I'M GROWING!

As we have been playing and relaxing this summer, the plants in the Pre School Garden have been quietly growing. The rain and hot weather have encouraged each seed to become the best it can be. As you see by the photos we have tall zinnias, small (so far) pumpkins, big sunflowers and gigantic corn in the garden. The carrots are shy. Their orange roots are waiting for the children to come back to school and dig them up. They will have to search for the carrot tops which are hiding under the sprawling pumpkin vines. Salvia, cosmos and marigolds are doing their best to impress us with their red, white and yellow but the zinnias take the prize for bold color!

Like the garden, the boys and girls registered for pre school are growing too. They are slowly becoming the best they can be and Salem is excited to be a part of that growth.

FIELD TRIPS FOR ALL

It has been a cool, rainy start to May this year! All the same, the children at Pre School have had some great experiences on their field trips. The Blue, Purple, Red and Yellow classes went to Silverwood Park in St. Anthony Village for an experience called "Nature Prints." The educators at Silverwood used stories, art, and outdoor exploration to help the children identify animals that live in our area and what their foot prints and body shapes might look like. It is also important to know that other things, such as leaves, sticks and rocks, can leave prints in the mud, on the sidewalk or in the snow!

Our Orange and Green classes spent a morning at Como Park Zoo. They, and some of the parents who accompanied us, took a school bus from Pre School to the zoo. The bus ride is always an exciting part of the field trip. Perhaps the cool weather and the fact that some of the animals were being fed encouraged them to be more active then usual, which was very fun to see. Some of us even saw the sloth moving around in the tree, eating a piece of lettuce! That was very special!!

Officer Kim Boyd from the New Brighton Police Department, visited us at the end of our field trip week. She brought her squad car for us to see and she reminded us of the many ways the police help us everyday! Reviewing some important safety rules for the summer months was also a part of Officer Boyds visit! We're thankful for her willingness to come to our school! Julie Philbrook from HCMC also paid us a visit. Julie emphasized the importance of wearing our bike helmets any time we are on our bikes, no matter what age we are! Arms and legs can be fixed but an injured brain cannot be fix!

Have a great summer!

COMMUNITY HELPERS-FIRE AND BIKE SAFETY

In May we invite many of our community helpers in to tell us how to play and stay safe this summer. The New Brighton Fire Department sent firefighters Kip and Ed to our school to talk about fire safety. They reminded us NEVER to play with matches, lighters, etc! They also talked about what to do if we are ever in a fire. If our clothes catch fire we STOP, DROP AND ROLL. When there is smoke in the building we crawl out of the building because the smoke goes up to the ceiling. Always have a designated spot outside your home or school where everyone should gather in case of an emergency. If you are stranded in a burning building, ALWAYS GO TO THE FIREMAN when he comes. Ed dressed up in his firefighting gear for us to see. He looked a little scary at first and his breathing was like Darth Vader but when we remembered that he was just a person dressed up to fight fires we knew we didn't need to be afraid of him! Kip and Ed brought their fire truck to school and we saw all the hoses, tanks, axes, lights, etc. and we sat in the firefighters' seats in the truck! Cool!

Julie Philbrook, from Hennipen County Medical Center came to school also. Julie told us how important it is to wear our bike helmets when we are out riding our bikes. Doctors can fix our broken bones and scratches but they cannot fix a broken brain. That is why we must protect our brain! Helmets do the job! Wear yours all the time.

Salem Pre School is also looking forward to Kim Boyd coming to school to talk to us about safety rules to stay safe in our community. Kim is a New Brighton police officer and has talked to us before about strangers, getting lost, crossing streets safely and many other topics! She also brings her police car for us to see.

We are so thankful for all of these people who spend their days taking care of us!

SNOWY EASTER PREPARATIONS

Today is Easter, the sun is shining and the air is warm!! At long last! As you can see from the photos, our Easter parties were on snowy days. This is as late in the season as Easter can ever be and still it was cold and wintery right up to the last minute. Then WOW! What better way to frame the G00d News that Jesus lives! Isn't it good to know that no matter what spring throws our way, Easter still comes! Hope your Easter was beautiful!

IS IT SPRING YET?

Today has been feeling much more like spring with temperatures in the 50s! Our talk at school has been about birds and nesting and planting seeds. As soon as the children walked in the door Tuesday and Wednesday they went to work filling cups with soil and planting seeds for Mothers' Day. (The kind of seed is a secret. We aren't telling for now!) Of course, the seeds need water and sun to sprout so we have made an indoor garden of sorts by placing the pots in watering trays and putting them in the sunny windows in room 5-6. We will water them every day, checking to see if the sleeping seeds have begun to grow. Outside our windows we are watching the Pre School Garden. From our windows it appears that the garden is still sleeping, just like our seeds. Then we took a walk outside to examine the garden. Some tulips are coming up! They were planted last fall by our four year old classes. What a great spring surprise! I hope the bunnies don't find them. Shhhhh..... don't tell them.

After we planted our seeds today our hands were dirty and who should come to visit our classes? Evelyn, a Public Health student from Bethel University, came to demonstrate how we should wash our hands so that they really get clean. We need to soap all of the surfaces of our hands including between our fingers and on our fingernails. How long should we suds our hands? Keep washing until you finish singing the "Alphabet Song" or "Happy Birthday!"

This has been a busy week!

VISITORS COME TO PRE SCHOOL

We love to have visitors come to Pre School to tell us about their jobs and talents. During "tool week" we talked about how tools help make our jobs easier. We invited Charlie Eggert's dad, Jeff, to come and talk to the Orange and Blue Classes about the tools he uses in his dental office. Dr. Eggert first showed us his mask, which he wears over his mouth and nose so that he doesn't share his germs with his patients. He also has a very cool pair of glasses to wear. They have magnifying lenses in them that make it possible for him to see the tiny cracks and spaces in our teeth. Of course he brought a tooth brush which he used to brush his dragon puppet's teeth with gentle circling movements. The tooth brush is a tool we need to use to keep our teeth clean too. Before leaving, Dr. Eggert gave each student a "dental tool bag" which included tooth paste, a timer for brushing, and other nifty items! We are so glad he was able to find time in his schedule to come to school!

There are many kinds of tools and Builder Ed came to Pre School during "tool week" to show all of our students the tools he uses for building and fixing houses. (Builder Ed is Mrs. Shelly's dad who has recently remodeled her house.) Ed brought tools for measuring, tools for drilling, tools for sawing and pounding and tools, like his level, for keeping his work on the straight and narrow! Some of the tools were very noisy so he has to wear special ear protection. We got to try them on too. Builder Ed has a tool bucket which is FULL of all his tools. When he is working he puts the things he is using currently in his tool belt so they are handy for him to use. Before Builder Ed left we all got to squeeze the trigger on his cordless drill and feel it vibrate and see it spin. Thank you for spending time with us Builder Ed!

Tools are really cool!

HO HUM

Pajama Day was a total success! Did we all lay around taking naps? No way!! But we did wear our pajamas, snuggle with our bedtime friends and eat cereal for snack. Our stories were about " The Napping House." By the end of the story, no one was napping in the Napping House and certainly not at Pre School. We thought you would enjoy seeing some of us in our best sleeping attire!