To conclude our gardening study, we took a field trip to H&N. During our visit, we toured the nursery and learned about the differences between perennials and annuals. We also explored how to identify plants with thorns and discussed why some plants have them. The children were introduced to the idea that certain plants can be toxic or poisonous to people and animals.

One of the highlights of our trip was planting our very own strawberry plants while wearing our gardening gloves. We learned that strawberry plants need plenty of sunlight, fresh air, and water to grow.

A big thank you to H&N for providing our Pre-K classes with such a special and memorable hands-on learning experience!

From digging and planting to watering and weeding, a study of gardening offers countless opportunities for hands-on exploration in a medium many children already love—dirt! St. James Pre-K was fortunate to welcome three Master Gardeners from the Miller County Red Dirt Master Gardeners on Friday afternoon for an exciting time of getting our hands dirty and planting together. We are looking forward to watching our herbs and vegetables grow!

Aaron LeJeune (Mia’s dad) with Old Dominion visited our school this week to show us his 18-wheeler that delivers all kinds of things, including BOXES! He showed us his protective vest and hard hat, and we saw that the tires are as big as the students. We also got to see the cargo in the back of the truck and learned about the kinds of things he delivers.

Each student had the opportunity to climb inside the truck and see what it looks like. At the end, we raised our arms up and down, and Mr. Aaron honked the horn!

Thank you to Mr. Aaron for visiting our classes!

What a great morning!

We had so much fun celebrating Read Across America Week in preschool! Each day, the students enjoyed activities inspired by some of our favorite books. We kicked off the week with Cat in the Hat Day, where students wore their favorite hats to school. On Tuesday, inspired by If I Ran the Zoo, the children brought their stuffed animals to join us for the day. Fox in Socks Day on Wednesday brought lots of laughter as we admired everyone’s fun and silly socks. On Thursday, we celebrated The Lorax with mustaches provided by the school, which the students absolutely loved! We wrapped up the week with Pajama Day, inspired by The Sleep Book, making for a cozy and fun end to our celebration.

It was a wonderful week full of books, creativity, and excitement about reading!

Each child was able to create their own picture on a quilt square. Their creativity blew me away. We put everyone's name in a bowl, and Mrs. Whitney drew Boies' name, and he gets to take the quilt home today!

Q IS FOR QUICHE

Which comes first? The chicken or the egg? Our Pre-K classes are going to find out thanks to Cherrie Curtis, CEA - 4H and Youth and Development Leader, and Cora Wieneck TX 4-H Poultry Ambassador. They brought us eggs, an incubator, and read a book to us about the life cycle of a chicken. We now wait 21 days.....