The Wee Library is rich with great books. It’s a diverse collection of softback, hardback and board books. Fact, fiction, poetry and workbooks. Original and classic works. Disney and Little Golden; Robert Munsch and Dr. Seuss. It has comfy pillows, a soft rug and three steps for our friends to curl up in to read. And make a mess. A frustrating (for teachers)and delicious (for Wee peeps) mess.

So, today, we all made a book mess and sorted it out together.  We discussed all I described above and had friends demonstrate how to treat books with kindness. They held the spine of the book and learned how to put it on the shelf. A small group of friends worked with Melinda to organize the books for easy access and easy clean-up.

As Finn’s dad, Lindsay, explained this morning: “Words are treasures and that’s why we read books!” It’s one of the most important things we do with our Wee Friends each day: Read.  For today, our treasures are very organized.

Ever wonder what happens after lunch?

12-12:20ish – We sit down to eat

12:20-1:00ish– we split into Lisa’s group (on the music rug) and Laurie’s group (on the porch)

1:00ish-2:30ish – Nap and rest time

Friends are excited about learning this routine and super excited about their group! This is the one time of our day that we schedule “direct learning”. Both groups include reading aloud, music (meditation and/or singing) and a literacy or math activity. The lessons are child-initiated and teacher developed/guided. Lisa is working on social and life skills with her Wee Friends. Laurie’s group, this week, has landed on the subject of constellations. Each day, after these groups wrap up, many friends sleep on cots in the back of our classroom, and other friends spend their rest time on green mats, quietly working. Some friends start with a short nap, and then get up and find a quiet activity.  We work with each individual friend (and parents!) to get the right mix of rest/sleep and quiet time.

Hope your day is going well!

Wee Sprouts: Fresh tomatoes. Breakfast: Oatmeal with applesauce and cantaloupe. Lunch: Farm fresh scrambled eggs wrapped in a whole grain tortilla, apple slices and cinnamon sautéed carrots. Snack: Orange slices and yogurt/peanut butter dip.