Last week of the session

Wow- what a fun week we had! We talked a little bit about Kwanzaa and the kids made bracelets with the Kwanzaa colors. They were given a bell and then 2 or 3 beads each of black, green and red. I did not ask them to make any certain pattern, but some kiddos chose to. They had fun stringing the beads onto the pipe cleaners and loved the sound the bells made.

Wednesday we made candy cane reindeer. They all had a little trouble bending the pipe cleaner to look like antlers, so some of the reindeer looked like they had rabbit ears! It was hard for some of the kids to not unwrap and eat the candycanes - somehow (with a little help from the teachers) they resisted!
The Pre-K class decorated 2 gingerbread houses, you my have seen them in our room. The pictures of this fun event are up on the blog.

PJ and movie day was a huge success - after a few technical difficulties with our Frosty movie - we had fun snuggling and watching movies all day! For the morning class, we could not get our Frosty movie to play in English, only Spanish.... so after about 4 tries, I finally switched to Rudolf. A few kiddos were a little scared of the monster, but they just came and sat by me and we talked through what was happening. After playing with the TV and the movie during the break between classes, I figured out how to get Frosty to play in English - so the middle class got to watch Frosty. The pre-k class had a great time watching The Polar Express! We took a little break in the middle to stretch and go potty. The kids were all really good, sitting on the floor and watching. All three classes had a lot of sugar! Between cookies, brownies, hot chocolate and marshmallows.... hopefully they all either took good naps today or will sleep great tonight - or maybe both!

Here are few Pictures from PJ day

Thank you all for the wonderful treats - you spoil me! I feel very loved and very blessed!

The next session of Funtime begins 1/10/2011 - don't forget to sign up!

Have a happy, healthy and relaxing break!

Lisa

Gingerbread houses

Yesterday, the pre-k class decorated Gingerbread Houses. We made a huge mess and had so much fun! When I opened the door to the classroom this morning, there was an overwhelming sweet smell from the frosting and the candy. It was nice to be welcomed by the colorful houses! Here are some fun pictures that Max's mom took for us.

The weeks seem to just fly by in Funtime. We've had a lot of fun over the past 2 weeks learning about winter holidays. Last week we talked about winter and made crafts that focused on snow. We read stories about Christmas and continued to sing our Hanukkah songs.

The pre-k class has been working on letter recognition and pre-writing. Beginning in January, we will learn to write each letter of the alphabet. For the winter break I will be sending home some pages with their names printed on them to practice. Most of the kiddos can write their names, but a few are still working on it and I know how hard it is as a mom to get the kids to practice with you. My boys never wanted to learn from me and it was such a fight to get them to practice letters, etc. But when it comes home from their teacher, they will do it with no problem... This homework will not be due back to me, but if your child would like to bring it in and show it to me, I will gladly award them for their efforts!

For all classes this week, we will be having a pajama and movie party on Friday 12/17. The 2 morning classes will view a short winter film - I'm thinking Frosty the Snowman. And the pre-k class will watch the Polar Express. We will be serving hot chocolate, popcorn and cookies during all 3 movies. If you would like to bring a special treat to share with the class, please feel free - note the food allergies for each class on the snack sign-up sheets. The kids are welcome to bring a lovey (small stuffed animal, blanket, etc.) the snuggle during the movie. I am really looking forward to this fun day!

We will continue our winter holidays theme this week as we take a look at Kawanza.

This holiday season is a time of reflection and thankfulness. And I cannot tell you all enough how thankful I am to have your children in my class. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful group of children and parents in my life! It seems that if I'm having a difficult time getting going in the morning or just feeling a little off one day, the kiddos never cease to say something so darn cute that it turns my mood right around!
Fun Quote from this week  Me "I guess I'm just so much more fun that you don't miss Mom when you're here." Child "Yeah, because this IS Funtime!" This really made me laugh and what added to the moment was that this little guy was so serious when he said it. I mean, of course it's more fun - it's right in the name! :)

Registration for Funtime -  January through May-  is open! Register before the classes fill up!

A quick note about ages - in order for you child to be in the 9am class, they must turn 3 on or before 9/15/2010. The same is true for our Pre-K class - your child must be 4 on or before 9/15/2010. We follow Poudre School District on this. We have set it up this way because the 3 year olds will filter up to the pre-k class in August and the pre-k kiddos will begin Kindergarten. If your child has a birthday close to but after the 9/15 deadline and you feel they are ready for the next class, please talk to me. They will not be able to move up to the pre-k class until the year prior to Kindergarten, so they will have to repeat the 9am class. (We have had children do this in the past with no problems) Again, please talk to me and we can work together to find the best fit for your child.

Reminders:

Pajama and Movie party Fri. 12/17
Registration for the next sememster of Funtime is open
Funtime winter break 12/20 - 1/7
New Funtime session begins 1/10/2011

See you all tomorrow!
Lisa

New session

Can you believe it's December already? It seems like we were just celebrating Halloween...

We started a new session on Wednesday, it's a short 3 week session and we have lots of new friends in class. Welcome! I will post an update on our blog once a week, usually at the end of the week. If I need to communicate something to you before the end of the week, I will simply send out an email.

The kids had a lot of fun playing and getting to know each other this week, in fact yesterday the 9am class was playing so well together, that we let them play for an extra 15 minutes and even with that they didn't want to clean up and move on. I love it! They were all really in the zone and most of the group was playing together on the carpet with the rescue heros. Changing their voices to make the heros talk to each other and working together to put out the fires etc. Amy, Drake and I had so much fun watching and listening to them - this is why I teach preschool... my heart was so full just watching them enjoy each other and themselves!

Wednesday marked the start of Hanukkah, I talked to the kids about how Hanukkah was celebrated and we made a paper Menorah with candles that the kids could 'light' each night by coloring in the flame. We learned 2 new songs about Hanukkah, 'I'm a little Dreidel' and 'Eight Little Candles' - ask the kids to sing them to you. We read a story about Biscuit the dog making a Menorah and celebrating Hanukkah with friends. In the 9am class Mendel told us about how he and his family celebrate Hanukkah. It's great for the kids to learn about all the December holidays, to learn that not everybody celebrates the same Holiday or even the same way. The kids were really excited to make their Menorah's and to learn that children who celebrate this Holiday receive small gifts for 8 days in a row.

On Friday we continued learning about Hanukkah. The 9am class learned about the Dreidel, Mendel brought in a plush Dreidel toy that played the tune of the Dreidel song and his mom was kind enough to write the words our for me. We sang the song a few times and Mendel told us, in his own words, how to play the Dreidel game - basically we found out you just spin it.... I know there is more to it than that, but it was so cute to hear the 3 year old version. I love seeing things through their eyes! The kids had a lot of questions for him about the Dreidel and the song - it was so great to see their interest, they were eager to learn all that they could about "Mendel's" Holiday. We made a special Dreidel snack, using marshmallows, chocolate chips and pretzel sticks. The kids stuck the pretzel in the marshmallow and then licked the chocolate chip (to make it sticky) and stuck it to the other end. A few of them even tried to spin their Dreidel snack, but ultimately they just ate 'em up! We had limited time in the gym, because they played longer and asked so many questions during show-n-tell, but they made the best of their time by running like crazy on the blue mat in gym. We tried some somersaults and some cart wheels as well. There were a few near misses, but somehow nobody collided.

The 11am class practiced their songs and learned the Dreidel song. There are more new friends in this class, so we're reviewing the rules and teaching them the routine. We managed to stay on task and on time and they were able to run and play on the blue mat for 15 minutes. This time, Amy and I sat on the bleacher so we could see better, because these little cuties run looking at their feet and not at where they are going.... we needed to see the big picture so we could stop any collisions from happening. I think we only had one small collision.

The 12:30 class learned the Dreidel song and practiced the other Hanukkah songs. We also worked on letter recognition using alphabet flashcards. I'm impressed parents - a lot of these kiddos know most of their letters - way to go! The sports team came and cleaned up the wrestling mats (the big blue mat), so this class got to run and play with the big balls in the gym. They are very creative and came up with some great games using the balls. They are also really good at including everybody in their play. Drake (Amy's kids had a performance at school, so Drake came to help) and I had a lot of fun watching them discuss the rules and then play the games. A lot of times it changed into a different game half-way through, but everybody seemed to go with the flow and play the new game. A couple of times they split off into groups and played 2 seperate games, which somehow would then morph into the same game again... it was very interesting.

Announcements and Reminders:

A BIG thank you to Devorah and Mendel Gorelik for all their help with our Hanukkah unit!

Please send your child with a light weight jacket or sweatshirt, in case they get chilly during class. Our heat has been tempermental... we are hoping to have it fixed next week.

Don't forget to sign up for snack and show-n-tell.

The last day of this session is December 17th. Registration is open for the whole next semester, beginning in January and ending in May. There are three 6 week sessions.

Have a great weekend!

Lisa