The Busy Bees were very busy this past week. We were getting everything ready for Mother's Day! The children couldn't wait to give their moms the beautiful gifts they made for them. The first thing they did was decorate cards, and then the teachers translated and wrote what each child wanted to say to. They were sooo sweet. Every child came up with a different phrase to put on their card. The weather wasn't exactly the best for outside time, so we used the time to come up with different things to do inside. This extra inside time gave us just enough time to make our "Love Thoughts" jars. Each child came up with ten different things that they loved about their moms. We wrapped them up with a hint of lavender and set them up to take home. We hope everyone enjoys reading them as much as we enjoyed making them. :-)
On Wednesday we had "Muffins with Mom" in the classroom. This was a time for the mothers to come in and eat pastries and fresh fruit with their children and spend a few special moments together. We had a great turnout. We hope to do it again next year! It is always nice to have parents involved in the classroom. The children loved sitting next to their moms and showing off the room and explaining the artwork all around. Later that day the teachers were given a special treat of their own by having a lunch provided by the parents for "Teacher Appreciation Week". Each class had a few parent volunteers come in to watch the class and the teachers were off to a delicious meal. It was GREAT! Thank you to you all and to Macey and Hannah for coming in to sub in the Busy Bee room!
On Thursday we had Show and Tell. This week the theme was "Something that reminds you of your mom". The items that were brought in ranged from elephants to Ninjago toys. It was funny to see the different items that they chose to pick out.
We hope everyone had an amazing Mother's Day!
Fondly,
Ms. Jessica and Ms. Stevie
The Busy Bee classroom was a hive of activity this week, as we learned all about the Ocean. The children have been so interested in all the books we have in the library about animals that live in the sea. They also enjoyed looking at the beautiful ocean pictures we have hanging in the classroom.
During circle time we had a great time talking about going to the beach and what salt water feels like in our eyes, and what it tastes like when it gets in our nose and mouth. We also discussed the many different animals that live in the ocean, how they live, and what they eat. In our sensory table this week we have water beads, which have been a huge hit. The children can stand at the sensory table for hours enjoying the feeling of the squishy beads running between their fingers.
The Bees enjoyed spray painting coffee filters, which we will turn into jellyfish and display in the classroom. They also enjoyed creating a mural of the deep blue sea and adding hand print fish.
We are continuing to work on letter and number recognition and handwriting, and we did a special project with our names this week. The Bees have come a long way since the beginning of the year and we are proud of the progress they have made!
On Monday we have parent/teacher conferences. We are looking forward to visiting with each of you and sharing your child's assessment.
Next week we will continue our study of the Ocean.
Have a great weekend!
Ms. Jessica & Ms. Stevie
This week the Busy Bees were learning about the three "R's". Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Luckily they were all concepts that most of them were familiar with. During circle time, we thought of different ways to do each. A few ideas we came up with were to use less paper towels when drying our hands and to use re-usable utensils when eating. We also discussed what items we need to recycle instead of putting into the trash. The children were getting excited while coming up with different recycling ideas. We explained why we should do these things and how it helps the planet. For our project we painted our paper plate "earths" and glued blue and green paper pieces to make up the water and land. They turned out great!
On Wednesday we were able to spend more time outside and enjoy the weather. Good thing too, since the weather wasn't so play-friendly on Friday. :-) Don't forget to check out St. John's Garage sale in the Fellowship Hall. It will be going on all next week. So far, it looks like there could be a few treasures hidden in there.
Please don't forget that on May 6th is Parent/Teacher conferences. The sign-up sheet is on the door, so make sure you are signed up for a time slot. There are info sheets in your child's folders for you to fill out and turn in before the conference.
Thanks!
Have a GREAT weekend!
Ms. Jessica and Ms. Stevie
This week our theme was weather! We discuss the weather everyday because it is one of our daily classroom jobs, so the kids were very familiar with this theme. The unpredictable weather we experienced this week gave us the perfect backdrop for discussing sun, wind, rain, and snow.
On Tuesday, our craft was to make a weather wheel with 4 different forecasts. We had Windy, Rainy, Sunny, and Cloudy. We used yarn to depict a windy day, and a yellow sun for sunny, then the children stamped their finger in blue paint for rain and used cotton balls for clouds!
On Wednesday, we started the day off with gluing cotton balls and making all different types of clouds! We placed a poster on the wall which explained each type of cloud, and everyone had a chance to study it. For chapel we discussed how we can't always control the weather, but we can control what we wear to help us tolerate the weather, just like we can do different things to help us tolerate the "bad weather" in life. We also started our rainy umbrella and practiced writing by writing each letter of our name on the rain drops. It was a great day!
On Thursday, we finished our rainy umbrella by tying the raindrops on to the umbrella and hanging them in our room! We also had Show and Tell for the letter "Y". Show and Tell is always great because the Busy Bees have so many creative ideas!
We had a great week in the Busy Bee classroom, everyone enjoyed this theme and had so much input to give us. The Busy Bees have had a lot of experiences involving different kinds of weather!
Next week we will be talking about the Earth and how we can continue to take care of it in preparation for Earth Day on the 22nd of April!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Ms. Jessica and Ms. Stevie
The Busy Bees enjoyed learning about Transportation this week. We discussed different types of transportation during circle time and each child told the group how they had gotten to school. Some rode in a car, some rode their bikes and some walked! The children were amused to find out that walking is another form of transportation. They also started working on painting their boat pictures.
On Wednesday, during Chapel, we listened to Pastor Amy tell us of when Jesus rode on a boat with his disciples. He got on it and was not afraid. The children always love to hear Pastor Amy's stories and sing songs with her. We also made our license plates for Wheel Day!
Thursday was Wheel Day!!! On Wheel Day the children are able to bring their bikes/trikes/scooters to school to ride around. This is a big highlight for Transportation week. It is always fun to see the children ride around on their own forms of transportation! We set up the Fellowship Hall with tape for a race track on the edges and a "parking lot" in the middle with books and toys for when someone needs a rest. It went over very nicely.
Next week we will be talking about Weather.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Ms. Jessica and Ms. Stevie
This week we talked about insects. The Busy Bees had a lot to say about this topic, as they already know so much about bugs! This is always a fun theme in our classroom, and one that extends from the classroom to the playground, and beyond.
On Tuesday, we started painting "Litter Bugs" which was a good way to introduce the insect theme and work on fine motor skills. During circle time we talked about how the insect has 6 legs. We also talked about our letter of the week, which was "W". The kids were able to contribute so many words that start with a "W". They are really great with letter sounds and letter recognition. We also looked through an insect book which had lots of cool pictures and fun facts in it!
On Wednesday, we colored our Bee book and made it into a song! We got to sing it during circle time which was pretty funny. During chapel, Pastor Amy talked about the importance of insects and how God created them to do good for our planet. She shared a story about how ladybugs saved her garden!
On Thursday, we got to finish our "Litter Bugs" by cutting out litter we found on the playground and gluing it on to the egg carton. Thursday is also Show and Tell day,
which is always fun. All of the Busy Bees love participating in this. They get so
excited when it is their turn to present and then call on people to ask questions.
This year has gone by so fast! We are enjoying every minute of being able to teach your precious kids. Thank you for sharing them with us!
Love,
Ms. Jessica and Ms. Stevie
This week the Busy Bees learned about different types of birds. We read about Woodpeckers and Blue Jays. The children were surprised to hear that a Woodpecker uses it beak to peck on trees and listen for bugs. They decided that if they tried to be Woodpeckers the only result would be to get a headache! Blue Jays are brightly colored birds that are common in the United States and Canada. The children enjoyed learning that Blue Jays protect the eggs in their nest and will make a dive for you if you get too close!
On Thursday we worked on making our own Blue Jay art. We got out our scissors and practiced cutting out a bird template then gluing feather onto the body. We glued our Blue Jay into the "sky", which we had previously painted onto white paper. The Blue Jays turned out great and it was nice to see the children taking pride in their cutting skills. They are becoming so independent!
Next Thursday we will be having our Easter egg hunt. Please bring in 10 surprise-filled eggs for this special event. Please tape the eggs shut so they don't pop open while we are hiding them. Some good ideas for egg fillers are: specialty band-aids, stickers, and stamps.
Have an enjoyable weekend!
Ms. Jessica and Ms. Stevie
This week we had lots of fun introducing the season of spring to the kids! On Tuesday we enjoyed spending time in the garden to see how much our carrots have grown. The children have been so excited to see the growth of the carrots and we are greatly looking forward to the day we finally get to eat them! During circle time we talked about spring and discussed what each of us enjoys most about the season. Later in the day the children each created a beautiful picture of their favorite part of spring. Check out their awesome drawings in the hallway outside of our classroom. Our letter of the week was U and we all thought of many things that start with letter U.
On Wednesday we had Chapel and celebrated the idea of new beginnings. We talked about how we can always start again when we have made a mistake, just like spring is a new beginning. Our craft was making wild flowers out of colored popcorn, and they all turned out so lovely! It was really neat to see the creative ways the children used the popcorn and how each piece of artwork turned out different.
On Thursday we had music, which was lots of fun! The Busy Bees always have a great time dancing and singing! We created beautiful sunflowers by painting a plate yellow and sprinkling on bird seeds. We also had Show and Tell for the letter U. All of the children always come up with such creative ways to present their Show and Tell. They are all becoming quite the little orators!
Have a fun and safe Spring Break!
Ms. Jessica and Ms. Stevie
The Busy Bees went western for the week! We celebrated Texas and all of the glory that goes along with being "Texan". During circle time the children discussed what handy items a good cowboy should have. A heavy rope was at the top of the list, along with a trusty horse. They did mention several horse-appropriate names that would be well suited for a "cowboy's horse". (Here are some examples: Rocket, Horsey, Rainbow). The children also worked on making their Texas flags. They were shown an example of what the Texas flag looks like and then glued red and blue torn pieces of construction paper together independently to make their own. They turned out great!
We also enjoyed the great weather while checking in on our garden. We are growing carrots and plan on taste-testing them next week. We hope they are ready! :-) Don't forget Show and Tell is every Thursday. (We usually do it right after lunch.) This coming week the letter of the week is "Uu". It will be interesting to see what will be brought in for that. This week we enjoyed all of the different types of "T" items the children brought.
Our kitchen items are running low. If you have any "recyclables" that you are interested in donating, we would love to have them. Good items that generally last for a while are milk cartons, juice containers or plastic fruit containers. Thank you in advance for everything! We are lucky to have such helpful parents.
Have a GREAT weekend!
Ms. Jessica and Ms. Stevie
The Busy Bees had a "tooth-astic" week learning the importance of taking care of their teeth. We enjoyed doing so many fun tooth-related projects: teeth stamps, making tooth cards, and brushing blueberry stains out of egg carton teeth. It was fun to watch how excited they got by brushing their stained "teeth". They kept asking for more and more blueberries and toothpaste (blue paint and shaving cream).
As always, the Busy Bees really enjoyed Show and Tell. Each child enjoys having the chance to bring something special from home and "share" it with their friends. This is an important part of our week, as it gives everyone a chance to be in the spotlight and practice their public speaking skills!
During garden time we were so surpised to see how much our carrots have grown! It won't be long before we can eat them as a tasty snack! We also have broccoli and Swiss chard that looks ready to eat!
Get your hats and lassos ready! Next week we will be celebrating the birthday of our great state of Texas. The letter of the week next week is "T". Start thinking about what you want to bring for Show and Tell!
Thanks!
Ms. Jessica and Ms. Stevie
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