How does your garden grow?

This week we are concentrating on learning about and exploring plants and gardening!

Table activities include playing in dirt with garden gloves, pots and worms, "planting and picking" vegetables in our box garden, investigating seeds and flowers, playdough flower and plant mats.

Small group activites include making a "garden in a glove", yarn flowers and adding a plant page to our journal.

KDIs for the week are-

Observing: Children observe the materials and processes in their environment.- How does a seed become a plant?

Natural and physical world: Children gather knowledge about the natural and physical world. - What do leaves and seeds look like up close, inside?

Ecology: Children understand the importance of taking care of their environment. - How do we work together with plants? 

Jesus Time- This week we hear about two disciples who left Jerusalem the Sunday after Jesus was crucified. They were very discouraged and were talking about all the events that transpired on Good Friday and the strange story they had heard that morning, Jesus was no longer in the tomb! What was going on!? Had someone stolen Jesus' body, was he really alive, like the women said the angel told them? They were so confused. They were walking to the town of Emmaus, a few miles outside of Jerusalem, when someone began to walk with them. He asked what they were talking about and they were surprised he hadn't heard! They told him all about Jesus, how they hoped he was the Messiah. He brought up Old Testament prophecies, showing how Jesus fulfilled each one. The disciples arrived at Emmaus and were entering an inn to have a meal. The man who had joined him seemed as if he were still walking on when they invited him to join them. As they sat down to the meal, the stranger as to bless the food. As he lifted the bread to break and bless it, their eyes were opened, and they realized they had been walking and talking with the risen Jesus!! He disappeared and they left their meal and sprinted all the way back to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples they had seen Jesus! It was true! Jesus was alive!!

Books of the week- "How Does Your Garden Grow?" by Pat Patterson, "All Kinds of Gardens" by Mari Schuh, "The Tiny Seed" by Eric Carle and "Lola Plants a Garden" by Anna McQuinn.

Have a great week!!

Mrs. Schneck

Yy is for yarn

This week we are looking for and listening for the initial sound of Yy and playing with yarn.

Table activities include a yarn cutting bin, painting with yarn, wrapping twigs in yarn and lacing with yarn.

Small group activities help us begin a Mother's Day gift (shh!) and we add Yy is for yarn to our journals.

KDIs for the week are-

 Conflict resolution: Children resolve social conflicts.- This is getting better and better as we talk to each other to work things out!

Pretend play: Children express and represent what they observe, think, imagine, and feel through pretend play. - Sometimes we play out scenarios that are real, other times that are totally make believe and we are learning to know the difference.

Fine-motor skills: Children demonstrate dexterity and handeye coordination in using their small muscles. - We keep building those skills to handle all the writing coming in kindergarten! 

Jesus Time- This week we hear about Jesus rising from the dead. Jesus had been placed in a borrowed tomb, like a cave, on Good Friday. The women did not have time to properly prepare his body for burial, so they planned to return on Sunday morning, after the Saturday sabbath.
Jesus' enemies were concerned that the disciples might try to steal Jesus' body from the tomb and say he was alive, so they asked Pilate to place guards at the tomb to prevent that from happening. Early in the morning on Sunday, an angel appeared like lightning at the tomb. The guards were so frightened, they fainted and then ran away. When the women came towards the tomb, they remembered the large stone and wondered who would help roll it away for them. As they drew nearer, they saw the stone had already been rolled away. One woman, Mary Magdalene, thought Jesus' body had been stolen and was inconsolable. The other women continued on to the tomb where they also saw an angel who asked why they were looking for the living among the dead. "He is not here, he is risen!" is what the angel said. Meanwhile, Mary finds who she thinks is the gardener and asks him if he knows where they put Jesus' body. The man says, "Mary", she lifts her head and realizes it is Jesus! He is alive!!

Books this week are- "Charlie Needs a Cloak" by Tomie dePaola, "Extra Yarn" by Mac Barnett and "Grandma's Knitted Kingdom" by Rachel McRoy.

Taste of Kindergarten visits have begun and so far, lots of fun! Hard to believe it's that time of year already!! Graduation will be here before you know it!

Have a great week!

Mrs. Schneck

Happy Easter!

This week we are talking about Easter and our activities have an Easter theme to them.

Table activities include coloring wooden crosses, playing with plastic eggs and playdoh, decorating paper mache eggs with glue and tissue paper, playing in an Easter bin, plastic eggshell stacking and Easter coloring pages.

Small group activities include cutting out and painting an egg with q-tips, Easter Bingo, and making a hand Easter Lily.

KDIs for the week are-
History: Children understand past, present, and future.- As we listen to our Bible story about Jesus, it's important to put it in time and recognize what it means for us today.

Moral development: Children develop an internal sense of right and wrong- Knowing why Jesus had to go to the cross to save us shows us our sins have consequences.

Emotions: Children recognize, label, and regulate their feelings. - Even Jesus had feelings, God does too.  

Jesus Time- This week we are hearing the story of Jesus going to the cross. We talked about sharing a last meal with his disciples where he gave them a new command - To love each other as he had loved them. Jesus also introduced the last supper or communion there. Then Jesus went to pray in the garden of Gethsemane. He prayed to his Father, asking if there were any other way to save the world, but if not , he would do what he needed to do. He was arrested in the garden and taken before the chief priests and leaders and questioned. They took him to Pilate, the Roman governor, where he was mocked and beaten and whipped. Then he was sentenced to death. He died on a cross to save us from our sins. He loved us so much, he took our place and our punishment. We didn't leave him there, we did talk about how he rose from the dead and we will talk about that more next week.

Books of the week- "The Easter Story" by Carol Heyer, "The Easter Story" by Allia Zobel-Nolan, "The Easter Lily Parable" by Liz Curtis Higgs and "Peter Rabbit's Happy Easter" by Crace Maccarone.

We do have school this Good Friday, but we do not have school on the Monday after Easter, April 22nd.

I would also like to start having two students at a time go visit Kindergarten for an hour in the morning- I call it a Taste of Kindergarten. Whether you plan to attend Peace or another school, it just gives a taste of how preschool and kindergarten are different. I will send a schedule home of who is going when.

If you do not want your child to visit kindergarten, please send me a text or email privately- 907-230-6715 or dschneck@atpeacewithgod.org.

Have a happy Easter!
Mrs. Schneck

Xx is for box

 This week we are listening for the sound of Xx. Since Xx makes it's unique sound in the middle or at the end of words, we are playing with boxes.

Table activities include stacking boxes, designing our own box, coloring inside and outside a huge box and pounding golf tees into boxes.

Small group activities are painting our own treasure box, making a gift and putting it in a box and adding Xx is for boxes to our journal.

KDIs for the week include-
Cooperative play: Children engage in cooperative play- we learn to work together to stack and imagine with boxes.

Pretend play: Children express and represent what they observe, think, imagine, and feel through pretend play.- Boxes are open ended, they can be anything, today they were cars, cages for dogs or cats, caves, steps, Mario hideaways- who knows what Wednesday and Friday will bring?

Phonological awareness: Children identify distinct sounds in spoken language. - even if they are in the middle or end of a word. 

Jesus Time-
This week we begin the stories of Holy Week. On Palm Sunday, Jesus was entering into Jerusalem to die. He knew this and went willingly. Recently, Jesus had raised his friend Lazarus from the dead, with that act, the leaders and chief priests knew they had to get rid of him fast. They plotted to have him killed soon. Jesus and disciples headed for Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. On their way, Jesus instructed several disciples to go into a town and take the foal of a donkey. He was fulfilling Old Testament prophecy by riding into Jerusalem on a foal of a donkey. They placed their coats on the donkey and Jesus road in to cheering crowds waving palm branches and shouting "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna to the Son of David!" Hosanna means 'save us'. They knew that Jesus was the Savior, they just weren't sure what kind of savior he was. The chief priests and leaders were upset that Jesus was receiving so much praise and they asked him to quiet his followers. He told them that if he asked them to be quiet, the very rocks would shout out!  We know who Jesus is and we know he is the only one who can save us! Sadly, less than a week later, many of these same people would be shouting "Crucify!" May God keep us in his grace!!

Books of the week- "What to do with a Box" by Jane Yolen and Chris Sheban, "A Box Can Be Many Things" by Dana Meachen Rau and "A Box Story" by Kenneth Kit Lamug.


Exciting Easter for Families this Saturday, April 13th from 9-10:30- come use this time to focus on Easter's true meaning and enjoy an Easter egg hunt! Fun for everyone!

Have a great week!
Mrs. Schneck

Zz is for zoo!

This week we are learning about zoos and the letter Zz.

Table activities include making block cages for our zoo animals, zoo animal cookie cutter prints, zoo animal pattern blocks and playdough invitation to create.

Small group activities include drawing our favorite animal, cutting it out and "sewing" them in a cage and adding a Zz is for zoo page to our journal.

This week we are going to the zoo on Wednesday! Hope for great weather! We'll meet in the watertower parking lot if you are not a member, just inside the gates if you are a member. We'll each be given a zoo scavenger hunt and map and go and find at your own pace.

KDIs of the week-
Problem solving: Children solve problems encountered in play.- Children work to find a way to build cages, include and sort animals by which ones would get along, sharing space and animals with each other.

Natural and physical world: Children gather knowledge about the natural and physical world.- Seeing each animal in their habitat and their behavior is great learning! 

Jesus Time- This week we hear about Jesus' too short follower. Jesus had come into Jericho to preach and teach and a man named Zaccheus was very interested. Zaccheus was a tax collector and a dishonest tax collector. He had cheated people out of money and was disliked strongly in his town. But he heard that this Jesus actually ate with other tax collectors, what was different about him. Zaccheus wanted to hear him speak and see for himself, but he was too short. Crowds lined the streets and Zaccheus was blocked everywhere. Finally, he climbed a tree to see above the crowd. When Jesus got to the tree, he stopped, looked up and pointed to Zaccheus- "I'm coming to your house today." Zaccheus scrambled down that tree, invited his friends and heard what Jesus had to say. Zaccheus repented and gave back four times as much as he had stolen as well as giving half his wealth to the poor. The Holy Spirit had worked faith in his heart. Others grumbled that Jesus was going into the house of sinners, but Jesus didn't listen to them. How often do we realize that Jesus doesn't love us because we are good, he loves us because HE is good. We are no better or worse than anyone else and no one deserves God's love, but he freely gives it anyway. How humbling and comforting and how powerful! We have His love to share with others also!

Books for the week- "When We Went to the Zoo" by Jan Ormerod, "Put Me in the Zoo" by Robert Lopshire, "Goodnight Gorilla" by Peggy Rathman and "Inside a Zoo in the City" by Alyssa Satin Capucilli.

See you at the zoo Wednesday and school on Friday!

Have a great week!

Mrs. Schneck