Having a Ball!

Having a "Ball" in the back yard. This make-shift ball pit proved to be interesting. Each child had their own way of "wading" through the balls and making their way out. Proved to be a balancing act as well.

Summer Time!

We wait those long cold dreary months for the arrival of Summer. Well it's here and we find ourselves looking for fun things to do - INSIDE! :-(
With the heat index being in the triple digits this past week. We have had to go out very early and only for a short time. Except for Tuesday's when we had our Splash Day we were able to stay out longer. The children have been GREAT! They wait their turns on the "water slide" that would be our regular sliding board with me holding the hose over it.) Sliding into ball pit (re purposed the old children's swimming pool) Learning how things sink and float in the water table and shooting balls down the tunnel (cause and effect)The children used squirt bottles, cups, watering cans anything that would hold water to dunk their friends. Even the little (2 year old) got her squirts in! They all get along so well and I am proud of how they can extend activities & come up with different activities on their own.

NEW WEBSITE!

I recently created a new website for Heaven's Garden Children's Place (HGCP) from this point forward all updates and blogging for HGCP will be on the website.
Click on the Link to take you to it!
If the link does not work for you type in http://www.hgcp.webs.com

FEBRUARY

In conjunction with the Kindermusik curriculum – “Home Sweet Home” . The children are learning about Home -the different types of homes/houses as well as what we do in our homes. We will discuss different kinds of LOVE when talking about Valentine’s Day. Some of the vocabulary words they are learning are: robin, elevator, condo, country, mole, rug, lake, puddle, mudhole, garden stall, kernels, peanuts, dig, bath time, squeaky clean, clothesline, lost, found, hide, dust, rags, dirty, clean, wash, dry, rest. They are learning the meaning of these words, as well as hearing them in Spanish, and learning “Signs” using ASL. As always we concentrate on Physical movement and good nutrition
Some of the Action Concepts that they are learning are washing clothes, build, rest, clean up and opposites such as high/low – in/out. For the children that were here last year you can see their self confidence emerge as they have a better understanding of these concepts. They participate more in the discussion and action parts of our group time.
Parent Involvement: If you have opted to purchase the Home Materials, please use the Family Guide to extend their learning at home. I will include some additional suggestions on your Daily Report Sheets that the children bring home each day.
Dramatic Play will emphasize Taking care of our homes, & families and Building with blocks & Leggos.
Our “Letter of the Week this week is H. (other letters this month The shape month is heart, and the color is red. (as well as learning what happens when we mix red with other colors)
For Valentines Day our activity for preschoolers was making Kindness Coupon Books & the younger children made handprint hearts. This shows that we can give nonmaterial gifts to others. We talked about how we should show our kindness and love EVERYDAY not just certain times of the year.
Our Faith Building activities will focus on Sharing, The Bible Memory Verse we are learning is “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none. Luke 3:11 (NIV)
As always we will spend a good amount of time on Physical movement and good nutrition.Dental Health is our focus this month.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
May this year be a healthy happy and prosperous one!

I hope that you and your family had a Merry Christmas and had time to reflect on the “Reason for the Season”
I am grateful to God for keeping me in good health. For my increased strength and mobility. As you know I have started taking infants and young toddlers again. It is through his goodness that I am able to do so! Praise God! The mixed ages have been such a blessing to each other. We have a wonderful little family here. You should be proud of your children they blend together beautifully!
Our Featured Bible Story is “the Jesus Storybook Bible” Written by Sally Lloyd-Jones. Everyday before Quiet Time they hear a chapter of this book. Here is a little paragraph from the back of the book:
The Jesus Storybook Bible tells the Story beneath all the stories in the Bible. It takes the whole Bible to tell this Story. And at the center of the Story, there is a baby, the Child upon whom everything would depend. From Noah to Moses to Kind David, every story whispers his Name. Jesus is like the mussing piece in a puzzle – the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together. Beautifully written and illustrated, The Jesus Storybook Bible invites children to discover for themselves that Jesus is at the center of God’s great story of salvation – and at the center of their story, too. The children love it!

The Children of HGCP are learning new skills every day and having fun as they do! The 4 year olds are really showing more independence as they button, zip, and take care of their personal hygiene "All By Myself" It is great to see the progress they have made!
They encourage the younger ones and help out in a variety of ways.
Every child has the opportunity to be Helper for the Day. They help set the table (teaching math skills) and help to choose the story of the day, and leads the calendar and weather lesson. (Leadership skills)
This month we are expanding the ABC MUSIC & ME Lesson - Outside My Window - the children are learning new vocabulary words that relate to weather and how we dress for the weather, such as weather; outside; hot/cold; sun; clouds; snow; rain; clouds; window pane; frost; galoshes; scarf/scarves; ice skate They also learned some new ASL Signs for weather related vocabulary.
With the mixed age groups & different arrival times it can sometimes be challenging to get everyone outside everyday, so last week we brought the outside in! We made little snowmen from real snow! (fine motor & creative skills) During our Science lesson we had a discussion and demonstration about What Snow is and how it feels to what will happen when warm water is poured over snow. Some of the answers were it will turn Blue :-D (the container that the water was in was blue) To - it will melt. They learned about volume and just had a great time playing in the snow indoors.
Our Color Me Healthy Program teaches them about many early child hood skills & concepts as they learn about good nutrition and ways to take care of our body. The monthly Parent handouts are a part of this great program.
The infants and toddlers are learning so much as part of this group.
The children learn that we are all a part of one big Family - God’s Family. Research on mixed-age grouping has shown that both younger and older children benefit from being cared for together. Mixed-age groups are good for kids.
Research suggests that the effect of mixed-age grouping on cognition is likely to derive from the cognitive conflict arising from children's interaction with peers of different levels of cognitive maturity. In their discussion of cognitive conflict, Brown and Palinscar (1986) make the point that the contribution of such cognitive conflict to learning is not simply that the less-informed child imitates the more knowledgeable one. The interaction between the children leads the less-informed member to internalize new understandings.
Along the same lines, Vygotsky (1978) maintains that the internalization of new understandings, or "cognitive restructuring," occurs when concepts are actually transformed and not merely replicated. According to Vygotsky, internalization takes place when children interact within the "zone of proximal development." Vygotsky (1978) defines this zone as "the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers" (p.86).
Slavin (1987) suggests that in terms of the Vygotskian concept of the "zone of proximal development," the discrepancy between what an individual can do with and without assistance can be the basis for cooperative peer efforts that result in cognitive gains. In Slavin's view, "collaborative activity among children promotes growth because children of similar ages are likely to be operating within one another's zones of proximal development, modeling in the collaborating group behaviors more advanced than those they could perform as individuals" (p. 1162). Brown and Reeve (1985) maintain that instruction aimed at a wide range of abilities allows the novice to learn at his own rate and to manage various cognitive challenges in the presence of "experts."
Your Children are making great progress in their Social/Emotional development, their Character development, creativity, fine motor& gross motor & reading readiness skills.
Thank You so much for choosing me to be small part of their lives.

Is the Summer really at it's end? We had such fun the past few months. Playing, singing and dancing our days away.

September is the beginning of a new school year and that means back to group lessons and following the schedule.
Research shows that children do much better when they know what to expect and when. It helps them learn the concept of “time” As always Infants are fed and nap according to their individual needs and as they grow & develop are eased into a schedule. The new Schedule is at the end of this post.
WELCOME
We say hello to Emily Rose. Emily is going to be coming to HGCP beginning Sept. 9th. She brings her mommy Erica and Daddy Joe... Emily is the niece of “Tommy” who many of you know through pictures that I have in my kitchen. Tommy had touched my heart when he was enrolled here during my first year of private child care and for a couple of years after. He recently graduated from High School. His mom and I have kept in touch all of these years & I keep adding his picture to our Wall of Fame!
Emily’s mom Erica was in Day Care when I worked for Lackawanna County. That tells you that I have been "at this" for quite some time... I am very pleased & honored to welcome this family “back Home” to Our Child Care Family!

“Boz “ If you hear your child mention the name Boz or Gracie and Drew these are not new students here at HGCP :-) However they are a part of our time spent here. BOZ (the big green bear) will be ONE of the ways that the children will be learning about Jesus & Christian values. Your children will be learning many important concepts utilizing this Series.

Kindermusik As always - the children enrolled at HGCP enjoy the
Kindermusik Classes at no additional charge (except for the small cost of At Home Materials)
In addition Families that are enrolled at HGCP receive a discount on the evening or Saturday KM classes offered here.

Look for more Sign Language activities this year as we focus on more Vocabulary words, learn new songs, & stories and create special projects.

There are a limited amount of Full Time and Part Time openings available.
Day Care Opens 7:30 AM
Part Time openings ages 2-5 8:30- 11:00 Mon- - Wed. Fri. or Mon-Friday

New Fall Schedule
Morning Session 8:30 – 11:30
Breakfast – 8:00 Circle time
Calendar, Weather, Lesson .
Music & Movement
Lesson Follow Up Activity ,Outside Activity or Dramatic Play
Lunch - 11:30 – 12:00

Afternoon Session 12:30- 3:30PM
Free Play – (Fine Motor Activities)& Story Time
Quiet Time 1:00 –2:30
Snack - 2:45
Dismissal – 3:00-3:30

Where did April go?

Can there really only be one week left in April are we really entering the 5th month of the "New Year" already?
Although the Parent newsletter and your weekly notes give you some idea of what the children have been doing I want to tell you a little more about this month’s life lesson that they are learning.
The children have been busy learning about the environment around them. In the -- on the -- under the ground to quote a verse from our Kindermusik theme this month "Down on the Ground" Talking about GOD'S CREATION. Our featured story is the Listening Walk the children were encouraged not only to listen while on a walk but listen to the sounds at home, at play, and during Quiet Time
Each sound that they hear is a gift from GOD. Listening is a learned skill but Hearing - is a gift from GOD. I was so blessed to not only be born with my hearing but to be born of Deaf Parents where I needed to learn the skill of listening. I believe that I "listen" more than someone who were born to parents that have the sense of hearing. I enjoy going for Listening walks especially around Lake Scranton. I have not been physically able to do that in a long long time but I am confident that I will again. Each sound that I experience actually brings tears to my eyes that God used me to help my parents communicate in our society. As a child & a young adult I did not appreciate the gift as much as I do today. Now that both of them are gone, I use the gift to teach others the beautiful language that my Parents used all of their lives. The world was not so kind to them as it is now. There are laws and adaptive equipment that help the Deaf. Television that was once a silent box with fast moving programs can now be viewed and read. NOT an easy task still but brings much more meaning to the programs. Communication to a neighbor or a friend or relative no longer means that you have to wait to see the person or have someone make the call for you. You can do so by typing a TTY message or email. My parents did not have that luxury however they did have 4 children that were gifted with speech and hearing. We did our best to make they journey through life a little easier but looking back I wonder if I knew what I know now – did I do enough. Fortunately they both knew that they did not need their sense of hearing to communicate with Our Lord. They did that on a daily basis.
Today I am asking – are we using our GIFTS that our Heavenly Father gave us to the best of our ability? Are we reaching beyond our comfort zone to go the extra step to do his work? Are we using HIS gifts for good and not for selfish reasons. I pray that we all are doing what the Father asks of us. I believe that teaching the children sign language here at HGCP is a small part of my work here. If I can make a small impact on one or more of these tiny little lives -- who knows what GREAT work for the Deaf Culture that they can do one day? Or in the Hearing world as a person who has learned to "Listen" to the best of his or her ability.
Today take some time to sit in a quiet place – and listen for his voice. “Hear” what it is that he puts on your heart.

March 30th - April 3

Dear Friends,
As you are aware this was a week that was to say the very least Heart-breaking for me. Although my thoughts were largely consumed with the recent Murder of my Cousin, I want you to know how BLESSED I felt, that God has me doing what I love to do caring for and teaching your children. He reminded me every day this week that the children are pure and innocent and although we are all born into sin. They can be led to a righteous path. By modeling what we do when faced with trials and tribulation that Satan puts before us. Our lessons this week focused on how we should treat one another. That we are all FAMILY and that love and respect is pleasing in God's eyes. That we need to honor and praise God in Good times as well as bad. We concluded the week's Bible Lesson of Palm Sunday with God Praying in the Garden. We discussed the many ways that we talk and how we communicate with one another - through shouting, whispering, and telephone, email, writing letters, etc. Their answers (as always) are precious and many times lifted my spirit and made me smile. We talked about Prayer - and how THAT is how we talk to God. Our Bible lesson for this coming month is GOD HEARS OUR PRAYERS. It is my hope that I can plant the seed in the children that they will Talk to God on a daily basis as they would talk to you to me and their friends. To remember that he is HERE not just "Out there" somewhere and we can praise him and talk to him about our day. To start each day with asking him to guide us in our words and deeds, so that we may do what is HIS will, not MY will.
Thank you for sharing your most precious gift from God our Father with me. They (and you)are a blessing to me! God Bless you at this most Holiest of all weeks.

In Jesus Name.
Ms. Marianne

March 23-27

This week we learned how sharing is a very important practice for each of us to learn. How it "Feels" to share and how it feels when someone does not share. The children experience sharing a lot through out the day. We share toys, crayons, paint, glue, toys, books, etc. We talked about sharing our time too.

In keeping with learning about the letter T we talked about turtles. How big the grow, where they live, and how fast they walk.

This week HGCP was treated to a New "Alphabet Center" from Elizabeth's mommy - Amy. The children had fun helping to get it ready, and matching the letters to their matching pockets. This Center will be very useful as a word wall too! THANKS AMY!
Our letter focus this week is the letter D.

March 16- 20

The week of week – March 16- 20
This week the children were introduced to the letter S. Learning the “S” sound as in the words Sammy, sound sight, soft, soap, sand, sip, sock, soup and then the “SH” sound such as shoe, shock, shiver, shirt, shamrock, shiny, ship, sheer, shelf, sheep and shape.
The learned the ASL sign for the letter S.
They made Shamrocks using their hand-shape.
Our Scripture verse Psalm 31:24 “Be strong and take hear, all you who hope in the Lord.” We talked about how God wants us to be strong on the outside and on the inside. (outside) We talked about exercise, going for a walk, playing… (inside) We can read our Bible, talk to others about God, pray to God, and study his word.
Our Science project was putting green food coloring in water and placing white carnations in the vase to see if anything would happen.
On St. Patrick’s Day we ate green food and talked about St. Patrick. Our Scripture verse: Psalm 16:11 “Thou wilt show me the path of life; in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”
Discussion: God will guide us in our life’s journey. This is a poem that we shared.
“May your life be filled with joy
And lots of hearty laughter,
May it overflow with happiness
Today and ever after.
We discussed spiders… How many legs they have what they like to eat, I asked them if they ever saw a spider – and you will be happy to know that your houses are all Spider free – According to the children they have NEVER seen a spider… Funny thing is the very next morning there was one in my bathroom sink! It was too early to show them – and quite frankly I wasn’t asking it to “hang around” –eeeewwwwww! I gave him a “ride” down the water spout! :-D
Our Scripture for Wednesday: Colossians 3:13
“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against on another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” We talked about how God wants us to have faith in him. Bu trusting God it allows us to forgive others. We discussed the things that we might have to forgive someone else for, such as forgiving someone who took our toy away or hit us, or called us an unkind name.
Thursday closed due to my cousin Funeral – thank you all for your prayers and understanding.
Friday’s Christian message was – Psalm 148:3 “Praise him sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars.”
We talked about the importance of the sun. Why it is important and if it was shining today. What are some ways you can protect your skin, eyes, in the sun.
We make a smiley sun using ovals as the sun’s face.
Working on eye hand coordination… Gluing was the skill we worked on for this activity. Scissor skills for this activity were not appropriate at this time.
The children were introduced to some new recipes this week. Spinach soup (with white beans) and Sloppy Joe Mac (ground beef with Pinto beans) They liked them both.
Next week I will introduce the letter T.
Please have your child bring in something that begins with the letter T...
We will talk about the earth, rocks, Squirrels, Turtles, and the number 13.

Family Wellness

Fall Asleep Soundly to Comforting Sounds

If you haven't already, establish a bedtime routine for the whole family. Allow plenty of time for stories, teeth brushing, changing and relaxing so that everyone is in bed at a decent time. Younger children will need earlier bedtimes than you and your older children.

According to the American Sleep Association, the sleep needs of toddlers, kids, and adults all differ greatly:
Toddlers & Preschoolers (ages 2-5): 10 to 12 hours each night, plus daily naps
Children (ages 7-12): 9 to 10.5 hours each night
Teenagers: 8 to 9.5 hours each night
Adults: 7 to 8.5 hours each night
Add some noise to help your whole family fall asleep soundly. Is it true that the bedroom should be as quiet as possible? Well, up to a point, yes. The darker and quieter the room is, the more deeply you'll sleep, even if you don't realize it. But, adding "white noise" into the background of your kids' bedrooms can actually help them slumber.

These steady, quiet sounds will block out other more disturbing noises that might keep your kids awake. Plus, once they fall asleep, they'll be less likely to wake up from other noises. Try keeping a fan blowing at night--a cool bedroom is more conducive to sleep anyway. Or, try playing relaxing music or natural sounds, especially something that can be set on a timer. You can buy CD's that play gentle rain, waterfalls, or wind noises--there are plenty of choices. Let each of your kids pick one that they enjoy

Building Character By Puttting God First

Building Character By Puttting God First
by Steve Arterburn

The thing you should want most is God's kingdom and doing what God wants. Then all these other things you need will be given to you. Matthew 6:33 NCV

The best way to build character-and the surest way-is to do it with God as your partner. So here's a question worth thinking about: Have you made God a full partner in your life's journey? Or are you in the habit of giving God little more than a few hours on Sunday morning? The answer to this question will determine, to a surprising extent, the direction of your day and the condition of your character.

As you contemplate your own relationship with the Creator, remember this: Everybody, without exception, is engaged in the practice of worship. Some folks choose to worship God and, as a result, reap the rewards that He has promised. Other folks who seem determined to do it "their way," inadvertently distance themselves from God, and from the path He intends for them to follow . . . and when they do, they suffer.

In the book of Exodus, God warns that we should place no gods before Him (20:3). Yet all too often, we place Him in second, third, or fourth place as we allow ourselves to be sidetracked by the temptations, addictions, and distractions that are woven into the fabric of 21st-century life.

Are you working to keep God first in your life? Do you talk with Him seven days a week, not just on Sunday mornings? And do you make big decisions after you've consulted Him, not before? Make certain that the honest answer to all these questions is a resounding yes. If you sincerely wish to build your character and your life on an unshakable foundation, you must put your Creator in first place. No exceptions.

We become whatever we are committed to. Rick Warren

Our ultimate aim in life is not to be healthy, wealthy, prosperous, or problem free. Our ultimate aim in life is to bring glory to God. Anne Graham Lotz

God calls us to be committed to Him, to be committed to making a difference, and to be committed to reconciliation. Bill Hybels

Character builder

Think about your priorities. Are you really putting God first in your life, or are you putting other things- things like possessions, pleasures, or personal status-ahead of your relationship with the Father? And if your priorities for life are misaligned, think of at least three things you can do today to put God where He belongs: in first place

030909--031309

Here is the post for last week. Please let me know your thoughts on this (once a week vs. daily) . .
You can also read the weekly report of the ABC Music and Me on my Kindermusik blog
http://kindermusikbymsmarianne.blogspot.com/
We focused on the color green and one of the Scripture verses pertaining to Green is in Genesis 1:30 “…I give every green plant for food.” God created all living things, which include plants, food and animals. God feeds all living things. We talked about how the grass is green (well it will be soon! ) ;)
Their Science project was mixing blue and yellow food coloring in a zippered plastic bag. Tipping it back and forth to see the colors blend and turn green.
Circle Time was guessing who was wearing something green. Naming some green vegetables.

We discussed Opposites : Rough & Smooth Using our sense of Touch we passed around a variety of objects and tried to guess which was rough and which was smooth.

Once of our project’s was making a Hat for St. Patrick’s Day. And a discussion about Leprechauns. The Letter R was our Focus. We also practiced making the sign for the letter R. This one is pretty easy for the children to do and remember.
Our story of Opal Oval was followed up with discussion about How God wants us to love one another and have that love continue and never end or stop. Just like an oval continues and never stops. God’s love for us never quits or ends. Romans 13:8 “… love one another, for He who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law”
We Made a “Pot of Gold” this was challenging as they still have to work on their fine motor skill before mastering this task. .
Children at this age love to use scissors but it can be challenging to work with a group of preschoolers and scissors. The songs and fingerplays that they do in Kindermusik Class, and the ASL they are learning are helping them develop their fine motor skills.
We will continue working these skills, and practicing the proper grasping technique.
(Placing thumb and middle and ring fingers in the handles of the scissors. Placing the index finger on the outside of the handle to stabilize the scissors and offer a better grip. Then, curl the pinky finger into the palm) Model the proper grasp for them. Teaching your kids to properly hold and use a pair of scissors helps develop the same muscles needed to correctly grasp a pencil.
We Closed the week with a Bible Story from Luke 15:3-7, John 10:1-16
THE LOST SHEEP. The children learned that Jesus was living on earth, he went everywhere teaching people about God. And how he often told people stories. They listened while I told the story about the Shepherd who had 100 sheep and lost 1. I ended the story with telling them how Jesus told us that he is like the good shepherd – He loves us. He doesn’t want any of us to wander away from him, just like our mommies and daddies would not us to wander away from them.

Apology/Parenting Humor removed

I have removed the "gadget" Parenting humor because it contained ads that were offensive to Christianity. I did not see this before today - so my apologies if anyone did see it and was offended. PLEASE let me know if ANY of the ads or link that appear here are offensive and I do not control their content but I WILL remove the ones that put them on.
Thank You!
Ms. Marianne

From Our Circle Time:

Circle Time discussion was about St. Patrick’s Day. We talked about leprechauns – Whether they are “real” or “pretend” and asked “Who” Celebrates St. Patrick’s Day… I explained that there is no such thing in the Bible about luck – that it pertains to Faith and how God loves us and wants us to live by His word. However we can be thankful and feel lucky that we have God in our life!

They were introduced to Opal Oval (shape we are talking about this month) They listened while I read the story Opal Oval Says, “Take Care of Your Body” They listened to Scripture verses through out the story. Such as Proverbs 15:13 “A Happy heart makes the face cheerful…” When we talked about brushing our teeth after eating meals and snacks.

Psalms 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a right spirit within me.” After reading about Exercising and how it is good for our heart.

And how our bodies need to rest and relax and eating a good breakfast gives us energy to do all the things we want to do. Psalms 118:24 “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Through out the story we practiced some of the signs for keeping our body healthy such as brush teeth, comb hair, exercise, and rest, just to name a few.
Oval is a little confusing for the children at this age.
The Children colored a Birthday picture for my brother – he told them that he is going to put them up on his refrigerator. (R word)!

Today’s Menu
B- Kix, Milk, Banana
L- Pasta, Meatballs, peas, tangerine, milk
S- milk, trail mix

Thursday

Today was Kindermusik Day for 2-4 year olds. We welcomed a new student - Angelina & her mommy Vinnie. This was lesson 4 of Home Sweet Home. The weekly take home sheet will be sent via email.
Our Bible lessons are focusing on getting ready for Easter. Yesterday we did a "flannel board" story - "Jesus grows up" Although we don't know much about that period of time, we guessed at some of the things that Jesus may have done as a child. eg. Help Joseph with Carpentry, help Mary clean, played with other children.
Today the children made their own individual pizzas for lunch
Today's menu was:
Breakfast cereal,milk & tangerines (thanks to Elizabeth and her mommy for sending them in yesterday)
Lunch English Muffins, Mozzerella cheese, sauce, milk, peas, apple slices
Snack Cinnamon Graham Crackers (or as Elizabeth calls them - the sparkley ones) :-) milk
Please send in an item that begins with the letter R on Friday.

Getting Back to "Normal" :-)

I would like to apologize for the lack of communication through the blog recently. As you know I had a stomach virus and quite frankly between that and my insomnia - it has zapped me of my energy(including my brain cells)and I just could not think another thought at the end of the day!! The newsletter will be a little late as I am trying to compile all of my Tax info and due to procrastination through out the year I have a pile of data entry to do! I worked on it ALL weekend and every free moment that I have. Not to mention that 2-3 less days in the month REALLY do make a difference! Wow where did February go? The GOOD news is -- that the children have been quite busy with their, prayers & lessons and having fun playing and they are all eating well & getting along just fantastic and I couldn't be more proud of them! You should all take great pride in what a fantastic "Job" that you are doing as Parents!!! It makes my job easier when at a time I would have just liked to have crawled under the covers and stayed in bed for a week!
But we made it and ready to enter March like a Lion!

Thursday

Today was ABC Music & Me Day (2-4) Home Sweet Home Lesson 2 We experienced the different sounds that zig-zag blocks can make and how different kitchen utensils can make great instruments, we used measuring cups, large metal spoons, & serving tongs for our instrument play along today . Then we danced High & Low as our ears listened for the music to change.
Watch your email for this week's Take Home pages. Please visit the Kindemusik Blog to view what was learned in the 4-6 Moovin and Groovin class. http://kindermusikbymsmarianne.blogspot.com/

Today we had a review of the letter H. We traced the letter H with our fingers to give them practice on the correct way to write H h.
The paper that was sent home helps to reinforce the upper case and lower case H. Please have your child match the honey jar to the bee hive.

We talked about George Washington today.

Reminder Please send a letter H item tomorrow.

Today’s Menu:
Breakfast: Cereal, Oranges, Milk
Lunch: Chicken tenders, Mac/Cheese, Mixed Vegetables, Applesauce, Milk
Snack: Yogurt, Graham crackers

Today we reviewed the numbers 1 2 3 4 …. Left & Right. On The papers that they brought home today – the children were asked to glue the shapes to their paper. The triangle and the rectangle were to go on the left and the circle and square were to go on the right. This also gave them a review of the shapes and colors as we worked with the right and left sides. They received a stamp on their hand today to remind them of their right hand. We always use our right hand on our hearts when saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Some of the things you can do at home when getting dressed or undressed always say now put on your right – your left shoe, sleeve, leg etc. By the time they get to Kindergarten their Teacher will be thrilled!
Today we introduced the letter H. and the h sound. Some of the items discussed -- heart, horn (ask them what Elvis did when Ms. Marianne blew the horn) :D) , hanger, hat, helmet, horse, house. The children helped read a letter H picture story today. While I read the words they said the name of the pictured object. I pointed to the words as I read the story the children were encouraged to do the same. Teaching them the left to right pattern of reading. Try this at home with them – they really enjoyed helping with the story. On Friday please send in an item that begins with the letter H. If you can’t find an item a picture or magazine clipping will do.

Today's Menu was:
Breakfast : Kix, banana, milk
Lunch: Pasta, Spaghetti Sauce, Meatballs, Peas, Oranges, Milk
Snack: Raisins, Pretzels,