Today we welcome Vivian to our classroom! Vivian is a former Wee Friend who has returned to us! WELCOME VIVIAN! Kai, our oldest WF, remembers Vivian and is thrilled to have his playmate back!

It’s a happy Monday as friends settle back into their school schedule. The Blue Bus was here and WFs worked on the rings and cartwheel mat. On the rings, they performed tuck and “L” hangs. They practiced a “skin the cat” flip, lunges and handstands against the wall. On the cartwheel mat, they practiced mini and full cartwheels.

The workbench and art easel were of particular interest today.

Several friends explored the concept of big/small with an Angel Stacking Doll set. We sequenced the dolls in order of size and counted them as they stood in a row.

Our counting exploration continued as we listened to “The 12 Days of Christmas”. A small group of younger WF gathered to practice the fine motor/dexterity skill of holding up fingers 1-5. We counted (and created finger formation) 1-5 forwards and backwards. We passed out rhythm sticks and and followed Hap Palmer’s rhythmic exercises. Next, Alma requested the dinosaur song. We played Laurie Berkner’s “We Are the Dinosaurs” and marched/sang/roared/ate and slept throughout a dinosaur musical improv. In the next three weeks, we will be learning new songs pertaining to the holiday season. If you have any concerns or opposition to your child learning traditional carols, please let us know!

In the last several days before the holiday, friends were very interested in hearing the story of Pinocchio read. After several readings, we have plunged into a Pinocchio Study. Friends are very familiar with the Disney version and today we compared/contrasted it to the Carlo Collodi version. We discovered that the Collodi version has no Blue Fairy! We also introduced the idea of a marionette puppet. We pulled out all of our hand puppets (including a Pinocchio puppet-thank you, Alexandra G.!) and re-told the story based on the characters in our hands. Later, we turned Sasha the Clown (Alma named him) into a marionette! We compared the two types of puppets and how they are different.

For breakfast today, we served peanut butter toast and oranges. Lunch was whole wheat pasta with beef, pears and French cut green beans. Afternoon snack will be goldfish and apples.

Have a terrific day!