Good Afternoon!

**Just one last reminder that GROUP B (Grady, Anna, Elijah, Brycen, David, and Nina) will go to the farm on Monday, September 25th. We’ll leave between 9:50 and 10:00 am. It is supposed to be warm so please dress your child appropriately. Also, make sure they have appropriate ‘farm’ shoes (rain boots or tennis shoes). Franklin, Forrest, Ruby, Chloe, and Emma will need a parent to drive them to and from the farm (optional of course!)  .

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What is guided play? Guided play maintains the joyful child-directed aspects of free play but adds an additional focus on learning goals through light adult scaffolding. It offers an opportunity for exploration in a context specifically designed to foster a learning goal.

(Information obtained from ‘The Case of Brain Science and Guided Play: A Developing Story’ written by Breanna Hassinger-Das, Kath Hirsh-Pasek, and Roberta Michnick Golinkoff)

Throughout the day, we as teachers make sure that we’re observing play, ready to jump in at anytime to foster an idea or answer a question. For instance, this week we’ve been talking about sides and vertices of geometric shapes. A group of children were playing with blocks in the habitrail area this morning. A teacher sat down and through conversation, children discussed sides of various shapes that they were building with. They were able to take their play experience just a little further than they would’ve if a teacher had been there to guide their play.

Attached is the link of the article that goes into detail about guided play and how beneficial it is in the preschool setting.

Our goal as teachers is to make sure that children have ample meaningful learning experiences each and every day.

“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.”- Margaret Mead

http://www.naeyc.org/yc/article/case-brain-science-guided-play

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A snapshot of our day!

Breakfast– Rice cakes with peanut butter and PPC pears.

Lunch– Black beans and shredded cheese on whole wheat flatbread, PPC apples, and roasted acorn squash.

PM snack– PPC grapes/pears and block cheese.

Wee Sprout– Cucumbers and carrots.

Have a fantastic weekend!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 9/22