Thank You For Voting Us Number 1!

Our First Week

Our first week of PreSchool has gone very smoothly. Everyone adjusted quickly and is learning the routine.

Preparing for the First Day of School

The Kissing Hand~A perfect first day story. This is a story about a little raccoon ready to start school. He talks about his fears to his mother, fears that most children have before beginning school. His mother comes up with a wonderful solution to help her little raccoon remember that she loves him and is thinking about him, even when she isn't with him. A wonderful and heart-warming story to share with little ones.

On the first day of school there are mixed emotions everywhere! Some children are thrilled to be at school while others have much difficulty making the home to school transition. I always read the kissing hand with my students that first day. We talk about our fears and hopes about coming to school. We also discuss how moms and dads might feel when their children are away from them.

Listen to the story online. The Kissing Hand

A New School Year

It is hard to believe that the summer is coming to a close and the new school year is about to begin! We are very excited to start off the new school year.
Open House is scheduled for Monday, August 15 at 10am for our 3-year old friends and 11am for our 4-year old friends. Each open house will begin with a circle time and a chance to meet new friends and your child's teacher. Half way through open house we will conduct a parent meeting with our director. We will go over school policies at this time.

Please bring with you to open house:
*A change of clothing in a zip seal bag labled with your child's name to be left at school.
*Your child's current immunization record. This may also be faxed to 1-843-689-5201.
*August and September Tuition Payment. We do offer a 5% discount if you pay for the entire year by August 15th.

The first day of school for 2 and 5-day students will be August 16th and the first day for 3-day students will be August 17th.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at 1-843-342-2500.

Ooey, Gooey Sensory Fun!

Week Two of summer camp was full of sensory activities. Each child was sent home with a small sample of our concoctions that we made each day. Below you will find the recipes to the popular creations. Enjoy!


Oobleck
1 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup water
food coloring

Mix ingredients together. Mixture will crumble in the hands, and then appear to liquefy.

Jell-O Finger Paint
Any sugar free flavored jello
enough boiling water to make it a gooey consistency for fingerpaint. (very little is needed)

Flubber
2 cups Elmer's Glue
Food Coloring
4 tablespoons Borax (found in the laundry section)
warm water

In one bowl mix in 1 1/2 cups of warm water, glue, and food coloring. In a seperate bowl mix in Borax with 1 1/3 cups of warm water. Pour the glue mixture into the mixture. Do not stir or mix it will form on its own. Pour off extra liquid. Store in a plastic bag.

Goop
1 Part Liquid Starch
2 parts white glue
food coloring

Add starch to glue mixture becomes a workable ball. Store in refrigerator in a covered container.

When jello is cool, children may begin to fingerpaint.

An Evening of The Arts ~ Masterpieces In The Making

Mark your calendars for Friday, March 4th. ILP will hold an Evening of the Arts event to raise funds for ILP. Funds raised will used in a variety of ways such as updating the playground, staff enrichment and the scholarship fund.

On March 4th the children's artwork will be on display and the children will perform a short program. We will also serve a spaghetti dinner and hold a silent auction. It will be a busy but fun evening! To see our great Silent Auction items donated by local businesses click here.

Each family is asked to help make this evening a success. There are many ways to help, from small tasks to larger ones. Click here to sign up.

Artwork inspired in the style of Vincent Van Gogh.

Pre-K Handwriting

Stages of Development
Pre-printing strokes usually develop in a specific sequence. However, while
there are general age guidelines for when each stage develops, children will
individually vary in the amount of time needed to pass through each stage.
The information below offers some general developmental information:
* Ages 1 and 2- The child engages in random scribbles. As the
child gets closer to age 2, the scribble will often develop a very
distinct direction-horizontal, diagonal or vertical. This is most
often done in imitation of an adult’s writing. At this stage, the
child is not ‘copying’ or reproducing a specific shape from a
picture. The child is ‘imitating’ or reproducing a form after
watching someone else draw it first.

* Ages 2 and 3- The child can copy vertical and horizontal lines.
As the child becomes nearer to age 3, circles may also be
copied.

* Ages 3 and 4- The child can imitate and then copy a cross or a
plus sign. By age 4, the child may be able to imitate and then
copy a square.

* Age 5- The child can imitate and copy a triangle. Once this is
clearly established, children are capable of learning to print.
Given these developmental levels, it is apparent that most children will not
enter kindergarten having mastered printing. The time in both prekindergarten
and kindergarten should be spent building the foundation of
prerequisite writing skills.



Sources: “The Development of Pre-Printing Skills.” found on
http://www.skillbuildersonline.com

Dinosaur Days

The children will return in January to “The Land Before Time”. We will learn about the time of the dinosaurs and become young paleontologists.


Books used in the classroom:
Dinosaur Bones by Bob Barner
A Trio Of Triceratops by Bernard Most
Bones, Bones, Dinosaur Bones by Byron Barton

Dinosaur Song
To the tune of "I'm a little Teapot"
I'm a little dinosaur ready to hatch,
Tapping at my shell,
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
When I crack it open, up I'll jump,
And walk around with a
Stomp, Stomp, Stomp!

"Little Stegosaurus"
Tune of "Little Bunny Foo Foo"
Little Stegosaurus tromping through the forest,
Munching on the green plants from morning until night.

Down came a T. Rex, and it said,
"Little stegosaurus,
I don't want to see you
Munching all the green plants from morning until night.
I'll give you [three chances],
And if you don't do as I say,
I'm going to have you for dinner-yum, yum, yum!"

Our curriculum focus will be on the letters D, X and M; the number 6; the color purple; and the oval shape.

Bible Stories
Jesus in the Temple
The Baptism of Jesus
Jesus Calls the Disciples
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man

The Value of PreSchool Activities: Play is Learning!!

When your child plays in the housekeeping corner: He learns what the roles of mothers and fathers and children are. He understands what it feels like to play at being somebody other than himself. He learns how to use his imagination. He learns how to cooperate with other children.

A Visit to Our Classroom

Say hello to Martin! Martin is our class mascot. Through out the year Martin will join the children as they discover their PreSchool classroom and the world around them. Martin can often be found in the library center listening to a story read by the children. Let's follow Martin as he leads us around our classroom.



The Art Center

When your child makes a gift out of paper and paste: They learn about doing things for others. They learn how to use materials like scissors and glue. They learn how to use her imagination to make the kind of present he/she has in mind. Again, the process, “not” the finished product, is important to them. They learn about shapes, sizes, colors, and textures.

Stein Mart’s Give & Save Charity Days -

Stein Mart’s Give & Save Charity Days helps support Island Lutheran PreSchool. It is designed to bring the community together in a fun and profitable venture that benefits charities and their supporters.

Unlike raffles and sweepstakes, Stein Mart’s Give & Save Charity Days tickets are a win-win proposition! Ticket buyers get valuable Stein Mart coupons worth far more than the cost of their $5 ticket. Island Lutheran PreSchool keeps every dollar we make on sales to friends, family, supporters and the general public – without paying a penny for printing, distribution or anything else.

Receive $5 off and 15% off your entire purchase.
Each ticket entitles the holder to use these coupons once during the four-day Stein Mart’s Give & Save Charity Days event from September 23 through September 26, 2010. Tickets are good at all Stein Mart stores.

Follow the link below for more information.
Stein Mart’s Give & Save Charity Days -

Thank you for your support!

2010-2011 School Year

Island Lutheran PreSchool will hold Open House on Monday, August 16. Orienatation will begin at 10am followed by a parent meeting. This is a great oppurtunity for the children to meet new friends and their teacher. You will join us in a short Circle Time and explore the classroom. Open house will last about 1 hour.

Check back often for posts about what to expect at Island Lutheran PreSchool.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

Summer Camp

We are excited to offer a summer camp program once again this year. You may register your child for 1 or all 4 weeks.

Our Hours are 8:50am-12:50pm

Week One: June 1-4 Incredible Science Experiments
Week Two: June 7-11 Cool Cooking for Kids
Week Three: July 5-9 Amazing Critter
Week Four: July 19-23 From Trash to Treasure

We are offering 2, 3, and 5-day programs.
The cost is:
2-day: $35 per week (T/Th)
3-day: $50 per week (MWF)
5-day: $65 per week (M-F)

A deposit of $25 per week, per child is due by May 15, 2010. The deposit is applied to the weekly tuition.

October Classroom Happenings.

October was a very busy month! Our theme took the children to the farm. We learned about the animals who live there. The children had a great time learning about the letter Pp. Thank you to one of our PreSchool Dad's who came into teach the children about making pizza's.


emmmm, emmmmm, good!

Our houskeeping area has been tranformed into a pizza shop.

Learning Through Play

The Housekeeping Center
When your child plays in the housekeeping corner:
He learns what the roles of mothers and fathers and children are.
He understands what it feels like to play at being somebody other than himself.
He learns how to use his imagination.
He learns how to cooperate with other children.

To reinforce the themes in our curriculum we will often change housekeeping to an area of interest in the children's life.
After a visit from our family doctor, our housekeeping center is set up like a doctor's office.




Check back soon as we will introduce Pete's Pizzeria for the letter Pp.

Fall Fundraiser

You're Invited

Thursday, October 1, 2009
11am-1pm in the Graudin Hall

Quality, convenience and uniqueness, three things we all look to when entertaining our friends and family. Please join us as we sample sweet and savory indulgences as we raise money for the PreSchool.



AND



Please feel free to bring a friend!!!

Welcome to PreSchool

A glimpse into the classroom. Day one and two.









Our first two days of PreSchool have gone very well. The children have adjusted to the routine very quickly.

What To Expect

This school year is a time for expanding the child’s view of God, others, him/herself, and his/her surroundings. Emphasis is placed on spiritual, social, emotional, physical, and intellectual growth and development.
Goals (Three-year olds)

*Know that Jesus loves him/her.
*See God as a part of everyday life.
*Become acquainted with Bible stories and prayers.
*Listen to and follow directions.
*Seek adult help when needed to resolve conflicts.
*Select one activity from several suggested alternatives.
*Interact with one or more children.
*Show interest in reading related activities.
*Sort objects into subgroups that vary by only one attribute.
*Identify shapes (circle, square, triangle, rectangle, oval, star, heart and
diamond).
*Learn colors (red, blue, yellow, orange, green, pink, purple, black, brown, white).
*Work with all forms of art media such as crayons, paint, chalk, playdoh, etc.
*Participate in songs, finger plays, rhythm instruments, movement and games.
*Move with enough control to perform simple, large motor tasks

Goals (Four-Year Olds)
*Become familiar with more Bible Stories and can recite prayers.
*Show some self-direction in actions.
*Choose new as well as a variety of familiar classroom activities.
*Persist in a task and seek help when encountering a problem.
*Interact easily with one or more children, beginning to play or work cooperatively.
*Become more involved in resolving conflicts on his/her own.
*Follow directions that involve a two or three step sequence of actions.
*Show interest in reading related activities and can guess outcomes.
*Sort objects into subgroups that vary by one or two attributes.
*Identify basic shapes and is introduced to other fun, but less familiar shapes.
*Identify basic colors, pastel colors, and special colors.
*Recognize many letters and their sounds of the alphabet.
*Learn to print their name, using a capital letter at the beginning, followed by
lower case letters.
*Learn math concepts with many hands-on experiences.
*Express wonder, ask questions about natural world, and seek answers through active exploration.
*Move with enough balance and control to perform simple large motor skills.
*Show beginning control of writing, drawing, and art tools.

2009-2010 School Year Open House

Island Lutheran PreSchool will hold Open House on Monday, August 17. Orienatation will begin at 10am followed by a parent meeting. This is a great oppurtunity for the children to meet new friends and their teacher. You will join us in a short Circle Time and explore the classroom. Open house will last about 1 hour.

Check back often for posts about what to expect at Island Lutheran PreSchool.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

Summer Camp at Island Lutheran PreSchool

We are excited to offer a summer camp program once again this year. You may register your child for 1 or all 4 weeks.

Our Hours are 8:50am-12:50pm

Week One: June 1-5 Down By The Pond
Week Two: June 8-12 Wacky Dr. Suess Week
Week Three: July 13-17 Five Days of Senses
Week Four: July 20-24 A Camping We Will Go

We are offering 2, 3, and 5-day programs.
The cost is:
2-day: $35 per week (T/Th)
3-day: $50 per week (MWF)
5-day: $65 per week (M-F)

A deposit of $25 per week, per child is due by May 15, 2009. The deposit is applied to the weekly tuition.