Miss Maren's Monkeys Preschool

April Calendar

2011-04-07T11:42:00.000-07:00

Miss Maren's bday (Nov 2010)

2011-02-13T21:40:00.000-07:00

I apologize for not being a better blogger at the end of my pregnancy. Well, for what it's worth - you just get to see more of your cute kids.

Tessa in her jammies - ready to party

Reese & Cece enjoying "free time"

Aidan & Abbey hanging out

Cece helping with the cupcakes.

Aidan getting ready to measure

They are always so good to help out

Cece pausing to give a smile

Tessa not too happy about my second rate measuring cup

yummm.... time for tasting

yep, it's good. We'll eat it.

Now Reese is interested...

Abbey ready for a taste

back to the school room while they bake

all ready to go

happy face - a cooking success

Abbey sneaks back to the kitchen for another taste.

and another - Happy Birthday Miss Maren, it was so much fun spending it with such great kids!

The letter L & hearts

2011-02-11T13:16:00.000-07:00

This was our Tuesday craft letter. We made lions from the letter L.

Thursday we painted hearts.

Tessa shows off her face paint.

Reese had a very intricate design.

Abbey was excited about the glitter.

and got as much paint on her heart as she got on herself.

Grace also LOVED the glitter.

Next we decided to make "candy popcorn".

Grace shows off her face paint.

watching it pop! So much fun.

Next comes the cooking part.

Everyone is so eager to help.

Remember to take turns.

Tasting our cooking is the best part of the activity.

Sippy cups & candy popcorn - it's all good.

ummm... please move out of the way Miss Maren - we are trying to watch a show.

The Letter K & triangle

2011-02-11T13:08:00.000-07:00

We were working on triangle's today. We made cookie dough, but trying to mold it into triangles was proving too much for us...

so we broke out the cookie cutters and used different shapes.

Grace taste testing to make sure it's worth cooking them.

Reese chose to make heart shapes with green sprinkles.

Azlyn loved playing with the dough.

Tessa and Abbey mostly liked eating the dough.

Can you tell what shapes we chose?

Yeah for K!

Welcome Back!

2011-02-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

We are so glad to be back. Miss Maren has a gorgeous healthy baby girl to show for her time off preschool... but we missed everyone and are glad to see these happy faces again.

So for the first day back they decided to break out the dress-ups. Reese is a cowboy pirate.

Tessa is a ~~diva~~, I mean princess. I love the pose.

They had so much fun dressing up.

This gorgeous girl is Azlyn, she will be joining our preschool.

What a great group of kids!

... we can't forget Abbey (with 2 binki's - really her mom should just toughen up and take those away from her)

Over the break - Santa brought us a fun outside adventure clubhouse.

Even though it was FREEZING outside the kids had a blast on it.

This is Abbey's favorite part - the swings.

Reese loved the swings as well.

Grace was a princess in a castle.

Abbey & Tessa were twinners and having a lot of fun on the teeter/totter swing.

Watch them go!

Wheeeee! So much fun. We are glad to be back.

J is for Jaguar (Nov 2010)

2011-02-11T12:08:00.000-07:00

(Sorry - I just found this post from Nov, I think the problem was the video I wanted to attach to it didn't work so I forgot to post it... anyway, here it is)

J is for Jaguar - Grace working on her craft.

We had Coy with us today (Reese's little brother) who loved craft time!

Reese is showiing off his Jaguar.

Happy Boy - all done!

Cece is very matriculate, everything must be perfect.

Good Job Cece!

Aidan keeping his craft out of reach.

He was so proud of his craft. Good boy!

Reese & Aidan comparing notes.

This was our Thanksgiving snack day.

Look at all those good eats - everyone brought something great to share.

Yum, yum, yum!

Happy Thanksgiving! Miss Maren is very thankful for such good kids!

February's Calendar

2011-01-31T22:08:00.000-07:00

H ... is for Horse (Nov 9th)

2010-11-09T12:50:00.000-07:00

Today we made horses to celebrate the letter H. We talked about the sound the letter H makes and got new homework sheets. There is no class on Thursday due to Veteran's Day so we had to pack a lot into one class. Grace & Reese got to choose the songs we sang. Reese want the 'Itsy Bitsy Spider' because we get to hold these cool spider masks, Grace choose 'You are My Sunshine' probably for the same reason. We have these cool sunshine masks. I will have to remember to pics of them. They are so cute. Aidan brought our treat this week. Imagine my surprise - more fishy cracks, this time they were Parmesean flavored. Yummy! The kids gobbled them up and strawberries are always a big hit. What sealed the deal were the juice boxes, I think they liked those the most. Not a drop was left. Good job Aidan. See you next week.

G ... is for goat (Nov 2nd)

2010-11-09T12:40:00.000-07:00

This week we talked about the letter G and ovals. For the letter G we made goats and read a story about a goat named Gregory who ate all the food he wasn't supposed to. He loved veggies and fruits but his parents thought that was weird and wanted him to eat shoelaces and tires like everyone else. Speaking of food, Cece brought our snack this week. She brought pizza flavored fishy crackers. I didn't even know there was such a thing, but they were a HUGE success. On Thursday we made Humpty Dumpty and learned the rhyme that goes along with it. I'm sad I forgot my camera to take pictures. Their Humpty Dumpty's were so cute. They each had their own personalities.

F ... is for Fox (Oct 26th)

2010-11-09T12:35:00.000-07:00

another day without pictures, but we talked about the letter F. Tessa brought strawberries and cheese and crackers to share for snack (the most popular time of the day) - it was a good day. Thanks Tessa.

E ... is for Elephant (Oct 19th)

2010-11-09T12:31:00.000-07:00

I don't have any pictures from this day, but we talked about the letter E and I told a story with puppets, about an elephant that wanted friends but people were so scared of him because he was so big. Finally he found some one who was brave enough to be his friend and they were the best of friends. On Thursday of this week we made fruit loop necklaces which you can see many pictures of in a previous post.

Picture Day - Oct 19th

2010-11-02T08:27:00.000-07:00

No. This is not a modeling ad. No. These kids are not famous child actors - they are just extremely good looking and clean up nice on picture day. Luckily, I have an inside contact and my friend Jenna from Jameson Photos came and took school pictures for us.

She captured their sweet little personalities.

and made already adorable kids come to life through pictures.

Don't they look fabulous!

We love Jenna because she's good, she's able to work with them even when their being not so easy to work with, and she is very reasonable. Yeah for Picture Day!

November Calendar

2010-10-31T23:48:00.004-07:00

Oct 28th - Halloween Party

2010-10-31T23:44:00.000-07:00

I LOVE Halloween. It is one of the best holidays of they year. It celebrates great costumes and CANDY!! What could be better then dressing up and eating candy 'til you get sick? It's the best of both worlds. Check out these amazing costumes...

Aidan was being shy and hiding behind his costume paper kid.

There we go... this is one spider that you wouldn't mind having around. He's sweet, delightful, and totally against violence of any kind (like smacking a pinata)

This handsome cowboy comes with his own soft horse that you could lean over and take a nap on. Makes for better nights out under the stars.

Better be moseying along.

Open your eyes princess - your Cinderella, not Sleeping Beauty...

There's that Cece grin that we know and love. Doesn't she make an adorable princess?

This is pirate Abbey, she was going to dress up as a mermaid, but the fickle minds of pirates - ye haf to surrender or walk the plank!

Tessa made and amazing butterfly. The real question is do we like this side better?

or this one? They are both pretty diva-esque.

Didn't I tell you they had pretty amazing costumes? They were worried that there wasn't a picture of me... um, that's ok. I was dressed as a witch. This tummy of mine is pretty big and would have taken up most of the picture (just 5 weeks more and little Elinor will be here to join in the fun!)

What a good lookin' group of kids!

These are one of my favorite Halloween crafts. The kids get to take the craft paper kid home and make a costume for it with their parents.

They always come up with the best ideas. We had a mermaid (Abbey), Tweedledee (Miss Maren - my energy level did not match my ambition this year), butterfly (Tessa)

cowboy (Reese), spider (Aidan), and princess fairy (Cece)

Now, we get to the good part - smacking that pinata open. Abbey had a wild swing so I was more worried about the spectators then her actually hitting the pinata.

Cece kept giving it love taps. She is way more bark then bite!

BIG Thanks to Cece's mom (Amanda) for donating the Shrek pinata this year. We didn't have to hit a pathetic looking pumpkin made from an orange paper bag by yours truly. We got a real deal to whack this year.

Time to bring out the big guns. Let me remind you Aidan was abstaining from the violent attack on the poor pinata and Grace was sadly absent - with Abbey in restraints, we had 2 left to do all the dirty work, Miss Tessa who looks deceptively weak and lady-like.

and Reese who could probably play for any major league team he chooses in a few years. That kid has GOT an arm on him.

Just a few minutes with those two and there was candy EVERYWHERE!! after the pinata we were a little wore down. We popped popcorn and watched Mickey Mouse House of Villains. It was a lot of fun and a good time was had by all!

October Birthdays

2010-10-24T20:43:00.000-07:00

We had 2 birthdays this month - Miss Grace...

and Reese... his mom brought birthday cake on picture day. The irony is I forgot to take pictures of it, but we sang to him and ate yummy chocolate cake.

Grace's mom brought pumpkin cupcakes... I need the recipe. I will admit I ate mine and the rest of Abbey's - scrumptious! We love birthdays!

October Calendar

2010-10-24T20:29:00.003-07:00

shape: CIRCLE - Thurs 10/07/10

2010-10-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

Today we talked about CIRCLES

I knew what ever craft I chose if it had any kind of food in it - it would be a HUGE hit.

We strung fruit loops on yarn.

They loved it.

Cece only made about half her necklace, ate a handful of fruit loops, and said she was done.

Aidan was pretty determined to finish.

Grace mostly just wanted to snack - she got Tessa to work on her necklace for her.

Tessa liked that we were making necklaces.

She not only finished hers - but also worked on Grace's and Cece's.

This craft project had Reese written all over it. He was quick and determined. I worried that it might be too difficult to thread through the small opening, but they all could do it with little help.

He filled his yarn to the very edge and wanted no help from anyone. He was very self-sufficient.

Reese proudly shows off his craft.

Aidan with his finished necklace.

Reese has so great concentration and dexterity.

Cece was checking out all the colors and naming them off.

Grace didn't want to be bothered at this point. She was rocking in the rocking chair, munchin' on her necklace, and watching a movie during snack time.

Tessa posing to show off her couture fashion.

It's just so darn yummy! Yeah for circles!

letter D - d... d... dog

2010-10-05T23:34:00.000-07:00

Today we learned about the letter D. During class any time someone could tell me the letter of the day they got 2 m&m's (although Tessa would try to negotiate her way into 3 EVERY time)

This is the letter craft we made to go along with the letter. Grace loved her dog and kept asking about it the entire class time. Even after class she was worried all this windy weather might ruin her dog.

Tessa liked putting the whiskers on and was good about letting Grace do her own. Usually I try to pair Tessa with a less interested kid so she can use her good helping skills.

She was singing some song she had made up about dogs.

Cece likes crafts for about 3/4 of the time - I usually loose her the last few minutes, but she does like the craft to be completed and when her dog ear went missing, she searched high and low to retrieve it.

Reese trying to see what everyone else was working on.

Here Reese is working on his craft. He had to have everything in the right place and did a really great job following directions and the sample one I had made.

Aidan and Reese are becoming best buds. I think Aidan is glad to have a boy to play with. Today they took their dinosaurs outside and sat at the picnic table and took turns "roaring" while the other one screamed. They are so much fun to watch.

I left the whiskers be optional on the dog and Aidan had to have them. I think Aidan's dog turned out so cute.

Reese shows off his project.

Here is what the completed D letter looked like.

...Our favorite time - SNACKS!! They love that they get to watch a movie for a few minutes during snacks. For the Halloween season I thought it might be fun to watch, "The Nightmare Before Christmas"

Despite their "zombie - TV stares" they were actually full of questions about the characters and the plot. They actually pay a lot more attention then I would think possible while watching a movie.

The color Green - Thurs 9/30/10

2010-10-03T14:41:00.000-07:00

Today we learned about the color GREEN...

We made these adorable green Frankenstein masks for Halloween.

Cece shows off her mask.

Aidan wanted a frowny face on his green mask.

Grace chose a frowny face as well.

Originally the green masks didn't have noses, but Reese thought they needed them. I quickly cut out a square/rectangular nose and they loved them.

We're ready to go show off our green Frankenstein masks to our mommies.

Letter C - Tues 09/28/10

2010-10-03T14:31:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I didn't get a picture of the kids creating their letter C's. They had a lot of fun making them and they sure did turn out cute! I get my templates from DTLK kids crafts. I have a link or them on the side bar.

shape: SQUARE - Thurs 09/23/10

2010-10-03T13:27:00.001-07:00

Today we talked about shapes - our first shape is the "square". It's always fun trying to come up with new crafts that fit our daily theme. We decided to make square frames. They were easy, with not much to put together, but challenging because it required a hot glue gun and I wanted to make sure no little fingers got burned... just mine.

Tessa shows off her square frame. She was telling me she could color a picture to put in it. Yes. you can Tess.

Aidan shows off his frame. We used ripped fabric for ties.

Grace is checking out how to hang it up.

Cece didn't want to pose with her frame, but let me take a picture of it. I think they did a great job and hopefully remind them what a fun shape square can be.

The Letter B

2010-09-21T16:04:00.000-07:00

Today we talked about the letter "B" - which kind of worked nicely since today is Abbey's Birthday.

We made bee's out of the letter B.

We read a brilliant book about a bee.

...and we ate Birthday cake for snackies.

Everybody was besotted with their new best bee friend.

The Bee Song

2010-09-21T15:50:00.001-07:00

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The Number 1 - bean bags!

2010-09-17T21:58:00.000-07:00

Today we talked about the number one. I looked online for some fun ideas to illustrate this great number. There weren't many that I found I liked. Mostly just a coloring pages - sorry... not his preschool, coloring pages are for church or babysitters, pretty much unimaginative folk. These kids are anything but. So I found this great bean bag tutorial and decided we'd try a bit of sewing. The kids didn't mind the sewing (it takes 2 seconds to sew a square) but the filling of the bag with beans was pretty time consuming and a little frustrating for a few.

Aidan got a little overwhelmed at stuffing his bean bag, so Tessa took over helping him (what a good helper)

Grace is little Miss Independence - she didn't need ~~(want)~~ any help filling her bag.

Tessa - (little Miss) stuffing her bag like a little bean stuffing model, (and this is how we do it...)

Aidan showing off his finished bean bag.

Grace is checking hers out. She loved the fabric.

Cece loved this process, even though she can be quite meticulous putting them in one at a time. I had to help her when I realized we were past "meet mommy time" (sorry we got out so late).

Cece was quite happy with her bean bag, although she wasn't sure what it was used for. All of them really enjoyed singing counting songs instead of story time today. What a fun way to learn the number 1.

a ... a ... Alligator

2010-09-14T22:05:00.000-07:00

Today the letter we talked about was the letter "A"

Aidan said he didn't like alligators, but was still happy to make one.

Cece was making a chomping sound. It was really cute.

Grace enjoyed making the alligator and LOVED singing the 5 little monkeys singing in a tree ... teasing Mr. Alligator... yikes!

Aidan loves the letter A - he was quick to tell me he had one in his name. Every time I asked him which letter we were talking about he knew it right away and earned an M&M.

Cece could even remember the sound "a" makes - good job Cece! She earned an few M&M's.

Gracie was checking out the other alligators. What a fun craft project!

Calendar update

2010-09-14T15:21:00.001-07:00

I apologize, I realized at the open house I handed out a calendar from a couple years back. It's basically the same just different crafts and a few differences in the books. I just wanted you to make this one available in case you are confused that the crafts your child is making do not follow the schedule.

Friendship Day

2010-09-11T22:16:00.000-07:00

Friendship Trail Mix

recipe:

some peanuts – for patience

add m&m’s – for sweetness

mix in coconuts – for caring

just a few raisins – for sharing

a heap of marshmallows – for hugs

and stir in pretzels – for fun

You are my best friend,

My very best friend,

You make me happy,

Everyday,

You share your great snacks,

You share your best toys,

Please don't take

my best friend away.

First Day of School

2010-09-07T16:28:00.001-07:00

First thing is first - we took 1st day photos for snack time place mats.

Aidan had this cute squinty eye thing going. He looked almost like a pirate. I had to ask him to keep his eyes open and smile at me.

Grace was distracted looking at what all the other kids were doing.

I caught her off guard and got a good shot, cute smile!

Tessa's first take was great.

But we had to do at least one more. This girl knows how to pose!

Both of Cece's pictures were adorable,

Who could choose a favorite?

Abbey took some to get her to put down the book and look at me,

but it was worth the trouble... our cute little mascot.

group shot - What a great bunch of kids!

It only took 10 shots to get this one. What they are all looking at me? Really? Quick. freeze!

After a little free time we started crafts... today's theme was I AM SPECIAL. We read a book called "You Are Special" by Max Lucado and talked about how much we need each member of our class and how unique they all are.

We set to work making "mini-me's" - cute little paper dolls that look a lot like each special class member. Tessa was concentrating on getting the nails painted on her lil' Tessa, she even blew on them which made me laugh.

Grace wanted her mini-me every bit as dolled up as she got in the dress-ups.

Aidan wasn't interested in the clothes as much as the hair. He thought that was pretty cool.

Cece liked the entire process, but forgot about the glitter until she was ready to go home - next time we WON'T forget the glitter.

Didn't they turn out adorable? Just as special and unique as our individual class members.

Open House - Aug 26th

2010-09-07T12:57:00.000-07:00

Cece was first to decorate at the open house. Since it was such a hit last year we decided to cut out and decorate our names again.

By the time I pulled my camera out, Tessa was already missing a few letters.

Tessa & Cece were quick to remember old friends (and dress-ups)!

Can you tell what Aidan's favorite color is?

Aidan was quick to remember where all the cool trucks were kept... here's to the start of a great new year.

and new friends... Grace joins our group this year. YEAH! SHe looks like she will be a great addition to a great group of kids.

September Calendar

2010-09-07T08:18:00.001-07:00

One of the mom's last year mentioned posting the calendars in case they get lost or destroyed... what a great idea! Here is our plan for September:

So cute alphabet cards...

2010-09-07T00:04:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share this with all of you. MadebyJill created these adorable flash cards with long & short and hard and soft sounds for each letter. You can go HERE to download them for free. It might be a fun thing for your kids to flip through or practice with. I know she mentions something about laminating them, putting them on a ring. That would be a great thing to keep in the car for those longer car rides.

Have a great summer!!

2010-05-26T22:07:00.000-07:00

This is my last post for the summer break!

Please let me know if you are interested in enrolling for fall. It is a $25 fee to hold your child's spot (that money will go towards supplies). I will take first come first serve. I will only accept 8 kids for the fall. School starts Tuesday, Sept 7th.

Keep in mind that I'm expecting a baby in Dec so we will be taking Dec & Jan off and resuming Tuesday, Feb 1st.

Thank You and I wish you all the best in the coming years!!

Graduation Day

2010-05-26T19:57:00.000-07:00

I didn't get any pictures from graduation, but it was a great success. Thanks moms, dads, and grandparents for coming and supporting these great kids. I wanted to make a year book this year, but my printer died. Instead I was able to make a few pages and will post them here. Feel free to print these pages.

You can click on these pages and enlarge them to see them better. These are taken from the class book that we take turns taking it home and sharing with our families.

Swim Party!!

2010-05-26T19:51:00.000-07:00

Aidan didn't want to get in the water, but was glad to accept a popsicle.

You couldn't keep Karsyn & Tessa out of the water.

Tessa & Olivia laughing and having fun.

Hayden doing a splashy dance.

Everyone in the pool having fun.

Alex braves the cold water.

Yeah. We're done. Trying to see if the sun can defrost us.

Cece finally conquers the slide and goes solo! We knew you could do it.

Alex takes and important popsicle break.

Hayden couldn't get enough popsicles.

Ok. Now everyone back in the water.

Are we done again?

Aidan pretending he is a T-Rex. He did finally go in the water and loved it.

After about 1 hour, I had some pretty tired and hungry kids. We took a break. Went inside and ate popcorn and watched a movie.

This was the best day EVER!!

watermelon craft

2010-05-26T16:31:00.000-07:00

This was our last craft of the school year - phew!

We went out with a bang - these kids LOVE to paint and came up with all kinds of color combinations and designs, using 2 colors and this for a model.

Cece told me she could smile bigger then her watermelon craft...

I think she was right. Look at that adorable grin!

we like to read

2010-05-26T16:28:00.000-07:00

Karsyn and Aidan were my big readers this year. They LOVED story time.

And during free time they often chose to read in stead of play with toys or go out side.

Hayden had to make a cameo in the photo shoot.

I nicknamed Karsyn "the librarian" - she always had a book with her even if she was outside riding scooters or inside putting on dress-ups.

Bubbles... bubbles... and more bubbles

2010-05-26T16:24:00.000-07:00

This craft is fun because you don't just make something cool, the procedure to make the craft is funner then the actual item.

Olivia demonstrates how to blow bubbles through a straw into a pan of dish soap and food coloring.

Hayden gives it a shot.

Alex is a pro.

Cece got annoyed when anyone put their hands in her bubbles.

When the bubbles get huge you take a white sheet of paper and set it on top of the bubbles letting it's weight pop them, and leaving a cool design on your paper.

Karsyn was probably the most enthusiastic.

... or maybe I should say - overly enthusiastic!

I strongly discourage taste testing this craft - Karsyn agrees with me here.

Bird Feeders (pine cone craft)

2010-05-26T16:17:00.000-07:00

Today we go to go for a little walk to collect supplies for our craft.

I live next door to the sweetest old lady (Grandma Annie).

Her yard gets covered with pine cones from her huge pine tree. Here Cece is picking them up.

This turned out to be part service project to help her out and a supply gathering mission.

It actually turned into a contest to see who could gather the most pine cones.

They were awesome and cleaned up her yard in no time.

Here is a view from inside the tree - so big!

Hands down this was the best part - we scooped peanut butter into the pine cone.

It wasn't too difficult but took a while - because of all the taste testing.

Olivia shows Hayden the art of scooping peanut butter.

Hayden has to taste to make sure this is the real stuff.

Oh, and again...

Lastly we rolled the pine cones in bird seed and attached string so they could hang. Pretty - yummy (for a nature craft).

Desert Animals

2010-05-05T22:40:00.000-07:00

What's more fun then talking about desert animals? Their dangerous. They live in extreme environment.

And who doesn't love snakes?....

They make a cool noise.

And they are fun to shimmy and shake.

These desert animals were fun to make.

I got some great snake impressions.

Tessa had a little shimmy dance she did with her snake.

Aidan was so amazed by his snake.

He couldn't get enough of his snake. This has definitely been Aidan's favorite craft so far.

arbor day craft vs. cookies?

2010-04-29T12:37:00.001-07:00

Today we are supposed to celebrating Arbor Day and pasting popcorn kernels on the bare branches of a tree. When I explained the craft no one seemed too enthused.

But when I said - "Would you rather make cookies?" I got an overly enthusiastic response.

Cece helped measure out the dry ingredients.

Aidan liked mixing the flour.

Hayden dumping in the brown sugar.

Karsyn got the best job of all - the chocolate chips.

She didn't get them all in so Aidan helped her picked them up off the table and get them in the bowl.

Don't they look good?

KIds Choice Craft week

2010-04-29T12:29:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's nice to break out of a routine and try new things. We were on the calendar to make a "spring craft" which usually means a duck, bunnies, or something that blooms.

While I was trying to figure out what to make, I had an eavesdropper see a picture of Elmo and start yelling, "Elmo! Elmo! Elmo"

Elmo is not my favorite character. I think if his voice was one octave lower - I wouldn't have a problem with him and if my kids wouldn't have got Elmo toys that were in permanent "on" singing mode, I wouldn't be so resistant to him.

They got their way and we made these cute Elmo faces. First they painted a plate with red paint.

Then we glued on eyes, foam mouth and eye balls, and a felt nose.

They did turn out rather cute and the kids loved them which matters the most!

Birdy Nests and eggs

2010-04-13T20:40:00.000-07:00

Today was a cooking day. Olivia was not liking the butter.

Olivia starting melting the butter.

Karsyn added the marshmallows while Tessa (the rock star) stirred them until they melted.

So many cute cooks in the kitchen, everybody wanted a turn.

Tessa crunching up the shredded wheat, while everyone watches her amazed.

Olivia was the first to finish her bird's nest.

Hayden and Cece loading up their nests with eggs.

Aidan's fine with the birds as long as T-Rex stays close to protect his eggs.

Tessa tasting the eggs.

Karsyn was so particular putting her nest together.

Those are two good looking chicks!

Easter Egg Hunt

2010-04-13T19:18:00.000-07:00

When the door opened the kids flew out. It was cute how they followed each other.

We had eggs every where.

Some kids were more excited then others... A few found candy and were more interested in that.

Cute girls looking hard for eggs.

ooohhh... look a few more.

How many do I have? Alex tallying up her take.

There's got to be a few more, right?

Aidan canvassing the territory.

My kids showing off their loot.

We LOVE eggs (mostly just because they are filled with candy).

we love spring - butterflies! (April 2010)

2010-04-13T16:43:00.000-07:00

We always look forward to painting days. Today we got to paint butterflies.

Aidan choose the blue paint. I was impressed with how quickly he fit right in.

Tessa used lots of yellow and pink - her butterfly had a gorgeous hue.

Karsyn went for the pink.

Hayden made a yellow butterfly.

Cece loves all colors and ended up with a beautiful butterfly.

Aidan finishing up. I wish I would have taken more pictures when the butterflies had dried.

Rock Buddies - March 2010

2010-04-13T16:27:00.001-07:00

Today for our art project we got to go on a scouting field trip. Tessa was super helpful pushing Abbey for me in the stroller.

I love that without any prompting from me they were pointing out colors and shapes.

They saw the clover (and weeds) and were like ... green! green! green!

At the stop sign they were like "octagon" - made me almost cry with how happy I was.

These girls are so much fun!

We found the perfect rock pile to choose rocks from. We found circles and ovals. So many shapes - so little time.

Some took a little more time then others in picking out the perfect rock.

The most important part was the painting.

We all loved that Cece's was shaped like a frog and she choose the green paint.

Olivia painted a gorgeous butterfly!

Not sure what kind of bugga bugga Tessa was painting, except she had 3 shades of brown.

Karsyn went with a traditional lady bug.

You can't argue the classics. They all turned out adorable! Any excuse to paint right?

Welcome Aidan

2010-04-13T15:58:00.000-07:00

This is our newest student, Aidan we are so happy to have him here. We were sad to see Ty move, but are happy for he and his family in their new home. He also goes to a preschool where he gets to ride a bus - his mom says he LOVES riding the bus. We are so happy to have Aidan, he is a fun welcome addition to our class.

flowers and pillows - how do they go together?

2010-03-27T23:21:00.000-07:00

I found a fun craft in a kids craft book a few years back. I've always wanted to try it. The idea was using flowers to pound some color into a plain white cloth.

I had some left over pink fabric and decided to add the initials for fun.

I had the students bring in flowers and we picked some I had out front.

We covered the petals with wax paper, and pounded them with a mallet.

Some enjoyed pounding a little more then others.

Olivia helped Alex pound the petals. They had a lot of fun pounding away.

Then we used "fluff" and filled the pillows.

lotta fluff going in and floating around the school room.

This was my favorite part - they cleaned up and I didn't have to tell them.

Cece was cleaning!! I loved it so much I had to take a picture if this one.

Karsyn loved her pillow and immediately had to try it out.

Cece loved her initials on it.

The pillows were a big hit - the flower petals didn't show up as well as I would have like, but the pillows were getting lots of love.

Oh, and don't forget a pillow fight.

Definite success with this craft project. It's easy when you only have 5 girls.

love'n on the pillow.

because I like to sew...

2010-03-10T22:45:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let you know I am giving away two child size aprons 2T/3T. I'm hosting it on my sewing blog. Don't enter for the giveaway here. I will be choosing from entries on the sewing blog. Just click here to enter for this black and yellow apron/smock.

You can enter as many times as you like. In a week I will be drawing a random number for each smock and I hope you win. To enter click here for this cakes & presents double sided smock.

good intentions... turn girlie

2010-03-02T22:58:00.000-07:00

This girlie day came about from a conversation Olivia had with her mom:

"Mom, why have I gone to school so many days this week."

"Well, Wednesday was a make-up day."

(puzzled look) "I didn't get any makeup..."

Today when my girls arrived, I was running late and putting on my makeup - one thing lead to another (not too hard to figure out with this group of girls) and before I knew it I was applying lip gloss, eyeshadow, and they had all the dress ups pulled out.

Karsyn shows off her nails. Olivia knows where my daughter keeps her fingernail polish, and had run and got it before I knew what hit me.

I was roped into painting nails... toenails, etc. They lined up quicker then a que at Disneyland.

Cece loves purple and for not being as girlie as the others she loved getting her nails done.

and was keen to show off her "varnish"

Abbey held still long enough for me to paint hers as well. She wasn't about to miss out on all the fun.

Hayden chose to paint her toes a nice shade of magenta.

Soooo cute!!

Alex was showing off her sparkly nails - so gorgeous!

so instead of blowing bubbles and doing a fun craft project we embraced our girlie selfs and had a great class getting all cutied up.

Twinner Hair Day

2010-02-23T13:23:00.000-07:00

Karsyn came to school with some cute piggy tail/messy buns. I happened to be doing Abbey's hair when everyone showed up.

One thing led to another and before I realized it preschool had turned into a beauty parlor.

But the end result was worth the effort.

Look at these little dollies!

Happy "Star" Birthday Karsyn

She brought the yummiest frosted star shaped sugar cookies - We love Birthdays!!

Mardi Gras - Feb '09

2010-02-23T13:13:00.000-07:00

Yeah for Mardi Gras! We made these really cool masks. Not really sure what Mardi Gras is about. It means "Fat Tuesday" - but do preschoolers really care? ... not really - pretty much just an excuse to make some really fun masks.

Hayden

Cece

Karsyn

Alex

Olivia

Tessa

The Sassy Dance and Groundhog Day take 1 & 2

2010-02-11T18:24:00.001-07:00

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Rainbow and Birthdays

2010-02-11T14:05:00.000-07:00

red, yellow, pink, and green, purple and orange and blue

I can make a rainbow, make a rainbow, make a rainbow too...

I love the simplicity of this project

and most of the kids eat about as many as they glue on

and then sometimes they even eat the ones with a little glue (right Alex?)

Olivia finished her own project, then tried to help the kids focus as well instead of all the cereal.

Ty only stayed focus for about half of his rainbow before he gave up, took some cereal and headed outside. I'm happy he gave it a shot!

Olivia testing the cereal... yep. it's good.

Happy Birthday Tessa girl!

Sugar cookies are always a huge bonus

Here's the birthday girl, according to her - babies are 2, big girls are 3 (you can't argue with that?)

Cece shows off her frosting face from the sugar cookie.

Sugar HIGH - so happy!

look at these sassy girls, pull out the camera and watch the sass!

see what I mean?

Tessa's sassy dance was killing me - these two were on one

Candy Popcorn

2010-02-11T12:57:00.000-07:00

Alex's older sister, Elle, christened this "candy popcorn" about 4 years ago... it's been a favorite ever since.

Candy Popcorn
7 cups popped popcorn
3/4 c. brown sugar, packed
6 Tbs. butter
3 Tbs. corn syrup
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. baking soda

melt brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup in a sauce pan on medium. Let it boil for 5 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat add vanilla and baking soda. Pour over the popcorn and let cool.

Valentine Gift

2010-02-11T08:54:00.000-07:00

For Valentine's I thought I would give my students their favorite game - Don't Eat Pete!! I'm not sure who Pete is exactly or where this game originated from (I think it's just an excuse to eat M&M's, so maybe the parent company of M&M's created it as a marketing ploy - which is brilliant, because we're obsessed with it)... and thanks to Jenna, I have these awesome pictures to use. So, I thought I would share the basic rules so when your kids get home and want to play it with you - you won't get in trouble for not playing it correctly.

1. Your child covers their eyes.
2. Someone else chooses one of the colored boxes/pictures to be "Pete"
3. Your child uncovers their eyes and gets to randomly eat the M&M's
4. When they pick up the M&M that was chosen as "Pete" - everyone shouts, "Don't eat Pete!!"
5. You can either end their turn and let them have the rest of the M&M's on the sheet (this is what we do in class - but they only get one turn each) OR let them end their turn and not have the rest if you are going to play a few times in a row (so their not busting through the ceiling on a sugar rush the size of Texas) by the time the game ends... just a thought.

Puppy Chow or Muddy Buddies (either way yummy)

2010-02-10T15:27:00.000-07:00

I wanted to add this recipe - we made this a couple weeks ago in class and it was a huge success. We couldn't stop eating it (especially me).

1 c. chocolate chips
1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
melt all these together.

9 c. chex (less then a full box)
1 c. powdered sugar (more or less)
We put this in a large brown paper bag, dumped the melted goo over the top, added a ton of powdered sugar over the top.

Shakie, Shakie, shakie baby and enjoy!

Dog Days

2010-01-26T13:00:00.000-07:00

We talked about dogs in preschool today.

We read the book, "No one's Diggier then a Dog"

And we made these dog sock dolls. I found the idea here. Her's are so much cuter, but keep in mind I had to accommodate my preschoolers. They loved stuffing the dogs.

We had to add ribbon, these of course are girl dogs, and can't be seen without some glam.

They turned out so adorable. I love them almost as much as the girls do.

Pirate Day

2010-01-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

Tessa is a pirate at heart. She came to class dressed to the nines in pirate regalia.

For our pirate treat we made their favorite snack ... popcorn and juice!

The crowds have assembled to watch the pirate flick!

Olivia is a HUGE helper passing out treats.

We chose to watch the biggest pirate of them all - Captain Hook!

Cece's best pirate face, as she gets ready for our treasure hunt.

Karsyn didn't want any help making her treasure map, she is one independent pirate!

Hayden is my little juice bug. She loves to play games while passing out the drinks and can't wait to have seconds.

My baby pirate - the kids loved the m&m's and the temporary tattoos.

MLK Day - Happy Civil Rights

2010-01-24T23:39:00.000-07:00

We love to paint! Olivia started us off... there is always an audience when someone paints.

This is such an easy craft and the kids love using all the different colors. Hayden was working very diligent here.

Tessa paints with blue.

Cece loves painting and if not engrossed in game she will jump right in.

I was amazed at Ty's willingness to paint. Usually he has to be coaxed and persuaded.

Alex was so careful to not mix colors/ One stick yellow and one stick red.

I love this craft because of it's simplicity and it's a good lesson, love one another.

Look at Cece's cute expression. She is so adorable.

Hayden is showing off her great work.

Liv shows her final project.

Happy MLK Day!!

Time to go!

Crazy Hat - Makeup Day

2010-01-24T23:16:00.000-07:00

I love this picture of Tessa, she couldn't get enough of my laptop with the built in camera.

I think they get a whole lot smilier when they can see themselves smiling back.

This are the crazy hats we made this year. In the past I've tried newspaper, tissue paper, tea hat, sombrero style - this was so much easier and so much cuter. Look at Karsyn's hat...

Karsyn takes off her hat and puts on...

...this hat backwards. It was too cute. Karsyn always makes me laugh.

She looks like a pilgrim or Quaker. I love it.

Here's the gang in their crazy hats.

Ty, Cece, Karsyn, Tessa and Hayden - quite a fun group

Crazy Hat Day

2010-01-13T12:40:00.000-07:00

Today was a makeup day since I took a couple personal days last week. When we do a makeup day, I just like to have fun. We decided to make crazy hats.

They chose the colors and helped attach the fun curls.

Karsyn wore this hat to school and wanted to pose with it on, check out Cece's cute hat.

Ty crumpled up his hat, the girls about had heart attacks, but Karsyn let Ty wear her hat for the picture.

Try getting 4 year olds to hold still - good times.

Tessa shows off her cute hat that she is so proud of.... next week makeup day is a pirate day - aaarrggg.

Christmas Calendar

2010-01-13T12:34:00.000-07:00

This was our Christmas project this year and we just got them done in the nick of time.

Crazy Fun kids - jumping on picnic day

2009-12-10T09:16:00.001-07:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

picnic day - Nov 09

2009-12-10T09:14:00.000-07:00

This was our picnic day.

Everyone brought their own lunches.

They were super good about sharing their lunches.

Especially the healthy stuff.

Tessa W. loved her chips.

Ty was being coaxed into eating his sandwich.

LIv was a big help opening sandwich bags and juice boxes.

Hayden was the only one who ate all her sandwich (what a good girl)...

Hayden & Liv's hanging out.

Cece said it was getting hot.

Everyone else agreed so we moved backyard to the shade.

Olivia & Hayden eating treats.

Hayden shares her treats with Karsyn & Olivia.

Karsyn is starting to get sticky, but just wait - this is not the end.

Cece loved the cheese puffs.

yum, yum, yum!

Karsyn found Tessa P.'s chocolate granola bar.

So VERY and STICKY!!!

Messy, messy girl - we had so much fun.

Turkeyheads

2009-12-09T10:47:00.000-07:00

Our Thanksgiving craft was making these cute Turkey headbands. I was surprised how much they liked wearing them.

Karsyn showing off her turkey.

Tessa P. couldn't get enough of the camera. She and Cece were hamming it up for me.

I am thankful for my great preschool students.

I am thankful for great parents who participate and care about their childrens education.

I am thankful for snack time and all the treats everyone brought to share.

I am thankful for a great helper who loves the kids as much as I do and always looks for an opportunity to have fun and engage the other in games.

I am thankful for great kids who learn and are growing up right before my eyes.

I love my preschool kids!!

more school pictures

2009-11-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let you know that Jenna posted additional pictures on her blog of my beautiful preschool students. They are amazing - and she is willing to book additional shots if you have other kids in need of school pictures.

Here is the link: http://blog.jamesonphotos.com/

Halloween preschool 10/29/09 at OneTrueMedia.com

2009-11-03T08:11:00.001-07:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Halloween Party

2009-10-29T14:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween Party - it was a smash, we watched Halloween cartoons, popped popcorn, played, and broke open a special Halloween pinata that we made together as a class. Yeah for fun-no-real-point-to-this-holiday-except-to-load-us-up-with-free-CANDY!!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Pumpkin Craft

2009-10-25T22:12:00.000-07:00

Last week we made pumpkin bags - Alex focusing on painting hers just right.

Cece loves painting and is first one to volunteer when she sees the paints come out.

A little too energetically Cece paints down her arm.

Hayden chooses the biggest brush she can find.

Hayden loves painting...

but has to check out the paint first.

Ty usually has to be coaxed into working on our craft projects

but the pumpkin bags were right up his alley

He couldn't get enough of the painting this day.

Snack Time

2009-10-25T22:03:00.000-07:00

Snack Time is one of our favorite times of the day.

We get to watch Mickey Mouse while snacking on yummy treats.

The absolute best part of snack time is the "sippy cup" game. My helper gets to hold the cups and says, "first one to touch their head" or "touch their nose" and pass out the cups that way. Noone minds being last - they get to give their best SMILE to win the very last cup.

Girl Time

2009-10-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

I was going through my camera when I came across these pictures. These pictures are from when Olivia first joined our class.

I had a bottle of sparkles sitting out and they took to it naturally. Doing what girls do best.

Karsyn was first in line, but they all wanted to get in on "girl time" fun.

This last one is Hayden showing off her sparkles. I love these girls. THey are too fun.

Picture Day

2009-10-22T14:02:00.000-07:00

Before October break we had an amazing photographer (Jameson Photos) come and take our class pictures. Here is what she saw through her lens. This class picture was taken in my back yard, yet it looks like we were in a studio... amazing.

Olivia is my right hand this year. She is not only fun and full of SASS but she is an immense help. I couldn't function without her.

Alex looks all lit up like a Christmas Angel. I love the amazing lighting and that the back drop is my neighbors fence that is falling down.

This looks like a magazine ad. Tessa W. is adorable. Sweet and always excited to learn.

I love that Hayden out right posed for this picture. She is so fun and I love it when she shouts back to me "Goodbye Miss Maren!" after class.

This is Cece, she's our English rose, and a wonderful addition to our class. She is full of energy and her favorite time is snack time. She is always motivated to get thing cleaned so she can watch Mickey Mouse while she snacks of yummy treats.

Karsyn is my book worm (or book-dictator depending on how you look at it). Karsyn loves to read and will spend all her free time sitting at a table reading a book.

I love that Jenna captured this little monkey's personality. He actually had a black eye and some bruising (rough tough little Ty) but you would have never known. He is so fun.

This little munchkin just lights up when I pull out my camera... she just shines for Jenna. She is so delicate - makes me smile, when I say "clean up" she is the first one to jump up and dig in.

Our Leaf Books

2009-10-01T08:34:00.000-07:00

Today we got to go for a walk outside of the classroom.

We went to Miss Maren's front yard to collect leaves for our craft project today.

On the prowl for some good leaves.

Olivia kept track of the collection bag with all our leaves in it.

We dipped the leaves in fall colored tempera paint and put them on sheets of paper.

The colors eventually all mixed into one.

What? You mean I am going to get dirty painting? Most of the class had the same response and wanted to wash up after every dipped leaf.

Karsyn's not so sure about getting her fingers dirty.

Olivia doesn't mind so much.

The finished product.

popsicle cuties

2009-09-28T23:21:00.000-07:00

These little cuties are what we use for the students job chart. They can see the popsicle replica of themselves and see what responsibility they are in charge of for that day.

part of the fun was deciding how best to make the popsicle look like the student. I think they turned out adorable.

This one was made by Olivia.

And this is our sweet Olivia, she is new to our classroom. She has graciously agreed to join our class as our TA (teacher's assistant) and she has proved to be invaluable. The girls love her and she helps me tremendously... yeah! We're so happy to have her here in our class.

popcorn popping - share bear bags

2009-09-27T22:44:00.000-07:00

Alex was taking a break while the other girls got the drinks ready

These girls took cooking as very serious business - melting butter for the popcorn we made the old fashioned way (on the stove)

Tessa & Karsyn really getting into the cooking

I had forgot about these pictures that I took and the clips of the "popping" preschoolers. We were making popcorn for the share-bear bags and these girls just made me laugh.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

If you chance to meet a frown - Sept 22nd

2009-09-27T21:51:00.000-07:00

Today we talked about emotions. We made a cute happy/sad face craft then learned the song "If you chance to meet a frown, do not let it stay. Quickly turn it upside down and smile that frown away. No one likes a frowny face, change it for a smile, make the world a better place by smiling all the while."

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Circle Time Songs

2009-09-17T16:37:00.004-07:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

First Day of School

2009-09-02T17:13:00.016-07:00

Yay! It's a new year of Miss Maren's preschool and we have a fresh new crop of students ready to learn and play! I love preschool because it's a fun time for sharing, singing, learning, and most importantly PLAYING!

This year is unofficially known as "the Year of the GIRL" (oh yeah, and Ty). This is the cutest crop of girly girls I've ever seen. If they have their way they will have Ty in dress ups in no time.

But Ty is a boys' boy... he won't go easy. This boy is all cars, trucks, trains, and outdoor play. He can't be bothered for a photo.

This is Tessa, she is our littlest pipsqueak.

Tessa showed up in the tinniest little high heeled slip-on's. It was so adorable watching her tottle around on those things.

This is Karsyn. Karsyn is a happy little thing. She was quick to play with everyone she came in contact with.

Karsyn was easy going and looks like she will quickly make friends with all of the monkeys in our class.

Ty wasn't too happy about the photo shoot. He couldn't see why he had to stand still long enough to snap a picture. Ty had to be coaxed into craft time, not too interested in getting his hand traced, but quickly began giggling when we got to it.

He did oblige me (none too happy about it) and the next moment he was happy and running about ready for the next activity.

This is Alex. Alex is a fun little independent girl. She reminds me a lot of her older sister Elle that I had for 2 years previous.

Alex loved craft time. She spent most of her time picking out her favorite princess stickers and would put them both on her placemat and everyone's that was close enough. She kept picking up stickers and saying, "This is for Alex" - it was so adorable.

Tessa is also a sibling of a former student, Seth. It is so funny to see their same facial expressions and mannerisms.

Tessa loved when we pulled out the baby dolls and was the most photogenic during the photo shoot.

Hayden was still in her mommy's tummy when Brooklyn attended Miss Maren's preschool. Hayden is sweet and was first to sit down to begin making the placemats.

One of my favorite things about the first day of school is the photo shoot. These pictures are used to put on their placemats that they will use the rest of the year. I love that they rarely smile but are more full of silly faces, still getting used to the crazy lady behind the camera. Let's hear it for a great new year. I hope you enjoy this blog and watching these great kids learn and grow as much as I do.

Open House

2009-09-02T11:37:00.008-07:00

A new year of preschool starts before you know it! Our open house was a big success - a great opportunity to meet Miss Maren and see our fun classroom, not to mention frost cookies shaped like letters in our names (and who doesn't love cookies!!)

Miss Maren baking up a store of alphabet cookies.

This is Tessa loading on the sprinkles... yummy.

Tessa pauses to smile for the camera.

We have two Tessa's this year that makes things extra special. Tessa is a unique name and we are lucky enough to have double that this year.

Tessa eating her yummy "art project".

Alex is so intent on frosting her cookies so that she can't be bothered.

This is one little girl serious about sugar.

Karsyn loves pink and chose matching frosting for her cookies.

Hayden frosting away (not sure how much frosting actually made it onto the cookies).

Hayden has 6 letters in her name (lucky girl) - I cut out a few extra shapes for kids with only a few letters in their name.

This is one of my favorite activities and a great way to start off the new year.

Ty tasting his just desserts.

water day - we love getting wet!

2009-05-06T10:56:00.008-07:00

Today was Miss Maren's annual end-of-school water play day.... so much fun - so little days of school left - Alahna soaking in the sun.

Austin & Seth racing to the top of the slide.

Alahna explaining the mysteries of the universe to Jack... or something just as deep.

I'm seeing a lot of ribs here... (don't they feed him?) Actually I have seen that boy pack away food. He can eat more then any two kids - just the benefits of having a high metabolism. I wouldn't know what that's like.

Jack was a little timid at first, but soon the timidity left and he returned to his regularly crazy boy self.

James (not so gently) persuading Cade to go down the slide.

Seth always ready for more.

James & Seth ready for the next big slide or jump off... they quickly found the scariest things to do on a moderately safe & (and not very imaginable) slide... boys will be boys, right?

Alhana & Jack singing the "water day" impromptu song.

Austin would barely hold still long enough for me to snap this one. He was 90 miles an hour fun, fun, fun.

I don't know if his skin is extra slippy, but he went down the fastest on his tummy & would slide always into the edge where the only boys could only try to go as fast.

Alahna having fun in the little pool of water at the bottom. Once we tired out from slipping and sliding we went inside. had a popcicle and played our favorite game "musical chairs"... James & Jack proved to be the big winners today (although everyone gets a little treat to avoid heavy competition - I do have a class of 4 boys, after all.)

Happy Valentines Day 2009

2009-02-12T13:51:00.012-07:00

Happy Valentines Day Everyone - this was our craft today, a giant envalope to hold all of our goodies!

Our activity today was making cookies. Cade & Alahna were pretty serious about making these Valentine's cookies just right. They were both super helpful!

Alahna & Cade enjoying their just desserts.

I asked who wanted to help with the cookies - these three were a little reluctant, but when I said they could have a taste - they suddenly were more motivated.

Seth, Jack & Austin really just wanted to lick the spoon when they were done.

Listen to how easy & yummy these cookies are

Cake Mix Cookies

1 box (any flavor - we used Vanilla) cake mix

2 eggs

1/2 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla (but we used almost 1 tablespoon for these)

2 Tbs. oil

1/2 bag of whatever (chocolate chips, m&m's etc)

We used less then a half a bag & added 6 drops of red food coloring. Baked at 350' for 10 minutes & they were so good & easy!

Austin, Jack, Seth, Cade, James, Alahna - show off their cute folders.

Our letter this week is "V" and the shape of the week is the "heart" - how appropriate for such a fun holiday.

my favorite part of today was getting a big hug from each of my monkeys. Thank you all for your participation and making this such a fun holiday!

Jan 2009 - recap

2009-02-08T17:46:00.011-07:00

Austin loves crafts & usually takes a longer time focusing in his project

Seth during "free time"

Braden REALLY loves painting

F... f... f... fish

One of my favorite crafts is "following the Directions" day. We not only get to make cookies, but if we follow the directions and listen carefully to Miss Maren, the cookies ACTUALLY TASTE GOOD.

"Miss Maren, this looks like poop." (serious as can be)

"It kind of does, Cade." (trying not to drop the camera as I laugh out loud)

MLK day craft "Love One Another" - where have we heard that before?

painting for MLK day

B... b... b... bumblebee

B... b... b... Butterfly

Landon, Braden & Alahna working on the butterfly craft.

Christmas Pictures

2008-12-09T12:39:00.011-07:00

"Okay this time try to keep your eyes open."

"What a great smile."

"This is the last one, please don't make a face Austin."

"What a handsome boy."

"That was easy."

Merry Christmas from Miss Maren

I am thankful for... (Nov 2008)

2008-12-09T12:38:00.017-07:00

I'm thankful for good helpers!

I'm thankful for good manners!

I'm thankful for youthful enthusiasm!

I'm thankful for snack time!

I'm thankful for crafts!

But most of all I'm thankful for my great preschoolers!! They rock!

it happens every year

2008-12-09T12:38:00.010-07:00

"Hey Jack, Where are your shoes?"

"I don't know... on the roof"
"How did they get on the roof?"
"I threw them up there from the trampoline, and Cade's shoes too."
"ooohhh. wonderful."

Boys will be boys and I know I'm in for it when I have 4 of them and just one of me - at least they haven't flooded my backyard... yet.

Pajama Party - Happy Birthday Party (Nov 26th 2008)

2008-12-09T12:37:00.008-07:00

Every year for my birthday I get to throw myself a pajama party (the benefits of running a preschool) - this is one of my favorite days of the year (well, next to pirate day) - it's low key & the only requirement is to have fun. Plus I don't have to get dressed. This year was especially cool, because my niece & nephews were here from out of state and were huge helpers.

Avery & Alahna mixing the batter for the cupcakes.

Ethan is leading all the kids in craft projects. We made magnets & eye masks.

Austin is either helping to make the cream cheese frosting or just taste testing the frosting (either way it's all good).

Everyone got their own cup of frosting in order to really tap into that "inner cupcake decorator". Actually, I just wanted everyone to be able to lick, touch, and double dip to their hearts content without anyone else getting sad because "so and so ate all the frosting, etc." - you get the idea. Also they got to personally choose & mix their own custom color of frosting.

James & Olivia are decorating their cupcakes. I thought it best to do this outside (or I knew I'd be sweeping up sprinkles for months to come)... also my beagle will think it's her birthday too with sprinkles raining down on her like manna from heaven.

Jack went with green frosting & some crazy cool sprinkles.

Seth is another big fan of the green stuff. His frosting looks nice and thick (just how I like it).

Austin went for green (pretty popular as far as frosting color goes) but broke out the blue sugary sprinkles.

Alahna also goes green, but rue to her girly nature embraces the pink sprinkles.

Let's hear it for Miss Maren getting older!! Wa-hoo!