What's coming up...

Next week we'll be learning about John the Baptist and how he prepared the way for Jesus.  We'll also be talking about being thankful!

On October 11 we'll be making our way out the Veurink farm for our fall farm visit.  We'll meet at the farm at 10 am (let us know if you need directions).  Please bring along a nut-free snack to share and dress for the weather.  We'll be spending the morning outside so dressing in layers (with hats and mittens just in case) is always a good idea! 

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Today our Little Seedlings learned about the wise men who came to worship Jesus and how God saved His Son from Herod. We put up a Christmas tree, hung stars, and celebrated by dressing up like angels and shepherds, making crowns and stars, decorating yummy sugar cookies and singing "Away in a Manger".

 

Christmas in September!

Tomorrow the Little Seedlings will continue to learn about the birth of Jesus and how people came to worship the newborn King!  We'll be decorating yummy sugar cookies and stars for the Christmas tree.  We'll have costumes for the kids to dress up like shepherds, angels and wisemen to celebrate and worship Jesus.

Joann and Mary Jane are on duty.  Crystal is bringing along cookies to decorate and Margaret is bringing and preparing snack.  Please bring something nut-free for the kids to use to decorate their cookies (e.g., sprinkles, smarties, etc.)  and a child's robe (if you have one).

Open House

We had a great time at our Open House, meeting new Little Seedlings and playing with our returning friends!  The kids played and did apple stamping while parents and grandparents completed forms and got to know one another.  Looking forward to a great year!!

This year we'll be moving from the Old Testament to the New Testament. This week we'll be starting our curriculum, The Life of Christ (Generations of Grace, http://www.generationsofgrace.com/).  The lesson will be "Jesus Christ is Born" and our Little Seedlings will learn that God kept his promise to send a Savior and that Jesus came to earth to save His people.

On September 27, we'll be doing the lesson, "Jesus is Worshipped" and having a Christmas celebration.  We'll have sugar cookies to decorate and we'll dress up like shepherds, angels and wisemen to worship Jesus!  Please bring along robes to dress up like shepherds.

Little Seedlings will be back on Thursday, September 13!  Come join us from 10 - 11:30 am in the basement of Fort William Baptist Church (1800 Moodie St. E. Thunder Bay, ON) for an open house.  If you're new to Little Seedlings, come learn about our cooperative playschool while your child or grandchild plays and learns with new friends.  If you're returning, come reconnect with other parents and grandparents after the summer.  Registration packages will be available to complete.

Our fall program will start on Thursday, September 20.

Catching up!

We've had a busy few months at Little Seedlings! We took a break from Exodus to teach the children about Jesus' birth which we finished off with a Jesus Birthday Party complete with pizza, cookie-decorating (and eating!) and a special Christmas ornament craft.

We completed Exodus in January and jumped right into Leviticus! The kids are learning about God's holiness and Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice.

In the playroom, the kids continue to learn to share and be kind friends as they play together.

Playschool cancelled today

For the safety of all our Little Seedlings, we've cancelled playschool for this morning due to the extreme temperature and windchill.  We'll see you next week!!

October 27, 2011: God Parts the Red Sea... God's Awesome Power!

Today our Little Seedlings learned about how God parted the Red Sea so His people could escape from captivity in Egypt and how God led them with a cloud by day and fire by night.

As and introduction to the Ten Commandments in a couple of weeks, we've introduced the children to our playschool rules: Be Kind, Share & Use Walking Feet. It's been great to see how the kids are following them!

October 20, 2011: Playschool At the Veurink Farm

Our Little Seedlings were again blessed to be able to visit the Veurink's farm! After helping to collect eggs and a visit with the ponies (and the baby pony!), horses, chickens, bunnies and pigs, Mr. Fritz gave us all a fabulous ride through their beautiful river valley.

We shared snacks over coffee, hot apple cider and juice.

As always, the children LOVED playing on the teeter-totter and in the huge sandbox complete with a toy barn, tractors, diggers and trucks!

To end our morning, Farmer Fritz and Alissa gave the children rides on one of the Veurink's horses. Some were fearful, some were somewhat apprehensive but went anyway (and then wanted to go again!), some were THRILLED!

Thank you SO much for again sharing your farm with us Mr. Fritz & Mrs. Alice Marie! You are a blessing to us mothers and grandmothers and our children and grandchildren.

Unleavened Bread Recipe

Here's the recipe for unleavened bread:

Cream together

¼ cup sugar

¾ cup shortening

Mix in

1 tsp. salt

1½ cups buttermilk

½ tsp. baking soda

Add 4–5 cups flour.

Divide the dough into four balls. Roll out the dough on a floured surface until it is

wafer thin. Place the dough on a greased cookie sheet. Prick it to prevent

shrinkage. Bake at 450 degrees until it is light brown, approximately 15–20

minutes.

October 13, 2011: God Ordains the Passover... The Power & Sovereignty of God

This morning our Little Seedlings learned about the power and sovereignty of God through the very first Passover and how Jesus is our Passover lamb.

“So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for

on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the

land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout

your generations as an everlasting ordinance”

(Exodus 12:17).

The kids made (and ate!) unleavened bread as they learned about Passover.



The kids had fun crafting doorposts to remember how God protected His people.

As always, the kids love worshiping and praising God with Mrs. Alissa!

October 6, 2011: Birds, Bugs (and other plagues) & Thankfulness

In our opening circle time, our Little Seedlings shared something for which they are thankful and our older class made turkey puppets.

Today's lesson was about how God sent plagues on Egypt (Exodus 7-10).  The children played with bugs in our colourful rice sensory bin and then learned about how God showed His awesome power through the plagues.  Our 2-3s made frog puppets to remember how God showed His power.

September 29, 2011: God is Holy & Eternal...God Raises Moses to Lead Israel

This week our Little Seedlings learned how God revealed Himself to Moses in a miraculous way (in the burning bush!) and how He called Moses to lead Israel. The children learned that God is holy and to praise God because He is holy and eternal. God does what He plans to do.

 

September 22, 2011: Trusting God When Bad Things Happen.... God Prepares Israel for Deliverance

Our Little Seedlings are back!  This fall we're teaching the Little Seedlings the Exodus curriculum from Generations of Grace.  In the first lesson, the children learned to trust God (as Moses' mother did) and that God does not forget His people.  They learned how God protected baby Moses and prepared him to lead the Israelites.

In the sensory bin, the kids investigated what would float (like baby Moses' basket) and what would sink.  In the playroom we built creations with cardboard blocks and talked about how God's people were slaves in Egypt and had to make bricks out of clay and straw for the Egyptians.

We have lots of new faces joining last year's Little Seedlings!  All the kids are enjoying all the new toys that we have been able to purchase from our Mother's Market fundraiser.