2014-2015+WHAT+HAPPENED+TODAY+IN+3K?

WELCOME TO "WHAT HAPPENED TODAY?"
On this page you will find Mrs. Otten's blog of what happened in the classroom on a daily basis. Reading this blog will give you a snapshot of what your child experienced in school. Sometimes there will literally be snapshots (photographs) of things we did or made

May 19, 2015
Well, our last "regular" day! At table time, we colored, used tiles and foam shapes, and played a game. When our morning began, we had prayer and our schedule and job assignments. We did our usual routines and then reviewed our Bible words for May. We had a book that reminded us of the truth of those words and told us how God knows everything and everything he can see! He is always with us and he always loves us. We enjoyed outdoor time next. When we came in we talked about our "hat" theme for the year and read //Zoe's Hats.// We designed our own paper hat. After snack, we got to use paint to paint on a real hat that we can wear! We took turns painting during choice time.

May 14, 2015
Today we started with a couple pages for our memory books before playing with play dough and Candy Land. We went over our schedule and did our calendar before finding out about gym. In the gym we warmed up with an exercise song and then did a circuit of activities all around the gym. We helped put everything away after our gym time and then took a drink break. We were very thirsty from all our exercise and work! We practiced our songs and had a story about wearing "clean clothes". The clean clothes were the things we do to demonstrate that we have hearts cleaned and sins forgiven by Jesus. These clothes are the actions we do that demonstrate love to God and to others. For snack today we enjoyed the rest of the oranges that Veyda brought and we had another story by Kevin Luthhardt called //Larabee// about a dog who wanted mail. During our choice time, we had a visitor come to check out our room and our class. We enjoyed playing with him and including him in the end of our day. During choice time we also did another page for our memory books.

May 12, 2015
So glad we are staying healthy so we can finish our year together! Today at table time, we played with play dough and foam shapes, and played CandyLand. When we did our morning circle time, Emma used the heart wand to count the numbers for us. We practiced the songs we will sing for you on the last day. We had the Bible story of Philip teaching a man about Jesus and baptizing the man in the river. We practiced our Bible words that remind us that God is with us wherever we go. We went outside for some time of swinging and sliding and climbing and running. When we came in we looked at the parts of a book and read the words and the pictures in the book //Hats!.// Our project was to draw ourselves and to decorate the cover of the memory book we are making. During snack we read another book from the same author called //You're Weird!// Then we enjoyed a nice time of choice time. During choice time we were pretending about tornadoes and we remembered to do our duck and cover!

May 7, 2015
Today we worked on decorating our envelopes for our Father's Day gifts after some table time. When we started our day, we had prayer, found out about our schedule and our jobs, and then we started with some outdoor time instead of gym. It was just too nice to be inside! First we took a walk and observed signs of spring and then we had time to enjoy playing on the wood chip playground. When we came in, we practiced the songs we will sing for our parents on the last day. Then we had the story of Paul and the shipwreck. We practiced our new Bible words. We had snack and enjoyed the delicious addition of fresh orange "smiles" from Veyda! During snack we read //My Daddy and Me.// After snack we did our project. We cut apart pages and put them in order for our own book that we can read! We colored the cover (and can color the rest at home). We went to the circle and read our books together. Mrs. Otten almost forgot show and tell! We were delighted to show and tell about what we like to do with our dads. Aly and Isla like to snuggle with Dad; Liam likes to play cars and play catch; Emma likes to go on adventures with Dad; and Veyda likes to build with Legos with Dad. We did not have enough time for a real choice time after show and tell, so we went to the block table and used the building set to do some constructing. We ended our day with prayer.

MAY!!! 5, 2015
At calendar time, we counted the days left for 3K and counting today it was 6 days! Where did the time go? We also looked at the other special days in May (most of them were for the 4K class). Liam counted the numbers with the soft flower wand. We sang //If I Were A Butterfly// and had another Bible story of another exciting escape for Paul. We went over our May Bible words and signs. We enjoyed outdoor time. When we came In we learned a domino game and this time Isla was the "winner". Everyone got high fives and "good game"s. We did an exercise song before having a story about Daddies. We had a suitcase surprise and Isla guessed that the clothes a Dad wears that a Mom usually doesn't is a tie. We had fruit cups and cheese crackers and Veyda passed out all our snack things efficiently! I guess we have been growing up. After snack, we had our project and choice time.

April 30, 2015
Last day of April! We counted all the way to 30 on the calendar with Aly. She used the flower wand. I wonder...was she remembering that April showers bring May flowers? We were glad to have Liam back in school. Liam has a new baby sister! Piper arrived on Sunday! We had to have a new job today, since our fish died. We don't know why it died. Our new job is taking down the name tags and Emma had the new job today.We started our day learning the movements for a new gym warm up song. We got to move all different ways and then connect with a friend and freeze. After we did our warm up song in the gym, we again practiced our toss and catch. We did it even better than last time. Then we got a bouncy ball and learned about pushing the ball down and trying to catch it in our hands when it bounced back. Some of us could bounce and catch 2 or 3 times in a row! WOW! We carried the balls back to the kindergarten room and then had a drink. We sang one song and then had the Bible story of Paul escaping from the men who wanted to kill him. His nephew heard the plan and bravely told the soldiers, who helped Paul escape. After our Bible story we started working on embellishing our big flowers with oil pastels. At choice time we also added spangles and glitter to our flowers. They are beautiful! Look for them in the hall next time! During snack today we heard the story //Are You My Mother?// During choice time some of us listened to the story //Does A Kangaroo Have A Mother, Too?// in the listening barn. After snack we had show and tell. Aly and Liam just told, and the rest of us had something to show, as well. Our show and tell was, "something you like to do with MOM". Aly and her mom like to play catch. Liam and his mom like to brush their teeth together with special toothbrushes. Isla and her mom like to paint. Emma and her mom like to carry their purses (and go shopping); and Veyda and her mom like to ride bikes.

April 28, 2015
Our friend, Liam, was not at school today. We prayed for him when we did our prayer requests at the end of the day. Today we counted to 28 with Isla and did our days of the week song. We sang //1,2,3, Jesus Loves Me// for our morning song and heard the Bible story of Paul and Silas singing even though they were in jail. We reviewed our April Bible words. Before we lined up for outdoor time, we tried to land a frog bean bag on a lily pad. Then we enjoyed some wonderful outdoor time and did lots of climbing, hanging, swinging, and "fire pole" sliding. When we came in we talked about all the things Moms do. We read a book called //What Moms Can't Do.// We did a project and then had fruit cups and pretzels for snack. After snack and some book reading time, we had choice time. At the end of the day, we learned a new game called Crackers in my Bed. We needed to do some careful observing to find matching cracker halves and to remember where they were. Most of us had empty cubbies today. We also were reminded about show and tell next time.

April 23, 2015
Today we played games and made creations out of magnets at table time. We did our morning routines and then had gym. We were learning how to toss and catch a ball in our hands. It was not easy! But we are getting better every time we practice (and remember to look at the ball!) After gym, we sang our song about loving one another and did our Bible words about loving one another. We learned about Saul, who //was// and enemy of Jesus and became a friend of Jesus. He changed his name to Paul (and we knew right away that those names rhyme!). We had snack and a story about a caterpillar who changed into a butterfly. Then we looked at flowers and talked about what we noticed. We reviewed how to use the paint and talked about making our own flower with a center and petals. We painted during choice time. We got to take home one of the flowers that we looked at, too!

April 21, 2015
After writing our names and having table time, we started our day with prayer and our hello song. We found out our jobs and identified letters. We sang one song. Our suitcase surprise was a candy bar treat, but we did not get it right away. We had to WAIT! Our waiting was short compared to Jesus' friends who went to Jerusalem to WAIT for the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit came, there was wind and fire and then the friends told everyone about Jesus. We had some time outdoors and ran and ran and played hopscotch. It was brisk, but it was good to get fresh air and exercise. When we came in, we did two listening activities (and WAITED for our candy treat) We listened to the sounds at the beginning of words and tried to match them. We moved our piece 2 spaces on the game board if the picture started with the /t/ sound and we moved our piece 1 space if it started with the /b/ sound. Isla made it to the treasure chest at the end of the path first! Our next listening activity was to listen and use the rhythm sticks a certain way. We did two songs with the rhythm sticks and we also copied tapping patterns that we each had a turn to make. Since it was snack time next, we still had to WAIT for our treat. After snack we made a project and did lots of cutting. We cut lines, curves, and a circle! Then we put together what we cut to make a flower. We had a short choice time and then, finally, our suitcase surprise. But we still had to WAIT to eat it until our grown ups gave us permission!

April 16, 2015 GRANDPARENTS DAY!




April 14, 2015
We were glad to have all our friends in school today! We practiced the songs and poems that we will do for our grandparents on Thursday. We colored a page for a book about our grandparents. We enjoyed some wonderful time outside in the spring weather. We learned about how to stay safe during a tornado and looked at photographs of the kind of damage a tornado can do. We used our eyes to spy things missing in a picture of a girl watering flowers. We enjoyed choice time together.

April 9, 2015
Liam still sick! We prayed for him to get better. Emma was gone for an appointment, so it was just 3 girls and Mrs. Otten today. After table time and our morning prayer and calendar time, we talked about Grandparents Day and started learning the song and poem we will show them. Then we went to the gym and did a circuit of activities with the balance beams, running and skipping, stretching, and jumping. After working together to put all the gym equipment away, we returned to our room for our Bible story. We learned how Jesus appeared to his friends and how Thomas did not believe (at first) that Jesus was alive. After our snack time, we sang the ABC song backwards. Then we played a game comparing numbers and if the number we rolled was "more" we got to take a paper cookie. Veyda had the most cookies when the game was done. We finished our project for our grandparents and then had choice time.

April 7, 2015
Liam was sick and Mrs. Otten was with her family at the memorial service for her step dad. Mrs. Kiel enjoyed the day "with the girls" since she only lives with boys at home! We reviewed the Easter story and began a project for our grandparents.

March 24, 2015
After table time, we began our day with prayer, an "opposite" hello song, and our schedule for the day. We found out which job we would have and identified alphabet letters in our names and names of other people we know. We sang two songs and then had the story of Daniel's friends and what happened when they did not bow down to the golden statue. We reviewed our verse. We had some outdoor time so we could run and swing and slide and be noisy. When we came in we had a story about sharing cookies. Then we played the Cookin' Cookies game. Aly was the first one to get all the ingredients for her cookies! After snack -which was //not// cookies-:( we had a spring counting story. We made bags for the Meals on Wheels clients, coloring one side of our bags with "showers" and the other side with "flowers". We had choice time and then ended the day with prayer, praying especially for all the sick people we know.

March 19, 2015
We were all in school today and our noses are getting a little less goopy! Hopefully, the weekend will give us the time we need to rest up and the weather will improve so we can get germs out and fresh air in and shake these bugs! Mrs. Kiel was able to spend part of the morning with us because the older children were in program practice. It was so nice to have her to play with us at table time and to do gym with us. Today our Bible story was about Daniel and his friends. They chose to eat just vegetables and water so they would not disobey God and eat the food that was offered to the idol. God made them both strong and wise! In gym we practiced more tossing and catching. We had some big things and some small things; some firm things and some squishy things. Some were easy to catch and some were not so easy to catch. We are developing the skills of tossing straight up and catching in our hands (instead of trapping with our body). After gym we were excited to show and talk about the things we chose to bring from home. We showed a Pegasus pony, a purse with a microphone and phone in it, a car transport truck, a singing bunny and a dog that barked and walked. During snack we had the story //The Letters Are Lost!// For our project, we made yarn and glue creations and then we had choice time.

March 17, 2015
We were all in school today, but we also made the tissue box our friend to take care of our yucky nose stuff. During table time, a visitor came to check out our classroom because he might want to be in 3K next year. After our table time, we had our circle time and *surprise* we are changing the end-of-day prayer into a beginning-of-the-day prayer and having a new prayer at the end of the day. We found out about our schedule and job assignments and then sang two songs. We looked at 5 objects and then heard how each one had a part in the story of King Josiah. Then we found these 5 things hidden in a picture of the broken down temple. After Bible, we enjoyed some outdoor time. It was good to get out in the fresh air again. After outdoor time, we put the letters of the alphabet in order and sang the ABC song. Then we talked about doing things in order. We put some picture stories in order. Our project was a two part project. First we glued paper shapes to half of our paper. During choice time, we copied our paper design with paint. During snack we had a story of a mixed up alphabet. During choice time we played with horses, had dress up and pretend time, and built with kid k'nex builders.

March 12, 2015
Isla had her Jammie Day at home; hopefully resting up and getting lots of fluids to get rid of a nasty cold!. The rest of us had Jammie Day in school! Take a look:

March 10, 2015
Now Liam was missing! I hope everyone is healthy for our jammie day on Thursday! It was a gray and purple clothes day in 3K. When Mrs. Kiel stopped in, even she was wearing purple and gray! After our morning routines, we had the story of Ruth and Naomi. Then we did a fire drill review! We remembered to walk quickly and say "here I am" when our names were called. We talked about opposites and read a book about opposites. We played the treasure game with opposite cards, too. After snack we went outside for a short time, wearing our boots and coats. We can't get on the wood chip playground until it dries up. When we came in we had a story about clouds and then painted our own clouds.

March 5, 2015
We missed Emma today! We hope you feel better, soon, Emma! After table time, we did our schedule, helpers, and calendar. We sang two songs and then had the rest of the story of Esther. In the gym we moved s l o w and //fast// to warm up and then we each had a mat for stretching, balancing, jumping, animal positions, and rolling. When we got back to our room we had a story with a pattern in the words and lots of rhyming words, too. It was all about dogs! After snack, we played "clear the board" and this time we got to eat a baby goldfish snack cracker with each number we rolled. After taking turns for 3 rounds, we each got our own number cube and basket and tried to be the first to finish clearing the board. Liam and Veyda cleared their boards first! For our project, we decorated bags that will be used for people who get meals from Meals on Wheels. Then we had choice time.

March 3, 2015
Glad to see everyone in school! We started with a long table time, writing our names and playing an alphabet matching game. When we started our circle time, we looked at the new pictures on the calendar numbers and all the special days in March. We sang a song with a pattern and then heard the first part of the story of Esther. After practicing our new Bible words for March, we had our suitcase surprise: rhythm sticks! We did a marching song and then a song with a movement pattern. We read a story about a snake that was hiding among many different things. We talked about patterns. After our snack and a story with another snake who wanted to eat some mice, we made our own snakes. One of our snakes will have a pattern and one will be decorated without a pattern. We had choice time and were having so much fun we were late getting out today!

February 26, 2015
**What we said about today**: We jumped in and out of the donut. We went in the whale. We also climbed up a mountain. We went in the tunnel in the mountain. We went jumping. Tuck jumping. We walked on the red side. We jumped over the wiggly worm. We walked on the balance beam one foot in front and one in back. My favotie thing was gong inside the whale. My favorite thing was going in the whale, too. Me, too. Me, too. Me, too.
 * What we looked like today: **

February 24, 2015
Welcome back to Emma! Today we worked on tracing/writing letters of our names and number lines at table time and then began our day with our prayer, schedule, helper assignments, calendar and days of the week song. We did a praise song with a pattern and then had our Bible story of how God forgives. It was the story of Jonah and how he had to be forgiven and how he brought the message of repentence and forgiveness to the people of Ninevah. After Bible, we did a moving song and acted out the ways different people do their jobs. We played an alphabet game and opened the treasure chest. We read a story about a very windy day and the wind that took different things away from people. Then we did our project, making kites with different kinds of designs and cutting out the parts and putting them back together like a puzzle. Next we had snack and then choice time. Field trip next time!

February 19, 2015
We were sorry that Emma was out today. Today we started with decorating our coin cans and then had a short table time. At circle time we counted with Veyda and we practiced recognizing the numbers represented by the dots on a die. We also sang our days of the week song. In gym we counted to 100 and moved 10 different ways. Then we followed our circuit and got to practice hopping, balancing, walking backwards, and walking like a bear and a seal. We helped clean up the gym and then headed back to our room. We identified shapes and did the shape hokey pokey before heading to the project area to embellish our shape artwork. We had snack and listened to more of //Fox in Socks.// After some book time, we learned about "trace one-make one" with the letters of our names and we got to write our names this way during choice time. At the end of our day, we turned over all our schedule cards and Mrs. Otten realized that she had forgotten our song and Bible story! We will have to make sure to start with that next time!

February 17, 2015
Another day with everyone in school! Hooray! We did our morning routines and added our days of the week song. We learned how Jesus had power over death when he raised Jairus' daughter. We played "Man from Mars" in the gym for our moving time. We played a shape bingo game for our game time. We read a book about shapes and then created with wood shapes. Then we headed to the project table to create with paper shapes. After snack we had choice time. Take a look at our creations!

=== February 12, 2015 === We celebrated Valentines Day today! We were dressed up and were excited to pass out and receive our valentines! But we also had our regular learning day. We learned a new song (//Friends Love One Another//). In gym we did lots of running! We did a run-and-find-a-valentine relay and then we took the valentines we found and ran them to the "mailbox". We played a game that needed careful listening to identify sounds. Then we had the Bible story of Jesus healing a man who had never heard sounds. We had snack and a story about sharing. Next we had our show and tell and talked about things we love. For our project, we took our fingerpaintings that were cut into heart shapes and we cut them apart and glued them back like a puzzle. We are getting so good at cutting and gluing! During choice time we got to pass out our Valentines. What a fun day!

February 10, 2015
We welcomed Isla back from her vacation and she told us that one of her favorite things was swimming in the pool. We celebrated Aly's half birthday. She chose the book //Owen// for her birthday book. After talking about things we see, we had the Bible story of Jesus healing the man born blind. We did our song about the shape of love (H-E-A-R-T) and then did some moving in the room with valentines. We heard the story of Lilly's chocolate heart. Then we played a game with a number cube and we got to eat m&m's! After our snack of crackers, cheese, and dried fruit we did a project with two parts: coloring and painting. We painted over what we colored but the paint did not stick on the coloring parts. We finished our day and then got ourselves ready to go outside to have fun in the snow!



[[image:SNOW FEB 017.JPG width="800" height="600"]][[image:SNOW FEB 019.JPG width="800" height="600"]]February 3, 2015
February 3 was a 3 kid 3K day! Isla is still gone on vacation and Emma was sick, At table time, we wrote our names and made a number line. We colored and picked up beads, and made necklaces and played games. We looked at our February calendar and noticed valentines day, birthdays, and a field trip. We sang //Jesus, I Love You// and learned how Jesus healed a man just by using words. In the gym we did lots of running and other movements. When we came back, we had our suitcase surprise: valentines! We sorted them, did rhymes with them and then we made color patterns with hearts. We had a story about runaway valentines and we had to count the valentines we found until we found 30. We made our valentine bags and then had snack. After snack we enjoyed choice time.

January 27, 2015
Today in 3K: a birthday (Isla) God provides for the widow (the little bit of oil filled many jars!) snow song in the gym with paper snowballs and snowball fight! looking at pictures to figure out what happened first, second, third, and last birthday snack (happy face cookies!) // Sadie and the Snowman // Snowman books Choice time! (weddings, photographs, ice cream party....)

January 22, 2015
Today we practiced writing our names on our name cards when we first came into the room and then we had table time. At circle time we had our morning prayer, hello song, and went over our schedule. Our suitcase surprise was guessed by Liam (something white that can be pretend snow): paper. We scrunched the paper into "snowballs" to use with our warm up song in the gym. We crunched our "snow", slid in it, stepped over it and then we had a snowball fight! Next it was time to try learning an overhand throw. We practiced with pretend balls and then we threw real balls over a mat fence. Back in our room we sang and listened to a Bible story of how God provided a room for Elisha, a baby for the family, and healing for the boy when he got very, very sick. We played a counting game with sticker snowballs and a number cube. Isla had the most snowballs on her sheet. After snack we finished our snowmen (and snow girls) and then had choice time.

January 20, 2015
Hooray! We were all in school today! We did our morning routines, singing songs that we learned at the beginning of the year (//The More We Get Together// and //He's Got the Whole World)// We had the story of Captain Namaan and how he learned to trust and obey and worship the true God. We practiced writing our names on our name cards with dry-erase markers, remembering to start our letters at the top. We had yogurt and crackers for snack and listened to a winter story, especially listening for rhymes. We read the book //All You Need for a Snowman// and then watched how we were going to trace and paint circles to begin our own snowman art project. We had some choice time and then got ready for our outdoor time. It was a fun day! Take a look:





January 15, 2015
We were sad that Isla had to miss our special day. We prayed for her to get well soon. Today we had a little different schedule. After our morning routines and Bible story, we did our alphabet song and our //Where do you start your letters// song and then we had choice time while Mrs. Otten worked with each of us on writing the letters of our names on the little chalkboards with the "wet, dry, try" method. After our choice time, we had snack. Then we had an art project with paint. Liam and Emma made the smoosh painting for matching mittens and Veyda and Aly did painting with marbles in a box. Then Liam and Emma did their marble painting while Veyda and Aly read books. When we were all done with project, we did our show and tell. It was exciting to show the new things we had received. When we all had a turn to show and tell, we learned the order for getting ready for outdoor play, and we enjoyed playing outside for the last 15 minutes of the day.

January 13, 2015
We celebrated a birthday today! Emma turned 4 over the weekend and today she got to wear her pink paper crown and choose a birthday book. She chose //Wemberly Worried.// We sang //Happy Birthday to You// to her and she brought cupcakes and juice bags for our snack. After our morning routines, we learned a new song with some sign language and we pretended to play instruments during part of the song. We had the Bible story of Jesus staying behind at the temple when he was a boy and we practiced our Bible words for January. We did our moving time in the gym by moving different ways for the different ways Mrs. Otten played the tambourine. When we got back to the room, we sang our ABC song and the letter pieces song. We used the letter pieces to make the letters of Veyda's name and then we used our giant pointer fingers to sing //Where Do You Start Your Letters?// After snack we got directions for our project and we had our suitcase surprise. SURPRISE! Next time we will have show and tell and we will get to show and talk about something new that we have. For our project, we practiced making top-to-bottom lines, cutting, designing, and gluing.

January 8, 2015
We were happy to see Liam and Emma again. After practicing our cutting, we had some table time. After prayer and going over our schedule and helpers, Liam counted the calendar numbers for us and then we got in line for gym. In the gym we warmed up with a running and mitten matching relay and then we did a balancing and jumping circuit of activities. We are all walking the "high" balance beam with alternating foot steps and good balance!! (LOOK FOR PICTURES IN THE PICTURE GALLERY OF THE 3K PAGE ON PARENTS WEB)When we got back to the room, we sang //Stand Up and Clap// and then we had the story of Simeon and Anna who were waiting for baby Jesus to be born. During snack we had a story about some baby bears that were born to Tiptoe Joe. After snack and book time, we sang the ABC song and then learned the names for our letter pieces. We did //The Letter Pieces Hokey Pokey.// We also learned that we start writing our letters **at the top** and we sang a song for that, too. Our project was sewing a giant pointer finger to use when we sing this song.



January 6, 2015
So sorry that we returned to school without two of our friends: Liam and Emma, we prayed for you and hope to see you next time! So, Mrs. Otten had two jobs today-she fed the fish for Liam and did the calendar for Emma. We looked at our January calendar, noticing birthdays and our special beach day at the end of the month. We each got to throw the big number cube and say the number of dots on top. Sometimes we just knew the number and sometimes we counted the dots. We are trying to learn the pattern for all the sides of the number cube. We sang two songs: //Jesus Loves Me// and //Say to the Lord (I Love You).// Since it was "KIng's Day", we had the Bible story of the amazing star that led the wise men to King Jesus. (oops, I just remembered that we forgot to do our Bible words!) We played a guess-and-run game in the gym since it was too cold for outdoor time. We had a suitcase surprise of paper mittens and we matched the patterns on the mittens. Then we had the story of Nicki and his white mittens. We learned about our project and how we were going to make matching mittens with paint, and then we had our snack. During snack, we read our Christmas book story, //One Mitten.// After some of our own book reading time, we had choice and project time.

December 23, 2014
The last day of 2014! We were all in school for this special day. We played a game in the gym and in our room. We had a story about Claude the dog and what he shared with Bummer the dog. We unwrapped the gifts that we were sharing with the MOPS moms and babies and brought them to Mrs. Balint in the office. We enjoyed snack and choice time and then received our gifts and wished each other a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

December 18, 2014
Sorry, loyal readers of the blog! I rushed off to another job and did not get a chance to tell you about our great day. We were happy that all our friends were in school, despite most of us needing to use a tissue from time to time! It is that time of the year for those runny noses! After table time with games and playdough, we looked at our schedule, got our jobs ,and counted the calendar numbers. In gym, we moved fast and slow, high and low and then we did two running relay games: find the Christmas bow and mail the Christmas card. When we got back to our room, we sang our Christmas songs and reviewed the Christmas story. Then Emma pointed to the letters while we sang the ABC song. During snack we read a story that had letters and pictures for the words of the story We finished the project that we started last time during choice time.

December 16, 2014
We had fun playing with green play dough at table time and cutting out Christmas trees and embellishing them with spangles! We reviewed the numbers on the number cube and are learning to recognize the amount of dots on each side. We went over our schedule and jobs and sang songs with bells. Mrs. A. came into our room to observe and she enjoyed our peppermint stick song. We had a story about how the candy cane can teach us about Jesus. It was called //The J is for Jesus.// We did our moving time in the gym because it was too wet on the wood chips. We did an animal action song and the freeze song. When we got back to our room it was story time. We heard the story of Mrs. Wishy-Washy and her animals that did not want to take a bath in the freezing cold. We listened for rhymes, too. Our suitcase held our project (and it really is a surprise!). We had a big snack today! String cheese, pretzels, and cookies left over from the make and take. Then we did our project and had choice time.

December 11, 2014
Make and Take Workshop! Photo gallery uploaded soon!

December 9, 2014
We were sorry that Aly was sick and hope she gets better for Make and Take! Today we practiced our songs with our costumes on again. We did moving all around the gym. We had the story of Jesus being born in the stable and learned our Bible words and signs. We had a story of some very different kinds of Christmas trees and then added ornaments to the tree in our classroom. After snack, we make our own counting book and used star stickers and circle stickers. We had a short choice time.

December4, 2014
After our table time and morning routines, we sang the ABC song with a new tune. We practiced watching the pointer finger as we sang and then Liam did the pointing for us. In the gym we learned about relays. We first warmed up with a song with sounds and movements and we had to remember which movement went with which sound. Then we played a relay game, looking for Christmas bows hidden under cones. We found 10 bows! After gym, we practiced our Christmas songs and then our suitcase surprise was the costumes we are going to wear for one of our songs. We got to try on our costumes and then we had 3 kindergarteners come and be an audience for us while we sang our //Baby Jesus// song. We had the Bible story of the angel appearing to Joseph. Most of the story was the same as his visit to Mary, but he came to Joseph in a dream. We had goldfish crackers and raisins for snack and then worked on decorating our Christmas trees. We ended our day with choice time.

December 2, 2014
We were enjoying playing games at table time and we were practicing our counting and numbers, so we had a little bit longer table time today. When we began our day, we looked at the new calendar and we talked about our advent activity for December. Since Veyda just finished her advent activity today, she was able to cover the "1" with a star and we looked at the lights on the Christmas tree in our room. We practiced our Christmas songs and then we had the story of the angel visit to Mary. Since the weather was milder and most of the snow was melted, we were able to go outside for our moving time. When we came in we sang the ABC song and pointed at the letters as we sang. We tried it with finger puppets and we tried with our own fingers. We had a story about //Mouse's First Christmas.// We learned that we were going to paint in a very different way today: with a salad spinner! During snack we talked about Christmas trees and then we had our project and choice time.

November 25, 2014
We were missing Veyda today :( After our table time and morning routines, we had a Bible story of one thankful man. On the way to the gym, we stopped to look at our "thankful" turkeys. After some moving time in the gym, we listened to the Christmas story. In the suitcase was a nativity set. After talking about the characters in the story, we made our own paper nativity that will help us count the days until Christmas. We had a snack and story and then enjoyed some choice time.

November 20, 2014
The leaves fell down! So we gathered them up and were able to take them home.During table time today, some of us put beads on necklaces and some of us played counting or matching games. We began our day with circle time and then we went to gym. First we warmed up our muscles with a lot of moving, and then we stretched our muscles while we sat on mats. Then we tried different gymnastic skills: crayon roll, forward roll, tuck hang, straddle hang, balancing on one foot, hand stand, and balance beam. After learning about and trying each one, we had time to try out our favorites again. We all walked on the balance beam with alternating feet! After gym, we sang some songs with bells and we sang a song with a candy cane. We learned about a couple more of the promises that Jesus has for us. We had snack and then found out about our project. During choice time we worked on a new decoration for our room individually.

November 18, 2014
Liam was back in school! We used play dough at table time again. We also played the silly sock game and Liam made block towers. We did our morning routines and then did some songs with jingle bells. We learned about three of the promises that Jesus makes and reviewed our verse. We went to the gym for our moving time and pretended to be turkeys. We had to run to our nest when the music stopped. After our moving time and drink break, we learned about why we celebrate thanksgiving. We did our turkey rhyme and then heard the story of Thomas Turkey and we got to add feathers to his body. We made feathers for the turkeys we had painted. We had our snack time and read //Jump, Frog, Jump!// We talked about being thankful and at choice time we were able to say some things we are thankful for. At the end of the day-SURPRISE!-new books to check out. One is a story of our trip to the library and one is our rhyming book. Liam and Isla are taking them home first, but we will each get a turn.

November 13, 2014
We were missing Liam today, so it was an all-girl day! We tried to match rhyming pictures with our attendance today and then everyone chose to play with play dough for table time. After our opening prayer, we looked at our schedule for the day and what we would learn today. Then we got our jobs with rhymes for our names-Bemma, Jeyda, Tisla, and Faly! . Before going to gym, we talked about parachute "rules" and then Mrs. Kiel helped us with our gym class. We warmed up with walking, running, jumping, hopping, and skipping. Then we did four things with the parachute and had a lot of fun. After gym we sang the song we learned on Tuesday and then had the story of another baby who was promised and a dad who was not able to talk until he was born! His name was John, We had our snack and listened to a story with some rhyming words. Then we had another circle time. We read a story together with the children reading the words "NO!" and "Run, turkey, run!" We compared how the artist drew the turkey in our story with a photograph of a real turkey and looked at a turkey feather. Then we learned how to use watercolor paints and painted a turkey. We had choice time at the end of the day.

November 11, 2014
Today we saw snow! While it melted when it hit the ground, it was still an exciting site to see! We learned a new song today: //Stand Up and Clap// and then we had our Bible story. We learned how God kept his promise to Hannah and gave her the baby Samuel. Since it was raining when we wanted to go outdoors, we went into the gym for some exercise time. We used the foam bats to hit balls. We had fun hitting them and chasing them. Our story today was //Toe Have Wiggles; Kids Have Giggles.// After listening to the story, we re-read the rhyming words. Our suitcase surprise contained things from our room that also make a rhyme. Our project was to have our photographs taken while we held these rhyming things so we can write our own rhyming book to check out. During snack we had a story about a boy who wanted to grow the biggest pumpkin so he could win a blue ribbon. After snack, we had some choice time.

November 6, 2014
An exciting day! Our first field trip! We started the day with table time and we all chose to use the playdough. We rolled it and cut shapes out of it. When our day started, we looked at our schedule and talked about what we were going to learn today. Liam used the flower wand to count the numbers to 6. Then we learned a new song: //My God Is So Big.// We reviewed our Bible story from Tuesday and then learned how God kept his promise to give his people the city of Jericho and their own land. First God showed his power by making the water in the river stop flowing and make a wall instead. Then he showed his power to break down the walls. We did just what the people had to do: march around the city one time each day for 6 days and 7 times on day 7 and then SHOUT! **THE WALLS CAME DOWN!** Next we were introduced to our new Bible words. The sign language is pretty tricky for our little fingers, so it will take us a while to learn this verse. It was time for snack! First Aly fed the fish their snack, and then we lined up for bathroom behind our line leader, Veyda. Emma passed out our snack. We had crunchy apples and salty goldfish. After snack it was time to get ready to go! Take a look at what we did:

November 4, 2014
I am glad that we were all in school today, despite some of us needing to use tissues from time to time! It is //that time of the year!// After table time, we looked at our new calendar and Isla found today's number and counted the turkeys for us. We sang //This Little Light of Mine// and then had a Bible story. We learned what happened when God's people finished their journey and came to Jericho. We learned about the spies and Rahab. Next time we will see how God is faithful to his promise to give the city to his people. Since our wood chip playground was too wet, we took a short walk to see the corner where we will wait for the bus next time for our field trip to the library. We ran all the way back to our room after that. When we got back to our room, we played the finding acorns game. We had a story about pumpkins and how they grow and then we were given a picture that showed part of the process. We put the pictures in order. Aly passed out our snack today and we had another story about pumpkins and this one ended up with a pumpkin pie instead of a jack-o-lantern. We listened to and said the pairs of rhyming words in the story. After a short book time, we did our project. We had to tear strips of paper and then pieces of paper to use to make a pumpkin. We practiced using one glue dot on each little piece. Finally we ended our day with some choice time.

October 30, 2014
We needed to start our day looking at number patterns and counting all the way to 30. Veyda used the flower wand to point to the numbers as we counted again. We did a silly dancing song for warm up in the gym and then we did lots of different balancing: walking on tip toe, walking backwards, walking on the "stones", and walking on the high balance beam. We had a Bible story about Jesus taking care of his friends and making the waves and storm stop. We learned a new song called //When I Am Afraid.// During snack we learned how pumpkins grow and after snack we had a story of a Plumply Dumply Pumpkin. We talked about cutting a line and then we had choice time. During choice time we also made a pumpkin project and practiced cutting lines.

October 28, 2014
A terrific Tuesday in 3K! We had a little longer table time today and then began our day with our morning routines. We were looking at our names and talking about the letters in our names. All of us have an "A" in our names! We also looked at the patterns that numbers make and Emma had to find the 28 for our calendar and then we counted while she pointed with the little pink star wand. We sang //God Is Watching Over You// and we learned //God Is So Good// with sign language for some of the words. We read a story book that reminded us that God knows everything and sees everything! He is always with us! We had some outdoor time and enjoyed the swings and the slide. Our suitcase surprise was bags of shapes and we sang //The Hokey Pokey// with shapes. We had a story with rhyming words and we talked about our project. We had snack and then made our own books, doing lots of coloring and then we put the pages in order and read our books. We finished our day with choice time.

October 21, 2014
Mrs. Otten was happy that we were all in school today! We identified shapes with our attendance. After table time, we did our calendar counting. Aly found number 20 and used the flip flop wand to point to the numbers as we counted. We sang //Say to the Lord// and then had a story book based on Psalm 139 about God's presence with us wherever we go and whatever we do. We enjoyed some outdoor time, mostly on the swings! When we came in we heard a story of Sarah and Grandma and "apple man". We learned apple man's secret inside. Then we talked about making apple prints and apple sauce. While our apples cooked, we had choice time and a same and different activity. Then we got to make our applesauce and eat it for snack!

October 16, 2014
We were a small group today because Aly was home with a cold and Emma was on a family vacation! In gym today we had 5 different things we could do-hula hoops, beach balls, floor balance beam, scooter boards and mats for jumping After gym we reviewed our Bible story from last time and acted it out. Then we heard the new story of a miracle that Jesus did to provide food for lots and lots of people with only one boy's lunch. We sang a song to go with our story and then we ate "5 little loaves and 2 little fish" as part of our snack. We heard some apple stories and then we made an apple tree with two little apples so we could do our apple rhyme for our families.We enjoyed some choice time, playing house and store.

October 14, 2014
After table time today, we began with prayer and finding out about our schedule for the day. Isla found the number 14 for the calendar and counted the numbers for us with the flower wand. We had the Bible story of God providing food for his people in the desert. He provided a special kind of food called manna and they could only take what they would eat in one day. They had to trust God to provide it each day. After our Bible story, we lined up behind Emma and we got to do our moving time in the gym. We used the scooter boards. When we got back to our room we read an informational book about apples. For our project we snipped paper in apple colors (red, green, and yellow) and then tasted apples and picked our favorite kind of apple. After Veyda fed the fish, we took our bathroom break and Aly passed out the snack for us today. We listened to the story //Little Mouse and the Big Red Apple//. We did an apple rhyme and then had choice time. Liam shook a number 4, so we did waves for our goodbye today.

October 9, 2014
Today we celebrated Veyda's birthday! She will turn 4 on Sunday. She got to wear a crown and a badge and choose a book to keep. She brought doughnuts with sprinkles for our snack! We were happy to have Emma back, as well. Our day started with a fire drill! We remembered how to walk out quickly but quietly and to raise our hand and say "Here I am" when our names were called. We used beach balls in gym! It was fun to bounce them and twirl them and toss them. After gym we had the Bible story of God providing for his people. First He showed them the way to go with a cloud and with fire and then he made the water into walls and the people were able to get away from Pharoah's army. During snack we had a story about leaves and we listened to rhyming words. After snack we did our squirrel rhyme and our leaf rhyme and then learned about the job that leaves have in the summer. Our project had us practicing with the scissors and making more colorful leaves for our room.

October 7, 2014
Today Emma was at the dentist. We hope to see her next time! After our table time, we began our day with prayer and finding out our schedule for the day, what we would learn today, and what jobs we had today. Mrs. Otten did the calendar counting for Emma. We sang a couple songs and then heard how God had to show his power to Pharoah to get him to let God's people leave. We had a nice time of outdoor play and spent most of our time on the tire swing. When we came in we talked about the word "busy" and what it means. We heard a story about a squirrel who was very busy! We did a squirrel count down rhyme and we had an acorn hunt. Our project was to color a squirrel and give him a bushy tail by using scissors to snip the edges of his tail. We got to choose what he held in his paws, too. During snack we looked at the illustrations of the book again and notices little insects and another busy squirrel on the pages. We enjoyed some choice time and then Veyda's stick was chosen so she got to bring home our class book //Meet the 3K Class.//

October 2, 2014
A new month! A new calendar in school! We talked about the special cards hanging on the calendar. We saw some birthdays, some NO SCHOOL days, and our numbers are on pumpkin cards. Today we did our lining up with numbers to help reinforce our numeral recognition. In gym we were able to do things with bean bags like balance them, toss them, shake them, push them, and dance with them. After gym we had our new Bible story of God choosing Moses by talking to him in a burning bush that did not turn into ashes. We were introduced to our new Bible words, as well. For snack we had peaches and pretzels and heard the book //Fox and the Falling Leaves.// After snack we did some action rhymes with leaves and then **read our own //All About Leaves// books!** We are excited to take them home and read them to you! We did a project today that showed us what happens when crayons get hot. We protected our skin with paint shirts and gloves and hot pads while we colored some beautiful leaves. Look for them in the room next time!

September 30, 2014
We were all in school today and all with smiles! After our table time and morning routines, we sang //He's Got the Whole World// and then had our new story of God's care and protection. It was the story of how God protected baby Moses. We sang a song about baby Moses, too. We needed our jackets for our outdoor time today. We are starting to work on getting our zippers started. After outdoor time, we looked at some leaves and then read a story with leaves and found matching leaves. We also each got our own bag of leaves and we sorted the leaves by their shapes. After bathroom break and snack, we completed our counting book with leaves and then we had choice time.

September 25, 2014
It was a fun and busy day! We enjoyed some choices at table time and then began our day with our morning routines. Isla had a lot of numbers to count on the calendar. She used the flower wand. Then we headed to the gym. After warming up our muscles with //The Body Rock// we got to experience hula hoops. We pretended that we had a magic wand to turn our hoops into steering wheels, umbrellas, elevators, dogs, horses, and more. We tried to spin and roll our hoops. We finished our Bible story about Noah and learned how God made a promise to Noah and to us with his rainbow. We had peaches and cookies for snack and heard the book //The Leaves Are Falling One By One.// We got our paint shirts on and learned that we were going to do **5** projects! We finished our auction project and our individual paintings and we did the first 3 pages of our leaf counting book. Then we enjoyed our choice time. Here's some of the things we did:

September 23, 2014
This morning at table time, some of us did puzzles and some of us played with magnet wands. When table time was finished be started our day with prayer and hearing about the activities for today. We listened to the first sound of a name and guessed whose name it was when we got our jobs. We reviewed our Bible words and our creation story with a song called //That's Good!// We heard the beginning of the story of Noah. We were able to enjoy some wonderful autumn weather during our outdoor time. When we came in, we learned what "fire drill" means and we practiced a fire drill. We used our leaf finger puppets again and did our leaf finger play. Then we had a story about a leaf that blew into a barn. During snack we talked about our project for the day. We worked together to make a painting for the S.C.S. auction and we also made our own smaller individual paintings. We used blue and purple and black and made lots of new colors in our paintings. After washing up, we enjoyed some choice time.

September 18, 2014
HOORAY! We were all in school today! After our table time and our morning routines of prayer, schedule, helper hands, and calendar, we started our day with gym. We had a super straight line all the way to the gym, following our leader, Veyda. We warmed up with different kinds of walking/running/jumping with a start and stop song. Then we practice our jumping. We can really jump! We jumped high; we jumped far; we jumped up; we jumped down; and we jumped over. We tried hopping, too (much harder for us at this point!) After gym we sang //If I Were A Butterfly// and then had the sad story of Adam and Eve disobeying God and having to leave the garden. Liam fed our fish and then Isla passed out our snack. After snack we had a story about how the leaves change and fall in the autumn. We pretended to be trees and we used leaf finger puppets. Then we made our own colorful fall trees with crayon trunks and paint leaves. After our project, we enjoyed some choice time. Aly shook a number 3 for our goodbye, so we shook hands to say goodbye.

September 16, 2014
All girls today! Aly was a bit sad at the beginning of the day, but we are so happy that she stayed to have fun with us! Liam was on a vacation, and we look forward to seeing him when he returns. Today we reviewed the story of creation and learned how God told Adam to name the animals and take care of his garden. We had some outdoor time, and we needed to bring a towel to wipe the wet slides before we could use them. When we came inside, we met "Mat Man" and we each got our own bag of pieces to make Mat Man. Then we used markers to draw our own bodies. During snack we heard the story //Things I Like//. After cleaning up and having some book time, we enjoyed some choice time. We also got to tell Mrs. Otten about some of things that we like.

September 11, 2014
Our friend, Liam, was sick today and our friend, Aly, was sad today. So we only had 3 friends in school. After our morning table time and circle routines, we took the long walk down to the gym //and we stayed in a line!// In the gym we moved with two songs, remembering how to move safely around the circle. Then we tried all kinds of animal walks: elephant, bear, mouse, cat, snake, frog, kangaroo, and more. After gym we learned how our bodies were created: by God's hand and breath! We started learning our Bible words and the signs that go along with them. We sang //If I Were a Butterfly.// Emma passed out snack today and we heard a story about our five senses. We will talk more about our senses next week. Next we used the play dough to make our own people. The surprise in the suitcase was mirrors! We looked more closely at our faces and then we drew our faces for our project. We used our finger painted paper for a hat that we glued on top of our faces. We all remembered how to open the glue stick, use the glue stick, and how to cover it back up. Then we enjoyed some choice time. There were some sick ponies and we had some doctors working on them.

September 9, 2014
We were missing our friend, Aly, today. We prayed for her and all the sick people in our families! Isla counted our calendar numbers today. We sang a couple songs and then learned how God created the fish and birds and all the animals. We tried using THINK time before we spoke. As three year old who learn by using our language, this is a new concept that we will develop as the year progresses. We named some animals we knew and then sang about them and learned the sign language for them. After our Bible story, we enjoyed some wonderful outdoor time. Emma was our line leader today. When we came back inside, we learned about the parts of a book and we each had a little book to look at. It was a story about a surprise birthday party. After our story we had a suitcase surprise! It was a paint shirt! We learned how to wear the paint shirt and how it protects our clothes. Veyda fed the fish and then we had our snack. We listened to the story //My Nose, Your Nose.// After a time to look at books, we talked about the color wheel. Our project was finger painting! Some of us used one color and some of us mixed colors and made a new color. We did a great job working together to clean up after choice time and even had time for a story about dogs. Liam shook a 3 for our good bye and we shook hands.

September 4, 2014
We did everything on our schedule today! Already we are learning our routines! During our morning circle time, Liam found the number 4 and counted with the car wand. Aly was our line leader on the way to gym. It was a looooog walk to the gym but we stayed in our line about 80% of the time! In the gym we warmed up with a song and then practiced moving safely (outside the circle and in the same direction). After a drink break, we had our Bible story about the first four days of creation. We learned sign language for "good" and for the things God created and used our sign language to sing //He's God the Whole World in His Hands.// After Isla fed the fish, we had our bathroom break and Veyda passed out the snack today. Our book today was called //From Head to Toe// and we copied the characters in the story by moving our bodies. Today we had our project during choice time. We reviewed how to make glue dots and made a picture of a starry night. We played with tools, food, dolls, and ponies. At the end of the day, Emma shook the number cube and found number 5, so our good bye was a high five today.

September 2, 2014 OUR FIRST DAY OF THREE K!
What a busy day! There were so many routines and procedures to learn and there were so many things to look at in our room. We started our day putting our hats on their hooks and putting the first letter of our name on the magnetic alphabet chart. After that was accomplished, we learned that when the bell rings we need to STOP, LOOK (at Mrs. Otten) and LISTEN (to Mrs. Otten). We practiced that when Mrs. Otten rang the bell and called each one of us for 2 photographs and to weigh and measure us. Then it was time to learn about "pretzel legs" and our schedule for the day. We tried our hello song and we counted 1-2 for the numbers on the calendar. After singing "If You're Happy and You Know It" we learned how to make a line and walk in a line to the stop sign. We enjoyed a short time outdoors and then we got to practice that line again! We heard a story called //Mouse's First Day of School.// Some of the things that mouse saw in school were things that we have in our room, too! We learned about washing our hands and what we do at snack time. After our snack of crackers and water, we did a project with the hats we had colored. We learned how to use the glue stick and the glue bottle. We added glitter to our glue dots! Our projects are drying on the drying rack. Finally, it was time to play! It was what we were waiting for! After choice time, we cleaned up and then had our closing prayer song and our goodbye. Today we shook hands for our goodbye. We had a sticker and a paper in our cubbies, too!