DINOSAURS

Wow! What a fun day. We are learning about dinosaurs this week. There are big ones and small ones. There are meat eaters and plant eaters. And did you know that dinosaurs hatch out of eggs? They really do!

To help us learn about these prehistoric animals we invited Maija Sedzielarz from the Science Museum of Minnesota to come and talk to us. Ms. Maija brought many dinosaur treasures with her. She brought bones of several sizes. She explained how paleontologists decide how big each dinosaur is by looking at the size of their bones, teeth and claws. Big claws come from big dinosaurs. Little claws come from small dinosaurs. Ms. Maija also brought dinosaur poop! When the paleontologists look at the poop they can tell what the dinosaur ate. I mentioned that dinosaurs hatch from eggs. We know that is true because paleontologists have found dinosaur eggs! We sat in a circle with our class today and Ms. Maija passed around the bones, eggs, poop and teeth for us to look at up close. They were all very cool! Isn't it wonderful that we can learn about these prehistoric creatures even though there were no people alive when they roamed the Earth? We think so!

VALENTINE'S DAY

Cupid has had his special day for 2012 at Salem Pre School. Our parties started on Friday, February 10 with the Orange Class celebration. They continued on Monday, Feb. 13 for the Blue Class and culminated with the Green, Purple, Red and Yellow Classes on Feb. 14. That is a lot celebrating and a lot of love shared by all! We learned about the post office during Valentine's season, too. Each student mailed himself/herself a letter from school. We're hoping it got to their house before the "big day." There is something very exciting about opening all the cards and notes in your Valentine bag, even when you can't read the words. It's the thought that counts.....and also the candy that might have gotten included in the mix!

Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales

We have just finished a unit on nursery rhymes and fairy tales at Pre School and it was so much fun! As Mr. Rogers used to say, we went to "the land of make believe." Talking animals, huge beanstalks, fairy godmothers, and princesses, princesses, princesses were all the rage! Three was the magic number for the week. We had the "Three Bears," the "Three Billy Goats Gruff," and the "Three Little Pigs!" The teachers did a puppet show of the "The Three Little Pigs." It didn't go exactly according to the book but it was close enough to recognize. Many of the nursery rhymes were put to music. Our favorite was, "I'm a Little Teapot." In the second verse we made a joke. We turned into a sugar bowl, not a teapot! Our "Humpty Dumpty" rendition was very jazzy and lots of fun. The fancy dress-up clothes were out for all to play with, complete with crowns and gloves!

What do Valentine’s Day, US patriotic symbols, and Pajama Day have in common? The answer: love. (Does this sound as random as the Netflix commercials?) February is all about love. Valentine’s Day and the weeks leading up to it are a time set aside to focus on those we love. How can we show our love to another person? What does it mean to love your neighbor? Who are the people who love us? We will have a fun Valentine’s party at school and make cards for someone we love. Naming ways to show kindness is also something we talk about. God puts love in our hearts!

Let’s expand our thinking now. We are all proud to be Americans. We live in a country with many more freedoms then most of the people of the world. This may lead to disagreements but we are allowed to state our opinions and work to find solutions that all of us, Americans, can live with. Because we love our country, we display and honor the symbols of the U.S. such as the flag, the White House, our Presidents, the multi-cultural make-up of the country, etc. This is a broader sense of love.

On Pajama Day, everyone - yes, even the teachers - wears their pajamas to school. We are also allowed to bring our sleeping buddies with us. (Not our husbands.) Our snack consists of milk and cereal and our stories are comforting ones. Who doesn’t long to be tucked in at the end of the day by someone who loves us. Saying our prayers and receiving a good night kiss is a ritual we all should experience to send us off to sleep.

There you have your explanation to the above question. Love runs through Valentine’s Day, patriotic symbols and Pajama Day!

We do have a few more things going on this month that didn’t fit into the love theme so well. We will be learning about dinosaurs (one of God’s very fascinating creations!) Parent-teacher conferences are being held at the end of the month and the three year olds are giving an evening program for family and friends on February 16, at 7:00 p.m. February is a very full month for Pre School! We love school.

The Mitten

Coming back to school in January is very fun. When the children first come to the door they may be a little tentative for a few minutes. Then they reconnect with their friends in class and it's as though they were never apart! The first week of school we talk about fun in the snow and how we enjoy winter. Too bad there isn't much snow so far!! In spite of the weather we love to read, "The Mitten," by Jan Brett. In the story, a little boy drops his white mitten on the snow and before he knows it, a mole, a rabbit, a hedgehog, an owl, a badger, a fox, a bear, and a mouse have crawled into the mitten. I won't tell you the end of the story. I don't want to spoil it for you! Just let me say that we acted out the story as a class with eight children crawling into the mitten! It was quite a sight!

HE CAME AND WE CELEBRATED!

What can I say except the Jesus came on Christmas Day and we have been celebrating all month! We sang carols by the big Christmas tree. Acting out the story of Jesus' birth we "dramatic!" Secrets were kept as we worked on our presents to our parents and wrapped them the last day of class. Then, SURPRISE!, Santa came to our party! Wow! What a month!

SIGN UP SOON!

The new year is almost here. We can put our 2011 activities to bed and begin planning 2012 with renewed energy. Perhaps you want to reassess your 401K plan (that’s always a big one for me) or dream about the vacation you might be able to take this summer. I’m getting excited about reorganizing my basement and sending my kids’ stuff to live at their houses instead of mine! Oh the excitement of making New Year’s resolutions!

Pre School is also looking ahead to next year. That is, we are already planning for our 2012-2013 school year. To get on board you must register. Here is what you need to know. Please feel free to share this information with family and friends. If they live close by, you could carpool with them!

SALEM PRE SCHOOL REGISTRATION

Registration opens for current students, Salem members and alumni:

Thursday, Jan. 26, 9:00-10:30AM in the Salem gym

Open House and Registration for new families: (Adults and children are welcome at the Open House.)

Saturday, Jan. 28, 10:00-12:00 noon

SCHEDULE FOR 2012-2013

3 year olds Tuesday, Thursday 9-11:30 AM $92/month

Wednesday, Friday 9-11:30 AM $92/month

4 year olds Mon.-Tues.-Thurs. 9-11:30AM $139/month

Mon.-Wed.-Fri. 9-11:30 AM $139/month

Tues.-Thurs. 12:30-3:00PM $92/month

Tues.-Thurs. 12:30-3:00 $139/month

There is a $55 non-refundable registration fee due at the time of registration. Salem members and families with two or more children enrolled are given a 10% discount. For more information you may go to our website, www.salemcovpreschool.com.