This week in preschool, we had another short week. At least this time, we were blessed with some real snow to enjoy instead of just icy weather! The children came in full of excitement, sharing stories about sledding adventures, building snowmen, and making snow angels. Their joy was contagious, and it was so fun to hear all about their winter memories.
Our theme this week was love and kindness, and the classroom reflected it right away. Upon arrival, the children were greeted with hearts scattered all around the room. They eagerly moved about the space, calling out the letters they recognized on each heart — a perfect connection to one of our learning centers. Many of them already had ideas brewing about what we would be focusing on, and they were excited to dive right in.
To start our week, we read Love From the Crayons, a sweet story about the crayons sharing messages of love, friendship, and appreciation in their own colorful ways. It was such a wonderful reminder that love can be shown through kindness, creativity, and thoughtful words. Along with this story, our book area was refreshed with new books all about Valentine’s Day, love, and kindness, giving the children even more opportunities to explore these themes throughout the week.
The hearts around the room didn’t just brighten our space — they also got our bodies moving! The children searched for letters, identified them, and then stamped them using dot art markers. When children can move while learning, it helps strengthen their understanding and supports deeper brain connections, making the concept more meaningful and memorable.
Because our 2026 New Year’s contact paper window art project was such a bit hit, we’ve decided to make it a monthly tradition for each holiday! This activity encourages teamwork, creativity, and fine motor development. You may have noticed their beautiful new Valentine-themed window art on Thursday and Friday — they were so proud of their work!
We also created adorable postcards using heart and Valentine’s Day stamps. This was especially fun, but it definitely required some learning and patience since these stamps were not the self-inking kind. The children practiced choosing the correct stamp by looking at the picture on top, pressing it carefully into the ink, stamping it onto their postcard, and cleaning it when finished. It was a challenge, but they always rise to whatever is asked of them!
Color sorting was another focus this week. The children worked with pom poms and experimented with different tools for picking them up. Some used regular tongs, others tried tiny scoops that held only one pom at a time, and some challenged themselves with pincher tongs that enclosed the pom. They successfully sorted all of their pom poms by color while strengthening hand muscles and coordination.
In our sensory bin, we had festive confetti rice with plastic hearts scattered throughout. The children scooped, poured, sorted by color, and even counted their hearts as they played. Sensory activities like this support early math skills, fine motor development, and lots of calming, focused exploration.
Our building area was full of teamwork and collaboration. The children worked together using Lincoln Logs, foam blocks, Magna-Tiles, and even the rainbow builder. It is so wonderful to see how much they are growing in their ability to take turns, share ideas, and use their voices to communicate with one another.
In our dramatic play area, the children worked together in the spirit of kindness, pretending to bake and serve all sorts of delicious Valentine’s Day treats. There were cupcakes, cookies, and lots of “sweet” friendship moments as they practiced sharing, taking turns, and using loving words with one another.
In Chapel this week, Pastor Lee read The Runaway Bunny, a beautiful story that reminds us that no matter where we go, we are always loved and never alone. We talked about how Jesus is with us always — in every place, in every moment — and how His love follows us wherever we are. It was such a comforting and meaningful message for our little ones.
During Music and Movement, we had so much fun moving our bodies along with the tempo and listening carefully to instructions while playing our mini tambourines. Ms. Vicki always brings so much joy and energy, and the children love getting to make music while learning rhythm, self-control, and coordination.
And I think we all can agree that one of the biggest highlights of the week was getting to play in the snow at school! The children had the best time shoveling, building mini snowmen, and simply enjoying the magic of winter together. Lots of giggles, rosy cheeks, and wonderful memories were made. We also tied our snowy fun into a little seasonal learning by talking about what Punxsutawney Phil predicted for winter. Using our own “shadow Phils,” the children learned that he saw his shadow — which means we may have six more weeks of winter ahead!
Thank you, as always, for sharing your precious children with us each week. It is such a joy to watch them grow in kindness, creativity, adn friendship. We are so grateful for the love that fills our classroom every day!
REMINDERS:
Valentine’s Day (week), and Community Helpers
We are still looking for volunteers to visit and teach us about their jobs during our community helpers theme in February! We have had dentists, physical therapists, artists, doctors, carpenters — all sorts of interesting jobs to learn about in past years. Let us know if you’d like to share something about your work with our class, and we can schedule a time!
Our annual Valentine Dance will be on Friday, February 13th, from 6:00-7:30 pm. Put on your dancing clothes and shoes! The fellowship hall will be transformed into a party! This event is for your whole family. It’s always a favorite!
Valentine’s Day - Please send in Valentines with your child the week of February 9th. They will deliver them to one another using their decorated bags we’ll make here in the classroom. Have your child sign their names on their Valentine cards and leave the “to” part and envelope, if there is one, blank. This way it is easier for them to personally pass out their cards and not be overwhelmed by reading all of their friends’ names. Give your child a chance to help create and personalize their Valentines in some way. This can be by adding stickers, drawing a picture, writing their name on their own (or even just a letter or two), or decorating homemade cards. Whatever they do will give them ownership and pride, and will make the experience of delivering the cards soooo much more meaningful to them
SCHOOL WILL BE CLOSED ON FEBRUARY 16th for teachers to prepare for conferences!
Conferences will be held on March 11th (MWF class) and 12th (T/TH class). More information coming soon!
Have a wonderful weekend with your little Ladybugs!
Miss Lisa, Miss Phoenix, and Miss Jenn
