WOW, what a day.  Thank you so, so very much to you, my parents, and all of my wonderful Preschoolers for the amazing birthday surprises.  And  what a surprise it was!!  I love all of my birthday cards and pictures.  They all warmed my heart and brought a smile to my face.  The flowers, balloons, and yummy brownies also brought a big smile to my face.  Thank you to all of you for making my day so special.  I am feeling very blessed. 

We had a fun day with our buddies today.  The last one of the year.  Our focus was ABC's and numbers.  Our buddies read us alphabet books and played number pegs with us and did alphabet and number puzzles with us too.  We all enjoyed my birthday treat together and then played outside to enjoy this beautiful day we were blessed with.  Everyone had a great time!!!  Mrs. Forsythe provided popsicles for everyone today.  We had our popsicles outside with our buddies.  What a fun day for everyone.

Our Free Choice Centers:
*Coloring Page
*Magnetic Dolls
*Number Pegs
*Puzzles
*Letter Matching game
*Magnetic Letters

**Special Notes:
*Our Preschool Picnic is next week Thursday, May 23rd.  Please drop your child off at our regular time.  We will finish up some last minute items and wait for our parents, grandparents, siblings, etc.... to join us at 9:30 for the picnic.  Pray for nice weather. 
*Thursday, May 23rd is the last day of school for 3-Year Old Preschool.  Once our picnic is done, your child will leave with you.
*Tuesday, May 21st is the last day for Lakers.  I will be sending your child's nap items home with them.

​**

This week our focus will be on letter and number review.  Stories, poems, finger plays, classroom activities, puzzles, and more will help with our review.  A special gift for dad, end of year activities, and assessments also kept us busy today.  Our Circle Time stories were alphabet books.

Our Free Choice Centers:
*PlayDoh with Letter Stamps
*Alphabet Wikki Stixs
*Puzzles
*Letter Matching
*Blocks

**Special Notes:
*Next week Tuesday, May 21st if the All School Picnic.  If you are planning on attending please fill out the form that came home and send it with payment.  Also, if you are planning on attending, pick your child up at our regular time, park your car in the lot, and stay with your child for the picnic.  We are not in class session, therefore, your child will not stay with me or Mrs. J. 
*LAST DAY FOR LAKERS is on Tuesday May 21st.  There will be no Lakers Program on Thursday, May 23rd.
*The End-Of-Year Preschool Picnic is on Thursday, May 23rd.  Please drop your child off at our regular 8:10 a.m. time and return at 9:30 for a short PreK Program followed by our picnic.  If you have any questions, please contact me via email. This is the last day of school for the 3-Year Old Preschoolers.  

What a busy day in Preschool today. We reviewed what we learned about the letter Zz and had fun trying to add more Zz words to our list.  We came up with zoom and zucchini.  We read the buZZing bees poem during Circle Time and had everyone doing the Zz Buzz noise.  It sounded like we had a bee hive in our room.  In Religion we talked about Mother's Day and the wonderful things that our mom's do for us: they read us stories, they make us food and cookies, they buy toys, they tuck in my bed at night, they make good pancakes, sometimes they yell but they still love us, they take care of us when we get sick, they take us to the doctor, they always love us no matter what!!  We also talked about our Heavenly Mother Mary.  She loves us too and wants us to talk to her and come to her. We said an extra Hail Mary in class today to honor our Heavenly Mother this Mother's Day. 

Our Free Choice Centers:
*PlayDoh
*Coloring Page
*Blocks
*Color Sorting
*Magna Doodles

In the Art Center we did a thumbprint buZZing bees craft.  These are still wet with paint so we'll send them home next week.

In Small Group we reviewed our Religion page.

**Special Notes:
*Please take a minute to fill out the St. Paul School Survey.  It only takes a few minutes. Your opinions are important and help us to improve our already wonderful school. Go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/StPaul2019 or see the St. Paul School Newsletter for more information. 
*Be sure to read the short note that came home in your child's folder today about their vegetable plants.  Help your child to take care of their plant and watch it grow and provide food. 
*Our Preschool Picnic is on Thursday, May 23rd.  Plan on dropping your child off at our regular time and then returning at 9:30 to join us for some Picnic Fun. Before we begin our Picnic our Preschoolers have a surprise performance for all of you.  We look forward to seeing you then.  If you have any questions, please feel free to send me an email or talk to me at drop off or pick up.

​HAPPY MOTHR'S DAY!

We're buzzing all about letter Zz this week.  Today we learned the Zz sound, the correct way to write Zz in upper and lower case, and the "sign" for Zz.  Our Board Story was about Zack the Zebra Zipping around the Zoo.  Our Board words are zebra, zero, zipper, and zig-zag.  Our Circle Time story was The Little Zebra Who Lost His Stripes by Jedda Robaarb.  

Our Free Choice Centers:
*PlayDoh with Zoo matts
*Coloring Page
*Magnetic Dolls
*Zoo Books
*Blocks

In the Art Center we had fun decorating letter Zz with Zoo stamps.  A bit messy but lots of fun.  A few our little ones did not want to do it because they didn't want to get their hands dirty.

In Small Group we found hidden Zz's in a letter puzzle and practiced writing our name on our paper.  Please continue to practice names with your child at home.

**Special Notes:
*A BIG THANK YOU to all of you for the flowers for teacher appreciation week.  They were a  nice way to start off the day.  I appreciate your kindness and thoughtfulness.  I love them!
*Our Preschool picnic is on Thursday May 23rd.  Plan on dropping your child off at our regular time.  We will do a couple of activities and wait for our parents to return at 9:30 (in our classroom) to begin our picnic.  Pray for nice weather.
*The All-School picnic is on Tuesday, May 21st.  It begins at 11:15.  If you would like your child to participate in this activity you may pick him/her up at our regular time and join in on the festivities.  Please see the St. Paul newsletter for details.

**Shoot for the moon.  Even if you miss you'll be among the stars. -Tes Brown

We had a great review of letter Yy this morning. Our Preschoolers did a great job remembering the "sign" for Yy and we added the words yesterday, year, and yes to our Board Words.  We had fun getting silly with our Circle Time story - The Big Yawn by Keith Faulkner.  In Religion we talked about ways we can make others smile and be happy.  It was a great discussion and our little ones came up with lots of great ideas.  One of our Preschoolers said: "If we can be happy, then everyone else can be happy and Jesus wants us to be happy and smile and be kind and send smiles EVERYWHERE!"  Love it.

Our Free Choice Centers:
*PlayDoh
*Coloring Page
*Letter Matching
*Magnetic Dolls
*Blocks

In the Art Centers we had fun painting the letter Yy yellow. Yellow is my favorite color.  It is bright and cheerful and makes people smile.

In Small group we did a letter Yy cut and paste paper.  

**Special Notes:
*Our end of year picnic is on May 23rd.  Please be sure to read the Preschool Press for more details. I look forward to seeing everyone there to celebrate our year and your child's first school experience.
*There is strep throat going around.  If your child is complaining of a sore throat, headache, stomachache, and seems tired and not quite right, please keep them home so we can stop the spread of germs. 

Welcome Back! I hope everyone enjoyed their time off to rest, relax, and spend some quality time together.  After listening to our little ones in class today, it sounds like everyone liked their treats and surprises that the Easter Bunny left. 

Today we started to learn all about the letter Yy.  Our Board Story was about Yolanda Yak and her yelling friends.  Our Board Words this week are yellow, yo-yo, yogurt, and yarn.  We added the words year, yell, yak, and yams.  Great job Preschool!!  During Circle Time we read the story Yellow Bird by Sebastian May.  It is a sweet story about the importance of making friends and our relationship with wildlife and the environment.  Everyone enjoyed the many animal characters in this story.

Our Free Choice Centers:
*PlayDoh
*Coloring Page
*Pegs
*Lacing Cards
*Magna Doodle Boards

In the Art Center we had fun gluing yarn to the letter Yy.  These were still wet with glue so I'll send them home on Thursday.

In Small Group we practiced writing our names.  Most of my Preschoolers are doing a great job.  I still have a few that are still in need of more practice.  Please work with your child at home.

In Math we continue to work on counting, one-to-one correspondence, and number recognition.  

I started doing end of year assessments today.  I will be working/testing each child individually over the next week or so.

**SPECIAL NOTES:
*Thank you to everyone for helping to make our Easter Egg Hunt a success.  A BIG Thank You to Mrs. VanNatter and her helpers for hiding all of those eggs.  What a fun morning.
*The last day of Preschool is on Thursday, May 23rd.  Please plan on spending the morning with your child in class.  We will do a special, short program for our guests followed by our Preschool Picnic.  Please watch for emails from our room mom's about items that we'll need for our picnic. 

Today we spent some time reviewing what we learned about the letter Xx - the correct way to write Xx in upper/lower case, the Xx sound, and the "sign" for Xx.  We had a great Religion discussion today.  Our class symbol for Lent is the butterfly - it goes into it's cocoon as a caterpillar and leaves it as a butterfly beginning it's new life.  We too have new life through Jesus.  Next week begins Holy Week.  We talked about the importance of this week.  It walks us through the Last Supper, Jesus' crucifixion, and finally his resurrection on Easter.  His death brought us New Life and it shows us how much he loves us.  We ended our discussion with the song "Jesus Loves Me". Please be sure to review and complete the religion page that came home with your child today.

Our Free Choice Center:
*Easter PlayDoh
*Coloring Page
*Number Pegs
*Easter Egg dying (We had so much fun!) 

In the Art Center we decorated the Easter baskets that we'll use for our Easter Egg Hunt.  Everyone is very excited!!

In Small Group we continue to practice names and scissor skills.  We are also reviewing shapes. Please help your child practice writing his/her name.  It will be so helpful to them when they begin 4 - Yr. Preschool.  Success if Key!

**Special Notes:
*Please be sure to read the Preschool Press.  There is a lot of information in our class note that will require you to mark your calendars.  
*Our Preschool Easter Egg Hunt is next week Tuesday, April 16th.  Please plan on joining us at 10:15 for this fun event.  I really need each child to have an adult help them find and count their eggs.  
*Once our Easter Egg Hunt is complete your child will be leaving with you. This begins Easter break for the 3's Preschool.
*Mark your calendar for our End of Year Picnic (May 23rd).  It will be held at St. Paul School beginning at 9:30 a.m.  You will drop your child off at our regular time (8:10).  We will prepare for our room for our parents and read a story.  Once our guests arrive we will go outdoors to enjoy our playground and eat some breakfast "picnic" foods.   

pToday we started learning all about the letter Xx.  It's a simple letter to write but a difficult one for sound.  Our Letter Board Story today was about Max the Fox and his chicken pox outbreak.  Our Board Words are xylophone, exit, x-ray, and fox.  We added the word box to our word list.  During Circle Time we learned the write Xx the correct way in upper/lower case, the Xx sound, and the "sign" for Xx.  
Today was Farm Day at St. Paul.  We had a great group discussion before visiting the animals about what kinds of animals you might find on a farm, what sound they make, and what our favorite farm animal was.  Everyone enjoyed singing along to Old McDonald Had a Farm.  Our visit was great!! We saw a mommy cow, a baby cow, some geese, a bunny, a sheep, 2 baby lambs that were a week old, and a baby goat.  So much fun!!!

Our Free Choice Centers:
*PlayDoh
*Coloring Page
*Farm animals
*Farm puzzles
*Animal lacing cards

Small Group - When we returned from the farm visit we did a letter Xx cut and paste paper.  Many of our Preschoolers are doing great with their scissor skills.  Please practice at home with your child.  

**Special Notes:
*A note came home last week Thursday about our Easter Egg Hunt.  We will meet at 10:15 in our classroom on Tuesday April 16th.  I will meet with all of you for a few minutes to go over where we will look for our eggs, how many each child may collect, where to put the plastic eggs, etc... I am looking forward to seeing everyone next week.
*Don't forget to send in 3 hard boiled eggs this Thursday, April 11th.  We will be coloring Easter Eggs in class.  Please send the eggs in a container with your child's name on it.  Easter dye and coloring containers will be provided.
*I need Easter grass for our baskets.  I made all of the Easter baskets for our class, but now I need grass to put in them.  If you would like to donate a bag it would be greatly appreciated.

​**This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun. - Corinthians 5:17

Today we reviewed what we learned about the letter Ww.  We added the words water and waffle to our Board Words.  During Circle Time we read the story The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith.  What a funny story.  Our Preschoolers loved it and so did the teachers.  Everyone was laughing and smiling and having fun with silly story.  

Our Free Choice Centers:
*PlayDoh
*Coloring Page
*Blocks
*Number Pegs
*Puzzles

In the Art Center today we painted a Wonky Donkey picture.  These were too wet to send home today.
In Small Group we finished our bunny crafts and put them on our lockers.  We can't wait for you to see them when you come to our Easter Egg Hunt.

In Religion we talked about how making wishes gives us a sense of hope and joy.  God only wishes what is best for us.  We also talked about being more like Jesus.  We read the story Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam by Hans Wilhelm.

**Special Notes:
*Please read the note that came home today about our Easter Egg Hunt.  I would like each child to have adult with them to look for their eggs.  If you have any questions please feel free to email me or see me before/after class.
*It is important that you make your calendar with the Dates to Remember from my Preschool Press notes.  Time is going by fast and there are many events coming up.

We ended letter Ww week with a special snack:  We made waffles today.  It was a great way to incorporate math and science into our week.  Yum, Yum!


*Spring is a beautiful reminder of how beautiful change can be. -unknown

We had fun learning about the letter Ww today.  Our Board Story was about Weasel and Warthog waiting in the tent for the wet, wet weather to pass.  Our Board Words this week are wagon, window, watermelon, and waffles.  We added the words welcome, white, whistle, whisper, wedding, wind, and wow.  GREAT job Preschool!! We also learned how to write letter Ww the correct way in upper/lower case, learned the Ww sound, and the "sign" for Ww.  Everyone enjoyed our story today - Wide-Mouthed Frog by Keith Faulkner.  We had a great discussion about the wind today.  We talked about how powerful the wind can be and how gentle it can be.  Blowing through straws helped us to see how the wind can move things.  

Our Free Choice Centers:
*PlayDoh
*Coloring Page
*Waffle Blocks
*Science (The Wind Can... experiment)
*Mr. Potato Head

In the Art Center today we made Wind Socks.  They are bright and colorful and make our room look wonderful.  These will help us to see which way the wind is blowing.  

In Small Group we did scissor skills.

**Special Notes:
*I will be sending home a more detailed note this week about our Easter Egg Hunt.  If you have any questions, please feel free to send me an email or ask me before/after class.
*We will be making our Easter Baskets in class for the Easter Egg Hunt.  I am in need of several bag of Easter Grass.  If you would like to donate a bag or two, it would so appreciated.
*Our seeds are really growing.  It is fun and exciting to watch our little plants grow.  Our Preschoolers continue to water, sun, and take care of them.  Such fun.