St. John's Lutheran Preschool

2012-01-25T18:37:00.000-08:00

Pajama Day pictures are up. Comments to follow tomorrow. We had so much fun!!!

Olive octopus o tomorrow and Friday.

2012-01-24T15:46:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Hannah Fuller and Jennifer Taylor for staying today and helping stitch up the special project. The boys and girls had a great time.

Tomorrow we will do it all again! We WILL NOT be playing outdoors on Wednesday. The classes will be making their own special snacks and special projects tomorrow. We will emphasize having fun, doing things a little differently pajama stories. :)

We still need a couple of moms to stay and help with our project. We need you at the beginning of class for about 20 minutes.

2012-01-22T07:49:00.001-08:00

This is the week the boys and girls have been waiting for, Pajama Parties! On Tuesday and Wednesday the children are to wear their pajamas to school for our party. They may bring a blanket, pillow and stuffed animal too. We will have a lazy day with lots of fun and a tasty snack.
On Wednesday we will NOT play outdoors. On Wednesday afternoon we need some mothers to stay and help stitch up a special project.
Last week Wednesday we had a great time outdoors. Check out the new pictures!
Thanks to all of those who contributed to the camera fund. We now have a camera in preschool for all to use. The extra money went to buy a few new toys for the classroom.
There is a new group of pictures on sm for childcare also.We are working on out mural for the social studies fair and we will be able to get it up soon.

2012-01-19T04:09:00.000-08:00

Outdoors this morning. Come to school dressed to play outside!

Wednesday, January 18

2012-01-18T03:51:00.000-08:00

It's a perfect day for playing outside today in all the new snow!!! The morning class should come to school ready to play outdoors. Please make sure they have a back pack or bag large enough to put their clothes in when we come inside. The afternoon class will be getting ready after snack and going out. They will be dismissed from the snow hill. When you come to pick-up this afternoon you may come in and get their back packs and pick them up outdoors.

2012-01-13T18:06:00.001-08:00

We hope everybody had a fun day. Lots of new snow for the kids to play in!

Monday we will be talking about bakers and bakeries. We will being trying different muffins for snack and graphing which one is our favorite. We will be talking about bakeries and the letter m.

I will hold the book orders until Monday.

Have a safe and fun week-end.

2012-01-13T02:50:00.000-08:00

SCHOOL IS CLOSED TODAY, FRIDAY, JANUARY 13. CHILDCARE IS OPEN.

2012-01-10T15:45:00.000-08:00

Wednesday is Blue's Clue's Day. The boys and girls had so much fun today. They had to be detectives and look for the class pointers that were missing. They checked everybody for blue finger prints. We'll have to see if anything is missing tomorrow??

We will be going outdoors the first thing in the morning. Please send the children to school ready to play outdoors. We will stay on the play ground where the ground is dry. Boots and snow pants will be optional. The ground is dry back there and there is non snow. We will go out first thing in the morning and the last thing in the afternoon to start our winter routine.

We are busy working on learning to recognize the letters of the alphabet with the older children. When working with your children at home start with the letters in their names. Look for signs that the children are familiar with. Start with the first letter, M for McDonald's, s for stop sign, and continue on with the other letters in the words.

2012-01-07T08:29:00.001-08:00

How great to see everybody and hear about all their great break. We were blessed to actually have snow on the ground when we talked about it. The kids were so excited about the snow.
Thursday and Friday snacks for "l day" were great. The children did a great job of finding things that begin with l in the classroom.

The afternoon class was asked to think about Monday and try to figure out what we have planned? They will love it!! There is a hint on the snack calendar.

Tuesday and Wednesday are blue day. Blue has never been as much fun as it will be this year.

We are still looking for community helpers to come in and talk to us about what they do. Five to ten minutes at the beginning or end of class would be great. Let us know if your interested.

The boys and girls in the morning are starting to use scissors. We have talked about being careful and using them correctly.

Wednesday and Thursday are play outdoors days. Please send the morning classes ready to play outdoors. In the afternoon we will go out the last 10-15 minutes of class. Please make sure everything is labeled. We have too many pairs of black snow pants and don't know where they belong.

2012-01-02T08:22:00.000-08:00

See everybody tomorrow, Tuesday, January 3.

2011-12-30T18:25:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!

Thanks to everybody for all your generous gifts and for helping with the busy month of December.

All of the December pictures are up on smug mug. Have fun!

We will not be playing outdoors this week. We will start our winter schedule the week of January 9th.

We hope everybody is as ready as we are to return to school. It has been a great break but its time to have some winter fun! We will start the month talking about all the fun things we can do in the winter. Tuesday and Wednesday will be "Snow Music" and Thursday and Friday we will be back to letters with the letter l. We will be talking about Community Helpers for the next 6 weeks. Please let us know if you would like to come in and talk to the children about what you do. Ten minutes at the beginning or end of class would be great. Calendars will be coming home on your child's first day back.

December 24, 2011

2011-12-24T09:30:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-23T05:14:00.000-08:00

This Christmas, give your children a STABLE background.Join us at 4:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve for a new kind of Christmas Eve Worship,especially for families with children.Children: Come dressed as an angel or a shepherd and be a part of the Christmas story. (We will have extra costumes available so all children can participate.)

2011-12-14T03:55:00.000-08:00

What a great night!! The children did an awesome job!! Thanks for all the yummy treats after the program.

The fun continues with parties today and tomorrow. How exciting!

When picking up on Wednesday and Thursday please take your family Christmas tree home. They have been great and I hope your family had as much fun decorating as we had viewing them.

Monday, December 12

2011-12-10T05:58:00.000-08:00

What a busy week we had! The boys and girls have been busy little elves, decorating the room, decorating cookies, and practicing for the program.

They are so excited for Christmas and all the fun leading up to it. I heard one child tell another the other day, "You better be good or you'll be on the naughty list!"

This week the excitement continues to mount. Monday and Tuesday we will finish up our projects and practice for the program. Wednesday and Thursday will be the last days of preschool before break and the parties.

Tuesday night is our program. Please have the children to school between 6:15 and 6:20 pm. We will meet in the preschool room. The program will begin at 6:30 in the sanctuary. This will be the first time the children will all be together. We will line them up and they may be next to somebody from a different class. We have tried to explain this to them. They will still be surprised on Tuesday night. Our program takes about 15 minutes. After the program there will be punch and cookies in the multi-purpose room in the school. There will be a special project for each family. The students names will be on each project. Look for your child's name. Your cookie donation may be dropped off in the kitchen that night of given to your child's teacher during the day. It's a fun night!

Monday, December 5

2011-12-05T17:15:00.000-08:00

What a great turn out for the parade on Saturday night. What fun everybody had!

Time is really flying!! The children are busy working on the program. Please continue to work with them on the songs at home.

The trees are coming in. They are great!! I hope you had fun making them with the children. Please walk down our tree filled "lane".

We will busy this week decorating the room, making gifts, (don't ask too many questions) and decorating cookies.

Jingle Bell Parade

2011-12-02T03:54:00.001-08:00

Hope to see everybody Saturday night. It will be lots of fun. We are #8 in the parade. Look for the tractor and trailer on Franklin. Mr. Kooi has it looking great with lights and bells.
Have fun!!!

2011-11-26T05:03:00.000-08:00

Hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving.

There is no preschool on Monday, November 28th. Classes will resume on Tuesday, November 29.

When we return we will begin our Christmas fun! The children will be busy decorating the classroom, making gifts, and working on the Christmas program. It will be a crazy and fun
month in preschool. We will not be playing outside if we need snow pants and boots.

Watch for the newsletter with details for December coming home Tuesday and Wednesday.

Monday, November 21

2011-11-20T18:23:00.000-08:00

This is the last day of preschool until Tuesday, November 29. We will wind up our discussion of Thanksgiving. The afternoon class will be bringing home their shape books. They have worked very hard on them. Let the children read them to you. The boys and girls will be bringing home a note today. The songs for the Christmas Program are attached. Please practice with your child.
They know the tunes pretty well. The book order forms are also attached.

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!

Monday, November 14

2011-11-13T04:36:00.000-08:00

November is flying by! This is the last full week of preschool before Thanksgiving. There is preschool next Monday then were off until Tuesday, November 28.

This week we will continue to talk about the first Thanksgiving and things we can be thankful for today.

Even though the weather was cold and rainy last week the children all loved their ice cream for "i" day. Friday we rushed through the letter and will be doing more "i" on Monday.

The boys and girls on Friday went to see the school play, Aladdin and His Sister. They seemed to enjoy themselves. They were very well behaved! Curious to hear their comments.

2011-11-09T17:13:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun with brown day!! When your children start playing in their food it's Mrs. Rykse's fault:) . The boys and girls all painted with chocolate pudding but the most fun came when they were practicing writing their name in the pudding. They had paper plates with pudding on them. Most of them wrote their name over and over again. Some of the boys and girls wrote their name once and then licked the plates!

Pink eye is going around. No one has had it at school bu after the week-end couple of children have missed this week due to pink eye. We try to keep the toys wiped off and clean from germs but we do have between 20 and 30 children in our room everyday.

Pictures from brown day are on sm.

I is coming for the end of the week. Will we have ice on i day? Let's hope not!

Monday, November 7

2011-11-06T05:21:00.000-08:00

What a busy week we had! The parties were so much fun! Thanks for all the yummy treats and help with the parties. All the pictures are on sm.

This week we will be talking about the Pilgrims and the Mayflower. Tuesday and Wednesday will be brown day. Lots of fun, painting and color recognition games. The end of the week will be the letter "i".

Looks like we will be spending more time indoors and less time outdoors this week. The children are beginning to get colds. Please remind them to keep toys and fingers out of their mouths. We are encouraging them to cough into their elbows.

Book orders are due Thursday. When ordering on line our code is: GVJVQ. Please send us a note if the books are a gift and we will make sure and hand them to you and not put in the children's mail boxes.

Saturday evening and Friday afternoon the middle children of St. John's will present "Aladdin and His Sister". the Friday matinee is at 1:00. Adult tickets are $5.00 each and children tickets are $3.00. The Saturday performance is at 7:30. All tickets are $6.00. A dessert buffet follows the Saturday evening performance. The Friday afternoon class will be attending the afternoon performance.

2011-10-29T07:20:00.000-07:00

How wonderful to see so many of you last night! Last night was the best attended Harvest Blessings ever. Thanks for all the great pumpkins for the pumpkin walk. The foods you brought were delicious. If you left dishes behind they will be in the preschool room this week. Please pick them up. We were very busy last night and did not get to take pictures of the event. If anyone has pictures they would like to share with us please send them to dluytjes@sjlcs.org.

Monday is party day again. Please send the costume to school with the children. We will parade around the school the last half hor of class. We will then parade outdoors if the weather permits.

Tuesday we start November. Yikes, where is the time going! Newsletters will be coming home on Tuesday and Wednesday. We will focus on Thanksgiving and Harvest Foods. The boys and girls will start the month talking about indian corn.

2011-10-28T05:01:00.000-07:00

Tonight is Harvest Blessings, a family fun night! The first hayride, family pictures and the pumpkin walk will begin at 5:30. Dinner is at 6:00. Please bring a salad or dessert to pass. Pizza and drinks will be provided. All games will begin after dinner.
Make sure and drop your pumpkin off at school before 3:00 for the pumpkin walk tonight. There are Burger King gift certificates for pumpkin walk entries.

Hope to see you there!

2011-10-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

Thursday is a party day. Were hoping for a hayride first and then a party with lots of fun and goodies.

Monday, October 24, 2011

2011-10-23T12:48:00.000-07:00

What a funtastic week we had. The children were very busy with f on Thursday and Friday. We talked about fish, feather, feelings, fingers and how much fun preschool is. The afternoon class is receiving extra stamps and stickers for working at the letter table on Fridays. Some of the children were very excited and have stamps up and down their arms and some didn't care. When they are ready we will work together.

This is going to be a very busy week! PLEASE make sure we have every body's permission form for the hayride. We are planning to go on Monday and Tuesday. Anyone with out a permission slip will be staying in childcare while we are gone. We will go through Duncan Woods and come back. The children will need hats and mittens to keep warm. I will have extra blankets for them.

Thursday will be the first of the three Halloween Parties. Please remember and keep the costumes simple. The children should be able to get their costumes on themselves. We will be getting ready after snack on party days.

I hope you were happy with the school pictures. The class composite will be here at a later date.

Book orders are in.

Thank-you for all the t-shirt orders.

Friday night is Harvest Blessing! Hope to see your family there. If you signed up to bring cookies please have to school be 3:00 on Friday afternoon.

Monday, October 17

2011-10-16T04:50:00.000-07:00

This week we will be talking about fire safety. We will practice fire drills at school and watch a fire safety movie made for preschoolers. We will be watching it during snack on rainy days. It is divided into 10 minute segments and is perfect for small children. We will practice stop, drop and roll, and stay low and crawl. This might be a good time to let the children hear the smoke alarm in your house. We don't want to scare the children we just want to help them be prepared.

We will end the week with Halloween fun and the letter f.

T-shirt orders are due this week.

2011-10-12T17:02:00.000-07:00

The children are working very hard on listening to the teachers, picking up toys, and following directions. We try to praise each and every child every day but sometimes we need to praise those that go the extra mile. If your child comes home with a stamp and a sticker or twp stamps ask them why. We always tell them why they are being rewarded if they remember.

Today we talked about coughing and sneezing. I asked the children to cough or sneeze into their elbow. We sang a song and then practiced. I didn't use by elbow once and I sprayed everybody with my water bottle, explaining that a sneeze spreads like my water. Please remind them at home me. The tissues are on the desk and always available for the children.

Today in preschool we talked about the story moon cake. We stamped a moon with white paint. We talked about what moon cake might taste like. These are some of their thoughts:
ice cream
vanilla cake
vanilla ice cream
snow
lemon fruit
pumpkin pie
For snack we had (rice cakes) moon cake. We had a lot of fun with the moon today!

Book orders are due tomorrow.

2011-10-12T04:40:00.001-07:00

Orange day was a lot of fun! The boys and girls played with color recognition games and Halloween games. We had great orange show and tell. They painted orange pumpkins. For snack they had "orange" goldfish crackers and orange juice. The best part of orange day was that we played outside with no coats or maybe a light jacket!
Pictures are up and comments will come later.

Book order are due tomorrow.

Monday, October 10

2011-10-09T17:39:00.000-07:00

What a great week-end. I hope everyone was able to get out and enjoy this amazing fall weather.

We had a great time with Officer Jim Albright. Ask the boys and girls to show you the motions for stop, drop and roll.

We had a ton of fun with the letter d. The boys and girls are doing a great job of bringing in d pictures and finding d things in the classroom. Thanks dads for letting us take your pictures. What a treat! The boys and girls were very careful to clean up any traces of "donut dust".

Monday and Tuesday are orange day. Have the children bring or wear something orange to school. We will play a color recognition game, match some colors, paint with orange, and have an orange snack!

New pictures are up. Enjoy

2011-10-04T17:34:00.000-07:00

The morning preschool class is in for a big treat tomorrow! Officer Albright is bringing a fire engine to preschool for us to tour. I hope they all have fun. Please remember a sweater or jacket for the morning.

2011-10-03T18:02:00.000-07:00

One more day of pictures! The children will have their pictures taken at 9:00 am.

On Tuesday Fox TV will be at St. John's to tape a segment on St. John's School and our 1st and 2nd grade class. I will let you know when it will air.

Our room can be very chilly in the morning because of the cool nights. Please dress your child in layers.

October 3, 2011

2011-10-02T08:36:00.000-07:00

Picture day Monday and Tuesday. Bring the filled out envelope to class with your child. The class picture makes a great keepsake.

The book orders are in. They will be in your child's mailbox. Thanks-you for the orders.

T-shirt and sweatshirt order forms were in with the October newsletter. Samples are in the hall.

It's time for some fall fun!! We will begin this week talking about the changes fall brings to all of us. Make sure and check out the new songs and finger plays we will be learning this month.

5 Little Apples

2011-09-25T12:20:00.000-07:00

We have been doing a fun little fingerplay that the kids have really been enjoying. It goes like this.....
(tune of 5 little monkeys)
5 little apples hanging in the tree
teasing Mr. Squirmy worm, "Can't eat me!"
Along comes Mr. Squirmy worm quiet as can be
and CRUNCH.... that appple right out of the tree.
(Count down 4,3,2,1)

What a fun week we have coming up! We are looking forward to making and enjoying apple pie! Yummy! We are also working on the letter "c"

Hope you had a great weekend!

2011-09-22T04:10:00.001-07:00

Red day was full of "buckets of red". The boys and girls started their day by sorting and matching colors. We read color stories about red things, Clifford, Red Bear, Little Mouse and The Big Hungry Bear are just a couple. The children made strawberries, apples and did some red stamping. There was lots of red painting going on and they played with red rice and red play dough. For snack the children had red juice and red napkins. Pictures from the day are on smug mug.

Book orders are due today!

Monday, September 19

2011-09-17T07:18:00.000-07:00

We had a great first week of preschool. Thanks for working on the flags with the boys and girls. The children were very proud of their work and so very excited to talk about them. They have been displayed around the room.

Wednesday morning the boys and girls tasted the different ways we eat apples. They tried apples, apple sauce and apple juice. The favorite: eating apples! A day was a day filled with alligators - a-a-a-. We had alphabet cereal and apple jack cereal for snacks. Tuesday -Thursday started their alphabet animal books with an alligator. In the afternoon we put apple stickers on a and began our alphabet picture book.

On Monday and Tuesday this week we will be focusing on the color red. If possible have your child wear or bring something red to class on that day. We will play color games, have a red snack and have a red craft.

Thank-you for all the book orders that have been coming in. All book orders are due on Thursday. You may order on line or send your order into the class with a check made out to Scholastic.

2011-09-14T03:39:00.000-07:00

Pictures from the first 2 days of school have been uploaded. Enjoy!

First Day

2011-09-13T17:30:00.001-07:00

We had a great two days. The children did very well and had lots of fun. Monday we made the crayons. The afternoon class had scissors and did some cutting. We are working on learning names and making new friends. There's a lot of exploring to do. We have been able to play outside. It was great fun.
With the morning turning cooler please dress the children in layers. Our room will cool off but it takes a few days. It gets very warm in the room in the afternoon.
Thank-you for getting all the paper work in. All the donations have been incredible. the books and crayons that the boys and girls brought home were a gift from scholastic book club.

2011-09-10T08:22:00.000-07:00

What a great turn-out we had for the open house. It was fun to meet so many new faces and see familiar ones.

We are so excited for Monday and Tuesday. I hope the children are too. When you bring them in you may play with them for a few minutes if they need you there. Try to say your good-byes and be out of the room after 15 - 20 minutes. Explain that you will return. At the end of class we will open the door and dismiss the children to the parents as we see them. You will probably have to help us the first couple of weeks.

The first days will be full of adjusting to preschool, our rules, our schedule and making new friends. Please remember to bring in the emergency card if you have not done so already.

Enjoy the beautiful week-end.

Tuesday, September 6

2011-09-05T17:46:00.000-07:00

The room is clean, the toys are unpacked, and the new calendars are ready. The preschool open house is Tuesday night at 6:30 and Wednesday morning at 10:00. If you can't make either one we will be in the classroom Wednesday and Thursday 9:00 - 2:00.
See everybody very soon!

Monday, August 8

2011-08-08T06:52:00.001-07:00

Hope everybody had a great time last week and was able to enjoy our town during the busy week.

It's time for me to start thinking of the new year and all the wonderful children we will be welcoming to preschool this fall. Our open house will be on Tuesday, September 6 at 6:30pm or Wednesday, September 7 at 10:00am. Preschool will begin the week of September 12.

We still have a couple of openings in the Monday-Wednesday 3yr. old class. For information call the school at 842-0260ext119.

BIG JUNGLE ADVENTURE

2011-07-23T09:28:00.000-07:00

July 25 - 28 5:00-8:00pm is the time and date for Vacation Bible School at St. John's. With The Big Jungle Adventure, kids learn that they are never alone during the adventure of life because Jesus is by their side! Join your friends at St. John's for VBS. Dinner is included!

2011-06-30T18:34:00.000-07:00

Time is sure flying! I've been trying to relax and catch up on things.

There are new pictures on smugmug.

I just got an e-mail from Sweet Temptations, Scoops, Temptations, and The Front Porch. Tomorrow is I Pledge Day. Between 4:00 and 7:00 they will be giving a free child's ice cream cone to a child who can recite the Pledge of Allegiance from memory. All of the afternoon preschool class could say it a month ago. I bet with a little help at home they could do it again for an ice cream cone!

Have a great 4th !!

2011-06-02T04:09:00.000-07:00

This is it! The last two days of the mini-session. We hope your children have had as much fun as we have, It's been a great "camping experience". We will end the camp by cleaning up and taking camp down. We will take walks and playing outside. We will be making ice cream sundaes for our snack!

Thank-you for all your prayers and support during the last year. We truly are blessed with wonderful families. We love watching your children grow and learn. The excitement in their eyes is the best pay!

Have a safe and blessed summer. We look forward to seeing you around town this summer!

2011-06-02T03:57:00.000-07:00

A huge thank you to our wonderful families for helping St. John's win the "coolest school" award for the 5th straight year! What an extraordinary way to come together to enjoy an ice cream treat and support our incredible school!

2011-05-30T17:29:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all the people who showed up today. What fun! The kids looked so cute in all their red,white and blue.

Tomorrow is the beginning of our last week. We have a lot of fun planned. Let's hope the rain stays away. The t-shirts will be coming home. Please iron them to heat set the paint in. It would be kind of fun if the kids all wore their shirts on Thursday and Friday:).

2011-05-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

See you Monday for the parade at 9:00am. Look for Mrs. Luytjes, Mrs. Rykse and Mrs. Lyons and Mr. Kooi's tractor and trailer. We will be on Franklin. We dismiss the children at the end of the parade in the parking lot at Harbourfront. All children must have a permission slips with a phone number on it to ride in the parade. Please dress the children in red, white and blue! Parents are invited to walk with us if they wish.

2011-05-29T08:37:00.000-07:00

We finished the week working on our t-shirts and finishing up our camping dioramas. We made our own trail mix for snack. We got to choose our own ingredients. The water table has been a very busy center. We have had many wet shirts :). We try to play outside but have trouble with the rain!
More new pictures have been uploaded!

2011-05-24T18:35:00.000-07:00

Monday and Tuesday we went fishing for a snack. We caught our fish, (fish crackers) with our fishing poles, (pretzel rods), worms, (peanut butter) . We ate our snack with the lights out and the lanterns on too. That is so much fun!
Today the boys and girls planted marigolds out front in the flower box. Ask them to show you!
During circle we talked about water and pools and how to stay safe this summer. We won't go swimming alone and we will listen to our parents especially around water. We know that we need life jackets in boats like seat belts in cars.
Don't forget you camouflage Wednesday and Thursday!

2011-05-22T10:42:00.000-07:00

New pictures have been downloaded. Pictures from May, the last day of preschool, pm field trips and from the mini-session.
Enjoy

May 21,

2011-05-21T05:10:00.000-07:00

What fun we are having!
Tuesday and Wednesday we were busy setting up camp in the woods. We have tents, blankets, a cooler and a grill. We have set up a camp store to purchase our camping essentials. We are ready to set up our campfire.
Thursday and Friday were a blast! The kids loved having flashlights. We had circle time, snack time and end of the day story time using flashlights and lanterns.
Our snacks have been camping themed. The first part of the week we had logs (pretzel sticks) with fire (spray cheese on top). My favorite camping stable, popcorn was the Friday snack.
On Friday the boys and girls planted a flat of marigolds around the St. John's sign on Taylor. We will be planting with the other class next week. A huge thanks to Bosch's Gardens for donating the flowers.
We have started painting our shoe boxes. This project will take a few days to completes. Thanks to Chris Williams and Tru-Fit shoe store in Muskegon for donating all the empty shoe boxes.
We are in need of empty toilet paper rolls for next week. If you could bring some in we would appreciate it!

Next week will be loaded with more camping snacks and more surprises.

A Camping We Will Go

2011-05-15T17:45:00.000-07:00

The mini-session begins on Tuesday, May 17 at 9:00. We will start the week setting up our "camp".
We will work on building a "fire". We will discuss campfire safety. We will have a special campfire snack. Thursday and Friday the children will need flashlights. Make sure and put their name on their flashlights. We will put masking tape on the flashlights with their names if they don't have names on them. We don't want to get them all mixed up. We will be learning new songs and making new friends. Hopefully we will play outside everyday!

2011-05-15T06:45:00.000-07:00

Thank-you for a great year! The last couple of days were very fun and hectic. It's hard to say good-bye to such a wonderful group of children and parents. We sang our favorite songs, we talked about all the different things we had done, and all the fun we had. We played outside and Friday afternoon we even took our shoes off and played in the new sand in the sandbox!!! We had yummy snacks and group hugs.

Thanks for letting us be a part of your child's early years. We have truly enjoyed it! Keep in touch.

2011-05-10T13:35:00.000-07:00

See you at 6:00 at Pottawattomie Park. Bring a dish to pass and your table service.

Monday, May 9

2011-05-08T17:20:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all preschool moms. I hope you had a great day with your family.

Monday begins our last week of regular preschool. It should be a busy and fun week. the picnic is planned for Tuesday night at Pottawattomie Park. We plan on eating at 6:00. Bring a dish to pass and your own table service. I will update this site if the weather does not cooperate.

Friday morning is visitation day at St. John 's for kindergarten. If you are interested in what St. John's has to offer please plan to attend. It begins at 8:00 in the kindergarten room.

Don't forget back packs this week! The boys and girls have lots to bring home.

2011-05-03T17:52:00.000-07:00

Don't forget tomorrow is purple day!
What will we have for a purple snack?

Mrs. Rykse will be subbing in the afternoon preschool class. Mrs. Luytjes needs to be with her dad who's having some medical issues. The children do not know yet because this just came up. They will have a good day.

to those of you in the mini-session. We have someone who is donating enough shoe boxes for everyone! Forget about the plastic dishes also. We're going to come up with something else. We'll let you know if we need anything. I understand I put the wrong days next to the dates on one of the mini-session notes. Sorry, I will correct it later.

2011-05-02T18:29:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all our friends who came to eat ice cream with us in the chilly weather today!!

2011-05-02T04:08:00.000-07:00

What a great day for an after school treat. See you at Skoop's today. Mrs. Luytjes will be there from 4:00 on and Mrs. Rykse will be there later on.
See you there.

May 2,

2011-04-30T06:04:00.000-07:00

May! Where has the year gone?

Monday is our Skoop's fundraiser. It's a fun day. Mrs. Luytjes will be scooping at 4:00 and Mrs. Rykse will be there later around 7:00. Look for the tractor and trailer. Come to Skoop's for a dinner and a treat!

This week Tuesday and Wednesday is the last color day of the year. The color of the month is purple Thank-you for all your help in making color days special this year. We have had a lot of fun!

Deposit for next year is due Monday and Tuesday.

Monday, April 25

2011-04-25T17:34:00.000-07:00

The week-end got away from me and I never did update, sorry. I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter I know our family had a wonderful and busy week-end.

Today and tomorrow we will be celebrating Easter with the preschoolers. We had a great time today. We celebrated our joy in the fact that Jesus is alive by marching up and down the halls with our musical instruments. Later we went outside and found that somebody left Easter eggs for the preschoolers. I overheard the afternoon class debating if the easter bunny left the eggs or Mrs. Luytjes. My vote is for the easter bunny!

Parents in the afternoon class! The boys and girls were giving out compliments during snack today. They were trying to outdue each other. One child told another that she was sexy! When asked what that meant the girl replied, "your awesome"! I didn't say anything just moved us on to getting ready to go out. I'm not sure if anyone will remember what was said today but I wanted to warn you just in case you heard something at home.

Next Monday is St. John's night at Scoop's on Robbins road. Please come out and support St. John's and see who the guest scooper could be!

2011-04-20T03:46:00.000-07:00

Pictures from yellow day are on smugmug. Enjoy!

2011-04-19T18:29:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun with yellow and y! The boys and girls had fun painting yellow pictures. We tried to think of all the yellow things we could. Some of the children dressed the dolls in yellow. We played the donut game and the cookie jar game. Have the children tell you about the games. We are reviewing daily the letters of the alphabet.

Mrs. Rykse will be back on Thursday. Abram is doing well.
Book orders are due Thursday.

Don't forget the eggs for Wednesday and Thursday!

April 18,

2011-04-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

This will be a very busy week in preschool! We will start the week with a yellow yancy yak. Have the children bring in or wear something yellow.

Wednesday and Thursday are egg day. Each child needs to bring 2 hard-boiled eggs to school. We will have fun and be a little messy.

There is no preschool on Friday afternoon. We will be back in preschool on Monday, April 25.
Childcare is open all day Friday.

Book orders are due on Thursday. This is the last book order of the year. Thanks for all your support. We have been able to add to our preschool library and replace some ripped books with points from your orders.

2011-04-12T18:29:00.000-07:00

Welcome Back!
The children sure are happy to be back and we are happy to see them. they have been playing so well together. We've been hearing some great spring break stories!
Today and yesterday we talked about cats and dogs and some of our favorite pets. We are building dog house with the blocks, taking care of our pets with the vet clinic and working on new pet games. We will continue pets and bring in some bunnies and a little Easter this week.
We will be playing outdoors so make sure the children have a jacket and shoes for outdoor play.

2011-03-30T17:51:00.000-07:00

It was very hard talking to the children about spring this week when it was so cold outdoors. We talked about the flowers that may be starting to come up in your gardens. We made tulips and daffodils. We are hoping that after spring break we can get rid of winter coats and mittens.

The afternoon class brought home their "prizes" for their stickers today. I try to make sure that somebody different always wins. The boys and girls have been working on their phone numbers and addresses. They brought home their placemats and now can work on them at home. Please help them learn phone numbers and addresses.

We will be back on Monday, April 11. We will begin our unit on Pets and Easter with "It's raining cats & dogs". Should be fun!

Our prayer is that everyone has a safe and relaxing spring break.

March 28

2011-03-27T06:55:00.000-07:00

These will be our last couple of days until after spring break. We will be learning about spring and how our world changes with the new season. We will be painting and cutting to make flowers. April newsletters will be coming home after spring break.

It was so great to see preschool parents at the auction on Friday night. Thanks for attending and I hope you had a great time. The bowls will be sold to the highest bidder at the end of class Monday and Tuesday.

Mini-session enrollment forms are coming in fast. Make sure yours are in before spring break to guarantee a spot. We will open the remaining spots to the church and community on Monday, April 11.

2011-03-25T05:23:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to bid on those adorable bowls that the boys and girls painted with the help of Kelly Liggett. Bidding will be closed at the end of each class next week.

This is my favorite time of year to be spending with your children. They are so much fun and say the cutest things. The 3 year olds are playing together and having so much fun! The four year olds are painting pictures of the wild west. They are fantastic!! I would frame these!

Mini-session registration is open now. Sign-up for some fun in May!

March 21

2011-03-20T12:47:00.000-07:00

Where is spring? We will not be playing outdoors anymore if we need snow pants and boots. We are returning to our regular outdoor schedule. We will go out weather permitting at the end of class.

This week will be busy as we bring our wild west unit to an end and finish out the month learning about spring. This is our last full week before spring break.

The children will be coming home with the registration for the mini-session. This extension of the preschool year is a few more days of fun for those preschoolers who are not quite ready to be done with preschool in early May. We try to have more fun and our projects could take longer than 1 day to finish. The weather is usually perfect for us to get outside and do some exploring.

This week our parents will have a chance to bid on the bowls the preschoolers painted. They will be sitting outside our room. All proceeds go to our schools PTL.

2011-03-16T17:22:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun today! Did you hear? Leprechauns snuck into our room and made a mess. While cleaning up the mess we found GOLD! This afternoon there was green water in the toilets. Not real sure how that happened.:) While painting today we discovered that mixing blue and yellow gives us green.

2011-03-15T06:39:00.000-07:00

We will not play outside this week. The snow is too wet and dirty.

March 14

2011-03-12T06:20:00.000-08:00

What a great time we had Thursday night. It was great to see so many families. I had fun reading the comments. The stagecoach was the biggest hit along with panning for gold. The pictures will be up on smug mug Monday night.

This week we will take a break from our western unit for St. Patrick's Day. Wednesday and Thursday we will have a little fun while wearing green.

We are running low on paper cups. If you have not donated anything to the class please bring in a box of 5oz. cups.

Western Night

2011-03-10T08:08:00.000-08:00

See you tonight at 6:30 for this rootin'-tootin' family fun event!

2011-03-08T14:51:00.000-08:00

Due to the rain and ice we WILL NOT PLAY OUTDOORS Wednesday or Thursday this week.

Please sign up to read to your child's class during March. The sign-up sheets are in the hall.

Book orders are due on Wednesday.

March 7

2011-03-06T11:14:00.001-08:00

Thanks to the parents who were able to bring their preschoolers to church this morning. The children sounded like little angels:)! I think Mrs. Kooi was a little surprised at the children's sermon. It was fun sitting and talking to many of you at breakfast. Thanks to the men's Bible Study for cooking for this event and to PTL for furnishing the food.

This will be a busy week as we continue our fun in the wild west. We start this week learning about the desert. What it is and do any animals live there?

Thursday night is Western Night beginning at 6:30. this will be a fun family night!

Friday there is no preschool or school. Daycare is open.

2011-03-05T06:45:00.000-08:00

The boys and girls have practiced this week for Sunday morning. We look forward to seeing many of you on Sunday. The children will be singing during the 10:30 service. Please have the children sit with you. Pastor will invite the children to the front of the church after the sermon. Mrs. Lyons and Mrs. Luytjes will walk up the main aisle and the children are to come with us. We have practiced this so the children have some sort of an idea of what to do. After singing the children will walk back to their pews to find their parents.

Sunday School begins after the sermon. If the children would like to attend they are welcome. I have asked Sunday School to dismiss the children to you after church so you may attend breakfast with your family.

After church you are invited to stay for “Pancakes with Parents”. Come and enjoy a breakfast of pancakes with your preschooler.

2011-03-02T03:43:00.000-08:00

We will be playing outside Wednesday and Thursday this week!

February 28

2011-02-27T14:11:00.000-08:00

Finally March is here. I'm hoping for a little bit warmer weather and no more snowstorms! On Monday we will begin our new Western Unit. We will start the week with horses and what cowboys wear. We have lots of fun planned for this unit.

Next week is the beginning of National Lutheran Schools week. The preschoolers will be singing in church on Sunday, March 6. I hope you are able to join us for church and stay for pancakes.

We had many new families for the open hose last week. Thanks for spreading the word. We still have many openings in the Monday-Wednesday class.

2011-02-22T17:28:00.000-08:00

We will be playing outdoors Wednesday and Thursday this week. Morning classes come dressed for outdoors fun. Afternoon don't forget your snow gear!

Monday, February 21

2011-02-21T02:27:00.000-08:00

SNOW DAY! THERE IS NO SCHOOL PRESCHOOL TODAY BECAUSE OF THE SNOW AND ICE.
CHILDCARE IS OPEN.

2011-02-20T06:44:00.000-08:00

Pictures from the valentine's party and the afternoon visit to kindergarten are up.

2011-02-19T05:41:00.000-08:00

What a fun week. The parties were so much fun. Thanks for all the great treats and help from the parents.

On Wednesday we graphed our favorite sandwiches. Peanut butter and jelly was the big winner. In the morning we made jelly sandwiches. Most of the jelly went on the bread:).

On Friday the afternoon class went to visit the kindergarten room. Mrs. Behm showed the boys and girls all the fun things they do in kindergarten. They loved the restaurant! The Tuesday-Thursday class will be visiting on Tuesday.

If you plan to re-enroll for next year please do so by Tuesday to guarantee the class of your choice.

2011-02-15T17:01:00.001-08:00

We will plan on playing outdoors on Wednesday and Thursday this week. If is raining we will stay indoors.

Monday, February 14

2011-02-12T11:03:00.000-08:00

It was fun to see everybody at the Science Fair. Thanks for making the extra effort to come out on a snowy night. We had so much fun. We will continue to work on nutrition and healthy habits after Valentin's Day!

Our parties are set. Please remember and do not address the valentines. All the valentines should have your child's name on the back.
Valentine's Day is my favorite party with the boys and girls. They love all their mail!

It looks like maybe will be going outdoors to play on Wednesday and Thursday. I will update on Tuesday.

2011-02-11T05:31:00.000-08:00

Tonight is the Science Fair. Come and see what the children have been learning about eating healthy. We will be there from 6:00-7:30. The other classrooms will be open also and you can check out their projects. Make sure and visit the kindergarten room. They have been studying the 5 senses.

Hope to see you tonight!

2011-02-08T18:27:00.000-08:00

We will not be playing outdoors this week
Wednesday or Thursday due to the freezing temperatures.

The boys and girls had a great time trying different fruit today. The favorites were the star fruit and watermelon.

Re-enrollment forms are coming home this week Wednesday and Thursday. The forms are due back on the 18th of February. The deposit is due on May 1. I have enrollment forms for those of you with toddlers that you would like to enroll for next year.

Monday, February 7

2011-02-06T15:12:00.000-08:00

This will be such an exciting week. We will be getting ready for the Science Fair on Friday night. We will be learning about foods that are healthy for us.

The party sign-up sheets will be up on Monday and Tuesday. Our parties will be on Monday and Tuesday next week. Let's try to keep with our nutrition unit when planning treats for the party. When planning at treats for the party some suggestions: fruit and dip, cheese and crackers, pretzels, snack mix or something you tasty idea you have. When the children are preparing their valentines have them put their name or picture on each valentine. Please do not address each valentine to their classmates. It's so much easier if the children are able to drop a valentine into each of their friends bags without checking for names. There are :
16 friends Monday-Wednesday morning
14 friends Monday,Wednesday,Friday afternoon
19 friends Tuesday-Thursday Morning

Looking at the weather for this week outdoor play will be questionable. Watch for updates on Tuesday or Wednesday morning.

The Science Fair is Friday night 6:00-7:30. Come and see what your children are learning about nutrition. Hope to see you there.

Friday, February 4

2011-02-03T10:12:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Luytjes will be out of town attending a conference. Mrs. Rykse and Mrs. Lyons will be in the classroom working on the letter q with the children.
Have a wonderful week-end.
See everybody Monday!

Thursday, February 3

2011-02-03T04:34:00.000-08:00

Preschool is closed today, Thursday, February 3.
Childcare is open!

SNOW DAY

2011-02-01T18:24:00.001-08:00

There will be no preschool on Wednesday, February 2 due to the weather. Childcare is closed also.
Stay safe and warm.

Monday, January 31

2011-01-30T11:15:00.001-08:00

February newsletters will be coming home this week. February is going to be a ton of fun and learning. We will begin our unit on nutrition. We will learning which foods are good for us and how to take good care of ourselves. At our Science Fair on Friday, February 11 the boys and girls will be able to show you what they are learning.

This week will be all hearts. Our last nursery rhyme will be "The Queen of Hearts." We will learn about our hearts and how we can have healthy hearts. We will be making valentine hearts for art too.

Our snack last Friday was Piquitos. Thanks to Jaden and his family for this special snack. I heard somebody say it was a burrito thing, I thought I better clarify this because it was a P treat. :) The class loved them! Thanks to all the parents for making letter day so special. You have gone over and above for letter day snacks.

Enjoy this beautiful sunshine!

2011-01-27T17:09:00.000-08:00

Pictures are up!! Comments tomorrow!

SNOW ANGEL CONTEST
Sweet Temptations has teamed up with Winterfest to sponsor this great family event. It begins at 3:00 pm on THIS SUNDAY at Central Park. They Registration starts at
2:30. Go to www.winterfestonline.org for your entry form. sweet Temptations will provide colored water in spray bottles, bird seed, and more to help you decorate your angel and the winners get (what else?) but gift certificates to come and get ice cream!!

2011-01-27T04:41:00.001-08:00

We had so much fun with pajama day. Thanks for bringing in blankets and pillows and stuffed animals. The boys and girls watched a movie and played. They had special art projects. Thanks to those mothers who were able to stay and help with the project. On Tuesday we had teddy grahams and hot chocolate with marshmallows for snack, Wednesday morning we had cupcakes, (sorry about the blue frosting on the pajamas and in the hair), Wednesday afternoon we had popcorn. They ate the popcorn while watching Disney cartoon classics. We had just as much fun cleaning up the mess as making the mess.:)
Pictures will be up soon!

Monday, January 24

2011-01-23T09:27:00.000-08:00

Finally, Pajama Party week! Pajama day will be Tuesday and Wednesday this week. The children wear their pajamas to school if they wish. Some children that don’t want to wear pajamas are encouraged to wear a sweat suit or something similar. It is a great day full of fun and excitement. A favorite blanket, pillow and stuffed animal add to the fun and excitement of the day. We will be laying around watching movies and having special snacks. I would like a couple of mothers to stay and help at the beginning of the afternoon classes. We need help sewing up a special art project.
We will not play outdoors on Wednesday!

Outdoor Play

2011-01-18T16:31:00.000-08:00

Change of plans!!!
We will be playing outdoors today, Wednesday, January 19 , morning and afternoon!
When I checked last night the weather channel predicted 10 and now they say 18 at 9:00. Sorry for the confusion.

2011-01-18T03:05:00.000-08:00

SNOW DAY!!
There is no preschool today, Tuesday, January 18.
Child care is open.

2011-01-15T07:13:00.000-08:00

What a fun week we had. Blue day was so much fun. We painted blueberry muffins, cookie monster and we made "Little Boy Blue". The afternoon class made Little Boy Blue haystacks for snack on Wednesday. There are no pictures of us making the snack. Everybody had sticky, peanut butter fingers. Cooking with 14 four year olds is never neat but always fun!
The boys and girls did a great job of taking care of their winter clothes when playing outdoors. They had so much fun and were so very excited.
We have been graphing different things this past week. We graphed our favorite muffins, blueberry won! On Friday the boys and girls graphed their favorite n snack. We had nutter butters, nilla wafers and cheese nips. Nutter butters won by 1 vote!
January pictures are on smugmug.
This week we continue our nursery rhyme unit.

Outside Play!

2011-01-11T15:41:00.001-08:00

We will be going outside tomorrow morning at 9:00. Please have your child dressed to play. It should be a lot of fun. We will do the same Thursday morning. Wednesday afternoon we will be getting ready to play outside. The first day will be very confusing!! We will do our best to be outdoors by 2:45.

2011-01-08T05:27:00.000-08:00

The boys and girls were so excited to see each other. It was a fun week. They loved playing with the new toys.
We are starting to use scissors in the 3yr. old class. We went over the rules that scissors are only for their paper and not for clothes or hair. We also talked about how to carry them the correct way. If your child want to cut I suggest giving them the newspaper or a magazine and letting them cut.
We welcome Scout Gretzinger to our 3yr. old preschool class. Scout is the son of Jimmy and Dana Gretzinger. They recently moved to Grand Haven.

We will try to go out next week. The children need to come to school Wednesday and Thursday morning dressed to play outdoors. We will help them get everything back in their backpacks when we come inside. Please make sure all snow pants have their name on the tags. They are the easiest to mix-up. We will play outdoors 10-20 minutes. It all depends on the weather and if the children are having fun. The afternoon children need to have everything with them. We will help them get dressed and we will go outdoors the last 15 minutes of class or so. You may come to school and pick-up their backpacks and we will dismiss from the snow hill. I will update our plans for Wednesday and Thursday on Tuesday.
Tuesday and Wednesday are blue day. Have the children wear blue if they have something. We will have a blue snack.

Monday, January 3, 2011

2011-01-02T15:40:00.000-08:00

Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow. Mrs. Rykse and Mrs. Behm assembled the new garage today. I can't wait to see it. I know the kids will be excited!!

Monday, December 27

2010-12-26T09:25:00.000-08:00

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! The Luytjes family has not celebrated as a family yet. What that means as everything still looks like it did on Christmas Eve. All the gifts are wrapped and sitting under the tree. Kind of nice to enjoy before its all over. We are waiting for Monday morning when all the family will be here, finally!
Mrs. Rykse, Mrs. Lyons and myself thank all of you for your generous gifts. We received over $200.00 for new toys. We did not expect everyone to be so generous. I have ordered a new garage and Mrs. Rykse and myself will be doing a little after Christmas shopping looking for some toys on sale!
When we return in January we will begin our Nursery Rhyme Unit. We will start with Humpty Dumpty. I love this unit. It is so much fun!
We will NOT play outdoors the first week back.
When we return please remember to watch the weather and listen to the weather reports. When Grand Haven Schools are closed due to the weather so is our school and preschool. I will post the closing information on the blog as soon as I find out. I'm not counting on these days off, but its better to be prepared.
The pictures for December are on smug mug. Check them out.
Have a safe and happy New Year!