Nativity & The Countdown

This week we talked a lot about the birth of Jesus. With all my family's presents out the children get excited... so we talked about why we get/give presents and what is the best gift of all- JESUS! We set up the nativity and used it like puppets. Telling the story of the angels, Shepard's, Mary and so on. The children loved it and it was a great visual to add to the story books we've read.
We have the red and green rings as a count down to Christmas. The kids count with me and also get to see something different than just a calender to mark the celebration day. Not too many left...

I am looking for ideas of home made crafts/presents the children can go home with. I would love any ideas.

Next week we are making our own angels out of everyday supplies, very fun I will post more on that than...

Teacher Note - Reminder Bracelets:

Another idea from the book listed below (previous post)... when there is a event or meeting, place a bracelet made out of construction paper on child wrist and tape. Write on the bracelet the reminder for the parent. The child is sure to show off their new accessory and the parents get a creative way to remember the event coming up!

Portfolios

There was a great book I was reading last month, The Mailbox Preschool Year Book 1995-1996. It is great! I got tons of ideas, it touches on all the topics, crafts, art, lessons, teacher ideas... Well one of the teacher ideas was to make a portfolio for each child. I have decided that I am going to do this. Not for every piece of paper they complete, but for those special projects. Currently I have two children Mr. Busy and Little Miss (my daughter), I am going to do one for my daughter as well, it is still good for daddy to see and I am sure the children will love to show off what they do!
So this is what you do: Get a 1/4" binder, plastic page covers and start. Make a great front page with the school year, name of child and school name. Inside we are starting with a painting they did with their name on it. Than I think I will add some projects of the "Who Is God" unit (and more to come as we go on). These pictures of the "I Believe" were the intro to "Who Is God", "God Our Father". We started talking about believing in God and when the unit was over at the review we pasted the "In God" strips to the painting (hard to see here). They now know how God is and can say that yes, they believe in Him! I am also waiting for some pictures to print of the children doing different activities so that they have a couple for their book to go at the end.
Introduce the book to the child as you go on. Let them watch you put things in it etc. That way they know their art and projects are for something special. I think it will be a great display and also make the parents proud. This is also something that you can show at conferences or meetings you may have through out the year.
Than at the end of the year give the parents the book!
***More teacher ideas to come....

Thanksgiving!

We began our Thanksgiving unit Monday. The children have learned what it is to be grateful, how to express that, the day of Thanksgiving (a time with family and a joyous heart), we are thankful no matter what (in other words "we get what we get and we don't throw a fit")
Crafts and activities:
We went on a leaf hunt adventure.
Made thankful trees
We will make turkeys; out of the leaves we collected, stay tuned for pics and directions



Expect your children to be precious little children that are grateful, loving and full of joy. If you settle for anything less you only show them that is the way of life, when in dead it is not!

Parent Homework

Parent-Teacher conferences

Thursday the 13th @ 7 o'clock


Parents Homework:
Yes, the parents have homework…
Come up with three points that you would like for your child to experience, learn or do. Have these written, done, agreed on and ready to discus for the meeting. These can be anything, whether or not you know if we already do these things or not.

I am excited to share observations, notes and activities about your child. Any questions can be answered at this meeting. An introduction to the new units coming up will be shown on Thursday as well (than posted here also).

Thank you,
Jenni

Time To Express!

With Thanksgiving coming up it is time to start our unit on Thanksgiving and how to express our thankfulness to those we love and for what we have. We have great studies, fun crafts (not just the typical turkeys), and of course gratitude. I will be posting pics and ideas for those of you out there that would also like some ideas... since the children are younger, I will not go into the history of the holiday, but the main point of it. Stay tuned, so much to come!

Conferences November 13th 7:00 - 8:00

We have parent-teacher (me) conferences next week. There are many things that I evaluate through different lessons and I am looking forward to sharing with the parents. The parents will also be introduced to a learning plan for their child as well as new documents to inspire them.
Tips on how to conduct a parent-teacher conference more this week. Stay turned

Game Idea

For game ideas we have a simple option that will deepen your understanding on building relationships with the children as well as guiding them. When we first started PBP of course we talked about honor and obeying. How can you do either if you are not listening? Well, let's play "Teacher says" and let me know if this sounds familiar (but better). The teacher says something and the children follow the direction. Before the teacher tells them what to do he/she says "teacher says...". The children are only to follow what the teacher said. If the teacher does not say and only says "sit down", they should not follow the order. If a child does something that a teacher did not say to do, they are to sit and observe the other children listening and obeying. Next time they will get it for sure.
It is important to raise these children up directly, never let anyone or thing slip in the middle of you and the children (which could be a similar games focus). Make sure you always let the children know what you are expecting and that it is coming from you to them in every circumstance.

Substitute teacher

So, I took yesterday off to finish for a wedding I am planning. My husband offered to substitute teach. He is so sweet, he loves children. Getting on the floor and having a good time with them he is best at. Although, he can be a little inpatient when it comes to the more serious stuff. At first I hesitated taking the day off, but I sit in the same room as the class, so it couldn't hurt right? Well, he and the children had so much fun! They got through all the lessons I had planned and also did all the extra activities. He did GREAT! Good job Ty. I uploaded some pics to share a few moments that they had. Enjoy.

These pictures where taken during bible confessions. We hold our bibles in the air and confess things like "this is my bible, I can do everything it says I can do..." (you may comment or email me for more confessions)

Student Updates

My youngest student Mr. busy can now say his confessions, knows the main points (hand motions) of the three scriptures we stand on and can lead you to the next activity in the day
My other student, Little Miss (my 3 year old daughter) can now say the scriptures we stand on, lead worship and she is becoming a strong prayer!
There is so much more to do, learn and develop. I look forward in sharing more as the units go on.
Both children are grasping the concept of apologies and forgiveness and becoming strong but also caring children.

Curriculum

Currently we are doing two main curriculum units. A basic study; which is teachings of scholastic needs like colors, shapes, numbers, counting, alphabet (only one at a time). We are a preschool so these are pretty simple for now, and we will progress as they grow. The second unit we do is Bible studies; this is their time to sit down with their own bibles and really get into different points. Right now our unit of study is "Who is God". We learned about God our creator-a break down of the 7 days of creation and what that means for us now, God who sent the bible- getting to know the importance of the Holy word of God and currently we are on God as our Father (which has been my favorite so far) -talking on all the main points of our Father in heaven. My goal is to assist these children in their relationship with God, have a actual understanding as young children of who He is and why we love Him so much. So far we are on week 7 of the unit "Who is God" and it has been great. Please email me if you are interested in this curriculum or need some points for you own school or children.

Pictures of the children during differant activities:

Journal time: hard at work...

Outside play: the girls playing with dirt...

the boys with cars: let's race!

Story time, I can read...

Free play, we can even get IN the toys.








Manipulatives, after school activities for a couple of older children.

Daily color page related to the current lesson.

Worship, we life our hands to Praise God! Sing a joyful noise.

Welcome!

Peaceful Beginnings Preschool is a Christian children's ministry. "Changing The World One Child At A Time" is my mission in this ministry. I run this school out of my home and welcome children ages 2-5 years old. I offer affordable prices and a safe structure for your child. I believe with enough love and direction we can raise our children to be mighty in this world we live and bold enough to do great things.
There are two topic of studies that we use; basic study and bible study. Although the day is filled with many other activities, projects and events. Please email me for a detailed day at Peaceful Beginnings Preschool.