School Days

As I enter the middle of summer, I can't help but reflect on my preschoolers from 2013-14. I ended up with 20 all together, in three separate classes.  It was a busy year for me, preparing and planning for three classes each week.  But I survived and so did those preschoolers.  Eighteen of those kids will be headed to Kindergarten this coming August. Our preschoolers will be headed to Liberty, Ridgeview, Rice, Eyestone, Timnath, and Dunn. I feel sure they are ready for the next adventure, Kindergarten.
One of the highlights this year had to be our field trip to the Environmental Learning Center .  We were as bright as can be in our tie dye preschool shirts. The weather was perfect and the kids were excited. We were fortunate to have a grandpa along who was very knowledgeable about wildlife and had lots of great info to teach the kids. We didn't see a beaver damn since the floods washed them away but we did wake up a herd of deer...oops! It's hard to keep 20+ 3-6 year olds quiet and their parents! We also hiked the longer way around, by accident , but we made it back and the kids were hungry for their lunches!  One of the best parts of taking a field trip to the ELC has to be introducing families to the area. Every year I have several parents comment they had never been out here and they were planning on bringing their whole family back to hike!!!
My new school year beginning is closing in fast. I have one PRE-K class with four children, with space for four more. The 3 year old class has 6 as of today and another may be signing up next week.
I'm always a little nervous as each school year begins but also so excited to get to know the newest group of preschoolers.  Back to School, here I come!

Preschool in the Winter

Winter is in full force here in Colorado which means freezing one day and warm the next.  We spent most of December inside with our days just a little too cold for this preschool teacher. I tell the kids that Im a wimp when it comes to cold.
We've had lots of birthdays these last few months and turning 5 is a really big deal, you know! I've been turning out those birthday crowns in record numbers since I have 20 kids enrolled in my preschool. Sure, I know, I could buy crowns that all look the same. But each one is unique for the birthday boy or girl! We even just celebrated a 1/2 birthday for one of our July birthday boys!
We enjoyed ice cream cones to celebrate our "I" page in our ABC books with the favorite flavor being vanilla or rainbow. We played lots of musical chairs during our inside recess and these kids love musical chairs more than about anything else we could have played.  
Our Christmas program in December was fabulous. Its always fun to hear the comments from first time parents because they don't know what to expect. And we sing lots of songs and the cuteness factor is amazing.
Registration for Fall 2014 will be happening in April. Our 3 year old class is full, so I'm just looking for some Pre-K cuties to join our class of 4-5 year olds. 
Valentines will be here soon and then it's time for Dr. Suess and pajama day. Yippee!!!

Apples, Oranges, and Pumpkins

Here we are in the middle of October and I am just now updating this blog. But once you see the pictures, you will agree it was worth the wait! We started out in the ocean and then we headed into the apple orchard. Well,not really but we did learn about apples and ate apples and painted with apples. And speaking of apples, that is the name of the MWF Pre-K class. And the MTTH class is known as the "Oranges". So you see it's apples and oranges for me this year. But wait...another fruit class is headed my way! What to name them...pears? plums? bananas? That may be what you are thinking of me taking on another class! But the story is the adorable 4-5 year olds have been left without a preschool, so I'm taking them on. I must have Pre-K fever this year! We visited the Bartel's Pumpkin Patch on the coldest, windiest day of the Fall. The day was mostly fun but all would agree----get me out of this cold wind! We were all dressed in our jack-o-lantern shirts that we made at preschool for this very day. But the shirts mostly hid under our coats! We are counting down to that fun Halloween party, you know, the one where we trick or treat at preschool and we get to hide behind a door and wait for our friends to knock. And then they say 'Trick or Treat' when we open the door and hand out the treat toys that we brought! So much fun! November will be blowing our way very soon and we'll be dressing up like Native Americans and Pilgrims plus we'll be learning about healthy foods! And maybe a turkey craft will be thrown in the month. Good times for us Preschoolers!

Back Then to Right Now

I haven't been very consistent at keeping up with this blog. I have actually been awful! Blame it on the ease of my iphone and posting pictures on Miss Elaine's Facebook page! Now you know but it's time for a new school year so it's time to update the blog. The newest pictures posted are all coming back to school to start their Pre-K year. This adorable group of kids visited a farm of their classmate, Gracyn Redmon. They rode a horse, fed the cows, saw some chickens, played on the slide and fort, had a picnic and then played in the playroom. It was such a fun field trip for kids and parents! And I'm sure you can't help to notice our great tie dye shirts that we made at preschool. We grew lady bugs from eggs in May and it was very exciting to watch each stage of their life. And then we released them into Miss Elaine's flower garden. Fly away, ladybug ! We planted a preschool garden with flowers and hope to see them growing when we show up on the first day of school. Speaking of the first day of school, it's almost here. We have two Pre-K classes this year and no T/TH class of 3 year olds! Each class is full with 8 students. MWF class starts at 9:00 on August 23rd. MTTH class starts at 9:00 on August 22nd. We'll be busy making new friends, exploring our classroom and playground, and having fun together. This teacher is super excited to have a double dose of Pre-K

February already???

I have not been very good about updating my blog since I began my Miss Elaine's facebook page. But I know most of you have been enjoying all the current pictures that I am able to post. I have enjoyed seeing all the new names "liking" my FB page ! Especially the grandparents :-) I have added a few pictures from the last couple of months-two birthdays in January, playing together, artwork, and preschool adorableness!!! (Hey, I know I make up words-I'm a Dr. Suess follower.) We have our Valentine's parties coming up on the 13th and 14th. We have two more birthdays in Pre-K with Will and Chase turning 5 ! And no more birthdays until May and June. I will be registering for next Fall very soon. I have actually printed off all the forms but now have to actually hand them out. The MWF Pre-K class looks full for next fall and we'll have another Pre-K class meeting M 1:00-3:30 and T/TH 9:00-12:00. I have six names on the list for that class but that does mean no 3 year old class for 2013. But Fall of 2014 I have a class full of 3 year olds and you know who you are.... Dr. Suess, pajama day, and spring break are coming up very soon. I hope I do better with this blog but I'm not making you any promises!

Let's all go to the Pumpkin Patch

Here we are in the middle of October and that meant it was time to visit our local Pumpkin Patch and farm. Our neighbors, the Bartels, live just a few miles up the road and we've been visiting their pumpkin patch since they opened. IT's free to come visit and everything else is cheap! Hay rides are a dollar, the corn maze is five and the wagon full of pumpkins and squash are usually less than ten! We have spent the beginning of October learning about scarecrows and pumpkins. We have done some new art projects to go along with our topics. A really fun project was our pumpkin patch that went along with our nursery rhyme unit. The kids glued orange tissue paper on their pumpkins for texture and then posed for a picture with their arms holding something up. I cut them out and cut the pumpkins in half so that they looked like they were holding up the tops of their pumpkins...cute huh? And of course this went with the nursery rhyme of "Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater. Had some kids and couldn't keep them. I put them in a pumpkin shell. And there I kept them very well." Halloween is coming up and the rest of the month we'll be learning about spiders, our skeleton, counting candy corn and the party at preschool. All the kids wear their costumes , bring treats to hand out because we go 'Trick or Treating' at school ! It is SPOOKTACULAR fun. And the newest addition to Miss Elaine's is our new Facebook page. I hope everyone has been able to see it and "friend" it. I am hoping to keep our preschool family connected with pictures from the past and current classes. It's only been a few weeks and it's going great. I love seeing the grandparents visiting our page!!!

Our first Week was GREAT!

Our first week of preschool came and went without a hitch. We have two classes of 6 and what great classes they are. In our first week we stamped our preschool bags, made some paper plate fish, painted ocean scenery and enjoyed some new sand in the sandbox. We sang about Pete and his white shoes and will be making our very own "Pete the Cat" very soon. Picture day is coming up Thursday the 6th and Friday the 7th. A former preschool parent, who also happens to be a fabulous photographer, returns to take pictures for our school. There will be individual and a class picture. They will be available to view on line and order in a week or so. Thanks, Danelle McCollum !!! We're finishing up our ocean unit and will begin experimenting with mixing colors.And Pete the cat will be part of that, I'm sure. We've been enjoying recess outside and thus far have survived the heat. Thank goodness my trees provide shade. But one day there will be cool weather again, so don't forget those jackets or sweaters !!!