THANKSGIVING FEAST

Although the Pilgrims didn't have pizza for their Thanksgiving Feast like we did we do have something in common with them, we are all thankful for our homes, families, friends and the world around us.  Pretending to be Pilgrims and turkeys we sat together and enjoyed pizza, carrots and vanilla wafers at school!  Yum!

SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM

Practice, practice, practice!  We chose our favorite songs and music activities to share in our Fall Program presented by the four/five year old classes on Thursday evening, November, 15.  Family members, grandparents, great grandparents, friends and neighbors came to see our students sing, play their instruments and dance to the best music around.   The audience loved the disco  dance with music by Go Fish!  Everyone in attendance enjoyed the slideshow that concluded the evening.  Candid shots from our fall days at school gave a glimpse into what pre school is all about!  The refreshment time after the performance provided a opportunity to socialize with other families and the teachers.  We want to thank everyone who came to support our students!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Happy Halloween everyone!  We have had two weeks at school with lot of talk about pretend vs. real.  Our dress-up clothes have gotten a good workout as the students have donned Cinderella's dress or Superman's muscles.  Are we really Cinderella or Superman or are we just pretending to be?

Our Halloween emphasis this year is on scarecrows.  Scarecrow pictures surround us on the walls.  You may even see one quietly sitting on a chair in our classroom watching us go about our business at school.  One day our teachers read us the story of "The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything, " by Linda Williams.  She was not even afraid when                                                                                                                "two shoes ( clomp, clomp),                                                                                                                    one pair of pants (wiggle, wiggle),                                                                                                        one shirt (shake, shake),                                                                                                                              two gloves (clap, clap),                                                                                                                               one hat (nod, nod) and                                                                                                                          one scary pumpkin head (Boo, Boo) "                                                                                               followed her home.  She sent them all right out into the corn field where they happily spend their days scaring the the crows away!  I wonder if anyone will come to our Halloween parties dressed as a scarecrow?

Wiggle, Wiggle

Boo!  Boo!

Happy Halloween!

Mr. Scarecrow!

MUSIC IS EVERYWHERE

Our classrooms have been especially loud this week, by intention!  Making music was the theme and our students were very busy shaking things, tapping things, and strumming things.  Each child had an opportunity to create his/her own "Music Bag"  containing wood blocks and an egg shaker for making music wherever they go!  Music can be fast or slow, loud or soft, high or low and we tried all of these choices as we sang our songs and played our instruments.
Our music unit concluded with two talented guest making appearances at Pre School.  Troy Norton, a dad from our Yellow Class who plays in a band,  shared his talents with the afternoon classes.  Leslie Babb, one of Salem's talented musicians, spoke to the morning classes about her use of percussion instruments and the piano to make music.  Leslie's drums illustrated great examples of LOUD and soft, high and low, fast and slow.  Students were challenged to clap along with Leslie's rhythms.  Sometimes the sounds of the drums suggested moods or events like the thundering sound of the big base drum!  Students were given the opportunity to beat the base drum before leaving to return to their classrooms.  The size of the drum and the deep sound was very exciting.  We did a little singing too.  The old familiar tune, "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,"  sounded quite different when we were accompanied by the piano and the bells!

We are so thankful when talented guests are willing to spend time teaching us!  We have learned that "music is everywhere!"

ORCHARD PICTURES

APPLE ORCHARD TRIP

Salem had two perfect days to spend at Aamodt's Apple Orchard this year!  The children motored out to the Stillwater orchard on a school bus, which was part of the fun!  Blue skies and rows and rows of apple trees greeted the children.  A wagon ride into the orchard allowed the them to see the apples on the trees and hear the story of how they grew.  Each child picked a apple before riding back to the big apple barn.  Here they saw how the cider press made apple juice.  They saw an apple ladder, designed for picking the apples without hurting the tree.  Since honey bees are an important part of growing apples, Aamodt's has a honey bee display with real bees, to demonstrate the role bees play in the growing process.  The apples were delicious and the warm, sunny day was perfect!

SEPTEMBER'S SUMMER WEATHER

It is already October and today feels like summer!  The temperature is near 80 degrees!  The nice weather has allowed our students to spend plenty of time outdoors at the park and picking carrots and pumpkins in our pre school garden.  We discovered that little animals like to eat our pumpkins.  They  chew big holes in them which means we can't use them for jack-o-lanterns, but we can easily see the many seeds inside the pumpkins.  Twelve pumpkins were not eaten yet.  They are being protected in the entryway of our church so we can use them for Halloween.  
The carrots that we picked were very tasty!  The ones we dug up were many different sizes and shapes.  They were all orange though.  The rest of the carrots will be dug up and eaten on Orange Day.  That's the day after Halloween, in case you have never celebrated it before.
Our zinnias are as big and beautiful as ever.  I guess the cool nights don't bother them.  What a beautiful sight they are on a crisp fall day.
Right now we are learning about apples and our four year olds will be going to Aamodt's Apple Orchard for a visit.  The next post will take you there!