Blog for February 12-16, 2018

 Vv is for Valentines! That is our letter and our theme this week!

Table activities include candy heart sorting, decorating sticky hearts, cup tower building, Valentines playdough, stringing heart beads on pipe cleaners and a Valentines sensory bin.

Small group activities are decorating our own Valentines' bag with drawings and stickers, sorting our Valentines and experimenting with baking soda hearts and vinegar.

The KDIs for the week are-

Number words and symbols: Children recognize and use number words and symbols.- For planning today we rolled a die and counted out that many candy hearts. We will work on number recognition again this week.

Counting: Children count things. - how many valentines do you have? We will count to make sure everyone has the right number.

Emotions: Children recognize, label, and regulate their feelings.- We are talking about love and how we show it this week.

Jesus Time- Wow, Jesus showed a lot of love in our stories this week. First we hear of how he healed a paralyzed man who was lowered down in front of him from the roof of a house. Jesus was preaching and healing in a small town and the house he was in was full. Four men, friends of a fifth man who was paralyzed, were desperate to reach him. So they carefully climbed with their friend to the roof of the house Jesus was in and removed some roof tiles to let their friend down right in front of Jesus. When Jesus sees this man, he has compassion and says to the man, "Be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven." Some of those listening thought, how can he say that? Who does he think he is? They were not happy with Jesus message of full and free forgiveness, they wanted people to follow their rules to be saved, not rely on a Savior who would do it all for them. To show his power, Jesus also said to the man, "Get up, take up your mat and walk." And the man did!! Jesus is God! We also heard the story of Jairus' daughter. Jesus was in a city, people were pressing all around him and a synagogue leader came to beg him to come to his home and heal his young daughter who was sick. When he and Jesus arrived at his home, he was told it was too late, his daughter was dead. Jesus said, "She's not dead, she's only sleeping." The grieving people thought he didn't know what he was talking about. Jesus went in with the girl's parents and his disciples. He took the little girl by the hand and said, "Little girl, get up." And she did! He told her mother to give her something to eat and he went on his way. Jesus showed so much love to those around him. He didn't do things for his own glory, just to help people who he loved. Just to help US! 

Books of the week- "Love Bugs" by David A. Carter, "Pete the Cat Valentine's Day is Cool" by Kimberly and James Dean, "Hedgehugs" by Steve Wilson and Lucy Tapper and "I Love Hugs" by Camilla de la Bedoyere.

Bring your Valentines on Wednesday!

Bring your attendance slip for Belle Isle on Friday. There may be a cost to park, if you have a recreation passport for the state park system it is absolutely free, but there is a booth, but I have heard that no one is ever there. Just so you are aware there might be.

Have a week full of love!

Mrs. Schneck

The Last Frontier!

This week we are looking at and talking about one of my favorite places, ALASKA!

Aa is for Alaska, and all the fun stuff you can see and do there!

Table activities this week are- play in an arctic sensory bin, color and cut dogs and dogsleds, make an Inukshuk (rock person), color tin foil fish, Alaska coloring pages and design an Igloo.

Small group activities are making a part of a totem pole, a Northern Lights painting and adding Aa is for Alaska to our journals.

Books of the week are- "The Itchy Little Musk Ox" by Tricia Brown, "Mukluks for Annabelle" a story of elephant mukluks, by Dianne Barske, "Alaska's Twelve Days of Summer" by Pat Chamberlin-Calamar, illustrated by Shannon Cartwright, "Over in the Arctic" by Marianne Berkes and "Bear Story" by Joy Martin, illustrated by Shannon Cartwright.

KDIs of the week are-
Geography: Children recognize and interpret features and locations in their environment. - We talk about mountains, lakes, rivers, tundra, forests, lots of different places, some we have in Michigan, some not.

History: Children understand past, present, and future.- Putting ourselves where we are, what happened before, where did we live before, where are we now, where will we go in the future?

Ecology: Children understand the importance of taking care of their environment. - All the animals need a place to live, clean water and wilderness are parts we need too.

Jesus Time- This week we see that Jesus even has power over the weather. Jesus had been preaching, teaching and healing all day. He and his disciples were going to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee for some peace. Because of the land around the Sea of Galilee, storms could whip up without warning. That is what happened this evening. Jesus was exhausted and he lay down on a cushion and fell asleep. Suddenly, a storm whipped up! The waves were crashing over the sides of the boat, the wind was gusting. The disciples thought they were going to die. Remember that the disciples were fishermen, they had experienced a storm or two in their lives, for them to be this afraid, it must have been quite a violent storm. Finally, they woke Jesus up, and asked him, "Don't you care if we die? We are about to drown!" He asked them, "Why are you so afraid? Don't you believe I can save you?" He then spoke to the storm, "Peace. Be still." 
Immediately, the wind and waves stopped. The disciples were amazed, they asked each other, "Who is this that even the wind and the rain obeys him?" He is our Savior, he is the one who not only created the wind and the rain, but he created us and he knows everything about us! How many hairs are on our heads, what dreams we have and how much we need him. He loved us enough to die for each one of us! He will always love us, even if we don't love him back. 

Scholastic book orders will go home on Wednesday!

Belle Isle attendance slip will also go home on Wednesday, but here it is too!

Have an amazing week!
Mrs. Schneck

On Thursday, February 22nd, Peace Lutheran Preschool is taking a field trip to Belle Isle Aquarium, 3, Inselruhe Ave, Detroit, MI 48207

Our scheduled time is 9:30am.

It is a self guided tour, so you can take as long as you like at each exhibit. They are beautiful! Fresh water sting rays, Dory and Nemo (trigger fish and clown fish), eels, turtles and more.

The cost is only $1 per student.

Please let me know by Friday, February 16th if you are attending or not.

We do not have school on February 19 and 20, the Monday and Tuesday right before the field trip, so keep it in mind!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

________________________________ will be attending the Belle Isle Aquarium field trip.

(child’s name)

_______________________________ will not be attending the Belle Isle Aquarium field trip.

(child’s name)

___________________________________________ ______________________________

Signature Date

Railroad week!

This week we are working on the railroad and listening and looking for the sound of Rr.


Our table activities are playing with Lego and wooden train sets, creating a train from cut paper, train station dramatic play, drawing trains, coloring railroad pictures and using trains to draw with.

Our small group activities are a name train, cutting a train out of card stock and putting it together, and adding Rr is for railroad to our journal.



Our KDIs of the week are-

Book knowledge: Children demonstrate knowledge about books- We are reading three non-fiction books and one fictional book this week. Talking about how books are written for different purposes is part of our week.

Fine-motor skills: Children demonstrate dexterity and handeye coordination in using their small muscles.-Cutting with scissors, coloring and drawing are part of many activities this week.

History: Children understand past, present, and future. - Steam trains, diesel motors, how trains used to be and are now. What might trains be in the future?


Jesus Time- This week we see Jesus call his first disciples after he gives them a huge catch of fish. Jesus is preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and when the crowds are pressing in on him, he asks some of the fishermen cleaning their nets if they could take him out to speak to the crowds in their boat. They do so. When he is finished speaking, he tells them to let their nets down. They reply that they hadn't caught a thing all night, and now is not the time to fish. He insists. When they let their nets down, they catch so many fish, their boat begins to sink. They call for help from their fellow fishermen, and they have two boats filled with fish. When they return to shore and and get the fish out of their boats, Jesus asks them if they'd like to be fishers of men instead of fish. They agree, so Peter, Andrew, James and John, fishermen of Capernaum, become Jesus disciples.


Books of the week- "Railroad Hank" by Lisa Moser, illustrated by Benji Davies, "Freight Train" by Donald Crews, "Trains" by Gail Gibbons, and "The Train Book" by John Johnson.

Have a fantastic, surprising weather week! Be ready for it all, I guess!!

Mrs. Schneck

Blog for January 22-26, 2018

We are getting tangled up in a mess of yarn activities this week and talking about the sound of Yy for yarn.

Table activities- Painting with yarn, lacing cards with yarn, yarn on sticky paper, wrapping yarn sticks, yarn necklaces and sewing with yarn on plastic canvas.

Small group this week includes a two part project, today we glued yarn onto some watercolor paper, on Wednesday we will fill in the gaps with watercolor paints, on Friday we will add Yy is for yarn to our journals.

KDIs for the week-

 Engagement: Children focus on activities that interest them- There are a wide variety of ways to play, we see some children who choose the same activities every day and those who try different things. 

 Personal care: Children carry out personal care routines on their own.- Very important in this flu season. We washed hands a lot today. Washing off paint and glue and every time they went to the bathroom and before they ate. Stay away germs!

Appreciating the arts: Children appreciate the creative arts- This week is the first time we have more than one step to a project, hopefully, they will appreciate the results!

Jesus Time- In this week's story we see Jesus at the wedding of a friend. It was the custom in those days to have a wedding celebration that lasted longer than a day, more like a week. Usually the best wine was served first, but enough food and wine was purchased to feed everyone for the entire time. They had run out of wine at this wedding and Jesus' mother let him know what had happened. He told her that it wasn't quite time yet. She told the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do. Jesus quietly called the servants to him and told them to fill the jugs up with water. He then told them to take a cup of it to the master of the feast. When they did, the master said, "Why did you save the best wine until the end of the feast?" Jesus had turned the water into wine. He didn't want the servants to tell anyone what had happened. Every miracle that Jesus did, he did out of love for others, never to show how great he was! He raised Jairus' daughter from the dead and told them not to tell anyone, he calmed the storm to calm his disciples, he helped them catch a good deal of fish, all out of humble service to others! As we get to know this Savior better and better, may we see his love in dealing with us all the time!

Books of the week- "Extra Yarn" by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen, "The Mitten" and "The Three Little Dassies" by Jan Brett.

Have a fantastic week!!

Wear the rain boots if this weather keeps up!

Mrs. Schneck

Happy New Year!!

We are starting off the new year right with lots of wind, cold and snow!

Our theme for the week is Snowmen!

Table activities- Real snow to build snowmen with, along with button and stick and orange foam noses, paper snowmen to create, snow clay and sticky paper cotton ball snowmen.

Small group- Making a snowman out of Model Magic and adding Ss is for snowman to our journals.


KDIs for the week-
Phonological awareness: Children identify distinct sounds in spoken language. - These kids are amazing- when asked what snowmen starts with they said "C" when I asked what other letter makes the "sss" sound, S was said right away, they know their letter sounds!

Community: Children participate in the community of the classroom.- We had a break, but are quickly learning how to relate to one another again.

 Building relationships: Children build relationships with other children and adults. It is wonderful to see the friendships that are built with each other and some of them even missed their teachers!


Jesus time- This week we hear the last story that takes place while Jesus is still an infant. We linked this story to the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego that we heard earlier. Someone who was from Israel told people in the East about the promise of a Savior. When these wise men studied the sky, they saw a bright star which meant that the promised Savior was born. They packed up and began to follow the star. When they reached Judah, they naturally went to Jerusalem, the capital city. If there was a new king, isn't that where he would be? As they began to look for him, King Herod heard about them. King Herod was a very bad king. He invited the wise men under false pretenses and shared what he knew about the birth of a king. He directed them to the small village of Bethlehem, just a few miles outside Jerusalem. He told them to return once they had found the child so he could go and worship him too. That was not his plan, he wanted to get rid of Jesus. He would be the only King. 
The wise men went and saw Jesus in a house where the star stopped. They gave him their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They were warned in  a dream not to go back to see Herod, but to return home another way. Joseph was also warned in a dream to wake Mary and the baby and flee to Egypt until Herod was dead. God protects his children, Jesus and us! He sends his angels to protect us! Psalm 91:11 says "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;".

Books of the week- "Snowmen at Christmas" by Caralyn and Mark Buehner, "Frosty the Snowman" by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins and "The Biggest, Best Snowman" by Margery Cuyler.

Stay warm and have a wonderful week!
Mrs. Schneck

Blog for December 11, 13 and 15

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas!
Just a quick reminder to wear boots, bring hats and gloves or mittens to play in the snow, snowpants if you have them would be great too!


Christmas is our theme this week! We are doing activities, reading books and learning about Christmas!

Table activities this week are create a tree with paper, jingle bells and magnets, star wrapping, Christmas playdough, pom pom ornament sort, and a Christmas sensory bin.

Small Group activities this week are cutting out a Christmas tree and decorating with a collage of paper, patterned lights, letter matching on trees.

The KDIs we are concentrating on this week are-

Fine-motor skills: Children demonstrate dexterity and handeye coordination in using their small muscles- Alot of that this week in cutting and gluing.

Alphabetic knowledge: Children identify letter names and their sounds.- We will review the letters we have covered so far on our trees, see how much knowledge has stuck!

History: Children understand past, present, and future- How does the birth of a baby so long ago have anything to do with us today? Last week we talked about how the three men in the fiery furnace sharing their faith was probably where the ancestors of the wise men who came to see Jesus heard about it!


Jesus Time- This week we enter the stories that tell us about Jesus. Jesus' mother was a young woman who lived in Nazareth.  She was promised to be married to a man named Joseph. 
One day when she was working in her home, an angel appeared to her and told her that she was going to have a baby. She wondered how this could be since she wasn't married to Joseph and hadn't been with a man. The angel told her that the Holy Spirit would make her pregnant with God's Son. He told her the child would be named Jesus because he would save his people from their sins. Mary accepted what the angel said. When she told Joseph, he didn't believe her at first. He was going to quietly cancel their wedding and try to cause as little embarrassment as possible for Mary. As Joseph was struggling with what decision to make and how to make it, he had a dream in which an angel also came to him and confirmed what Mary had said. Joseph did make Mary his wife and became Jesus father on earth.

Next Tuesday the Scrapmobile will be here from 10-11 am. Please fill out the attendance slip and put in your $7 if you would like to participate.

Preschool has school until Wednesday, December 20th. However, I will be leaving on vacation early. My oldest daughter graduates from college on Sunday, December 17th in Anchorage, Alaska, so I will be traveling up north for Christmas! I leave after school on Friday, December 15th.

May God richly bless you with a wonderful Christmas season and a terrific and healthy break!!

Mrs. Schneck

Blog for December 4, 6, and 8

This week we are talking about Hh and houses. Lots of different houses, not even all of them have four walls and a roof, some just have a roof!

Table activities this week include building and playing with houses, coloring or designing houses, making houses with playdough and popsicle sticks, making the three little pigs houses and making houses with styrofoam.

Our small group activities are making graham cracker houses, shape houses and adding the page Hh is for houses to our journals.

The books of the week are "The Three Little Pigs" illustrated by Paul Galdone, "Too Tall Houses" by Gianna Marino and "This is the House that Jack Built" illustrated and retold by Simms Taback.

The KDIs we are working on this week are-

 Shapes: Children identify, name, and describe shapes. - What shapes do we see in houses? How can we put shapes together to make a house?

Book knowledge: Children demonstrate knowledge about books.- We recognize the patterns in books like "This is the House that Jack built" Like one student said, "Jack's on every page!"

Speaking: Children express themselves using language. - Our pre-planning activity let children express themselves as they chose their favorite room in the their house and told why it was their favorite! 

Jesus Time- This is our last Old Testament story. This week we hear about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, the three young men brave enough to stand up to a king. 
Last week we heard the story of David and Goliath. David eventually became king and Israel went through a long list of kings, some good and some bad, many leading the Israelites away from God and to idol worship. After a time, God gave the Israelites a wake up call and the country of Babylon invaded and took Israel's brightest and best young people captive. The rest of the nation was scattered among other nations Babylon had conquered. King Nebuchadnezzer, Babylon's king, had a strict regimen he wanted his young captives to follow, including diet. When the Israelites informed the Babylonians that they followed their own dietary laws, they were upset. Over several weeks, the Israelites were given a chance to show that their way would work. By the end of the trial period, they were stronger and healthier than the rest of the captives. They gained the respect of the Babylonian government. 
King Nebuchadnezzer then had a dream where he felt he was led to erect a giant gold statue for his subjects to worship. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused. The punishment for not doing what the king asked you to was to be thrown into a blazing hot furnace. The king gave the young men one more chance. When they refused again, he ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than normal. The boys were bound hand and foot and thrown into the furnace. The furnace was so hot that the guards who threw them in were instantly killed.
When King Nebuchadnezzer looked into the furnace, he couldn't believe his eyes, not only were the boys walking around unharmed, there was also a fourth man in the furnace who looked like the son of a god- he was the Son of The God!! Nebuchadnezzer called the boys out of the furnace and ordered his people to only worship Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego's God. Our God is a Mighty God!!

Please remember to sign up for the Christmas Service you are attending on December 17th-Christmas Service sign up

Also we are having Christmas Service practice this Saturday, December 9th from 9-11am. Just drop off your child at the church and we will practice the service, have a little snack and play a bit and probably practice walking in and out again.
See you then!!

Also Arts and Scraps at school field trip on Tuesday, December 19th- note coming home Wednesday!

On Tuesday, December 19^th, Arts and Scraps is coming to Peace with their Scrapmobile for an “AT SCHOOL FIELD TRIP”.  Students will be able to make a project from the mobile in preschool.

The Scrapmobile will be here from 10-11am. The three year old class will have a regular morning until 10am.  At that time, three yr old parents may return to join us.

Four year students and their parents are also invited to this event and will need to be present to help their child with their project.

The cost is $7 per student/kit. The payment is due by Tuesday, December 12^th.

We look forward to working together!

My child, _________________, we be attending the Arts and Scraps workshop. $7

_______________ Sibling $7               _____________ Parent helper Free

Have a terrific week!!

Mrs. Schneck