Week 2 with the 2's:

It was such a joy working with these little ones this week! In the past, working with the 2's didn't involve much more than trying to keep them out of the way of what the "big kids" were working on. So this year, it's really nice to be able to spend intentional time with the little ones as well. I only got a couple pictures the first day because it was so tricky just keeping track of the kids! These guys sure are busy! But by the second day, Evelyn and I seemed to have found a bit more of a groove, and we were able to get a few decent shots.

Day 1:
We started with free play to let them get some wiggles out. The kids headed for the play kitchen and played nicely for quite a while (meaning Doc and Juliette didn't hit or bite one another...we've been struggling with these two big time!)

They can trash a room in 5 seconds flat!

 

Kelda was a little worried about leaving Gus but he did GREAT! He was an absolute joy to work with. Good job, Gussy!

 

We then moved on to calendar and Bible time. They kids did well sitting through the story for the most part. Doc was the most distracted, but I think a lot of that came from being at home. We let them play again after that to get some more of those two-year old wiggles out. Then it was time for our story and snack. I made them yogurt with blueberries (since our color of the week was blue), and we read When the Elephant Walks, which everyone liked. Then it was time for our elephant craft. The kids did GREAT at this part. They painted small paper plates gray, and then glued on ears, feet, a trunk, and a googley eye. All three kids concentrated so much on this activity. It was really fun.

 

 

 

 

Next we headed outside to play in the water table with blue water, and the kids took turns painting horizontal and vertical blue lines on my sliding glass door. After that we called it a day and made lunch. Over all, I would call it a success.

 

Day 2:

I felt SO much more comfortable by day 2. Now that I knew what to expect, it was much easier to pace the activities and to fit more into our time together. We started again with free play, and then moved into calendar and Bible time.

 

The felt board was SO wonderful for these guys! I read the Bible story to them first, and then we retold it together using the felt. By the second day, they knew just what to do. Even Gus got in on the action.

 

Next we had a snack and read our story again. I made flower snacks since on the 3rd day, God created the flowers and plants. The kids did such a great job sitting through the story while they ate that we read two additional books (Little Blue Truck and My One Book).

 

 

 

 

Then it was time for our craft. We made a picture of God's creation on the 3rd day using construction paper and a bunch of foam stickers. They were fully engaged and did great once again.

 

 

 

 

Next it was time to work on fine motor skills with some play dough.

 

 

And then we did a little obstacle course to work on our gross motor skills. This one was a big hit! First the kids had to hop like kangaroos on the blue dots.

 

Next, they had to crawl through the tunnel...

 

 

And finally, they had to walk very carefully on the blue line.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Great job kiddos!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 15 Young Samuel

Even 3 year olds can be good listeners! We read the story about Young Samuel, and how he listened to God. The kids did a great job today listening to the story and following directions. I think the rather large ears probably helped! 

Annebelle and Addison sure look cute! 

For the letter J, the kids created jellyfish! They probably have never seen one, but they sure had fun making it. I cut a paper plate in half, and had the kids color the plate, then they glued on eyes, and tissue paper. 

 Noah is really proud of his Jelly fish.

A bit of Magic

The kids got to pick a spoon and see what magic happens! The cups are filled with vinegar, and the spoons are filled with food coloring and baking soda. It made a mess, but the kids loved the magic!

We ended the day with playing outside! J was a success! 

Go Dog, Go...and Some Other Stuff

Today we kicked off the week with calendar time and Bible time. We talked about the new month, and established that October is fun for two reasons...Halloween (Jack gave us an excellent play-by-play of what happens when you go trick-or-treating!) and Annabelle's birthday is in October!

Next we read the story of Joseph and his Brothers in our kid's Bible. And I put the pieces on the felt board as we retold the story...next time the kids will try putting the pieces up. I was worried the kids were gonna be totally lost with this story, but they followed right along and were able to answer all the questions I asked.

 

Then we danced to our Hide 'Em in Your Heart verse, Romans 12:21. And we marched to the song "I'm in the Lord's Army", which was a big hit!

 

 

Then we talked about the letter "c" and the number "3". The kids took turns tracing the tactile letters and number, and we recited the rhymes to help us remember how to make the shapes. I think the rhymes are really helping to reinforce the letters and numbers.

 

This led us into the story of Goldilicks and the Three Bears. The kids LOVED this one....don't laugh at my "daddy bear face"...

 

Then it was time for snack. We enjoyed "puppy chow" while we read Go Dog, Go!

 

 

Doc found his snack especially delicious (big surprise there!)

 

Puppy Chow

 

Ingredients:

1 box rice chex

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)

1 cup peanut butter

1 bag (12 oz) chocolate chips

1 bag powdered sugar

 

Method:

Melt butter, peanut butter, and chocolate chips.

Stir in chex until coated evenly.

Pour some powdered sugar into a gallon-size ziplock.

Add some coated chex. Seal and shake until coated with sugar.

Repeat until all chex are covered in sugar.

 

After snack, it was time for our puppet craft.

 

 

 

To wrap up our day, the kids rolled cars around a giant road just like the dogs in Go Dog, Go. This was definitely a hit for the boys!

 

 

 

Crash!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lions, Tigers, and Kids Oh My!

Circle Time

The second week of school started off with a lot of animals and fun activities. Unfortunately, our group dwindled because of illness, we are continuing to pray for a quick recovery for the Parker and Burden kids, we miss you guys. The kids met "Billy" today and it was precious to watch their faces. Billy talked about being a good listener and he helped out with the calendar. 

 I think CJ wanted to take Billy home, he really liked him. 

 Billy loved giving all the kids kisses and hugs.

 Using the Flannel graph, the kids told the story of how God created the animals, big and small. This lesson had a ton of animals to place, thanks Lindsay for all the cutting! 

 Siege and CJ really enjoyed creating our Bible Picture today. They thought Adam could walk on water. Adam was pretty cool since he got to name all the animals, but not as cool as our Savior.

Craft Time
Paint by number worked well with this age. We focused on green, yellow and brown. Jack and Noah enjoyed mixing the colors, while Eisley and Addison focused on filling in the entire picture. Good Job!

 

Continuing to focus on animals, the kids made Bird Feeders. With stale bread and cheerios, we found that the rope made things difficult, but they were able to create a sample. Noah enjoyed eating the old bread more, yum!

Eisley and Addison are very proud of their Bird feeders. They can't wait to hang them up.

 The finished product, hung outside for God's creatures.....especially bugs! 

On day 2 of the week, we played a game called "What's in the bag?" The kids got to describe different objects in a bag and talk about their purpose or use. The light bulb really got them thinking!

We had some new friends join us, Tracy and her son Siege, who really loved coloring over the sandpaper. The sandpaper was cut into different animal and plant shapes, and then the kids rubbed crayons over them to decorate their picture. Gus was just hanging around, even our little ones get a piece of the action.

As we read, Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? the kids got to hold stuffed animals and share with the group what kind of sounds each animal made. 

 CJ really enjoyed making dinosaur sounds. While Eisley gave the best frog sound, and Siege realized deers are a quieter animal. 

 Snack Time, Dance Party, and Lunch!

The kids sure enjoyed their Animal Crackers and Peanut Butter. Addison and Eisley did a great job eating the celery too! Yeah for veggies!

 Noah and Jack had to "cheers" with each animal cracker, good buds. 

During the dance party, even little Juliette started rocking out. 

Ahhh, we made it to lunch. Surprisingly the kids did pretty well eating their own food, for a minute. Then the little ones decided they needed to partake in everyone else's. Thank the Lord, we made it through Week 2!