FUN OUTSIDE IN THE WINTER

It's been a record setting year for snow in the Twin Cities. That hasn't kept us from enjoying the outdoors! Here are a few pictures of the children living it up in the backyard!

HI HO, HI HO IT'S BACK TO SCHOOL WE GO

We're back in school and it's fun to see our friends again after the Christmas break. There is so much snow in our backyard that we are having a hard time walking around in it. What a silly problem to have! The custodial staff had to snowplow a path for us out to the "emergency tree" and up to the sidewalk on top of the hill. It helps us walk around and it also makes a great sliding path! We learned a little about polar bears earlier this month and it is clear that our January weather is perfect for them!

Right now we are reading some of our favorite nursery rhymes and fairy tales. We have lots of puppets, flannel graph figures, dress up clothes and castles to help us retell our favorite stories.

The Orange and Green Classes are learning fun songs for their program which they will be giving on Thursday, February 17. It takes a lot practice to do a good job. We love repetition!

SANTA VISITS

Sure enough, he came. With the jingling of sleigh bells from the reindeers' harness, Santa came to visit the children at Salem Pre School. He thanked us for our singing and for being such good girls and boys! Tired from his busy schedule, he sat down and took out a favorite book just for us. It was "The Polar Express"! He likes it because it talks about the sleigh bells and the elves and the boy who got the first gift of Christmas. The boy could have had anything he wanted but guess what he chose, a silver bell from the reindeers' harness! On the trip home the boy lost the bell through a hole in his bathrobe pocket, but Santa found it and gave it back on Christmas Eve. That boy, unlike all the others in his family, could still hear the bell ring when he was grown, as can all who truly believe!

Before he left, Santa gave each of the children a silver bell on a ribbon necklace to remind them of his visit. Many children hugged Santa. A few gave one last reminder of what they were hoping for on Christmas Eve. The Jolly Old Soul had other places to go so he scurried off. We never even saw the reindeer! Maybe next year.

Merry Christmas!

ADVENT

Advent is a season of waiting and at Pre School, we are waiting, sometimes patiently and sometimes not so patiently. We are waiting for Santa's arrival, the Christmas parties and family gatherings. The four year olds made Advent chains to help them wait. Taking off one ring each day helps them visualize how many days are left until Christmas! As we wait we are busy as elves making Christmas surprises for our parents and decoration for our homes. Glitter is our favorite art material in December. Have you noticed? We love to use bells when we sing many of our Christmas songs like "Jingle Bells," "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," and "Ring, Ring, Ring Your Bells."

During Advent the most important thing we are waiting for is the birth of Jesus. He is the reason for Christmas. In the book, "Santa's Favorite Story," Santa reminds us that Christmas would come without packages. It is God's gift of love, Jesus, that brings Christmas. Songs like "Twinkle, Twinkle Christmas Star," "Mary Had a Little Boy," and "Away in a Manger" help us remember the story. We are thankful for you, Baby Jesus!

HOW TO BAKE A TURKEY

HOW TO FIX A TURKEY

by the Yellow Class

• Cut the turkey with a knife.
• Take feathers off.
• Chop his face off, pull the feet off.
• Take out the bones.
• Take guck out of his back.
• Rub with oils, ketchup, salt, pepper, chopped up celery
• Put tinfoil around it
• Put it in a REAL oven. Should be middle hot, about 6 to 100 degrees.
• Bake for 3 minutes or 60 or 100 minutes.
• It's done when it goes beep, beep.
• If it's not done (warm) put it back in for more hours.
• Cut it up into little pieces.
• Put on a "huge" colorful plate.
• Serve with salad, noodles, pizza, meatballs, tomato sauce, or yams.

Hope your Thanksgiving turkey worked out fine. If not, try this recipe for your Christmas dinner!

Johnny Appleseed Prayer

Several of you have asked for the words to our Pre School prayers. This seems like an appropriate time to post them. Perhaps you can use one at your Thanksgiving meal.

Johnny Appleseed Prayer

Oh, the Lord is good to me,

And so I thank the Lord

For giving me the things I need,

The sun, the rain and the appleseed.

The Lord is good to me!

Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen

A-B-C

A, B, C, D, E, G

Thank you God for feeding me!

Thank You, Thank You

(tune, "Happy Birthday")

Thank you, thank you dear God.

Thank you, thank you dear God.

Thank you for all you have given me.

Thank you, thank you dear God!

God is Great

God is great.

God is good.

Let us thank him for our food!

Amen

Thank you to all of you who came to our Fall Program. I thought the children did a wonderful job. Hope you enjoyed it.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

HALLOWEEN PARTIES

Unfortunately, I didn't make it to all of our Halloween parties but the two I did attend were nothing but fun! It always takes a few minutes of standing around staring at the others in the class before the children are ready to start the day. Costumes are a little intimidating sometimes but once we get used to the idea of dressing goofy (even the teachers) we all love it. Each class took a break from playing early in the class session to do a costume parade. We carried our trick-or-treat bags upstairs and marched through the Hermanslie Lounge where many of our church staff were awaiting our parade with treats in their buckets. They dropped surprises, from pencils to Starburt, into our bags and we tried to remember to say "Thank you." Then it was back to our playing followed by Halloween stories, pumpkin carving, games and snack. By the end of the day we were` hot and itchy from our costumes. We do love the excitement of a party though and we are looking forward to putting on our adorable costumes again on Halloween night to entertain our neighbors and friends.

There will be more pictures of our parties in the slideshow at our four year old program on Nov. 11. :)