Happy Spring, everyone! It’s hard to believe I’m saying that already! We have been a busy bunch here at preschool so it’s no wonder that time flies and we find ourselves upon spring so fast. ?

February kept us hopping as we talked about children around the world, our five senses, Valentine’s Day, doctors and dentists, took a field trip to the museum and wrapped up the month with Dr. Seuss fun!

During our “Children Around the World” week, the Pre-K kiddos learned the Pledge of Allegiance and tried a new food from Africa. For “Dentist and Doctor” week, we took a field trip to KidsFirst Dental, where the kids learned all about dental hygiene from a silly puppet with big teeth, explored the dental chairs, touched the tools and left with a goody bag that contained—of course—a brush and floss. I think one of their favorite things, however, was the movie playing in the ceiling above the dental chairs! ? Jenny Blackler, a Physician Assistant and mom of a previous Pre-K student, was kind enough to pay our classroom a visit to talk about good health, nutrition, exercise and regular check-ups. The kids loved listening to their hearts through her stethoscope and putting Band-Aids all over their “injured” baby dolls. We also took a trip to the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, where the kids got to explore all the exhibits, followed by a Learning Lab experience where we hypothesized about whether certain items would sink or float. The kids really enjoyed this hands-on experience! Finally, we finished the month with Dr. Seuss silliness and learned about rhyming. The students enjoyed being greeted by teachers who wore some sort of Dr. Seuss hat or outfit each day. The highlight of the week was the sensory bin filled with “blue goo,” just like in the Fox in Socks book by Dr. Seuss! It was super messy, gooey, crazy, silly fun! The last day was a Dr. Seuss birthday celebration complete with Green Eggs and Ham for the snack! The end of March is all about nursery rhymes, fairy tales and Easter, complete with egg coloring and an Easter egg hunt!

As we look to April, we will be doing all kinds of things that scream spring: insects, ocean life, earth week, zoo animals and gardening! We have field trips in the works to visit the Garbage Garage and The Gardens on Spring Creek. We will welcome a classroom visitor from the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program, who will bring a real owl to preschool. To round out our experiences, we will be welcoming baby caterpillars and ladybug larvae, so we can see for ourselves what metamorphosis is. The students will take a quick break Thursday the 26^th and Friday the 27^th for parent conferences. We will also start practicing for our Spring Program, which is right around the corner!

Looking to May, we will be hosting a Trike-a-thon to raise money for St. Jude’s research hospital. This is a simple program where we will take a few minutes each day to use a simple curriculum provided by St. Jude’s that teaches the children everything they need to know about bicycle safety. On the last day, May 4, we will go outside on trikes and bikes to practice all we learned during the week. It is also a good lesson on compassion and caring for children who are sick and need help and support. We will have a web page where anyone can donate to the cause: go to stjude.org/trike, then click the blue button that says “find your school and sign up”. In the next window, type in our school code, which is listed as 2018Openarmschristianpreschool (EMTO02862D18). From there you can donate through any student or teacher listed. Please feel free to share this with anyone who might be interested in donating to St. Jude’s!

We would love it if you would join us for our Spring Program, which is on May 17 at 6:30 PM in the Large Fellowship Hall. It’s certain to be entertaining when you get nearly thirty preschoolers on a stage! ?

Another big event in May is our Mother’s Day Tea, held on May 11 at 11:00 AM in the Large Fellowship Hall. It’s truly a “tea,” where we bring out the silver tea pots, the beautiful collection of tea cups and saucers that I’ve accumulated along the years, pretty tablecloths, lots of flowers, decorations and gifts made by the children, and—of course—tea, lemonade and food. We just love being able to serve the preschool moms, make them feel special, and have a fun morning with their kiddos. The pride that beams from the children’s faces is priceless! We could use help preparing food items, as well as extra pairs of hands to help the teachers serve the moms and help the children serve their moms, so please let me know if you’d like to come have some fun with us! We do like to have fun in all that we do, so the more the merrier!

The final event in May (and of the school year) will be our Pre-K graduation program, held on May 25 at 11:00 AM in the Large Fellowship Hall. This is an adorable but bittersweet morning that we’d be happy to share with you if you’d like to come!

Once again, I want to thank you all for the support and faith you’ve shown for our little preschool … although not so little anymore. ? Oh, and as of now, we already have 36 children enrolled for the fall! Blessings to everyone for the new season!

Kandy Wise is the Director of Open Arms Preschool, a ministry of Saint John’s Lutheran Church. You may reach her at 482-1357 or OpenArms@StJohnsFC.org with any questions about the Preschool.