Willow Creek Pre-K News HIGHLIGHTS OF FEBRUARY Pictures Soon To Follow :D The weekend ALWAYS proves to be interesting in one way or another at Willow Creek!!! I usually run up to get my classroom ready for the next week and get a chance to say hi to some of our grandmas, grandpas, aunts and uncles who are out and about. This last weekend Grandpa Jerry had been out quite a bit. Grandpa Jerry is 67 yrs old and seems to be very lonely and unhappy whenever I see him. He has been at Willow Creek almost as long as I have. He usually has a somber expression and walks around with an oxygen tank. I have said hi to him over time and most of the time he would act as if he couldn’t hear me. At first I thought he was hard of hearing until I kept getting closer to him to make sure he could hear me and he made it very clear he was ignoring me instead. This never deterred me from saying hi and basically just being me. When he first came to Willow Creek my little ones from last year welcomed him with open arms and he would sit there with a solemn look on his face, but always accept a hug if it was given. There were even a few times Grandpa Jerry was out for Letter of the Week Show & Tell, but it was only because he got winded and couldn’t make it down the hall without stopping to rest first!!! Heeheehee My little ones would show him their Show & Tell and he would always say something like, “Oh”, “oh wow”, or “okay” He would always answer questions my little ones would have regarding his oxygen tank and make the best of it though, and he would ALWAYS receive multiple hugs, as well!!! His expression NEVER seemed to change, however!!! I have talked to him on occasion and he has mentioned he has a daughter, but she lives 60 or so miles away and she can’t make it up to see him. While I was putting up my latest bulletin board in the hallway he walked over to talk to me, which was extremely surprising!!! He had asked me if I had gotten the picture I had taken of him with my little ones during the week of his birthday. I was once again surprised!!! I told him I would be getting the pictures developed shortly and I would make sure I gave him a copy. He then put his hand on my shoulder and said, “I would like us to be friends, ok?!!!” HOLY COW, BLOW ME OVER!!!! I was floored!!! When I spoke of this little instance to a few people who know Grandpa Jerry they were very surprised that he even put his hand on my shoulder!!! Hmm...All I can say about that is that miracles do happen every day and I had witnessed one!!!! I believe the innocence and love of my little ones can definitely fill an empty heart to overflowing!!! Since that day, I have given Grandpa Jerry the picture he was wanting and he was blessed!!! During Show & Tell Grandpa Jerry did make it out, but this time it was intentional. I was again surprised!!! He did sit off by the fish tank, which is out of the way, but still within an eyes view of what is going on. The first thing my little ones do when we get together with our Willow Creek family is to say hi and give a hug. Grandpa Jerry was removed far enough to be out of the line of traffic. Halle spotted him and ran over to give him a hug. He accepted it without hesitation. Ms. Katherine, who is the counselor at Willow Creek, was out during Show & Tell and noticed Halle making the effort to say hi and to give Grandpa Jerry a hug. Halle made her way to Ms. Katherine and while she gave her a hug, Ms. Katherine told Halle how sweet it was that she gave Grandpa Jerry a hug because he is very lonely and that made him happy. Halle of course grinned from ear to ear and went on to share her Show & Tell as if it was no big deal just another day at school with her grandmas, grandpas, aunts, and uncles. Since that day Grandpa Jerry has asked for some more pictures I have taken of him and my little ones. He told me he would especially like the one where he has his arm around one of my little ones. All I can say is...Love conquers ALL!!! Our new Grandma Carla came to our classroom in her electric wheelchair first thing in the morning to visit and say hi. She is a cute little grandma who is excited we have our classroom there at Willow Creek. The children were all excited to have a visit and definitely made her feel welcome. She stayed and had mentioned to me that she would love to volunteer if I needed any help in any way!!! Wow, I was blessed, excited, and touched to see how our little classroom means so much to so many people. As we began our daily activities during Calendar, Grandma Carla raised her hand and said, “Boys and girls, Grandma Carla is going to go now. Thank you for letting me spend some time with you!!! I will see you later” All my little ones waved and said goodbye as Grandma Carla made her way out the door. Lunch Time Greetings ALWAYS proves to be interesting, touching, or just flat out humorous at times. We made our way to each dining room, as usual, and took a minute to share a smile and a hug. When we got to the West dining room, Sandy was very excited to see us!!! She kept pointing at my camera and then pointed at Kolson. When I asked her if she wanted her picture taken she nodded her head yes and pointed at Kolson. Kolson was all smiles and is ALWAYS ready to take a picture. This made Sandy’s day. Her smile couldn’t have been bigger and it was obvious her heart couldn’t have been fuller!!! Halle then finds Mimi, who is Gene Owens’ mom. Halle had visited with “Uncle Gene” and Mimi not too long ago and was having fun showing them her special stickers that Ms. Marci, our AWESOME nurse, had shared with her. When Halle saw Mimi, on this day, she stopped and gave her a hug and then looked at her with such a sweet, serious little expression on her face and said, “Where’s your Pop Pop?” Mimi just giggled and said he was working right now. Halle said, “Oh Ok” and went on her way. Mimi looked at me and we both just busted out laughing!!! We both decided we wouldn’t tell her son Gene that Halle thought he was her Pop Pop!!! Hahahaha OH MY GOODNESS, how could anyone stay down and depressed with little ones in their lives? The snow days we had for school really took everyone by surprise especially our Willow Creek family. It seemed as if we just got back into our routine when we ended up with bad enough weather to have school called off. I suppose having an unexpected break is a lot harder to handle than the regular planned breaks we have during the holidays, at least it seems like it!!! I was able to go up to school to get a few things done right before we came back as a class. Sandy was driving around in her electric chair looking SO sad!!! I told her we should all be back at school the next day. She looked at me with such a somber expression and nodded her head. It was obvious nothing was really going to suffice until all my little ones were actually within arm’s reach. Honestly, I think Ms. Laura and Sandy just hung out together the entire time we were gone because Ms. Laura was just as depressed as Sandy was!!! Ms. Laura actually told me that having a snow day was an absolute injustice to all these parents who needed to go to work so I REALLY should have class anyway!!! She worked this plan HARD!!! Heeheehee MS. LAURA HATES IT WHEN WE ARE GONE!!! The weather finally cooperated and the hallways were once again full of chatter, giggles, and the normal noise that comes with twenty, four year olds!!! EVERYONE was happy we were back!!! Sandy was BEYOND excited!!! I have seen her happy and excited before, but HOLY COW this was one for the books!!! She had made her way to our classroom first thing in the morning and her expression was priceless!!! Her smile couldn’t have been bigger and she was intensely waving at all the children!!! Once Blace saw Sandy he ran over to her and threw his arms around her!!! Sandy was holding on to Blace laughing SO HARD AND SO LOUD as if to say, “I am SOOOO EXCITED TO SEE YOU AND I’M NEVER GOING TO LET YOU GO!!!!” This was one of those moments that took your breath away and tugged at your heartstrings like no other. That very same day, Sandy came back to class when we were having snack and Story Time!!! She was completely immersed into the story that I was reading and just became part of our classroom that day. OH MY GOODNESS life is BEYOND special here at Willow Creek!!! Valentine’s Day was fast approaching especially since we had SO many snow days!!! We were definitely in a rush to learn our songs and to make our special Valentine’s Cards we planned on making for our grandmas, grandpas, aunts, and uncles!!! We worked fast and couldn’t have gotten it all done without the help of Ms. Laura!!! She is ALWAYS ready and willing to help in anyway she can!!! Ms. Laura is BEYOND SPECIAL AND AWESOME and we just LOVE her SOOO much!!!! One project we were working on was making a special Valentine card for our parents, which I specifically told my children. I had my little ones cut out a large heart from construction paper. Then I had everyone write the words, “We Love You” on it. After that they were to write their name and draw a picture of themselves. Next thing I know, Halle said, “Look Ms. Gillett, I drew Uncle Jay and D.D.!!! And this is Uncle Jay’s grandma with her dog Fluffly!!!” WHAT?!!!!! HAHAHAAHA OH MY GOODNESS I had a hard time containing myself!!! I asked her why she drew Uncle Jay and she said, “Because I want to give this card to Uncle Jay!!!” Then Emmie said, “I drew Uncle Jay and D.D. too and I put his grandmother here!!!” This was BEYOND HYSTERICAL!!!! Where in the world did Uncle Jay get into the picture let alone his GRANDMOTHER?!!!!! HAHAHAHAHA HOLY COW!!! Then Kolson looked up at me and said, “This is Uncle Jay and I drew D.D. standing on two legs!!!” Blace walked over to me and said, “I drew Uncle Jay here and this is D.D. with all his little lost dog friends!!!” This was BEYOND HILARIOUS!!!! Hands-down, Uncle Jay ended up claiming all of our special Valentine cards we made completely unsolicited!!! Heeheehee It is obvious Uncle Jay has penetrated each little heart in a BIG way and has blessed my little ones more than he will ever really know!!! There are a few more little giggles I have about Uncle Jay!!! One day during rotating centers I hear Carch say, “Look Ms. Gillett I drew Uncle Jay standing on D.D. and having fun!!!” HOLY COW!!! Hahaha On another day, we were making a birthday card for one of our Willow Creek family (not Uncle Jay). Everyone is supposed to write their name and then draw a smiley face. Halle comes up to me and says, “I drew Uncle Jay and didn’t have time to draw D.D. so I just drew an “a” for D.D.” OH MY!!!! Hahahaha Then on another day, my little ones were working on making a fish for the letter “Ff.” Halle got done with hers and said, “Look Ms. Gillett, I made an Uncle Jay fish. He’s got a mustache!!!” OH MY GOODNESS!!! Uncle Jay is being thought of more than he will ever know!!! Heeheehee Valentine’s Day got here faster than we had planned, but with help we were definitely prepared!!! All my little ones couldn’t wait to pass out their Valentines to all their friends. They had already gotten a Valentine from Sandy first thing in the morning!!! Sandy zoomed down the hallway with her purse on the arm of her electric wheelchair and had a bag of Smartees in hand. As soon as she made her way through our door she started beeping her horn and waving the children over to get their special prize from her!!! She was beyond excited to pass out her Valentines!!! Her smile was unending as she carefully handed everyone her bag of treats so they could reach in and grab one for themselves. She made sure EVERYONE got one!!! Later that day she also came down to show us how she had some special Valentines taped to the arm of her chair!!! She was VERY proud!!! The time finally came to have our Valentine’s party with our Willow Creek family. We made our way to the East dining room and sang our special songs, passed out our special Valentine Cards to everyone, and then got to enjoy our Valentine King and Queen, Grandpa Harold and Grandma LoVonne!!! Grandpa Harold and Grandma LoVonne have been married for 65 years and are the most adorable couple you have ever seen. Ms. Tracy introduced our amazing couple and let us in on a special secret, and that was that Grandpa Harold could sing!!! Ms. Tracy asked him if he wouldn’t mind singing us a song. He just smiled and looked at Grandma LoVonne and began to sing a love song to his eternal sweetheart. The song he sang is called, “I Love You For Sentimental Reasons” and OH MY GOODNESS he has a BEAUTIFUL voice!!! I do believe we were ALL astonished!!! His eyes never left his sweetheart and the tenderness in his voice was enough to bring tears to your eyes!!! HOLY COW, All twenty of my little ones sat on the carpet and were completely entranced throughout the entire song!!! This absolutely amazed me to see how my little ones could enjoy and appreciate something SO special!!! I do believe my little Intergenerational program has made more of an impact on my little ones than we will ever know!!!! After the song was over, everyone clapped and Blace got up and said, “That song almost made me fall over!!!” Wow, for a little one to be SO touched by this experience was more than I could’ve ever imagined, but yet it happened to more than just one!!! I LOVE YOU FOR SENTIMENTAL REASONS LYRICS I love you for sentimental reasons I hope you do believe me Ill give you my heart I love you and you alone were meant for me Please give your loving heart to me And say well never part I think of you every morning Dream of you every night Darling, Im never lonely Whenever you are in sight I love you for sentimental reasons I hope you do believe me Ive given you my heart I love you for sentimental reasons I hope you do believe me Ive given you my heart When we were getting ready to head on back to class to have our own classroom party, Ms. Tracy told us she had a special Valentine card that one of our grandmas, grandpas, aunts, and uncles had made special just for us!!! After Ms. Tracy passed them out we were once again surprised to find that Grandma Norma and Grandma Gracie had Valentines for everyone too!!! As we turned to go down the hallway, Uncle Jay had a bag full of candy bars to share with us!!! WOW, we felt SO special!!! Once we got back into the classroom to get ready for our own Valentine party, we made sure we got a chance to give Uncle Jay HIS special Valentine cards from us, as well as give a Valentine hug to go along with it!!! What a day full of love and laughter!!! Ms. Annette (who is our favorite housekeeper) and her husband are constantly blessing us with treats for the holidays!!! During Halloween, we got special treats and a scary vacuum to make my little ones giggle. During Christmas, Ms. Annette’s husband made us some special cupcakes, which he filled with pudding!!! Boy did my little ones go crazy for these!!! I even had some ask for seconds!!! We also found out that Ms. Annette’s husband is an AMAZINGLY talented musician, as well!!! He can play 10 different instruments!!! He sent us a cassette tape of some of his music with a note that explained he had played on the Grand Ole Opry several times, as well as played with a LONG LIST of super stars such as B.B. King, Dolly Parton, Roy Acuff, Flat & Scruggs, Merle Haggard, Grandpa Jones, Minnie Pearl, and Little Jimmy Dickens to mention just a few!!! When I played the cassette my little ones listened intently!!! I had told Ms. Annette that it would be awesome if her husband would come for a visit and bring some of his instruments for Show & Tell sometime. Well, my wish came true!!! Ms. Annette’s husband J.J. came for a visit and brought quite a few instruments to show and share. He thought of everything!!! He even set up two video cameras so he could video tape his visit and take pictures of all my little ones holding his mandolin. Sandy got in on the fun, as well!!! What an AMAZING time we all had!!! THANK YOU J.J.!!! WE THINK YOU’RE AWESOME!!! Dr. Seuss week always brings on smiles and giggles from all ages!!! We had a lot of fun showing off our Horton Hears a Who ears, our mustaches on our Lorax day, and our Cat in the Hat hats during our Lunch Time Greetings!!! Our Lorax mustache day was especially fun!!! Zechariah’s mom blessed us with a whole bunch of furry, sticky mustaches and had even given us some extras to share!!! It was exceptionally funny to make our rounds during our Lunch Time Greetings and to see some of our Willow Creek staff working in the hallway and sitting at the tables in the dining room wearing mustaches too!!! Heeheehee My little ones got such a giggle!!! Our Willow Creek family seems to always be up for some fun whether they plan on it or not!!! During our Lunch Time Greetings, Uncle Jay was found hiding behind the kitchenette door in order to not be seen as we said hi to everyone and gave hugs. I’m not sure if he was actually hiding because he wasn’t quite awake enough for 20 four year olds to say hi and to bombard him with hugs, or whether he wanted to be clever. Needless to say, Uncle Jay has met his match!!! There is absolutely NO match for a game of “Hide and Go Seek” with a child, SOOO it didn’t take long before Uncle Jay was spotted and the hugs were on their way!!! Celebrating birthdays is always a time of sweet memories!!!! This month we celebrated several. We got to sing to Grandpa John who turned 66, Grandma Eva who turned 86, Grandpa Gail ( is our grandpa who can hear a smile and feel a hug) who turned 85, Aunt Carla who turned 56, Papa Bill who turned 89, and Grandma Laura who turned 89. The smiles, whether they were seen or felt, were moments to treasure for a life time!!! Life is SO SWEET in the arms of an angel!!! On Friday we got to celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday!!! Sandy had come to our classroom and was extremely interested in what was going on!!! I always tell my little ones on Dr. Seuss’ birthday we have to read Green Eggs and Ham!!! It is a VERY special time because whenever you read this book and then make eggs and ham they just magically turn green!!! Sandy was completely engrossed in the story, as well as when we began to cook!!! It just never fails… Dr. Seuss and magic go hand-in-hand!!! As always, right before our eyes, the eggs turned green!!! The excitement and amazement began to rise, not only in my little ones, but with Sandy, as well!!! I had all my little ones count as I cracked each egg into the clear bowl preparing for our Dr. Seuss feast!!! Once the eggs were cracked, everyone got a chance to put some ham chucks in the bowl to have some hands-on experience with making our green eggs and ham. Sandy made it known she definitely wanted to be included!!! She was just as excited as everyone else in preparing them, but she did not stick around for the tasting part of our activity!!! Hmm… if Lance, Camryn, and Savannah had their way they would have scooted right out the door with her!!! Heeheehee One thing I can say, with a little encouragement (just like the book) I had a classroom full of little ones LOVING green eggs and ham AND wanting seconds including little Asher, Ms. Brittany’s son, who came to join in on the fun!!! Of course Lance, Camryn, and Savannah were MORE THAN HAPPY TO SHARE THEIRS!!!! The magic in a little ones’ heart can fill the world with JOY!!!!
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 04:08:20 +0000