Santa Came

Yes, Santa came to Pre School.  Wow!

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN JANUARY

We will be back at school after a fun Christmas season on Jan. 5, 2009, and we will be full of energy.  January is the perfect time to play in the snow.  We will learn about polar bears and other animals that love the snow as much as we do!  We are hoping to get outside and do some sledding in the back yard at church.  Look for our footprints!

The biggest event in January is or REGISTRATION our 1009-2010 classes!!  Salem members, current students and alumni can register on THURS., JAN. 22 from 9:00-10:30 in the church gym.  New families are invited to our OPEN HOUSE on SAT., JAN. 24, from 10:00 until noon, in our classroom area.  Registration information can be seen on the church website, www.salemcov.org, on the Pre School link.  Spread the word to family and friends!

Busy November

November is a busy month at Pre School.  The first week of November we will learn about our wonderful state of Minnesota.  We are thankful for summer memories of the days at the beach and cheering for the Minnesota Twins.  As we watch the ducks and loons (Minnesota's state bird) fly south for the winter, we look forward to sledding, skating and other Minnesota winter pass times.

Week two focuses on music as a theme: loud and soft, fast and slow, high and low, rhythm and rhyme.  We'll move to the beat!  It is only fitting that this will be the week of our Fall Program.  The students in our Blue, Purple, Red and Yellow Classes (4-5 year olds) will present a musical program Thursday, November 13, at 7:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall.  Family and friends are invited to join us for the program and refreshments to follow.

November closes with Thanksgiving.  As we look back at our beginnings and the road our country has taken, we are thankful for our families, our homes, good food, the right to vote for our leaders, and the freedom to respectfully disagree.  We are especially thankful for the right to worship God as we please, for He is the source of all our blessings.  The children will celebrate by sharing in our annual Thanksgiving Feast of individual pizzas, milk, and pumpkin bars.  So much for turkey!

Halloween Parties

We hope your Halloween was fun and safe!   The weather was perfect for being outside.  Our Halloween parties at Pre School were excellent.  The pumpkins didn't rot before we carved them.  Some years they have!  The children were so cute in their costumes.  Thanks for all the effort you put into dressing them up.  We also appreciate the treats many of you shared with us!

 Our next big event is the Fall Program that the Blue, Purple, Red and Yellow classes are presenting on Thursday, Nov. 13 at 7:00 pm.  Is there anything better then watching 4 year olds sing and dance?  We will also include a slideshow of  these children in their fall activities, at the apple orchard and at their Halloween parties.  Friends and family are welcome.  

Please have the children in their classrooms by 6:45 pm.  The program will be upstairs in our Fellowship Hall.  See you then.

OCTOBER UPDATE

October is flying by!  Our apple unit went very well.  The applesauce we made was delicious and our cut up apples with carmel drizzled over the top was just the best!  I'm getting hungry thinking about it.  Have you been cooking with apples lately? Our trips to Aamodt's Apple Orchard were lots of fun.  The Red and Yellow Classes had a cold and rainy day.  However, they got to taste several types of apples in the apple barn, they chose an apple to take home from the big apple bins and they got a free apple donut!  The Blue and Purple Classes had a beautiful, sunny day to visit.  They did not get a donut, but, they got to ride on a hay wagon to pick their own apple off an apple tree. (As a bonus, they tasted the grapes being grown at the orchard.)  Both groups had a  tour of the apple barn, walk-in refrigerator and honey bee display.  The bus ride was also fun!

Halloween is just around the corner and our rooms are glowing with orange colored decoration! Every day we teachers hear much talk about which costumes each child will be wearing on Halloween.  We will be having our parties on Thursday, Oct. 30 and Friday, Oct. 31.  Please send your children in costume (no weapons, nothing too hot) so we can see these cute outfits we are hearing about!  We have a costume parade planned as well as special games, stories and snacks!

In the midst of all our "Halloweening"  the 4 year olds are practicing for their up coming Fall Program, which will be on Thursday, Nov. 13 at 7:00 pm.  Be sure to put it on your calendar.  You  won't want to miss this! 

KEEPING CHILDREN HEALTHY AND SAFE

We want to thank the parents who stayed for the Parent Orientation sessions  at Pre School last week.  We hope they were helpful.  Getting off to a successful start is our goal.  If you have further questions, call Pam Carlson, 651-439-3490, or ask your teachers.

The Orange Class began their week learning about fire drills.  The children walked in a line out to the "emergency tree".  They put one hand on the tree while the teachers counted to see that all of the children were accounted for.  They did a great job!  Their reward was some playtime at the park!

Nancy Olen, our Parish Nurse,  spoke at Parent Orientation about keeping our children healthy and how to tell when it is wise to keep our children home from school because of illness.  For the benefit 

of those who were unable to come, I am including her helpful handout.

We appreciate Nancy's help in keeping our children healthy.

  

If you would like copies of Nancy's handout, please ask you teacher.  We will see that you receive one!

Getting Ready For A New Year At School

On one of the only rainy days in August, our staff met to start getting everything ready for the beginning of school.  We're very excited to meet our new students and to catch up with our returning families.  We hope you have received your letters scheduling your "Get Acquainted Conference".  If you have not, give us a call, 651-633-0158.  Also, please be prepared to hand in your Medical Form and your Immunization Form at the beginning of the school year.

See you soon!