MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I am saying it proudly this break, "Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Remember to share the story of Jesus, Mary and Joseph this Christmas break as we celebrate with our family and friends. We have the happiness and joy this Christmas season knowing our Savior was born for our salvation.

Please have a restful holiday break and we will see you at the start of a new year 2010!

Parents - please know that school will start back on January 5 for our Tuesday and Thursday classes and January 6 for our Wednesday classes.

Peace, Love and Joy to you during this Christmas Season!

Mrs. Rebekah Wampler

This week the students learned Luke's Gospel of the Birth of Christ. They enjoyed seeing the colorful illustrations in the preschoolers bible of the angel and of the farm animals present at His birth. Because you have elected to enroll your child in a Christian preschool, they have the privilege of learning at a very early age what the bible has to teach. Please get involved in your child's Christan education by quizzing them on what they learned in the bible story that week (printed on monthly calendar).

As you all know, this week the kids learned about the letter "D". Ask you child to sing the song about "Daisy Doll" (sung to the tune of Jingle Bells). They should be able to tell you what "D" words were in the song (dog, dirt, dandelion, daffodil, daddy). Sharing time was interactive, as the students were asked to call on their peers to answer questions about the item brought in to share with the class.

Blessings this Advent and Christmas season!

- A loving post from Annie Weber

Along with identifying words with "D" in it, ask your child what sound the letter d makes. This will allow them to hear the sound of the letter in those words. Our goal is for them to not only identify the letter in a word visually, but audibly.

Thank you for your help at home!
Mrs. Wampler

Thanksgiving program!

It was SO wonderful to see all our families come together for the Thanksgiving program!! If you want to practice some more with your students, here are the lyrics:

I'm a little turkey (sung to I'm a litle teapot)

I'm a little turkey I like to play
I'm very hungry I eat all day
When I see the hunter with his gun
Then I know it's time to run!

Turkey Dinner (sung to Are you Sleeping?)

Turkey dinner, turkey dinner
gather round, gather round
who will get the drumstick?
yummy, yummy drumstick
all sit down, all sit down

cornbread muffins,
chestnuts, stuffing
pudding pie, ten feet high
we were all much thinner,
before we sat for dinner
me, oh my! me, oh my!

Have safe travels during this Thanksgiving holiday and enjoy the time relaxing!

December calendars will be available the first day of class back, sorry about the wait!

THANKSGIVING!!!

Hola Amigos! Our preschool friends are practicing this Spanish phrase which means, "Hello, friends!"

This week as we approach Thanksgiving break, we are learning the letter G, practicing for our Thanksgiving feast and about giving thanks to the Lord.

Please remember to family and friends coming to our Thanksgiving feast - that our feast will start at 11:30 and we will release afterward. Come prepared to see precious little ones and have fun!

HELLO fellow readers!

The Lord has made such an impression on my heart as of late -- on how absolutely exquisite His children are: Their creativeness, their love, compassion, how they show their emotions, desire to learn, to snuggle and cherish each moment.

I have been encouraged by our parents and cannot even begin to describe how thankful I am for that. We at UCC preschool academy strive for our students to learn about God and to show one another His love and what better role models than the encouragement from both parents and teachers.

Thanks to everyone who has been a part of this preschool and its development. We cherish your advice, comments and relationships.

As we come up on the celebration of Thanksgiving, let us be reminded of His goodness and mercy. Invite your child or relative to talk about the things they are thankful for and especially, how we can reflect that into one another.

I raise my eyes toward the mountains.
Where will my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to slip;
our Protector will not slumber.
Indeed, the Protector of Israel
does not slumber or sleep.

The Lord protects you;
the Lord is a shelter right by your side.
The sun will not strike you by day,
or the moon by night.

The Lord will protect you from all harm;
He will protect your coming and going
both now and forever.
Psalm 121

God Bless.

Food Pantry

To my families: This month is all about Thanksgiving and giving thanks to our Lord for the things He has given to us. We are collecting cans at school to send to the local food shelter. I will send a note home with your students, but this is a heads up on the project! We want to remember even in preschool to be thankful and extend our blessings to others.

NOVEMBER!

I cannot believe we are into November! I am so excited for the crisp autumn air and the adventure it brings with it!

First and foremost for our families - November 19 is our Thanksgiving feast @11:30. As we get closer to this date I will provide you with more information.

In the coming weeks we will be studying the letter U, talking about entering His gate with Thanksgiving, working on our Thanksgiving feast songs and crafts, and pilgrims.

Being a new preschool we are always in need of:

- clorox wipes
- kleenex
- goldfish (or any dry snacks)


Thank you to my families who came to parent and teacher conferences! I loved visiting with everyone of you!

A little bit of this - a dash of that!

Hellllllooooo post readers! I cannot believe we are this far into October!

The pumpkin patch was a BLAST! So thank you to all the families that attended!

This week we are looking the letter E, learning about community helpers and how Jesus heals the lame man ( Mark 2: 1-12). We were fortunate enough to schedule a field trip to the post office! It will be Thursday, October 22, but unfortunately we cannot have any volunteers accompany us. Our students will be creating a post card on Tuesday that will be mailed to their home address on Thursday when we visit the post office. So be looking for that special piece of mail to arrive!

Just a few reminders:

- Parents - Please bring a different change of clothes to be switched out so we have appropriate attire for students if an accident occurs. If you already have, please disregard this note.
- Parent and Teacher conferences will be on Thursday, October 29 and a sign up sheet will be outside our classroom. During this time you may bring your child with you.
- Fall Festival will be on Tuesday, October 27 for our Tuesday and Thursday class; and on Wednesday, October 28, for our Wednesday class. Please have your child dressed like a community helper - feel free to be very creative!

Last but not least! - Parents - some student profiles are missing, so if you have not turned them in for their complete file, please do! We need to be aware of any allergies or other important information.

Mrs. Annie and I have so enjoyed each and everyone's participation!

It's been rainy here in Manhattan

Unfortunately our Pumpkin Patch field trip had to be postponed due to incessant rain. Many students were bummed, but I think I was more let down than they were. Fortunately we were able to reschedule for tomorrow - Tuesday, BUT let's not hold our breath, it is supposed to rain.

Our good friend Squidward was sent home Thursday with one of our students. Squidward is the new class pet, who happens to be a Build-A-Bear dog that I made with my husband. After explaining how the process of a class pet works, what drawing a name out of a hat means to be fair, and how EVERYONE will have a turn... many students were extremely dissapointed. It was probably the most precious thing I have seen the entire year.



Parents- please let your child know they WILL have a chance to take Squidward home.

This week we will be studying the letter H, nursery rhymes and how Jesus loves little children!

Greetings Blog Followers - Our students seem to be completely comfortable now in the UCC Preschool scene. It is a pleasure to see the kids calling each other by name and forming friendships. Many hugs are given throughout the school day and the children enjoy helping each other out.

This week we began learning about the letter "P". We have an awesome DVD series called Frog Street Press that teaches the students the letters by singing songs (ask your child to teach you about "Victor the Vulture", "Benjamin Bunny", and "Penelope Pig") To view a sample of this DVD, click on the following link:http://www.cybergoal.com/fspromo/frogstreet_DVD_trailerc.html

Our Tuesday / Thursday class will visit a Pumpkin Patch this week. We look forward to seeing families who can make it!

Mrs. Rebekah
Mrs. Annie

Lights...Sirens... Action! The Fire Station field trip was a success! This past week, our students were enlightened on the process in which we are to call the fire department and deal with fires in and outside the home. Families - I encourage you to have a plan and teach it to your family in case of emergencies and practice the family plan a few times.

Here are a few pictures from our fire station extravaganza!


This week (September 28- Oct. 1) our students will be learning about the letter B, Naaman and God healing him of his leprosy, fall/ autumn and we will be creating many masterpieces - so keep a look out for pictures to come!

Mrs. Annie and I have been working on a pre-reading strategy called rubber banding. This is a method where students stretch out the word as they pronounce it to clearly articulate each letter in the word to stimulate phonological awareness.

Parents - Fall weather is nearing just around the bend so please bring a different change of clothes for your child with appropriate length clothing.

Hey there visitors! It is a rainy and beautiful day outside; a perfect day for reflection! The past weeks of school are progressing on a steady track. Thank you for all of your help with preparations and last minute announcements. Students are rapidly learning their classmates names and building friendships.

This upcoming week we will be painting leaves, learning about the letter V, working on phonemic awareness and talking about many parts of the body - being one whole. Parents - please encourage your children to be an active listener and questioner - we are receiving great feedback from your children - keep up the good work. We want to keep our students learning at an optimal level.

Side notes:

Parents - Please be sure to check your child's back pack for information coming home!

Thursday we will be traveling to the Fire Station so please wear your preschool academy shirts.

Here are a few pictures of our classroom and students, enjoy!

And we're rolling!

The first week of school is off with a jump start! Students, families, and faculty worked so hard to have this first week go smoothly, and that it did! A big thanks to everyone who is involved in the workings of this preschool academy.

This week our unit study is apples and our Bible story is Adam and Eve and the forbidden fruit. Students will be working on their sequencing, counting and phonics skills. Keep your eyes open for art on the walls!

Welcome Visitors!

University Christian Church Preschool Academy is off to a running start! It was so nice to meet all of my families and students on our Meet and Greet this past Wednesday!

In our first week of school we will be learning about School Rules and God's ten comandements. We will build ten commandment trains to accompany the story. We made hand print place mats to eat our lunch over and they will be sent home at the end of the school year. Students will be learning about self control, days of the week, hand washing routines and our "good morning song." So if they come home singing, you know why.

Parents - I have a few reminders for this school week!

• Toothbrushes must be kept at school, so please put their name on their toothbrush and have it by next week.
• Fire station permission slips will be sent home Thursday, so be on the lookout!
• Please bring a ziplock baggie of your child's clothes so they may be changed if an accident occurs. If an accident occurs and we change their clothes at school we will send home an "oops" slip explaining what happened.

We are so excited for the upcoming school year!