LET'S SPREAD THE WORD!!!!!

Lutheran Unity School West

Preschool Technology Fundraiser

Help Preschool get an interactive projector

for their classroom

just by getting your dog groomed!

When: Saturday December 17

Where:  St. Paul Lutheran Church Parking lot (5650 N. Canfield Chicago)

Times:  15 minute intervals starting at 8am through 4pm

Cost: $25(check or cash) for a bath, blow dry, brush and nail trim **

Reservations are preferred!  Call the school 708-867-5044 or email Tanya: tboyle@lutheranunity.com and she will return your email with a time.

**If your dog is particularly matted, or is in need of a serious detangling, the price will go up slightly.  Please let us know when you make an appointment.

Add-ons are available:

$3/Aloe re-moisture treatment, $3/Nail filing (after trim), $3 PAW Bath (makes pads soft & supple), $3 Teeth brushing, $6 De-Shed solution (add on for bath, get's more hair out!)

All proceeds go to LUSA’s West Campus Preschool towards the purchase of interactive technology which will be a great asset to their education. 

Mahalo!

Gracias, Mahalo, Thank You and ! These were some focus words this week.  The children learned a new song called "Mahalo" by Laurie Berkner along with some actions.  We used the 4 ways of saying thank you in a variety of situations all week. Ask your child to respond using one of these ways. We said thank you God for many of the people and things we have in life. 

We are spending a lot of time on family.  The children all brought in family collages and shared them with the class.  They are hanging up until the last day of school next week.  We learned about cousins and siblings and grandparents and most importantly, how all families look DIFFERENT!  It is important to explore the different types of familes out there as our children are exposed to so many different people.  I told them I would send their posters home next week and they could hang them up at home, so don't be shocked to hear that. haha. 

In small groups we have been working on a lot more math skills.  We are doing number identification along with writing some numbers.  Some groups are working on matching along with identifying same and different.  A few children have begun some sight words!  Our letter focus was still Ff.  With the short week next week, we will be reviewing A-F and sequencing.  G, H and I will be covered before Christmas.  As you practice these things at home in anyway that you choose, please reinforce the lowercase letters as those tend to be the more difficult ones.  Also please teach all names in proper fashion of Uppercase followed by lowercase.  This is the way they will learn in here and throughout school.  All uppers is a hard habit to break.

Today, we talked about quilts.  We watched a video of The Patchwork Quilt.  This is a picture book about a grandma who teaches her granddaughter about why she makes a patchwork quilt.  The book takes an engaging approach to teaching the importance of family and tradition.  After, we made our own "SCHOOL FAMILY" quilt.  We are all brothers and sisters in Christ and therefore a family of our own! 

If for some reason your child is going to be out next week, please email me or send a note prior so we plan accordingly.  Obviously if your child is sick, a phone call to the office is fine.  In any case, do notify us in some way.

Finally, many children were prepared for the cold weather today.  I would like ALL children weather ready by tomorrow.  I will admit I forgot my gloves too, but I am not running about, my hands were ok in my pocket.  Some could not be outside for more than 5 minutes today due to the cold.  We should be outside for a good 15 minutes on days like today.  They need the fresh air!  So please send them in pants, WINTER coats, hats and gloves.  No need for boots until it snows. 

I will not blog next week, but I will be posting photos later tonight or tomorrow! I wish you many thanksgiving blessings~!  Enjoy your families and enjoy your food! Be thankful to God!

TB :)

Many Thanks....

First off, thank you to all that not only purchased books for your children, but also for our classroom.  The children LOVE them.  The school raised quite a bit and now the school library will be all the better!

THis week we have been talking about fall and how the trees react.  We learned a bit about photosynthesis and why the leaves change.  We have done some projects with impromptu paper leaves since we were washed out and could not go on a good leave hunt.  We did however make it outside Monday to do a fall scavenger hunt and they LOVED that.  They took it very seriously!

Hannah and Samuel are the 2 people we talked about this week during our Jesus Time.  We talked about who Samuel was and who his teacher was.  Today, we finished with Samuel as an old man who became a teacher/minister of God just like his teacher Eli was.  Next week will focus on Thanksgiving and families.  We will thank God for families and differences.

Our letter is Ff, color is brown/cafe and we have moved on to ovals.  Different children are working on different levels of these areas.  Some are learning to write the letter, some are using the letter to find words and some are sounding out and trying to spell the words that start with Ff.  The same is true of the colors and shapes we are using in class.  We are all introduced at the same time, but many of them are in different groups to help them learn and grow at their own pace.
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Today, we talked about Veteran's Day and why it is important.  We talked about the men and women who work and soldiers to keep us safe.  They read a Scholastic together which would be a good tool for you to review with them at home. 

Science with EP was super awesome.  Today, he and his mom created glitter globes, like snow globes.  The children learned about solutions and weights of different liquids.  WTG! On a side note, she also brought in a SQUARE EGG! That's right, a square egg! ASK your kiddos.

I know I asked for the family collages this week.  I hope you did not stress too much.  I will be hanging these up today, but they are encouraged to still bring them on Monday if they have not yet done so.  All week through thanksgiving, we will talk about family.  Your help is much appreciated. 

Finally, please dress your child with hats, gloves and winter coats.  Boots are not necessary until it really starts to snow.  As the weather gets below 35, I will be keeping children with siblings inside so you can pick them both up at 3pm.  If your only child is a prek student, still be here promptly at 2:50.  Anyone after 3 will be taken down to extended care.

Many thanks and more photos are on their way.
Tanya

Photos from recent past

famous flubber

Huge success

Using your own imagination is the best tool!

Time out for a dress up break.

Bible stories are an important part of our week.

Fantastic Fall

I hope you are all enjoying these last few days of warmth.  It has been so up and down that no one knows how to dress.  My suggestion for the kids is send them in layers so we have the warmth if it is needed.

We have finished our discussions about Moses.  We briefly talked about the 10 commandments.  Since they are a bit more complex, we keep it simple in prek.  I call them God's special rules for us to live by.  The rest of November will revolve around family.  I am asking that you work on a family photo collage with your child.  It should have at least 3 photos.  If you can bring the collage in sometime before Nov. 10th, that would be great.  These will be posted and families will be discussed.  If you have blended families, feel free to use as many photos as needed to share family members.  The collage will be put on paper I am sending home tomorrow 11/3.  Thanks for your help with this.

In math, we have been working on circles and ovals now.  Next week, we will be doing some shape word and symbol identification. Some children are even starting some basic addition and subtraction using manipulatives. The colors they have focused on are blue, red, yellow, orange and black.  They know them in spanish too!

As we finish off our Harvest unit, we discussed corn.  I brought some items to show that their are many uses nd products made from corn.  Feel free to show them some things at home that you know might be made from corn.  We painted with corn syrup, we ate popcorn, we looked at and counted kernels and we even made corn stalks that you will see this week.

The children have been working on rhyming words.  So far our focus words are -at and -op.  Next week we will move on to -it words. Practice these at home.  We do not discourage made up words at this point. We want to encourage the understanding of the word patterns. 

There was no science this week, but I know they all LOVED the flubber.  Next week is science with EP!  The friend of the week next week will be XD!

Finally, don't forget to sign up for the Thanksgiving feast on the 18th.  I believe resevations were already due, so get it in tomorrow if you did not.  Space is limited.    

I will see you all this week!
Tanya Boyle