September's end.

I can't believe September is over!  Our toddlers have made great strides in adjusting to preschool during the past month.  We have learned a lot about each child and are thrilled with the group we have. This year is going to be so much fun!  

As you look at your October calendar, you will notice that our theme is Animals.  We will be learning about the color orange, letters D, E, and F, number 2.  Our bible stories will be Jonah and the Whale and Noah's Ark, both men who learned to obey God's command.  We have lots of fun planned for the month, topped off with our Noah's Ark Parade on October 31st! (More info to come on this.)

And now, our last set of September pictures:

  Too many cooks in the kitchen?

 Ms. Sue brought in this tunnel on Friday and it was a big hit!

 We painted Friday with green sparkly paint...

 and Anna Merritt took the prize for the most vigorous use of the paint :) (non-toxic, remember.)

 boy's club tea party

 this group LOVES books...good job parents for reading to them at home!

 Will gets resourceful and pushes his drink and Blue Man in the stroller.

 mirror, mirror, who is the fairest?

 and...bubbles!

Have a great weekend and we'll see you in OCTOBER!

1st spirit day!

Today we took part in the first TOT Time spirit day of the year, lead by our Next Step class!  By the end of the day we sadly only had 5 children with us, but that actually allowed us to better comfort the ones who were there as we ventured into this new experience.  They were not too sure about it when we sat them down in the hallway, but once the organized cheering started, they settled down :)  I had to post the picture of us even though not everyone is happy yet, just for the sake of documentation.  Don't they all look great in their TOT Time t-shirts!?

This week we listened to the story of creation from Genesis and played with felt pieces that illustrate the story.  We also painted pictures of the clouds and sun that God created.  We sang songs about our bodies (Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, Be Careful Little Eyes What You See... and God Made Me.)  And of course, we had lots of fun play time in between!

Now would be a great time for you to read to your children at home the story God Made Everything on pg. 8 of The Rhyme Bible Storybook that we gave to you at the home visit.  Hopefully by doing this, the children will begin to notice a connection between what is being taught at school and at home. 

Thank you for your support and have a great weekend!

(Thank you to Mr. Steve who was a wonderful sub while Ms. Kim was in Ohio on Wednesday.  We may see him again when the need for a sub arises.)

the great 8

This week was the first time we had ALL 8 children in class, as well as the first time we stayed until 1:00.  These kiddos did a great job.  Many of them were tired, especially by the end of the school day.   This should improve as they get used to going without that morning nap (and hopefully taking a longer afternoon nap!)

Well, I have lots of great pics from this week, so I'll just get right to it:

Our Art teacher, Ms. Heidi talked about circles and the color blue in art class Wednesday,

 Ms. Anneis, helping Oliver with hand over hand painting, is our assistant Art teacher.

 It means they've had fun when they end up with paint on the face:

 Salvador Dali?

 We enjoyed the beautiful weather with an on-campus walk in the bye bye buggies.  The kids were so relaxed.  I think we all enjoyed ourselves!

 And of course, bubbles!

 Love how they stick in their hair.

Play time in the room allows everyone to experiment, playing with whatever they choose.

 With this group, they usually all come flocking once you start something with one child, like these chalk drawings.

The first time we had all 8 children sitting at the table.

 More fun in the gym today:

 We seem to play a lot of musical laps.  After I took this picture of Gabi...Caroline hopped on my lap and grabbed the camera.  As soon as I took the picture, she got back up!

                              

 We played with scarves in music today:

We tried Play-Doh today too, but many of them decided they wanted to try a taste, so it didn't last a long time.  They'll learn! (And of course, it's non-toxic...don't worry momma's.)

WHEW!  What a week!  Enjoy your weekend and we'll see you Wednesday!

Off to a great start...

Next week we are supposed to have all 8 students!  Please remember that we move to regular school hours starting Wednesday (9:15 to 1:00), so please bring them in well rested for the longer day!  Also, we want you to feel free to send pacifiers or small lovie blankets in their bags if it would be a comfort to your child.  Sometimes having that familiar soother helps make the day easier.  We just want them to be comfortable and we can worry about discontinuing the use of them later in the year. 

We had a great day today!  Less crying than any other day.  Yay!  We prefer much more to see great smiles like this one:

This little lady was so cute as she kept the peace.  The police car is a popular new toy with a working siren.

Bubbles are always fun and a good way to keep everyone happy after transitions, like this when we had just gotten back from playing in the gym.

Ms. Beverly came down to our classroom for our first music class of the year.  It was a success because none of them cried :)  Instead, they got to shake and dance. 

Then they painted with our color of the month: blue.  They each painted over their name (stickers that will be pulled off to reveal the outlines).  We will use these signs to hang above their bag hooks in the room.  Then they will be sent home to you at the end of the year.

We originally thought that we would do the painting with them one at a time, but once we started, they all were interested and wanted to join in.  So we had them all going at the same time! I didn't get a pic of everyone because it was kind of a high maintenance craft :)

Will seemed to enjoy it the most, putting as much paint on the canvas as possible!

All the kids have been having lots of fun exploring our wide variety of toys and playing with new friends.

We are thrilled overall with how these first couple of weeks have gone.  The kids are all adjusting very well and we are expecting a fun year with each of them.  Have a great weekend!