Easter!

Week of March 23, 2015

Hosanna!

This week, we are shifting gears to a new theme! We will keep some of our favorite transportation centers to continue our learning as we introduce the new unit of Easter. We will focus this week on the first part of the Easter story: Palm Sunday. We will learn about how Jesus came to Jerusalem and the people welcomed Him, waving palm branches and saying “Hosanna! Jesus is King!” We will make our own palm branches, painting them with dot paints and cutting out the fronds with squeeze scissors. We will even get to act out the story ourselves, taking turns riding on the “donkey” while the rest of our friends wave the branches and say, “Hosanna!”

Some of the vocabulary we will introduce and review this week includes spring, season, Easter, holiday, celebrate, Jesus, and Hosanna.

Music Time!

One of the songs we will sing as we get ready for Easter is one that we have sung before in Chapel. Here are the lyrics:

I’ve Got the Joy

I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart,

Down in my heart, down in my heart!

I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart,

Down in my heart to stay.

And I’m so happy, so very happy!

I’ve got the love of Jesus in my hea-a-a-a-art!

And I’m so happy, so very happy!

I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart!

Week of March 30, 2015

Easter is here!

This week, we are learning about Easter! We will be talking about the Easter story as a celebration of Jesus and weaving in some of the traditional commercial Easter celebrations. We will tell a basic outline of the story, mentioning that Jesus died, but focusing on His resurrection. "But Jesus is God, so He did not stay dead. He is alive, and He lives today!" It can be a difficult and abstract story to share with young children, and many parents have questions on how to approach this. I foundthe article below - a nice resource on how to approach the Easter story, broken down by age of children -to be good advice and developmentally appropriate. Throughout the week, we will also celebrate with other items like Easter eggs and Easter grass in the discovery table, and a jelly bean poem about the Easter story.

Some of the vocabulary we will introduce and review this week includes Spring, Easter, Cross, Risen, Jesus, God, Joy, Egg, Dye (not to be confused with Die!), Shell, Oval, and Bunny.

Music Time!

One of the songs we will sing this week in celebration of Easter is the song "Alive Forevermore"

Alive, Alive, Alive Forevermore

Alive, alive, alive forevermore,

My Jesus is alive, alive forevermore.

Alive, alive, alive forevermore,

My Jesus is alive!

Sing Hallelujah! Sing Hallelujah!

My Jesus is alive, alive forevermore.

Sing Hallelujah! Sing Hallelujah!

My Jesus is alive!