Then and Now
We started our day during breakfast thinking of things we are thankful for.
During small groups we did a sorting activity with Skittles candy. These activities are always a hit. We sort and then we eat .
For circle time today we read a book called ” The Pilgrims of Plymouth.” The book is short and it is a fiction book. It tells facts about the life of the pilgrims and their children. The kids were surprised to find out that pilgrim children did not go to school , they worked. When we talked about how the pilgrims played with toys like marbles and that they didnt have TV’s or computers, that was a pretty hard concept to handle. When we have had something our whole life it is hard to imagine life without it. I can remember when my parents got our first microwave. I was amazed that we could get food heated up so quickly. When we talked about the pilgrims cooking their food over an open fire some of the children said their mom and dad do that too ! ( A grill. ) We charted some of the differences between pilgrim children and the children of today. ( Charting is done in preschool so that they children realize print has meaning. )
After lunch we read a book called ” Stone Soup.” ” Stone Soup” is a longer book with some very unfamiliar words like clever and extraordinary. After each page I would stop to recap what had happened and what they thought would happen next. It really is a bit of a sad story as the mom and daughter live alone and are running out of food so the daughter , Grethel , takes off on her own to find a way to help. Grethel asks the peasants in another village for food and they are greedy and hide their food. Grethel finds a stone and tricks them into thinking it is magic and makes magic soup so all the towns people help her make it by adding carrots and potatoes and beef and cabbage. Grethel found a clever way to get fed. The children seemed intrigued by Grethel and the stone. They said they thought if we took the stone and cooked it the stone would get larger. We read this just before nap time and I was not able to test their theory but I think we will tomorrow ! Continuing stone soup activities are not on my lesson plan but I think we will travel there tomorrow if only for a bit.
Family. You hear me say we have a preschool family all the time. As a mom or dad you are needed all the time. I know you cant even imagine not being needed. I am sure there are days you WISH no one needed you. As children get older they need us less and less. Last night Geneviette , my 9 year old grand daughter spent the night. She set her own alarm and got up before we did. When I got up she was dressed and playing a game. I did cook her an amazing breakfast but she didnt NEED me. Its kind of sad. She is even big enough she enjoyed playing with the kids and reading to them.
Everyone likes to feel needed in a family. One of our goals as a family is to help the kiddos learn to lean on each other and pitch in to help when they can. They are getting it ! Here are a couple examples.
Jude needed help with his shoes. Chapman said ” I will help ” and off he went. Thanks Chapman.
Every morning I do the commitments with the children . Today Eden decided that she wanted to play me and help her friends choose their commitment. She did a great job and I appreciated the help.
