Welcome to preschool and kindergarten with Annie Olson
3/4/2020 The children enjoyed learning about the parables of Jesus!
2/19/2020 The kids loved the Prince of Egypt movie! And we talked about Lent.
2/5/2020 Last night we started to learn about Moses and the Ten Commandments. I found no better way to do this than watch the Prince of Egypt (we will finish it during next week's class)- there were lots of great questions and comments during the movie. We will continue to discuss the Ten Commandments and move into the topic of God forgiving us when we make mistakes sometimes.
1/29/2020 Tonight we talked all about sharing and being kind. We read a story about Saint Paul and Saint Martin- how they shared the good news and gave all they had to others. We identified ways that we can share every day and how we can spread little acts of kindness- following the Golden Rule (do unto others as you would have them do unto you). We made sharing hands and read a couple more stories- one about a kindness jar (maybe you can create one of these as a family) and the other about sharing/giving (The Tale of the Three Trees).
1/15/2020 Happy New Year! This week the children had a substitute teacher, Mrs. Christine, and learned about the Saints, heard stories, and made figures with paper plates.
12/11/2019 This week we had our own little Christmas party in class. We also had a special guest with us, seminarian Joseph. We reviewed the Christmas story and talked about all the important people in the story. We watched a little bit of A Charlie Brown Christmas while we made our own gingerbread people. We got the chance to have a little gym time to play ships across the ocean and gym pacman. Lastly, we ended the class by reading one of my favorite wintertime books- The Mitten. Hope to see you all next Wednesday for our Christmas party in Pates- if not have a blessed Christmas and Happy New Year!
12/4/2019 Today we learned about Advent. We talked about how this is the season in which we prepare for the Nativity- Jesus' birth. We read two stories- 1) The angel Gabriel visiting Mary 2) Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem. We got the chance to make Advent wreaths out of paper plates, pink/purple paper, green tissue paper, and of course glue. We watched the "Little Drummer Boy"- this was a major hit! You will also see that we finally got our bags! The kiddos got to decorate these today (sorry for marker stains on their hands!)- try to bring these every class so they can bring papers/crafts/etc. home with them. Lastly, I sent home a family Advent calendar- they can color these each day with you. Have a great weekend!
11/20/2019 This week was all about safety and Thanksgiving. We got the chance to be taught about keeping ourselves safe- a handout from the lesson was sent home. Please review the 4 major safety rules with your children. 1) Check first 2) Always bring a friend 3) Learn who your trusted adults are- you can go to them for help 4) It's okay to say no to things that make you uncomfortable (practice saying no and help as loud as you can). We also learned about Thanksgiving. We talked about many things we are thankful for. We discussed that when we share with others, we say thank you to God in a special way. Not only is this important during Thanksgiving but its important in everyday life. Lots of fun activities were sent home for them to finish! We also learned the "Thank You, God" prayer-- Thank you, God. Thank you, God. For your blessings, for your blessings. You give us everything that's good. Family, food and things we love. For the many blessings that we receive, Thank you, God. Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
11/13: This week is all about family celebrations. It seems very fitting with Thanksgiving coming up, as well as Advent and the Christmas season. We talked about different family celebrations that we have and how Sacraments in the church are celebrations too. Our big craft of the day- paper roll turkeys- a fun little decoration to add to your Thanksgiving table.
11/6: This week we talked about our own families and God's family. The stories this week talked about who the Holy Family is and how families, like ours, are/can be like the Holy Family. We watched a video about Saint Mother Teresa- she was our Saint of the day.
10/30: All Saints' Day and Halloween. We started the class by discussing the Saints- who they are and what they can do for us. We, of course, had to do some Halloween activities. The kids made a "Happy Harvest" pumpkin. We also watched "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown"- which was a major hit!
10/23: We talked about the different ways that we pray to God. We learned that we can pray anywhere, for anyone, and for anything. God is always listening. We practiced praying together- every one of our classes has an opening and closing prayer. The kids drew their prayer place (i.e. dinner table or bedroom).
10/9/2019Tonight we discussed Saint Paul and his story. We talked about his conversion and how he was one of the first great missionaries in the Christian faith. We also read the story of Jesus blessing the children- this story tells us how much Jesus loved everyone no matter the age or size. It teaches us to love as Jesus loved and to have childlike faith. The kids were sent home with a worksheet that summarizes all we did in class. They can work on this worksheet with their parents or guardians- but no need to bring it back, it's something to keep at home :)
10/2/2019 We learned about how much God loves us and how much we love Him. Ask your children of ways to show love to God, family, and others.