This morning started off with an opportunity to practice matching uppercase and lowercase letters with some plastic Easter eggs! Some of our older friends worked on finding the matching letters.

Below, Maddie found “her M!”

Our younger children focused on putting the eggs together, a task that can be quite challenging for little fingers. It’s a great accomplishment when it works!

Today, thanks to the Purple Porch, we had the opportunity to try a papaya! Friends gathered around the island as we cut the tropical fruit open, took out the seeds, and then tried the fruit.

The reactions were mixed:

This morning children were invited to the art table to decorate an egg with strips of tissue paper and glue. Each friend tackled this project in their own way, some choosing to make stripes, while others opted for a more random placement.

There was lots of focus and concentration using fine motor skills to create this festive art. The final results will be displayed back in habitrail!

The colder weather didn’t stop us from spending some quality time outside.

A big game of chase got our blood pumping today!

Wee Sprouts: Pea pods. Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios and fresh blueberries. Lunch: Whole grain brown rice with chicken, cucumbers and fresh oranges/strawberries. Snack: Whole grain Goldfish and peanuts.

Link to the photo album: WF 3/10/16

Have a terrific Thursday! –Jessica

We had a fun water activity in the kitchen this morning! The sinks were filled with water, toy boats, sea animals, and shaving cream islands for the toys to swim around. The islands lasted only a few minutes. Our friends swirled them into the water and made a foamy sea!

Outside, our friends collected rocks, leaves, and sticks. Then they brought them to the table to examine. They loved tearing the leaves up!

Breakfast was whole grain oatmeal and bananas. Wee sprouts was mixed vegetables. Lunch consisted of farm fresh eggs, whole wheat tortilla, bananas, and mixed vegetables. Afternoon snack was homemade banana bread and string cheese.

Have a good night!

Amanda

Link to photos: http://1drv.ms/1QElsVd

*Reminder: Wee Friends will be closed on Friday, March 25th in observation of Good Friday. In addition, friends have been asking for another Pajama Day! We will have a special Pajama Day on Thursday, March 24th in honor of Luke’s last day here at Wee Friends. Feel free to send children to school in their PJs!

We have been so excited to spend lots of learning time this week in our outdoor environment. Our traditional outdoor areas, such as the truck track and rock pile, get lots of use, but oftentimes we see children exploring the environment in unique ways.

For instance, a simple cardboard box can become a vehicle, a bed, or even a house!

Today Eren and Jackson used the sidewalk circle in a different way. Together they used various colors of chalk to draw circles all the way around the sidewalk. They repeated this work multiple times!

Our outdoor environment and the natural materials available to children invite wonder and curiosity:

We have also especially enjoyed getting to spend quality time outside with our Wee Wee Friends lately!

Wee Sprouts: Tomatoes. Breakfast: Whole grain oatmeal and fresh pears. Lunch: French toast casserole with whole grain bread and fresh farm eggs, fresh broccoli and apples. Snack: Blue corn chips and refried beans.

Link to the photo album: WF 3/9/2016

Enjoy your evening! –Jessica

Maggie enjoyed a sensory activity in the kitchen this morning. We brought in a tub of corn kernels and black beans. Maggie enjoyed experiencing how the kernels felt in her hands and seeing what happened when she dumped them out of a cup or bowl.

Our friends love the sandbox! They love using their hands to sift, scoop, and explore. Anna poured some sand on a tree stump and then swiped her hands back and forth to swish it off.

Breakfast was Whole Grain Cheerios and bananas. Lunch consisted of grilled cheese and turkey sandwiches, strawberries, and corn. Afternoon snack was toasted whole wheat bagels with cream cheese. 

Have a good night!

Amanda

Link to photos: http://1drv.ms/21k1HFo

Good Afternoon!

To start our Tuesday, children were invited to the front porch where they were given the opportunity to use water and a paint brush to write their name on the chalk board.

We found out that when we use a wet paint brush on chalk, it goes away!

We were super focused on making sure all of the letter was washed away. A few friends would say the letter aloud as it went away.

Our kitchen was open for business this morning. The island filled up with smiling friends as they wanted to participate in the making of our homemade banana bread!

Step 1: Peel bananas.

Step 2: Mash the bananas.

Step 3: Measure all of the wet ingredients first, followed by the dry ingredients.

Step 4: Stir each individual bowl, then combine them.

The final product was DELICIOUS!

We were delighted to go outside this morning .

BREAKFAST: Kashi’s Sweet Potato Sunshine (cereal) and oranges.

LUNCH: Turkey on whole wheat bread, oranges/pears, and snap peas/cucumbers.

PM SNACK: Homemade banana bread with butter.

WEE SPROUTS: Cucumbers.

Have a terrific evening.

Link to pictures: http://1drv.ms/1SxGMhR

Please note:

We would like to create a couple of classroom photo albums for your children to enjoy. There are times when the children just want to see their families throughout their day at school. Having these picture albums added to our classroom would be very much appreciated by us all. If you could please bring in any extra family photos you have, that would be AWESOME!!!

Now that we will be going outside regularly, please make sure your child has appropriate outside attire. Shoes are required and needed for all our little ones.

Unfortunately, we have another round of a cold virus going through the classroom.

We would like to say a big thank you to Abi and Paul (Ruby’s parents) for donating board books to Wee Wee Friends! Donated board books are always appreciated and enjoyed!

***

We enjoyed every second we spent outside today enjoying this wonderful weather!

Chalk was brought out and our friends joined their Wee friends in drawing colorful pictures on the sidewalk and blackboards.

Our morning nappers didn’t miss out on some outside time. After lunch, we enjoyed the fresh air out on the bridge. They played with some toys and peered through the Wee Friends door so see what our older friends were doing!

Breakfast was whole wheat toast with butter and pears. Lunch consisted of whole wheat pasta with shredded chicken and cheese, apples, and corn. Afternoon snack was organic whole milk yogurt with graham crackers.

Have a great night!

Amanda

Link to photos: http://1drv.ms/1p3acIz

The highlight of our day was spending lots of time outside this morning! The first thing many children did was RUN. Around the circle and throughout the yard, friends moved their bodies as fast as they could.

Ice cream was sold from the climbing house. There is hardly a day outside where the teachers don’t hear cries of “Whoooooo wannnnts iiiiice crrrrreammm?!”

Lack of snow on the sidewalks (finally) made for an excellent chalk canvas. Friends drew in a plethora of colors and often worked collaboratively.

The chalkboards on the garage were also used today!

To the Wee Friends’ joy the bikes were brought out of the garage. All manner of bikes and cars were driven around the circle and down the hill! Reintroducing this activity was great practice for body awareness and paying attention to where you are going.

Kindergarten: Today we began to work on FAB K.W.6.2b: Punctuation—recognizing and naming end punctuation. A refresher on some punctuation (exclamation point, question mark and period) was introduced during large group. Friends came up with body movements to match each punctuation (e.g. Hands straight up in the air for an exclamation point). Next, we read Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late and after every sentence, we identified what punctuation was being used by moving our bodies! The mixture of story + movement kept everyone engaged!

Peek-a-boo in housekeeping!

Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Whole wheat English muffins with cream cheese and apples. Lunch: Whole wheat pasta with chicken, broccoli/pea pods and fresh oranges. Snack: Organic whole milk yogurt and fresh pears.

Link to the photo album: WF 3/7/2016

Hope you’re having a great day! –Jessica

Wee Friends has been invaded by bunnies! Friends have had a blast playing with some of our Easter themed materials we brought up from the basement this week. They’ve been hopping all over habitrail

Our St. Patrick green play dough is also a popular option these days. Today a friend asked, “Can I play play dough? Please?”

Also new this week: the picture frames in the art area have been updated with recent farm pictures! Many times throughout the day children come to look at the photos and point out themselves and their friends. Overheard today—“Look! It’s Jackson!”

Kindergarten: Today the kindergarten students explored patterns and following directions by coloring in a complex design. Each shape was meant to be a different color (e.g. all circles-blue and triangles-red). Friends had to first identify the shape and then decide what color it should be! After completing the design, Elliott counted how many of each shapes there were.

Wee Sprouts: Orange and red bell peppers. Breakfast: Kix and fresh pears. Lunch: Cheesy whole grain brown rice, steamed cauliflower, pears and apples. Snack: Pistachios and pretzels.

Link to the photo album: WF 3/3/2016

We’re looking forward to seeing everyone at conferences tomorrow. Please remember to bring your re-enrollment form and fee if applicable. Thank you!

—Jessica

When looking through the pictures of today’s activities, the photos of friends playing and working together cooperatively together stood out. Amongst the pictures of friends creating artwork and reading books, there was 4 year old Jackson building a car garage alongside 2 year old Tate. Along with photos of housekeeping work and pattern making, we saw older preschoolers Daniel and Eren exploring the sand sensory bin with 2 year old Rosemary.

Our multi-age classroom encourages friends of all ages to interact and benefits both our younger and older students. As preschool teacher and educational blogger Teacher Tom puts it, multi-age classrooms are:

…places where younger children have the opportunity to learn from their slightly more advanced classmates, who in turn develop the real self-assurance that only comes from mastery (as opposed to artificial efforts to boost “self-esteem”). They are places where younger children who are ready for greater challenges can take their place beside more mature classmates, while those who need more time to explore concepts can do so without the stigma of being “behind.”

In a multi-age setting children can learn at their developmental level and be part of a true community of learners, regardless of age! Read more about multi-age classrooms at: http://teachertomsblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/place-they-are-confident-they-belong.html

Kindergarten: Today our kindergarteners and older preschoolers were invited to the island to continue exploring patterns, this time using tiddlywinks. Friends approached this in a number of different ways. For instance, Elizabeth created a repeating pattern and then a growing pattern (yellow, green, 2 yellow, green, 3 yellow, etc.) Not content with just that, she used markers to record her patterns permanently!

Wee Sprouts: Cucumbers and tomatoes. Breakfast: Hot wheat cereal and bananas. Lunch: Farm fresh scrambled eggs with whole wheat bagels, green peppers/cucumbers, and fresh fruit salad with bananas, strawberries, and blueberries. Snack: Homemade popcorn with butter and bananas.

Link to the photo album: WF 3/2/2016

Happy Wednesday! –Jessica

What a busy day we had at Wee Wee!

We created colorful art with crayons …

Scooped and poured with birdseed…

And had fun music time with drums!

Breakfast was Whole Grain Cheerios and apples. Lunch consisted of whole wheat tortillas with refried beans and cheese, oranges, and corn. Afternoon snack was toasted whole wheat bagels with sweet pea butter.

Have a great night!

Amanda

Link to photos:

2/29 http://1drv.ms/1TPB76s

3/1 http://1drv.ms/1TlKr3B