Resolve to Bee

Be lovable...Be kind...Be prepared...Be open minded...Be happy...Be creative...Be crazy...Be quiet...Be responsible...Be organized...Be mindful...Be faithful..Be silly...Be gentle...Be courteous...Be adventurous...Be good...Be holy...Be childlike..Be grateful...Be naughty...Be nice...Be thoughtful...Be generous...Be careful...Be noisy...Be healthy...Be something!

Past posts---
http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2016/12/ill-do-what-i-can.html

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2015/12/can-i-help-you.html

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2014/12/my-new-years-resolution.html

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2013/12/no-child-left-behind.html

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2012/12/wear-sunscreen.html

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2011/12/for-our-children-and-all-children.html

Childhood Depression

Adults are not the only ones who get depressed during the holidays.  Dr. Joan Luby, MD is doing research on preschoolers and depression at Washington University in St. Louis.  Their research is showing how childhood experiences can change the brains anatomy.  If you have concerns or questions about your child, contact your pediatrician or primary care physician.

More information---
https://source.wustl.edu/2015/12/early-childhood-depression-alters-brain-development%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8B/

http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/health/washington-u-researchers-very-young-children-with-depression-commonly-think/article_288b4f95-477a-52b0-ba9c-56f35c09fde4.html

100 Wednesday

We started calling it 'One Hundred Wednesday'. Every Wednesday the children have an opportunity to work with Mrs. C or Mrs. U in a small group during center time.   We started with stickers and are going to start working with other classroom materials (LEGOS, buttons, beads, etc.) 

You'll notice we are introducing and practicing counting in groups of ten.  We are introducing and practicing not only counting to one hundred but counting by tens.  We are also having the children write the numbers. 

Want to do more at home?  Easy breezy!  You can use stickers or office dots (cheap!), buttons, beads, pretzels, Cheerios or other cereals, LEGOS, pennies and more.  You might have one hundred Hot Wheels (I'm pretty we did) or one hundred Shopkins pieces.  You and your child are only limited by your imagination.  Start your own 100 Wednesday with your child today!

Believe

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Last week our MWF classes learned a lot about moose, elk and deer.
http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2016/12/our-mwf-prek-classes-know-so-much-about.html

We needed a new craft so my search brought me to i heart crafty things who was inspired by the artwork of Paula Weber.  Her Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer   painting was just what we needed for our craft.

First we glued---

Instead of using a pencil eraser, we had the children use their finger tip for snow.  Those sweet little fingerprints were perfect for snowflakes!

Rudolph with your nose so bright won't you guide my sleigh tonight?

Our Kids and Kandinsky

 Our art gallery has our student works inspired by Kandinsky's Black Lines.    First we painted.  The children chose colors and were instructed to paint the colors next to each other and cover the canvas.

The next class period they chose either black or brown paint.  The children were provided small brushes and lot of lids to create circles.

Student Work

MWF Morning Meeting---Trees & Deer

Last week we posed these questions to our MWF preK classes---

Morning

Afternoon

Morning

Afternoon

Vanilla or Chocolate?

We call it "The Morning Meeting."  Every day when your child arrives at school, they wash their hands and then we briefly work on letters, vocabulary or graphs before they go play in centers.  We posed this question to our TTh 3 y/o class while we were working on cookies and cupcakes.

What was your child's favorite?

Kandinsky's Black Lines

We love having MCP students work together on large pieces of art.  Each preK class painted a large piece of cardboard.

 

We added black lines and circles.

The MCP Elf on the Shelf

I saw this bag walking through the store and was inspired...

to make these with our MWF preK students!

 Glue the legs so they look like the number 11.

Add Christmas paper and leave a space.  It's a pattern!

 Add the shoes and a pom pom. 

The children noticed this was like our witch legs from Halloween. More Christmas fun planned for this week!

The Grinch 2017

What a busy week it was for our MWF preK students!  We snipped green paper and glued a Grinch but that's not all!

We made Grinch Mix for Fun Food Friday.

Grinchy green popcorn
Snowballs (mini marshmallows)
Rudolph noses (red m & m's)
Santa hats (Bugles corn snack)

Want to do more?  Make Grinch bread.  It's easy, green and delicious.

Grinch Bread
1 package golden butter cake mix
1 package instant pistachio pudding
4 eggs
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream

Mix all the cake ingredients.  Add 2-3 drops of green food coloring to make it a little greener.  Pour into two greased pans. 

Bake at 350* for 45 minutes to an hour depending on your oven.

More info---

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2011/12/youre-mean-one-mr-grinch.html

Have some fun with the Grinch with your child! Read the book, watch the movie, make the snack or bake some bread.  Holiday fun for you and your child!

The Books on My List

When my boys were little  Mrs. Claus always gave them several books for Christmas.  What I really enjoyed was that they would stop opening their presents and start reading their new books.  We were lucky that our boys were good readers and avid readers.  

If you plan on giving your child books for Christmas (I hope so), here's Scholastic's Top 100 Children's Books (all ages)---

http://www.scholastic.com/100books/


I couldn't trim mine to 100 so I have 108---

http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2014/05/my-top-108-childrens-books.html

Kandinsky Cookies

Wassily Kandinsky's birthday is next Saturday, December 16th.  Celebrate with your child by making some concentric circle cookies!

http://www.parents.com/recipe/rainbow-rings/

Kandinsky's Colors & Black Lines

Our study of Kandinsky continues today.  Our MWF preK students have learned Kandinsky's work was described as abstract. Last Monday, we practiced with crayons.  Students were given paper and instructed to fill with space with color and place colors next to each other.  When the space was filled, black lines were added on the top. Kandinsky's Black Lines shows the children how to fill the space with color. 

Today we paint!