Mrs. Paula has asked us to save all our bottle lids to bring to school, and has researched and gotten the kids really excited about bottle cap art!

 

A couple of weeks ago, the weather was awful and the kids had to stay inside for most of the week.  Mrs. Paula got creative and did junk art with all the kids, letting them create art with all her junk… the kids argued with her that it was not junk, but treasures!!!  All in the eye of the beholder!

The kids spotted a lizard (on a good weather day), and Mrs. Paula being the scientist that she is, let the kids catch it and play up close with this spiny friends.  Glad Anna Kate has Mrs. Paula to help out with this part of learning, lol!

 

More junk “treasure” art!

 

Mrs. Paula let’s the kids help grow the fruits and vegetables that they eat for lunch and snack time!  Right now the bean plants are growing (left), along with the plums (right)…

And the peaches too!  I’m telling you guys, I don’t know how Mrs. Paula does it.  Her life is all about teaching.  She IS a teacher… she doesn’t do it for any other reason than that is the way God made her.  She’s a continual learner and a continual teacher with leaps and bounds of energy beyond anyone I’ve ever met.  I LOVE having Anna Kate around such an energetic and happy person during school!

Yeah, I’m not going near that thing, but it was the first thing Anna Kate told me when she got home from school.  She loved catching the big lizard, so good for her!

Volcano time!

 

Another indoor day, Mrs. Paula got a huge box full of beans, and let the kids work on their fine motor skills!  The activities and imaginary play at her house are endless!

 

 

See how they are all sitting in the box!?!  I would have loved this as a four year old!  So cool… such a fun and easy idea too!

 

More bean experiments and Emily rummaging through the pile of “treasure!”

Mrs. Paula’s sweet assistant Mrs. Julie, is always smiling and loving on the kids, helping with lunches, and being available to kiss a scratched knee or give extra cuddles to someone having a bad day.  Her sweet spirit is contagious, and we love her very much too!

This is the kids’ lunch room!  Mrs. Paula only accepts 10 kids into her program at a time, so the kids get lots of attention.  Patriot, the class (and family) dog, doesn’t count in her numbers, lol!  Anna Kate’s classmates are all respectful and sweet children.  We have not had one cross word at school… not one little mean thing said, and for pre-k, that’s huge!  Mrs. Paula works very hard selecting a class that compliments each other.  Anna Kate is part of a team at school, and she definitely feels valued and part of something very special.  We have been blown away this year by such an awesome pre-k experience for Anna Kate.  She will definitely be here next year, starting pre-kindergarten curriculum with Mrs. Paula.  She is already leaps and bounds ahead of where I thought she would be at four, so next year will just be icing on the cake.  She’s reading easy words, and is counting up a storm, along with simple math.  She loves to listen to books I read to Noelle, and remembers facts that I don’t even remember (like the name of the elementary school a kid went to in one book, the name of a random bird in another).  Her brain amazes me, and the associations she is making are honestly sometimes beyond me.  She saw a tapestry in a magazine and told me Rara had the same one in her house on top of her stairs.  I had no clue.  Sure enough, the tapestry in the magazine was the same tapestry in Rara’s house at the top of her stairs, just like Anna Kate said.  I know all kids do these crazy cool things from time to time, but I just had to share a few of my thoughts on our special little girl and how her brain works.  We are so proud of all of our children beyond words, but in this moment, I’m celebrating Anna Kate, her wonderful teachers and school.