more dirt and worms

There has been a lot of activity with dirt and worms this week. I enjoy watching the children observe the worms.  Some just watch without touching them, while others get right into the dirt and start digging with their hands (or with Popsicle sticks that are available for those who don't want to get their hands messy). And then there are those who let them crawl on their hands and arms. :)

How many worms did you find?

He had 12 worms dangling on his arm. 12!!!!

We measured worms during small group time. I stretched them out on a paper and the children marked their length.

After we measured the worms, we held and observed them.

They sure squirm around a lot!

earth day parade!!

We were thankful that it didn't rain for parade time. We were ready to "parade" around the campus.

big juicy worms!

I bought more worms (big juicy ones) since the others didn't quite live until the end of the week. Today we measured how long these suckers were.

S  t  r  e  t  c  h  that worm!! This one was about 9 inches long.

Measuring worms is fun!

These worms got a work-out today! :)

colorful caterpillars

 We have been learning all about worms this week. So, where did caterpillars come from you may wonder....We are not trying to confuse your children. Well, we found these cute squishy caterpillars from squishy mart.com and couldn't resist using them during this week. The 201 college students came up with this colorful caterpillar "I will" chant to go along with the caterpillars. Each child will get to take a caterpillar home this week. 

squishy colorful caterpillar

Colorful Caterpillars

Pink – I will protect our Earth

Orange – I will turn off the lights

Blue- I will not waste water

Green - I will help things grow

squirmy wiggly worms at preschool

We added real live worms to the sensory table this week. Oh the fun of digging through dirt for squirmy worms. Here are some pictures of us handling the critters.

This worm was very active and squirmy. We decided it should be called "squirmy the wormy".

A handful of worms

Found one!!

This little worm was flipping and twisting. Very interesting to observe.

This worm left dirt marks as it crawled up his arm. :)

 

Family Night '14

Even though there haven't been recent posts, we've been busy at the preschool! We practiced (a lot) and prepared for Family Night (last Thursday) and it was a great evening with close to 180 people! (preschoolers, parents, siblings, grandparents, and others)
Here are a few pictures from that evening:

Getting all settled in for the potluck!

It's time to eat!!! Thank you to each family who brought yummy food!!

We accepted a grant check from the Hesston Community Foundation. This grant will allow us to offer scholarships to families in need starting next school year (2014-2015). We are very excited for this new opportunity.

A highlight of the evening is seeing former preschoolers. The young lady with the peach top was a preschooler in my first year of teaching at HCP 9 years ago!! The gal in the yellow I had a few years later and the youngest is a current student. So fun to see how preschooler's grow up. :)

We are all ready for our final song - Rainbow 'Round Me

.  

 It warmed my heart to hear all of the children singing during that last song. I have to admit that I almost got choked up - there's something about young children singing together that is so special. It's one of my favorite moments of the night....they really sang it well. I was pleased.