It's a New Year

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature;
old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new."
2 Corinthians 5:17

Our first week back at school and our theme is The New Year. I thought long and hard about how I wanted to help my kids understand that we are now in a new year and the old year is gone. Being four years old, they really can’t grasp the "New Year" concept so I decided we would go with celebrating the old things we still love and the excitement of discovering new things.

This was a good theme for me and the kids. I am in a new school and I am a new teacher for the kids in this class. They are used to Miss Jessy, whom they felt comfortable with and knew the class routine. Change is going to be hard for me but harder for them. We talked a lot about how we like to hold onto things that are the same, and it is hard to give those things up. We also talked about how something new can be very exciting and a little scary.

We talked about what is old and what is new. For show and tell they brought in something old that they have had for a long time and something new they just got. They talked about what they liked about the routine in their classroom and if they would like to change anything. We prayed each day that God would help all of us not to be scared and that we could all work together, have fun with the old and enjoy the new.

I started with adding "New Year” items to the sensory table. I put in sensory bottles that had glitter. We put in confetti, hats, noise makers, streamers and glasses that said “2012" on them. We sprinkled in Insta-Snow® (SNO) for winter along with Opal Glitter (OGLI) which made it shimmer. This was a very popular activity for the kids. They wore the glasses, played with the snow and enjoyed making noise with the noise makers. They continued to make suggestion of new items to put in and you can see by the picture.

We all learned that if we trust in the Lord, no matter what changes come along, he will guide and protect us. When we become a new creature in God, old ways pass a way. It is exciting to see what new things He has in store for us.

This is a new year. Enjoy the changes that happen in your classroom and remember to thank God for all the things that stay the same and all that are new.

Have a blessed week.
Lynn

The True Meaning of Christmas

Christmas is rich with all the gold, silver, reds, blues and green colors that surround our room. We are talking about, exploring and using all of our senses to experience the sights, sounds, textures and smells of Christmas. 

For this post, I am going to let you know what we are doing in my classroom to help my children understand the true meaning of Christmas and to get the feel of how it felt on the first Christmas morning.

We read the Christmas story from the Bible and other children's books to help them understand that first Christmas morning.
Mary was going to have baby Jesus very soon, so she must have been tired and uncomfortable riding on the back of a donkey or walking. I invited a mom, who is pregnant and due very soon, to come talk about how she feels and if she would like to travel a long way on the back of a donkey. The children had many questions for her.  

We talked about how there was no hotel for them to stay at so they had to stay in a stable where the animals lived. I brought in hay and animal feed so they could experience the smell of the stable.

We talked about the shepherds and how they travel a long way outside of Bethlehem to see baby Jesus and the glorious angels. We dressed as Joseph, Mary, shepherds and angels for dramatic play.

We also put out lots of items that help us celebrate the Christmas holiday. We put colored bows in the sensory table for matching. We added wrapping paper, scissors and tape to wrap packages. We made candy canes with red and white pony beads and white pipe cleaners. This was great for sorting, making a pattern and developing small motor skills. I put angel shapes in the free art area and let them decorate them however they wanted. This was one of the most popular art activities. We had a host of angels throughout our room. Our angels were beautifully adorned with gold and silver paint, opal, red and silver glitter.

The children enjoyed all this, unstructured time for exploring the many things of Christmas. We don’t talk a lot about Santa Clause unless the children bring it up. We try to focus more on the caring and sharing of this blessed holiday.

Enjoy your Christmas time in the classroom.

God bless.
Lynn

Giving With a Cheerful Heart

Jacob made Joseph a special robe with long sleeves. 

Genesis 37:3

With Thanksgiving coming up in November we started our giving with a cheerful heart theme.  We started by telling the story of Joseph's coat of many colors. Joseph’s coat was a gift from his father, because he loved him very much.

At circle time we talked about what kind of gifts we have received and which ones were our favorites. This was very easy for my kids because they all receive gift throughout the year. When I asked what kind of gifts they have given to people they love, this was harder for them to come up with an answer. 

My goal for this theme is to help them understand that we give as well as receive and we give with a cheerful heart. I asked for them to bring in two of their favorite toys. I asked if they were to give away one of their favorite toys, which would it be. Several of my children were ok with giving away one of their toys to another child who does not have a toy, but most did not want to give one of their toys away. 

We talked about how God wants us to give to others and that we need do so with a cheerful heart. This means helping others with our time, money and even our toys.

We took brown grocery bags and cut them into the shape of a vest. I gave the children glue, brushes and pieces of colored tissue paper to put on their vest. They also could use dot markers and regular markers to decorate as they wished.

When our vests were complete and dry, we drew names out of a bag and the vest they made was given to another classmate. I reminded them that we often don't know the person we are helping but we give with a cheerful heart.

We all loved doing this activity, the girls more than the boys, but we all had a good time and a good lesson on the act of giving. We will wear our vests for the Thanksgiving feast.

Hope you enjoy doing this lesson with your class as much as we did.

Have a blessed day.

Lynn

Winter in July

“God Helps Us Weather the Storm”

We are continuing our Vacation Bible School theme, of “God Helps Us Weather the Storm”, and this week it is, “Winter in July.”

It is very hot this time of year all across the country, so we wanted to help cool us and our kids off, even if just for a little while.

We set all of our centers up with snow, ice and cold air for play and art. During our circle time we talked about how snow and cold make a difference in our lives. We asked how many have played in snow or gone ice skating? Many of our kids have done both and they talked about their experiences of playing in the snow and ice. We looked at a lot of pictures of children and how they were dressed for playing in the winter weather.

We talked about how to be safe in winter weather and what can be scary about snow and ice. My children gave answers like heavy snow coming down, hail hitting the car, and snow being too cold for their hands and faces.

Just like any weather we experience, we always have to be prepared and pray that God helps us weather the storms. We talked about how we can ask God to help and be with us through all the stormy times in our lives.

Our children went to all the different centers. They played in Insta-Snow® (SNO) in the sensory table. We put winter clothes in the dress-up center, kool-aid and ice cubes painting in the art center. We made rainsticks with white packing peanuts and cardboard tubes. They had a great time making snowflakes with coffee filters and Colorations® Liquid Watercolor. We ice skated to music with paper plates on their feet on the blue carpet.

This was the last lesson in our Vacation Bible School, but I thought they had the most fun exploring all the winter activities that we did. We helped these young children understand that God will help us weather all that happens in their lives, all they need to do is ask.

Hope you enjoy doing these activities with your young children.

Have a blessed week.

Lynn

Summertime Means Vacation Bible School, Part 2

Rain, rain, don’t go away.

For our Vacation Bible School, we are continuing our “God helps us weather the storm” theme. This week we were exploring how rain is involved in our lives.

Arizona only get about 7.5 inches of rain each year. Over ¾ of our rain comes during the summertime, which is known as the Monsoon season. We can get very heavy rains in just 30 to 60 minutes and is accompanied by loud and often scary thunder and lightning.

I asked my children what they liked about the summer rains. Many said they like to go outside and play in it. Some of the children like to play in the puddles after the rain had stopped. I asked them what they did not like about the rain and almost everyone said the thunder and lightning. It was too loud and scary.

During our music and movement time we used drums and noise makers to create the noise that thunder makes. This activity was designed to help them understand that it is just noise and we don’t have to be afraid. We also talked about that during thunderstorms we can lose the power to our houses, so we need to be prepared. We handed out flashlights and played flashlight tag. We let them take the flashlight home to keep in their rooms.

For our art activity we made rain pictures. Using Colorations® Liquid Watercolor the children put paint on their construction paper with spray bottles. They had the choice of colors to use. After their paintings had dried we took them outside and used eye droppers to drop water on the pictures to simulate rain. The watercolor ran and blended with the other colors.

Our rain pictures turned out great. We laminated them and sent their pictures home to remind them that God provides rain for us, plants, and animals, and that we need these summer rains to help everything in Arizona grow and stay healthy.

We talked about being safe during these thunderstorms. We talked about asking God to be with us and to help us not to be afraid and to "Weather the Storm."

You may have different summer weather where you live, so have fun with all you weather activities.

Have a blessed day,
Lynn

Summertime Means Vacation Bible School!

God helps us weather the storm.

I think I can remember almost every Vacation Bible School that I have helped plan, gather material for and teach. These are great times for me, our kids and the Sunday school staff.
I wanted to do something relevant for our children, so we decided on a theme focused around how weather affects them every day. Weather is a perfect example of how we are at the mercy of the sun, rain, wind and even hail.

Our first lesson was on wind. We talked about different Bible stories that had to do with wind. We talked about our own stories about wind. Here in Arizona, we get some very bad wind storms during the summer. These winds kick up the dust in the desert and cause dust storms. These storms can be big and deadly. What do we do when the wind becomes very strong? We stay inside with mom and dad and we pray that God will help us to weather the storm.

We decided to make windsocks that we could hang outside to tell us when the wind was beginning to blow.

We used the largest coffee filters (BIGTEX) that we could find. We used Colorations® Liquid Watercolor and dyed them in rainbow colors, using brushes. While they were still damp, we used the Colorations® Metallic Washable Stamp Pads (METSTAMP) and the Easy-Grip Inspirational Stampers (EGISTAMP) to decorate our windsocks.

It took about 20 minutes for them to dry completely. Then, we folded each side of the round coffee filter up about three inches and stapled them down. It now looked like a rectangle ready to be rolled into a cylinder. We stapled the ends together and glued the middle. We each chose different colors of yarn and strung it through four holes we punched evenly around the top and knotted all the yarn together.

We talked about how not all wind is scary. There are gentle breezes that can blow every day. Even these gentle breezes will make our windsock move. We wrote on the wind sock that God will help us to weather the storm.

The windsocks came out beautifully and are a good reminder that God is with us at all times.

Have a blessed week,
Lynn

Fully Rely on God

“Casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you." I Peter 5:7

Here it is May already and our time together as a class will soon be coming to an end. All of my children will be leaving the comfort and security of a classroom, as well as the teachers and friends they have come to know and rely on each day. All of my children will be moving on to Big Kid's School, as they call it.
The end of school can be a very happy, sad and scary time all rolled into one. Not only for me and my aide but certainly for the children and their parents. I wanted to help make this transition as easy and comforting as possible.

In circle time, we talked about who we rely on each day. My kids gave examples of “mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, a couple of pets and other adults.” I said, “As you go off to big kids school, our family and friends may not be there in our new classroom and school. Who do we rely on then?" Two of my girls said, "Jesus and God." We talked about how God is always there to talk to through prayer. We can always rely on God to make us feel secure until we can be with the people we love.

We decided to make something to remind us each day that God cares for us and to rely on him. We got foam sheets, a frog stencil, green BioColor® and a balloon. We placed the stencil in the center of the foam sheet, put the green paint on a paper plate and blew our balloons up to the size of a tennis ball. The children dipped the balloon in the paint and bounced it up and down over the stencil until the center was entirely covered. They had no trouble doing this and really enjoyed painting with the balloon, When they were done, they removed the stencil and had a print of a green frog on their foam.

After drying for the afternoon, I lightly wrote F.R.O.G. at the top of the foam and Fully Rely on God at the bottom. They then took markers and traced the letters. We punched holes at the top and strung yarn for hanging.

We gave instructions to take their plaques home and have a parent hang it in a spot that they could see it each day before leaving the house. We all enjoyed making these keepsakes to remind us that God is eternal and will always be there for us.

I will miss this class as they move on to Big Kid School, and I look forward to a new group of eager young learners in the fall.

Hope you enjoyed this activity!
Have a blessed week.
Lynn