This fall was filled with beautiful sun-kissed, blue sky days. The children were outside nearly every day, bursting with energy and delight.Our Year-Long Study is “The Tree”. We will focus on the Norway Maple in our own preschool yard and compare it to different trees across America. We will look at the varied environments where trees grow.The children have started by comparing the different textures and colors of bark, the shape of the trees and the shape of the leaves on the trees around our St. Luke School campus. They drew, traced, painted, cut, glued leaves, and began to recognize the different kinds of leaves. We have also listened to stories about leaves and trees and the animals that live in and around trees. One of our first stories of the year was Mole’s Hill, by Lois Ehlert. It’s about a mole who lives underground. Outsmarting a fox, Mole creates a beautiful garden. As we talked about Mole using her gifts of digging and being clever, the children shared the gifts God gave to them. The children made mini “Mole’s Hills” to remember the lesson. Matias even made one out of dirt under our tree outside!Our tree has wonderful, exposed roots, gnarly bark (for rubbings), and winged seeds that spin as they fall.

St. Luke’s Preschool Newsletter Fall 2017

We are learning that God has given us many gifts in nature, from the tiny ant to the mighty trees.Tree roots and moles aren’t the only things underground! Worms, dirt, mud, water, stones, ants and other critters live underground, too. We explored some of these over the past weeks through science experiments, sensory play and careful observation. The children are learning new vocabulary, to share their ideas and work together as they explore, and different ways to make their thinking visible.These lessons are all part of our initiative to be a part of STREAMing with SLS.STREAM learning focuses on how all things relate to each other, in school and in life. It’s based on the natural ways children learn and the things they are interested in. The philosophy of STREAM revolves around the concept that: STREAM = Science & Technology interpreted through Religion, Engineering & the Arts, and based in Mathematical elements. -steamedu.com

Brianne-It’s a worm bracelet!

Worm Comments: What do worms need to live?Claire- They need dirt, water, food and lots of space.Finn- They need plenty of room to move around.Charlotte- DirtRobbie- You need to put them in a jar so they can be warm.Laura- When I see a big rock and I move it there are big worms under it, so they need it to be dark.Grace G- If the worms get wet, they can’t breathe.Worm Descriptions:Olivia- The worm is so tickly. I think we should call them Ticklish and Squish. Look, a worm is making a S and a R. The worms are so cute. They’re so fussy and silly. Oh, no, he’s trying to escape on my hand so I put him down and then he started dancing. I’m having so much fun with the worms!Laura- He’s so stretchy and squishy and sticky. I think we should call him Hermie the Wormy.Helena- They’re all a big family. Look, there’s a Mommy and a Daddy and some kids.Grace R- The worm feels slimy.Lochlan- It feels squishy and it’s stretching.Matias- The worm is so cute; he’s a baby.Max- The worm is squirmy and look, he’s stretching out and he’s trying to get away. The worm looks so cool. Look, they’re escaping. Oh no, now they’re wrestling. Oh, no, they’re going to crash. Look, this one is squirmy fast and look, this one looks like the number 3.Abdiel- The worm is digging into my finger and he’s making an O. My chickens would eat all these worms.Brianne- The worm feels wet on my hand. Oh, he’s tickling me. I got the wiggly one!

Walter the Waltzing Worm

The Enormous Turnip, The Enormous Carrot, and The Enormous Potato stories provided more opportunities for comparisons. This time the children compared stories. Hearing the similar tale, told over and over helped the children remember it to be able to retell it. The children made their own version of the story- The Enormous Radish! They drew the characters for our wall mural.

The children had regular and Watermelon Radishes at snack time.

Being outside gives the children an opportunity to truly be close to nature and the wonders of God.The Preschool Car Wash promoted team work, cooperation, purpose, and FUN! It was a great start to our water explorations as part of SLS Theme for STREAMing with SL’s.

The children are learning about physics with simple cove molding, cut to assorted lengths,for tracks. We challenge the children to make tunnels and rampsfor balls. Working togetherto set up the ramps takes many social skills and considerable problem solving ability as they collaborate on what angles will work best. The children are always interested in finding new ways to move the balls through the tubes and ramps. Each time they dothey are learning more about physics!

We have been busy getting to know each other, learning to use the sensory materials, “Loose Parts”, blocks and other building things in our classrooms.

Barrington Firefighters came to the preschool one Friday during Fire Prevention Week to teach the children about fire safety and show them the trucks. This is always a special treat and gives the children a chance to see these heroes in their safety gear.

One of the books we read this fall was also shared on the computer. The children loved the beautifully illustrated, subtly animated, gently orchestrated story. They clearly related to the little owls whose “mum” had gone out hunting while they remained in their nest. You can find this sweet animated version of Owl Babies, by Martin Waddell on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6aYYiyQUmY .We discussed the story and what owls use to make nests. The children made pictures of owl babies in their tree. They compared different kinds of leaves we collected. There were also 2 kinds of pine needles, 2 kinds of maple seeds, and 2 kinds of moss to compare and describe. The children made nests on their pictures using the things owls might actually use- feathers, leaves, sticks, pine needles, seeds, moss and lichen. Then…They made owl treats for snack! A few of the children even chose to make owl hats instead of bat hats for our in-class Halloween celebrations.

The older preschoolers made family trees using the photos you sent in. This was a nice way to have the children get to know a little bit about each family. It gave me an opportunity to assess each child’s skills (drawing, cutting, gluing, name writing and counting) and it made a fun guessing game for Family Night.

We have a salamander in the classroom terrarium. The terrarium is a perfect example of a woodland floor environment for the children to observe. The tiny salamander is another animal which, like a worm, spends much of its time underground but also among the logs and rocks. Observing these animals allows the children to make connections between animals and plants in their habitats.

Halloween Fun! Flapping the wings of our bat & owl hats, hanging like bats, dancing to the Monster Mash, pumpkin carving, and LOTS of Halloween songs, stories & fingerplays!Thank you to Vanessa Floderus, Jen Andreozzi & Danielle El Khoury for the treats! It was great fun to see so many of you at the Harvest Fest! Thanks to the PTO folks and 8th

grade for making that such a fun event!

Through October and into November our attention spread to forests, forest animals and mountains. The children had fun pretending to camp in the tent. They tried out roles as cowhands with horses, bison and longhorns. We shared books and photos of the West. As we made our way through national parks and ranches we headed down to the Southwest for canyons & tacos. Our next stop is the desert before we fly back in time to Bethlehem!

“Let the trees in the forest sing for joy.” Psalm 96:1

Max

Planting Acorns

Oak Trees Big & Small

THANK YOU!!• 8th Grade Buddies for fun, lessons, and being with us at church• Kelli Baggott for all your time and care• The Ethier Family for our beautiful bench• Mr. Imhoff for the Monarch chrysalises • All the books purchased through Scholastic that earn us free class books• The Donaghy Family for The Street Beneath My Feet, Roy Family for Sam & Dave Dig A

Hole, Palmieri Family for D.W.’s Library Card, Floderus Family for Twas the Evening of Christmas, and Wishneusky Family for God’s Great Love For You books

• Jen Andreozzi & Vanessa Floderus for being great Room Mothers• Carter’s Grandmother & Vanessa Floderus for helping at lunch• Father Bob for reading to us last week