Knowing Jesus, Growing in Faith, Serving God’s Children
October 6-10, 2008 www.zioncrusaders.org
Dear Preschool parents,

It sounds like we’re about to get some fall weather this week. Please make sure to send your child with appropriate outerwear as it is chilly in the morning. It would also be a good time to change the extra clothes in your child’s backpack from shorts and short sleeves to pants and long sleeves.
Remember that there will be no classes or daycare after 11:15AM on Thursday; no school or daycare on Friday, Oct. 10 or Monday, Oct. 13.

This week in Jesus Time we learn about when Jacob took care of Joseph, found in Genesis 37:3, 12-14. We learn that because Jesus loves us, He gives us people who care for us and provide for our needs.
On Tuesday we will make Joseph’s coat of many colors. We will begin to learn about fire safety. We will begin a fire safety video. The part that we’ll watch on Tuesday will show us all of the special clothing and equipment that firefighters use to keep them safe while they’re doing their job. We will also visit our school library to check out new books on Tuesday.
On Thursday we will be doing some marble painting with fire colors. We will continue watching our fire safety video, learning about stop, drop and roll. We’ll have a chance to practice after the video.
If your child is in daycare- Wednesday we will have Chapel in the afternoon, led by our 5th graders. Our Chapel offering this month goes to support our local Christian radio stations (88.3 FM, 97.9 The Point, and 107.3 KSLT). We will enjoy some puppets from the Rapid City Fire Dept. on Wednesday afternoon.
One thing that we’re beginning to work on now at preschool is recognizing our own written names. You can help your child by pointing out the letters that are in their names (“McDonald’s starts with an M, just like your name,” etc.) and putting it on their pictures and around the house. If your child shows interest, you can even help them begin writing their name. Stress the importance of using the capital letter at the beginning and lowercase letters for the rest. I know that sometimes the uppercase letters are easier to learn to write, but it will cause some confusion down the road when your child has to switch from upper- to lowercase in kindergarten anyways. We describe the letters as big lines, little lines, circles, and jumps (such as the lowercase Nn—little line down, one jump or lowercase Mm—little line down, two jumps). Emphasize that we also start at the top when we form our letters. Kids always have the tendency to want to begin at the bottom and work up.

Some things to make note of:
• October book orders are due this week.
• If your child orders hot lunch for next week, we need that info by Thursday AM.
• No school/daycare Thursday PM, Friday and Monday.
• Picture envelopes are in the folders. Picture Day is Thursday, Oct. 16. You can turn in your picture orders anytime. Just give them to Mrs. Green or myself.
• Eileen’s cookie dough orders need to be turned in by Tuesday, Oct. 14.
• Cookie dough pick-up will be on Friday, Oct. 24 from 3-5PM. If you cannot pick up your orders during that time, please make arrangements with a friend or someone to pick it up for you.
• The All Saints’ Gathering will be Friday, Oct. 31 from 5-8PM. We could use individually wrapped candy to make sure that everyone has a great time. If you could donate some, there will be a box in the front office to place it in. Thanks in advance for helping to make this holiday fun and safer for our children!

I pray that you have a fantastic week! Please feel free to call me anytime with questions or concerns: Zion 342-5749; Home 716-7689; Cell 391-9046
God’s Blessings! Hope Genzlinger