Happy Friday!

Have you ever had one of those days where you were just calm and not really yourself? Well, that sums up our Wee Wee day. A few friends have a cold that’s circulating. With transitions throughout the week and the weather changing day after day, friends and teachers had a calm and collective day. We (children not teachers ) took great naps! Friends were sure rejuvenated this afternoon.

The weather was EXCELLENT and friends had a nice time outside. The make-up of our day resulted in quiet play between friends, stories, snuggles from friends and teachers, and wonderful outside time to perk us up! Even though a few friends are a tad under the weather , it was a GREAT day! As the new Wee Wee group, we are finding our identity as a whole.

For breakfast, children had whole wheat bagels with cinnamon and banana. Lunch consisted of whole grain rice with shredded pork, broccoli, and oranges/banana. PM snack was raisins and rice cakes with cream cheese.

Have a lovely weekend and enjoy the weather!

Happy Friday!

After a couple weeks of Blue Bus, we have devised two new groups in hopes that it supports everyone’s morning schedule/routines. Here’s are the new groups:

9:00 – FINN, MARINA, LEO, SLOANE, OWEN and EREN

9:30- ELIZABETH, ELLIOTT, LEA, ELLIE, CLARA and DANIEL

Wee Sprouts: Carrots and Elliott’s garden tomatoes. Breakfast: Bagels/cream cheese and Craisins. Lunch: Hummus filled flatbread, broccoli and fruit salad (bananas/apples/oranges). Snack: Pretzels and cheese.

Have a great weekend!

Hello!

We were able to snap a few pictures throughout the day. It was a go, go, go type of day!

We spent most of our morning outside. We can see Fall in the distance!

Our inside play was extensive today. Friends went from the little people to playing with the shakers to reading a few good stories. Children definitely touched on the different areas of the room today: housekeeping, stories, and gross motor! It was a well rounded day!

For breakfast, children had kix and banana. Lunch consisted of cheese tortillas, corn, and banana. PM snack was hummus with crackers.

Have a great night!

Happy Birthday Elizabeth! Tomorrow, Elizabeth will turn four! We love you!

We offered our ballerinas a ballet bar today, as well as tutus and tulle tiaras. We played a four count piano piece and began our work.

Marina: “I’m going to have a purple tutu!”

Sloane: “I’m going to have a pink tutu!”

Finn: “I’m going to have NO tutu!”

We didn’t ask why some of our friends ran and sat under a table, we just went with it. Soon, many friends were snuggled underneath a tabletop, hidden away under a blanket.

The dancers danced on.

Some friends pounded Doo-A-Dots paint on construction paper. It feels so good to pound things.

Two good friends sequenced plastic cars and made a choo-choo train. Lining things up, in a row, helps young minds differentiate between things. It progresses into patterning and sorting. It asks the question “Why? Why is this one bigger/smaller/red/yellow?”

More pressing and brushing and stirring and mixing was had with watercolors. And creating art.

And Magna-Tiles. Magna Tiles tell the preschool brain: “Solve this problem, please. Put everything you’ve got into this. Still your body and breath deeply. Create.  Magna-Tiles: the brilliant math manipulative.

Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Oatmeal and apple slices. Lunch: Whole grain rice with pork, kiwi/pineapple/banana fruit salad (thanks, Lea!) and corn. Snack: Elizabeth’s bday yogurt and crackers.

Have a great day.

Good Afternoon!

Whenever Eve saw the camera out this morning, she said, “Take my picture!” She showed off her huge grin. Throughout the morning, her play grew to where she got the pretend camera and went around to friends and teachers. She instructed them to say, “Cheese!” while she took their picture. Depending on the situation, play can grow into whatever the child desires. Play is the seed of development in our children. As teachers, we need to nurture play.

Friends Lu-Lu and Saskia worked on their mobility and coordination as they climbed in and out of the colorful blocks. Eve decided she was going to stand in the block and take a shower. This play extended to washing her body and then asking Miss Marty for a towel .

We braved the outdoors before it got too hot. The sandbox with the awning over it made for a nice play area. The shade kept us cool.

Friends gathered down under the tree where we sat on the swing and sang songs. It was a nice, calming time where friends and teachers cuddled with one another.

For breakfast, children had bagel with cinnamon and banana. Lunch consisted of ham and cream cheese tortilla sandwiches, oranges, and freshly cooked carrots. PM snack was cottage cheese and pretzels. Miss Tami also surprised us with garden fresh carrots popsicles! They were yummy!

Have a great evening!

Quick Note!  Many friends enjoy having the window open so their goodbyes can be heard. Tami has requested that morning good-byes don’t involve opening the front porch window! Thank you so much for your cooperation!

The Wee day began with:

Finn: “They might not know it’s a sea, they might think it’s a hyena wolf.”

We are a child-initiated learning environment. From seas to hyena wolves, carrots and ballet slippers, baby dolls and sharks, we listen, all day long, to conversations and jump in to build on interests. We see what they see and we get to work.

It was time to pull up the carrots. Friends fell naturally into gardening jobs that included: pulling carrots out of the dirt, plucking off green stems, filling a bucket and scrubbing them clean.

From our garden to our tummies. Tami invited friends to help her make carrot/banana smoothies for snack (and test it!). She made carrot smoothie popsicles. She also blanched and buttered carrots for lunch. WE HAVE LOTS SO PLEASE HELP YOURSELVES!

We read part of Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens. The book explores a hare and a bare who split the tops and bottoms after harvesting a veggie garden. It led us into a Tops and Bottoms creative drama exploration. Friends became veggie seeds, buried under the earth, waiting to grow. Some had yummy tops (flowers) and others had yummy bottoms (radishes). Everyone got watered to help them grow.

And we are growing!

Breakfast: Cereal and bananas. Lunch: Ham and cream cheese on whole wheat tortillas, blanched and buttered WF garden carrots and orange slices. Snack: Carrot/banana smoothies.

Have a great day!

Hello!

This morning, friends became involved in many activities. Emma and Eren put on capes and flew around the house! Saskia preferred to play with the animals while Maya was all smiles bouncing like crazy in her seat!

Friends got together outside as we ran around for a little while. The temps started rising and we became a tad sweaty .

Since it was getting warm outside, we headed into the air conditioned house where we did water play! Eren poured water from one cup to the other. Eve and Emma took turns washing the baby doll.

For breakfast, children had kix and banana. Lunch consisted of hummus on whole grain bread, green beans, and watermelon. PM snack was cheddar cheese slices and crackers.

Have a great evening.

We gathered on the music rug before heading out for swimming. We sang our Good Morning Song and explored the idea of syllables (How many claps make your name?) in each friend’s name. We passes a bean bag around and played music. When the music stopped, the friend holding the bean bag stood up and said their name in a soft, medium or loud voice. They also shared the first letter of their name.

And then we danced. Ballet. Sloane shared her book The Magical Ballet Slippers by Nick Ellsworth and afterwards, we moved our bodies to Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty

The swimmers were very excited to leave for the Y this morning. There are many procedures between our front door and the edge of the pool and friends are working hard at establishing a routine!

Back at school, we decided to let our fingers (and later, hands, arms, legs and entire bodies) go swimming! With ice cubes and a bag of frozen greens, we discussed (and experienced) melting and defrosting. Then we made earth soup. And gave our baby dolls a much needed bath.

Breakfast: Peanut butter muffins and watermelon. Lunch: Hummus on whole wheat, watermelon and string beans. Snack: Kiwi and yogurt.

Have a great day.

Happy Monday!

Today, we welcomed our newest friend, Saskia! She just turned one year old at the end of August. We had a great first day getting to know her! Welcome Saskia and family to Wee Wee Friends!

We also welcomed back Eren aka “Toot-toot”! He was in Turkey all month with his family! We sure did miss him!

Our Monday was full of friendly faces. We are sure going through a transition mode with new friends coming and old friends leaving. The main goal we want to accomplish is to make sure friends feel safe and secure while at childcare. The daily routines will happen eventually but that ‘safe’ feeling for children is imperative.

For breakfast, children had Chex and apples. Lunch consisted of homemade mac and cheese with whole grain noodles, corn, and watermelon. PM snack was string cheese and raisins.

Hope your night is full of friendly smiles .

See you tomorrow!

The Blue Bus arrived at 9am for Wee Gymnastics! Today they worked on the vault and spring board. They learned approaches on the board with straddle jump offs. They practiced hand stands over the vault and half turns off the springboard!

Here are the class groups again! Today was the 2nd week of an 8 week session.

9:00-9:30 – Finn, Elizabeth, Elliott, Lea and Ellie

9:30-10:00- Marina, Leo, Clara, Daniel, Sloane and Owen

Literacy FAB K.1.10 Say rhyming words in response to an oral prompt.

Mel gathered friends in the reading are for a Dr. Seuss rhyming exploration.

They identified rhyming words as they read and then, on the front porch, played a red/stop, green/go rhyming game.

On the music rug, Laurie played Jumping Beans: an alphabet/number identification game. Next, friends sang a welcome song that encouraged them to listen, count and identify the syllables in their names.

 

Outside, we took yearbook photos of your Wee Friends. We’ll make sure to get photos for our friends who weren’t in school today. Enjoy.

Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Cheerios and apples. Lunch: Homemade mac-n-cheese, watermelon and salad greens. Snack: Cheese sticks and orange slices.