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WWJD Prayer



Walk with me today, Jesus,

in everything I do.

Keep me by Your side, Jesus,       

That I may learn from you.



Be with me in the morning,   

be with me through the day.

Keep Your hand upon me, please,

and bless all I do and say.



In each of my activities, Jesus,

may I always turn to You.

And in all of my decisions,

let me first ask:



What would Jesus do?





Welcome to Pre-K 

11/20 - PILGRIM UPDATE - Today we completed our record of the Pilgrim Story.  This is the end of our adventure.  It was fun but it will be good to be back in our own "world".

11/19 - PILGRIM UPDATE - Today was a quiet day for us.  We decided to make Indian headdresses just for fun.  Each of us chose three colors for feathers and cut them out.  We cut and decorated a band.  We learned that the Indians don't believe that Jesus was god.  They have  never even heard about Him!

We finished reading about Samuel Eaton but are still reading about Sarah Morton. 

11/18 - PILGRIM UPDATE -  Today we opened the chest we brought from England.  It is a good chest and remained dry in spite of the terrible storm we experienced on our voyage.  Immediately we read from our bible.  It was so good to be able to enjoy the bible without any interference from King James.

The pumpkin seeds we brought from England were also safe so we were able to plant.  Our Indian friends taught us to use raw fish as fertilizer so we did.  We each prepared a pot which we took home.  We'll keep it watered and hopefully will be able to move the plants outdoors in the spring.

It was necessary for us to elect a trustworthy person who would be our leader.  Once again we nominated those we thought would be right for the job.  Christopher, Ava and Tyler were nominated.  Tyler received the majority of the votes.      

11/17 - PILGRIM UPDATE - Mrs. Silvia from the Haffenreffer Museum visited our settlement to tell us a little about the Native Americans we would be living near.  Mrs. Silvia showed us some slides of their way of life and even their king, King Phillip but he is not our king.

In the summer each family lives in a sort of semicircle house call a wetu.  It is made of tree bark  held together with small branches.  There is a flap at the top of the house to let out  the smoke.  In the winter they live in longhouses.  Lots of families live together in these.  They are big and long.

Indians make their own boats by cutting down huge trees, burning out the middle then scraping the ashes.  They have to do this for days and days in order to make a boat big enough for them to be able to fish and travel.  This is the same way that they make bowls.

Most of the tools are made by sharpening rocks and tying them to strong sticks with sinew - the tendons of deer legs.  The big hoes for the garden are made with the collar bones of the deer.

Corn is ground into flour by putting the kernels in a hollowed out log then pounding with a large club.  We each had a turn to try this.  The club is very heavy and it is hard work.

Deer are used for eating, for making nice warm furry clothes and shoes.  If you want to make the skin really soft, you have to soak it in a mixture of water and brains and sometimes you even have to chew it.  After that it is soft enough to sew with a bone needle and sinew.

Baskets and pockets are made with cat-n-nine (spelling?) tails.  They are soaked and pounded then woven.

Indians use little fish as food for their seeds when planting.  The best way to plant is fish in the ground then squash, bean and corn seeds.  These are the three sisters.  The corn grows tall and strong, the beans hang on the corn and the big squash leaves keep everything moist.

Powwows are lots of fun.  We each had a turn to beat the drum and to dance.  If it were a real powwow, there would have been lots of good food.  An Indian favorite is alligator bites.

The last thing we did was make a necklace.  We used a shell and beads and strung them on sinew.  It was hard trying to keep the beads from falling off!

Tomorrow we will be planting the pumpkin seeds that we brought from England.  We'll use dirt, raw fish, dirt, seeds and more dirt.  It will all be watered and go home to our individual homes to be cared for.    

11/16 - PILGRIM UPDATE -  Today was an eventful one.   We had to sneak down to the docks to ready the gangplank then sneak back into town.  Our friend who knows the captain was there to collect our gold and mark our tickets as having been paid.  We packed up the seeds and our bible and headed back down to the docks.

Each of us was called individually and walked the gangplank  onto the Mayflower.  The ship was dark.  Actually, we watched the movie The Mouse on the Mayflower.  Just as we had been warned, the weather was stormy and the main beam was cracked.  We had to use the screw from our printing press to repair it. Some Pilgrims got seasick but only one of us did and he was okay when we landed. 

When we arrived in America, we met some Native Americans.  We had brought muskets to protect ourselves but the Native Americans were friendly.  We don't know much about them yet. Tomorrow we will meet more Native Americans and learn about their ways.

We were not sure about how our days in America would be spent so we read from Sarah Morton's Day and Samuel Eaton's Day.  Now we know a little about what we will be wearing and what we will be doing.  Imagine - children had to serve their parents AND stand while eating!!!

We were right about the supplies we should have brought to America.  They were almost exactly what the Pilgrims in the movie brought with them.  

11/12  PILGRIM UPDATE - There were several secret meetings today.  First we read from If You Sailed on the Mayflower.  Once we had an idea of what to expect, we moved to another location to compile the list of supplies we would need (King James thought we were just making a list of supplies we'd need at our homes).  

We will be taking a wrench, hammer, screwdriver, saw, nails, shovel, seeds, rake, sword, musket, knife, forks, spoons, pans, pots, string, hooks, needles, thread, bibles and clothes.  

We are aware that the Mayflower is 90 feet long, that it will be crowded and we will only move when the wind blows us along.  We are also aware that there are no bathrooms on board, we'll be wearing the same clothes for the entire journey, we'll be a little smelly, the food will not be too tasty and we will have to drink beer.

We wrote out our tickets for the voyage and our hats and gold coins are ready.

After a lengthy discussion about responsibility and reliability each child was given the opportunity to nominate one person (not him/herself).  Seven children were nominated, one declined the offer.  The first round of voting narrowed the field to three.  In the second round  Milana was declared the responsible, trustworthy person who would carry the seeds and the bible.

11/6/09  PILGRIM UPDATE - The final straw has come!!!  We are now praying very fast and have to ask permission to play any of the games which allow us to earn movies and cool pops.  The king is very mean and we are leaving.  One of us knows a man who knows a man who owns a ship called the Mayflower.  This man will take us to America if we each have ten pieces of gold.  We're going to get the gold.  We also know that we will have to sneak away or King James will put us all in prison and that will be the end.

When King James was not around, we had a meeting to try to figure out what might be in America when we arrive. 

Here is our list:

grass, dirt, trees, leaves, geese, mud, birds, water, woods, Pilgrims (us), bears, owls, deer, rabbits, fox, fisher cats, wolves, fresh water, ponds, lakes, fish, frogs, the Atlantic ocean, crabs, lobsters, seaweed, clams and wild flowers.

We have also come to realize that there will be no houses, stores or food.   

11/5/09  PILGRIM UPDATE - One person was sent to prison today.  King James would just not leave us alone.  Early this morning as we were trying to pray he kept st oping us.  Finally we began to sing a patriotic song and marched out of the room.   We had to pray in the front foyer.  Upon our return, we were questioned by the king but we all stuck to the story that we were just marching.  All except that one who admitted praying!!!  King James kept us very busy so we could not have any other secret meetings today.    

11/4/09  PILGRIM UPDATE - Two Pilgrims were sent to prison today for not obeying the king.  It was a difficult day as King James continued to  change the centers we were enjoying and no one could actually complete a building or game. 

The Pilgrims were eventually able to sneak away (under the guise of working in our gardens) to hold a secret meeting in the foyer near our dismissal door.  It was decided that we would have to find a way to leave England and King James.  No final decisions were made. 

We were able to pray because King James had to leave the room to check on a commotion out in the streets of town.

 

11/3/09  PILGRIM UPDATE - King James introduced - Mrs. Rocchio sat in a chair as Mrs. S.  placed the crown on her hear.  King James explained that there would be praying only to him and that all of his requests must be obeyed. He showed the children where the jail was.  While it was not the intention of the king to send anyone to jail,  one Pilgrim asked to be jailed.  The king obliged!!!  The king forced the Pilgrims to change toys and centers, demanded that areas be cleaned up and refused to let us pray or read the bible.

There was a commotion in the village and the king left the room to check on it.  There were many pigs and cows loose in the streets.  While he was gone we were able to read our bible story.  Later, the soldiers called the king out of the room to report on circumstances and we were able to say grace properly.  Of course, we had already prayed to King James telling him how great he is!

Although I've been grumbling about how awful it is to have a king, the children are not yet unhappy.

Week of  November 23, 2009

On Monday the children will be discussing the bounty of this country and all they each have for which to be thankful.  Each child will construct a cornucopia.

On Tuesday the children will be at the easel painting a turkey.  Each child will be required to name his/her turkey.  At the end of the day each painting will be presented to the class with an accompanying story featuring the turkey as the main character.

The Great Turkey Race and Thanksgiving at the Tappleton's are two of the books we'll be reading.

Wednesday is a 12:30 dismissal.  There will be NO food available for purchase on that day.  Pre-K will stop for lunch/snack at 10:50.  The children are used to eating about that time and will be hungry.  Please be sure to pack whatever food and beverages you would like your child to have at that time.  We will be eating in our classroom. 

The Monday we return from Thanksgiving break the children  will be introduced to the Nativity.  Each child will need a solid colored pillowcase large enough for him/her to wear.  These will NOT BE RETURNED to you in their original form.

A sincere "thank you" is going out to Mrs. Parrillo for providing the class with a generous supply of goodies for us to use in making Christmas crafts.  Thank you, Mrs. Parrillo.

Some of you have already returned your conference preference slips.  The teachers of the siblings have been contacted and are aware that I will be doing my best to coordinate your appointments.

Monday - Cut and glue

Tuesday - Paint, Music with Mrs. Rodi

Wednesday - Mass, PE with Ms. Hand, 12:30 dismissal 

It is my sincere belief that every child should feel both physically and emotionally safe in our care.  If you ever have any questions or concerns, please see ME.  Nothing can be fixed until I am informed.  Mrs. Rocchio is not at liberty to discuss your child's progress or behavior with you.  Usually I am in school shortly before 7:45 and with the exception of Friday,  I rarely leave before 3:30 (or much later).  The phone number is 944-2993 Ext. 109.

This unit was truly a great learning experience for the children and a whole lot of fun for all of us.  Thank you for giving us the pleasure of enjoying it with your children.

We hope you enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with your friends and family.

Have a great week!

Mrs. Sanford