Lets train

Last week Claire had her very first day of Preschool!

She was so excited and couldn't wait to go.

We are lucky to be in a class with several friends that we already know. It should be a fun year!
With her sweet teacher & playing with her friend Kayla.

The night of her first day of School, we had our 3rd Annual Back to School Feast to celebrate both girls going to school.
Back to School Feast 2010
Back to School Feast 2011

The kitchen table decorated with flowers & their crowns.

Garland on the window:

And, fresh flowers. I am a sucker for fresh flowers.

We ate outside because it was a beautiful night out.

Any guesses on our theme?

LOVE.

We have been talking to the girls about what it means to:
Love others. Love yourself & Love to Learn for the School year.
Love Others - If you see someone who doesn't have anyone to play with or sit with, then be a friend and invite them to join you. Loving others also includes being respectful to your teachers!
Love Yourself - By doing your best you are loving yourself. By making good choices you are loving yourself.
Love to Learn - Kindergarten & Preschool are all about exploring school. They are a foundation for school and I hope & pray my girls will love school & love to learn new things.

At the bottom of our theme paper (which is hanging on our white board) I have the verse,
"We love because HE first loved us" at the bottom as a reminder that we love because God loves us (no matter what!) and I hope that others will be able to see God's love through my girls & the choices they make.

I got them little favors as a Welcome Back to School treat.

(Thank you Michaels $1 bins)

They got a heart glow stick wand, a sparkly pencil case that had pencils, an eraser & a pencil sharpener inside.

Our meal was something the girls LOVE...breakfast for dinner (and red jello in heart molds)

I made waffles with my heart waffle maker, scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes & bacon.

2 happy little girls excited about the new school year.

And, our little guy, sporting his crown.

Dessert was Pizookies that I made in my heart baking dish & vanilla ice cream.

The Back to School Feast is for sure one of my favorite traditions that we do.
Love Others. Love Yourself. Love to Learn....It's going to be a good School Year!

Last week we learned about vehicles and transportation during my Mother's Morning Out program.

The kids loved it, especially my car-enthusiastic son. We talked about buses, taxis, planes, trains, and more. Below you'll find some song and craft ideas that work well with a vehicle and transportation preschool theme. Enjoy!

I'm a little airplane, 

Now watch me fly! 

Here are my instruments 

From down low to up high. 

First I get revved up.

Then I can fly, 

Lifting off the runway 

Up into the sky!

This little train, painted black

It comes chugging down the track

With a "Choo-choo; Toot-toot"

Hear the whistle blow

this little train goes chugging home.

This little car painted blue

It has seats for me and for you

With a "Choo-choo; Toot-toot"

Hear the whistle blow

this little train goes chugging home. 

This little car painted yellow

It shimmies and shakes like a bowl of jello

With a "Choo-choo; Toot-toot"

Hear the whistle blow

this little train goes chugging home.

This little car, painted green

It's the fanciest train car you've ever seen,

With a "Choo-choo; Toot-toot"

Hear the whistle blow

this little train goes chugging home.

This little car; it is grey

It takes you places far away

With a "Choo-choo; Toot-toot"

Hear the whistle blow

this little train goes chugging home.

This caboose; it is red

It will take you home to bed

With a "Choo-choo; Toot-toot"

Hear the whistle blow

this little train goes chugging home.

This is an easy craft for young children. I let the children choose their crayon colors based on the type of "driver" they wanted to be. Our preschool kiddos had all sorts of hats: red firefighters, green soldiers, yellow/black airplane pilots, and blue police officers. They ran all over the place in character. My son wore his firefighter hat around the house for a few days.

On display were many books and toys that I used for demonstration. Kids love to see and touch toys!

Another game we play each week involves Letter Matching. We simply match the letter that begins the word with a picture of that word. For example, "f" is matched with "firetruck" and "m" is matched with "monster truck."

I hope you enjoyed these ideas. Good luck with your lesson planning!