our Valentine's Day Party will begin at 10:00am to11:00am on Tuesday the 9th. All the preschool children are invited to the party. 

We will begin our Lenten journey on Wednesday!

School is closed Thursday for optional conferences. Friday winter break, Monday President's Day, Tuesday winter break. 

Today is Frankie Arya's Birthday! Happy Birthday Frankie!

Have a wonderful week,
Ms Karen 

       Happy Catholic Schools Week!

This week in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd our presentation will be the Parable of the Good Shepherd. On our prayer table we have the statue of the Good Shepherd lovingly carrying a sheep on his shoulders. He knows every sheep by their name and they know his voice and follow him. They will not follow a strangers voice. 

This is such a wonderful story for the children to hear. During the presentation there are moments of quiet so the children may ponder and respond. It is wonderful to see them sitting there wondering about the sheep.

Tuesday~ Groundhog Day!

Wednesday~ Grand Parents are welcome to join us for the morning and follow their grandchild around the room and listen to their little voice. We look forward to seeing you!

Thursday~ Pajama Day and lots of stories. Please send your child's favorite book with them.

Friday~ Crazy hair day and wear blue.

Please send all your empty cereal boxes this week. 

Have a wonderful week,

Ms Karen

Good Morning! It is beginning to feel like Spring so early this year. We are still nine days away from Groundhog Day, which will be the determining factor if we get six more weeks of Winter. Well at least in the Good Shepherd Preschool we celebrate Groundhog Day.

This week in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd I'll present "The Precious Pearl Parable". The Kingdom of God is precious beyond all value and is intended for our greatest joy. Jesus taught through parables so that we could come to know the hidden mysteries of his kingdom.

We'll be singing "God is so Good".                

God is so good.  God is so good.                        God gives us light. God gives us light.                    
God is so good. God's so good to me.                God gives us light.  God's so good to me.

God gives us joy,   God gives us joy,                God gives us friends, God gives us friends,
God gives us joy,  God's so good to me.           God gives us friends, God's so good to me.

Our sound of the week "m" as in monkey, mouse, moose, mommy, money, map, man, machine, moon, mat, metal, etc.

Geography~ we are continuing with the continent of Asia.
Language~ Sandpaper Letters followed by rainbow letter booklets, pink and blue language object boxes, phrase and sentence cards, metal insets and blue blend board.
Sensorial~ Constructive Triangle Box work, Geometric Solids, and the maze with the red rods.


Have a wonderful week,
Ms Karen

I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend. I am sad that we aren't going to the Superbowl this year; however, I'm happy to be a Seahawks fan. Next year let's hope the players themselves are happy to be a Seattle Seahawk and ready to play some football!

This week in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd I will present the parable of "The Mustard Seed". 

The parable method is used by Jesus when He told His followers about the Kingdom of God. Jesus invites us to ponder the hidden mysteries contained in the parables. The Mustard Seed parable reveals to us that the Kingdom of God is a mystery of life, growth, and transformation which comes from the creative strength of God who reveals His kingdom as a gift which transforms the smallest into the greatest.

We will sing "The Kingdom of God" song, here are the lyrics.
The Kingdom of G-o-d               What is it like?
It's like a seed.                               It's like a seed.
And this seed of The Ki-ng-dom,   What is it like?
It is the small-est seed that E-XISTS.
It is the small-est seed that E-XISTS.
But it becomes a MAG NI FI CENT TREE!
But it becomes a MAG NI FI CENT TREE!

The Kingdom is i-n THE HIGH-ES-T,  
The Kingdom is o'er all the EAR-TH,
The Kingdom is o'er all the EAR-TH,
The Kingdom is inside of U-----S.

Last week some of the children started working with the Constructive Triangle Box. Which contains an equilateral triangle, two right-angled scalene triangles, three obtuse-angled isosceles triangles, and four smaller equilateral triangles. Each set of triangles placed together fits inside the large equilateral triangle. The children are tracing the triangles and making a booklet of the Constructive Triangle Box.

The children will be introduced to a colorful variety of paintings from many countries and several centuries. This is an Art Memory Game of many famous artists, including Leonardo Da Vinci, Raffael Raffaello Santi, Michelangelo Buonarotti, Jan Vermeer, Peter Paul Rubens, Vincent Van Gogh, and Rembrandt.

Sound of the Week "p" as in pig, puppy, pets, pink, petals, pan, pumpkin, pony, peacock, paint, pail, pie and pajamas.

Have a wonderful week,
Ms Karen











Today is Grayson's Birthday Circle...Happy Birthday Grayson!

January 11th, 2016

When I look back on Monday, January 4th, it seams surreal! Watching the children line up and walk into the classroom with those little determined faces ready to conquer the world.

When morning circle comes to an end I ask the children to raise their quiet hand if they know what work they would like to do. To my surprise most of them chose academic work instead of art. Of course I was completely impressed when the first child said "a blue object box" the next child said "tracing the hemispheres with the continents".

We recalled our favorite food serving snack (Honey Crisp Apples)! On Thursday we got back into our routine of food prep and serving. It was fun watching them serve the apples using their Grace and Courtesy skills so naturally.

Ms Lois was sharing some of her Italian culture with the children. In Italian Folklore Befana is an old woman who delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5th), similar to St Nicholas or Santa Claus. A popular belief is that her name derives from the Feast of Epiphany or in Italian La Festa dell'Epifania. It was so fun listening to the story "The Legend of Old Befana" plus making the little stockings for La Befana to fill. Between both of us we have many pictures of the children looking through their stockings.

This week our sharing will be something the children got for Christmas. They may bring any thing they want from under the Christmas Tree.

Important Dates:
January 18th~ Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (no school)
January 18th~ Tatum Baker's Birthday Celebration (scheduled for this week)
January 19th~ Grayson Carroll's Birthday Celebration
January 19th~ Preschool Information Meeting at 7:00 p.m. (in the school library)


Catechesis of the Good Shepherd~ Reintroduce some of the presentations, the children will be showing Ms Lois the materials they have worked with in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.
Geography~ Continent of Asia
Zoology~ 3 part cards of the "Giant Panda"
Math~ Golden Bead Work, Addition with Colored Bead Stair, Number Rods and Number Booklets
Language~ Blue Level Sentence and Phrase Cards, Pink Level Object Boxes, Blue Level Object Boxes, Blue Blend Board, Sandpaper Letter Cards followed by Rainbow Letter Booklets, Metal Inset Shape Booklets
Sensorial~ Constructive Triangle Box, Geometric Solids w/Cards

Have a wonderful week,
Ms Karen

January 4th, 2016

Happy New Year!!! 

Today we will light the 4th candle of the Advent Wreath, celebrate and sing "Mary Had a Baby"!

Wednesday will be the Christmas-Epiphany Celebration. This presentation begins with a procession to celebrate the proclamation of the feasts of Christmas and Epiphany. The children joyfully celebrate in a faith community with wonder the mystery of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ and His manifestation to the whole world.

Sound of the Week "h" as in heart, headband, hand, horse, halo, head, and hair.

Geography~ Continent of Asia

Zoology~ the "Giant Panda"

Math~ Teens and Ten Board, Colored Bead stair, simple Addition

Language~ Pink and Blue Object Boxes, Sentence and Phrase Cards, Sand Paper Sounds/Rainbow Letter Booklets

Sensorial~ Constructive Triangles

Birthdays for January:

January 8th~ Isabella Robbins

January 18th~ Tatum Baker

January 19th~ Grayson Carroll

Have a wonderful week,

Ms Karen