Elk, Moose and Reindeer

 

This week our MWF classes have learned about elk, moose and reindeer.  Today we are going to make muffins, graph if we liked or did not like the muffins and write about elk, moose and reindeer. This is a super easy muffin recipe using a cake mix---http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2010/12/mr-moose-and-friends.html

Have a great weekend!

Pizza 2012

Our TTh class has experienced a delicious week!  On Tuesday, we talked about pizza.  We talked about dough, crust, sauce, tomatoes, toppings and mozzarella cheese.  Each child created a paper pizza.  When we create crafts, we always talk about shapes and colors.  After we glued the 'sauce' on the crust, we placed 'toppings' in the middle the tables and the children glued their 'toppings' onto their pizza. 

Today we made pizza for snack!  YUM-O!  The children are enthusiastic cooks and almost everyone liked the pizza. The recipe---http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2009/12/pizza-pizza.html  We also graphed our favorite pizza and if we liked the pizza or not.  Ask your child about these graphs.  What was their favorite?  Did they like the pizza?  The graphs gives us an opportunity for counting and using words like greater, less, least, most and equal. 

Breakfast with Santa 2012

 Saturday, December 8, 2012 from 9:00-11:00 a.m.

Doors open at 8:45 with Santa arriving at 9:00.

Germantown Hills Middle School

103 Warrior Way, Germantown Hills, IL

Tickets are $4 per person in advance - $5 at the door Available at Metamora Pharmacy, or by contacting the club via mail, send a self-addressed, return envelope to MGHJWC at P.O. Box 954 Metamora, IL 61548

Please Bring your camera to take photos with Santa!

 *All profits from this year’s event will go towards the

Community Holiday Food Basket & Local Charitable Causes*

Lots and Lots of Lacing Projects

We have had lots of lacing projects in the art center.  For the MWF classes, we had pony beads for lacing bracelets and necklaces.  This week we will be lacing with pasta and beads.  

First color the pasta some pretty colors---red and green for the holidays! Here is how to color pasta---http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2009/11/colored-rice-and-pasta.html

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2011/11/using-your-noodle.html

Colored Penne and Rigatoni

I have the pasta and lots of wooden beads in a storage tub.  Recognize the wooden beads? No?  Sure you do!  Think cab driver seat!  I found some beaded car seat covers and cut them apart for some super cheap beads for our classroom.  You gotta love it! 

The beads and pasta are in the art center  for the children. The MWF classes are required to create a pattern for their necklace.  The TTh class will have fun lacing some necklaces!

We also have Christmas lacing cards for the children in our Discovery Center.  For more information and ideas on lacing cards...http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2009/12/lacing-cards.html

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible...

I am reading this book today just because I love it!  

And every once while everyone feels like they want to move to Australia!

Santa's Sleigh

This blog could also be titled "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" or "I Love Glitter".   Around the holidays, we have Santa's Workshop set up in our dramatic play center.  Last Christmas, Santa's sleigh had an accident not covered by sleigh insurance and irreparable.  I had to look for a new sleigh.  A preschool parent had a television box...did I want it?  Of course!  So how did I transform a box into a sleigh?  Spray paint and lots and lots and lots of glitter!

Here is the box...

 

A plain old gi-normous television box

Next I made a paper pattern and cut one side.

I used the cardboard cut out for a pattern on the opposite side.

 

Starting to look like a Santa's sleigh!

Spray painted red.  Let the paint dry and then apply glue (I used seven bottles) and glitter.

Not enough glitter.  I needed to add some green glitter, too.

Santa's sleigh

Santa's Sleigh

Need some more ideas?   http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2010/12/santas-workshop.html

Joy to the World!

Next Saturday, December 1st, is the Eighth Annual Christmastime GospelFest.  Shawn and Anne Degenhart (a Metamora Community Preschool family) will be sharing some southern hospitality and song at this family friendly Christmas event.  The show will be held at the Caterpillar Performing Arts Center at Five Points in Washington.  For times, ticket costs and more information---http://www.gospelfestministries.com/

Run Little Turkey!

What a fun day!  Our Thanksgiving program was a wonderful way to start the holiday season.  The children did a fantastic job and it is such a joy to watch them sing.  Thanks for taking off work, rearranging your schedule and  bringing MCP alumni to watch their little brothers and sisters (I love to see them return!)   

We hope you had time to look around the classroom.  Our turkey has feathers!  This turkey is so pretty.  We had a large donation of scrapbooking paper that we are using for all sorts of classroom projects (this saves us money on construction paper).  The MWF classes traced and cut feathers.  The TTh class had the opportunity to cut pre-traced feathers.  This activity is located in the art center.  This year after the student was finished cutting their feather, we wrote something they were thankful onto the feather.  For more information----http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2010/11/plump-and-perky-turkey.html

Before...

After...

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Sort, Make a Pattern and Count

We use a wide variety of materials for sorting, making patterns and counting.  Poms are great for this activity!  A variety of colors and shapes for sorting and patterns make math fun!  You can also use the poms in a sensory tub! Here are some more ideas...http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2009/10/counting-sorting-and-patterns.html

Thank You...

The prayer below has hung in my laundry room for as long as I can remember.  A gentle reminder when the boys were little to live moment to moment. I have learned somehow it (whatever 'it' is) all gets done.

I always search to give credit where credit is due but was unable to locate the author.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with your family.  Remember---it  matters not what is on the table. What matters is who is at the table!


Lord, thank you for this sink of dirty dishes; we have plenty of food to eat.

Thank you for this pile of dirty, stinky laundry; we have plenty of nice clothes to wear.

And I would like to thank you, Lord, for those unmade beds; they were so warm and comfortable last night.  I know that many have no bed.

My thanks to you, Lord, for this bathroom, complete with all the splattered mirrors, soggy, grimy towels and dirty lavatory; they are so convenient. 

Thank you for this finger-smudged refrigerator that needs cleaning so badly; it has served us faithfully for many years.  It is full of cold drinks and enough leftovers for two or three meals.  

Thank you, Lord, for this oven that absolutely must be cleaned today.  It has baked so many things over the years. 

The whole family is grateful for that tall grass that needs mowing, the lawn that needs raking; we all enjoy the yard.

Thank you, Lord, even for that slamming screen door.  My kids are healthy and able to run and play.

Lord, the presence of all these chores awaiting me says You have richly blessed my family.   Thank you. 

Magneatos

Has your child been coming home and talking about Magneatos?  We have had the Magneato builders in our room for a few years.  They are different kind of building with tubes and magnets.  You can google Magneatos and find lots of shoppping sites if you want some for home!

My Fridge Door is Fun

My favorite fridge magnet!

When the boys were little our refrigerator was covered front and both sides with art work and school work.  I loved it.  Since I couldn't possibly save every scrap of paper they brought home from school, it also provided the back drop for many photos.  I was able to preserve their work and my sanity!

 

In a  new book,  Life at Home in the Twenty-First Century, a group of researchers from UCLA found the average family has 52 different items stuck on their fridge (I have 33 items and no little kids at my house anymore, hmmmm)

What does your fridge door say about you? Anything?

I know my refrigerator door makes me smile!  For some more reading on the refrigerator door...
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/16/what-does-your-fridge-door-say-about-your-family/

http://blogs.ajc.com/momania/2012/09/14/what-do-your-refrigerator-magnets-say-about-you/

http://www.angieslist.com/articles/what-does-your-fridge-door-say-about-you.htm

Fun with I SPY

Student Work

 What a fun week with I SPY!  Today our TTh class made their own I SPY page.  Each child was provided with a sheet of tag-board and a bottle of glue.  We set lots and lots of pictures in the middle of each table and everyone started gluing.  The pictures will be dry and ready to take home on Tuesday.

Student Work

I SPY tub

Today we had our messy tub out for a really big I SPY experience.  The tub is filled with all sorts of items for the children to find.  As the children found items they placed them in a smaller tub.  Want a messy/sensory tub for home?  http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-messy-tub.html

 How to color rice or pasta...http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2009/11/colored-rice-and-pasta.html

Feed the Birds

Have you noticed the bird feeders out in the play yard? Our MWF classes worked very hard on them. We set out Sharpie markers and half gallon milk jugs in the art center and let the kids have at it! 

After they were finished coloring, I cut holes in the jugs, added a wooden spoon for a perch and ribbon to hang from the tree. We are going to have fun this winter watching the birds feed!

This is another easy at home project for you and your child. Nieces and nephews coming for the holidays?  A great craft to keep the little ones busy! Let me know if you need half gallon milk jugs!

Globe Trotting

Our MWF classes are really enjoying looking at maps and the globe.  This center is a very simple center for the children plus after they complete their globe they get to press the 'easy button'.

Student Work

Explore a world map or globe with your child.  You will be surprised at how much they know!

MABA Food Drive

MCP will be a collection site for the MABA (Metamora Area Business Association) annual food drive.  Please place your donations in the basket outside the classroom.

We've Got Mail!

We are really enjoying going to the post office to pick up the mail!   The children are LOVING the postcards and often will ask, "Did we get any mail?"  Each postcard is a little lesson....we locate the country on our globe and a world map.  We find out if the children are awake or sleeping.  We are learning about oceans and islands.   We are learning not all children have the same alphabet and so much more!

 

Morgan sent us our first postcard from overseas...

Australia is far away.  

Lexi sent us lots of postcards, a book about

 Australian animals and some Aboriginal art!

Nick's Grandpa Rod and Grandma Barb travel a lot!

We learned that Great Britain/England is an island (so is Australia!)

 China is really far away.  The Great Wall is tall and long.

India is far away, too.  The Taj Mahal is very pretty.

That is just sample of the mail we have received the last six weeks.  You can write us, too!  Send us a post card to---Metamora Community Preschool     P.O. Box 928  Metamora, Illinois  United States of America   61548

Original post---http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2012/09/please-write-us-in-us.html

I SPY 2012

We started our I SPY unit with our TTh classes on Thursday.  Each child will be creating an I SPY bottle to take home later next week.  With the holiday season arriving, it is time to plan ahead.  Do you have family coming into town?  Are you in charge of the kids or the kids table?  This is a quick, cheap and easy craft to do with kids!

What to put inside?  Gather up these items or anything that will fit in your bottle...paperclips, golf tees, balloons, crayons, pom poms, fun foam shapes, feathers, bells, Scrabble letters, puzzle pieces, birthday candles, small clothespins, googly eyes, cut up soda straws, Barbie shoes or any small toys, small Legos, beads, small seashells, cut up a measuring tape, buttons, Q-tips, bulletin board push pins, mini erasers (great seasonal shapes!), pennies, dimes, dice, marbles, and more!!!

Let me know if you need soda bottles. You save so much for us I would be happy to save something for you!

For info and how to's...

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2009/11/i-spy-bottles.html

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2010/11/i-spy.html

How to color rice or pasta...
http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2009/11/colored-rice-and-pasta.html

Enjoy some I SPY time with your child.