Summer is Here!

Dear Preschool Parents,

Can you believe that summer vacation is already here? We have had such a wonderful year at our preschool, and while we are excited for our vacation to begin, we'll also be missing those smiling faces in the classroom!

The teachers would like to thank each one of you for EVERYTHING you have done for the preschool this past school year. We couldn't have had such a successful year without all of your help. So thanks to each one of you for....

Volunteering your time in the classroom
Helping with "at home" projects such as cutting paper projects, shopping for us or doing work on your computer.
Providing such delicious snacks for us through the school year
Donating supplies, books and games
Donating your time to be on our preschool board
And especially for keeping us in your prayers!

Of course, we thank you the most for sharing your children with us! It has been a joy and an honor to spend time teaching your children, and they will always have a special place in our hearts!

While I will be leaving the preschool and going on a new adventure, I hope I can stay in touch with you. I have enjoyed working with Miss Darlene over the last several months to better prepare for our transition in Directors. I am more than confident that Miss Darlene will be a blessing to each and every one of you that will be returning in the fall!

Speaking of the fall, this would be a good time to tell you a little bit about our complete preschool staff...

Miss Darlene will be leading the school as Director. She comes to us with over 30 years of teaching experience and as a Christian Education Director. I have come to love Darlene, and I know that you will as well! The preschool is in wonderful hands!

Miss Michelle will be joining us on the staff as MWF lead teacher. Many of you may also know her as the parent of one of our former students. Michelle is an experienced first grade teacher who has spent many hours volunteering with us in the classroom and she is also a former preschool board member.

Working with Miss Michelle in the four-year-old class will be Miss Cheryl. Cheryl brings her special gift as an experienced occupational therapist. We know the MWF children will be in very caring and capable hands as they spend one more year at preschool to prepare for kindergarten!

Our Tuesday-Thursday three-year-old class will be led by Miss Mary. Mary is mom to twins who graduated from our program. And...Mary offers us her wonderful gift as a Kindermusik instructor. I'm sure I'll be able to hear the class singing no matter how far away I am!

Mary will be assisted in the classroom by Miss Jan, a warm and caring teacher who is known at our church for her work with the children on Sunday mornings. We are so blessed to have such wonderful teachers for those incoming three-year-olds as they begin a new and exciting stage in their lives!

And our dear Miss Pat will be back for her 8th year at the preschool! The classroom wouldn't be complete without her laughter and hugs! I am thankful that yet another group of children will be blessed by her patience and generosity!

So...blessings to each one of you over the summer months! And many thanks to each of you for bringing such joy into our lives!

With gratitude,
Miss Jean and the entire preschool staff

TTh Preschool News - Week of May 8

Hello Preschool Families,

We know that Father’s Day isn’t until June19, but we wanted to celebrate all of our Dads this week! One of the “Dads” we learned about was God our Father! We sang a song about God that you can find on Cullen’s ABCs that goes like this:

My God is so great!
So strong and so mighty
There’s nothing my God cannot do!
My God is so great!
So strong and so mighty
There’s nothing my God cannot do!

The mountains are His
The rivers are His
The stars are his handiwork, too
My God is so great!
So strong and so mighty
There’s nothing my God cannot do!
For you!

And we adapted that song a little bit to sing a song about our Dads at home who we love so much….

My Dad is so great!
So strong and so mighty
There’s nothing my dad cannot do! (Repeat)

I look up to him
To teach me what’s right
To show me the things I should do

My Dad is so great!
So strong and so mighty
There’s nothing my dad cannot do!
Yahoo!

We hope you enjoy the early Father’s Day change dish that we made for you!

See you next week!
Miss Jean, Miss Amy and Miss Pat

MWF Preschool News - Week of May 8

Hello MWF Preschool Families,

We had so much fun at preschool this week! We were able to spend a lot of time this week outside playing on our playground and taking walks. There were also several centers set up outside that we could participate at. There was a painting easel, jump rope, a water center with sponges, and we even learned some of the sounds that different birds make.

This week in art we painted some beautiful flowers that will be displayed in the hall later next week. We also painted small pictures using marbles. It was a new experience trying to paint by rolling a marble and trying to keep it in the pan. Our pictures turned out really neat.

Wednesday was a busy day for us. We had chapel with Pastor Greg, and he reminded us that our friends are gifts from God. We also sang the song “God is so Good.” Later that day we learned a new game inside called “Heads Up, Seven Up.” This game was so much fun that we even played it again on Friday.

Here are some other things we did this week…

Played the game “Terrific Tens” with dice
Practiced tracing the number 10
Listen to the story The Surprise Garden by Zoe Hall
Played various matching letter games
Learned to read the book I Go
Listened to the story Grow Flower Grow by Lisa Bruce
Played Jenga
Wrote in our notebooks
…and listened to the story The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle.

We have even more fun stuff planned for next week. Enjoy your weekend!
Miss Amy, Miss Michele, Miss Jean, and Miss Pat

MWF Preschool News - Week of May 1

Hello MWF Preschool Families,

May is here, and the flowers are blooming! Dandelions are found all over the playground as well as in the little hands of preschoolers. The Spring time energy can be felt both inside the classroom and out.

Speaking of the classroom here’s a look at what we did at preschool this week.

In art we made a special picture for our Moms and Dads using paint and our hand prints. It was so nice on Friday that we were able to make our art project outside! We used spray bottles filled with thin paint to spray a misty mural on paper. It is so nice to be able to enjoy the fresh spring air after being cooped up all winter.

At our math table this week we played a dice game called “Nifty Nines”. We discovered the many combinations of numbers using dice that add up to the number nine. We also played a game called “Reach for the Top” using our dice. The game is really based on luck of rolling the right numbers, but it gives us a chance to practice tallying and graphing our results. We also really enjoyed competing with each other to see who could reach the top of their paper first.

This week we also practiced tracing the number nine, matching together rhyming words, reading a book about Family, and making cards for our moms and friends. We listened to the stories Sunny Day by Anne Milbourne, On Top of Spaghetti by Paul Brett Johnson, and Who Made the World by Kathleen Long Bostrom. We also all had fun playing in Dance Bags and going outside to the playground.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Miss Amy, Miss Michele, Miss Jean, and Miss Pat

TTh Preschool News - Weeks of May 3 & May 10

Hello Tuesday-Thursday Families,

We've been busy the last couple of weeks celebrating Moms and Dads! Our May character trait of "Wisdom" is intentionally planned for this time of year, because you parents really do have so much wisdom to share with your children. This would be a good time to talk with your children about the importance of "Honoring your Mother and Father" (Exodus 20:12). Let's also remember to honor all of the elders in our lives! (it might also be a good time to think about what the word "Honor" means. The Greek word for honor means “to revere, prize, and value.” What does it mean in your family?)

We had so much fun recently making special gifts for our Moms and Dads (we didn't want Dad to feel left out after Mom got her awesome flower pot gifts from us last week!) The Dad "creations" will be sent home with your child this week. We just wanted to enjoy them on our preschool wall for a little while :)





We also had fun learning about color mixing when we mixed shaving cream with red and yellow paint. Each child had their own ziploc baggie so they could see what happened from start to finish.


For large motor fun, we've been playing outside on the playground when possible. Inside, we've been having just as much fun playing Musical Chairs or Duck, Duck, Goose. (I know many of you parents had a chance to peek in our window to watch Musical Chairs in action - pictures on Shutterfly will be coming soon, too!) We play a special preschool version of Duck, Duck, Goose where we have the same number or chairs and children. We did explain to them that at parties, it may be done a little bit differently, but here at preschool, we want everyone to feel included in our fun games!

Speaking of Duck, Duck, Goose....watch your step when you come in through the preschool entrance. I've had some friends visiting lately in the afternoon, and sometimes they leave...um...surprises for me! :) So watch your step!!


We are looking forward to these final two weeks of preschool with your children! It has been such a wonderful school year, and we are so excited that ALL of the Tuesday Thursday class will be returning in the fall for another year of learning and fun!

Blessings to all of you,
Miss Jean, Miss Pat and Miss Lacy

MWF Preschool News - Week of May 3 & May 10

Dear MWF Families,

We have finished all our A thru Z Weeks and we are almost at the end of our preschool year! With May we began to teach the children the song "May There Always Be Sunshine." Then they choose something that is special to them and they recite it with the song. It has been a lot of fun and it seems to be one of their favorites! May has brought some beautiful weather so we have played outdoors and it has also brought some wet and rainy weather in which we played in the gym with the entire group. Of course we played "Duck Duck Goose", as it was one of their requests. One of our parent helpers contributed a lovely butterfly kit in which we have been watching five caterpillars each transform into their very own chrysalis. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of five butterflies! Some of our board members have graciously joined the Arbor Day Foundation so they could donate seedlings of oak trees to each of our families. It has been a lovely spring. We are looking forward to our end of the year field trip to a nearby farm and petting zoo with a train ride. One of the fun things about being a teacher is you get to be a kid again! See you there!

Here were some other highlights of our past weeks...

Made surprise handprint drawings as a gift to our parents.
The children made Mothers Day cards with pink construction paper. The teachers helped them write little notes to their moms.
Painted Paper Flower Petals and paper plates. You will see our flowers soon hanging over the cubbies.
Practiced our fine motor skills and strengthened our hand muscles by using paper punchers and strips of paper.
Played with our new animal counters and practiced sorting and counting to 100...


Read What Moms Do Best/What Dads Do Best by Laura Numeroff, and
The Surprise Garden by Zoe Hall
We even went outside to take pictures of our shadows, and played with bubbles and sidewalk chalk.




We are enjoying this wonderful spring. Please come out and celebrate the very last day of school with us as the children prepare for their preschool graduation! Pizza party to follow!


Your Team,
Miss Lori, Miss Donna, Miss Pat and Miss Jean