Good Afternoon!

Our two kindergarteners drew their own plant and identified the parts of it. Each plant was extremely unique and they both took their time drawing it.

Science: K.4.1 Give examples of plants and animals.

We read, ‘What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?’ in K/PREK1 group. Mack and Evie tried to identify each animal body part of several animals. On each page, a body part was the focus (eyes, tail, ears, etc.).

When the story was done, Mack and Evie sorted animals based on their habitats. They talked about why habitats are so important for animals. “An elephant couldn’t live in a house like a pet because there’s not enough space!”

Science: K.4.1 Give examples of plants and animals.

A few of our friends were interested in catapults this morning so they used materials in habitrail to build their own catapults!

They took wooden boards and bean bags plus the force of their feet to catapult the bean bags into the air.

Friends talked about the trajectory of the bean bags, what direction to place the boards, and how hard to step/jump on the board.

If you need a lesson on the game ‘hide and go seek’, come see us .

Breakfast– Kix and fresh strawberries.

Lunch– Homemade grilled cheese on whole wheat bread, fresh mango, and fresh cucumber/carrots.

PM snack– Whole wheat bagel with cream cheese and string cheese.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/carrots.

Have a lovely night.

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 4/5

Good Afternoon.

Today we were happily engaged in painting with blue paint mixed with a small amount of glue and silver glitter specks. After your child’s creations have had time to dry, teachers will cut them into small raindrops to place on our windows with our flowers…. as April showers bring may flowers.  

Some of our younger friends LOVE to climb and slide down our soft star climber. We are working diligently on going one way and taking turns so that no one gets hurt. Friends are doing a great job!

During outdoor play, one of our older friends found many logs back by the play house. She bravely (as some were heavy) moved some of them to make a “Campfire.”

Breakfast: Whole grain Kix cereal and apples.

Lunch: Whole wheat flatbread and tortillas warmed with refried beans and shredded cheese, cucumbers and strawberries.

Snack: Whole wheat bagels with butter and cinnamon with apples.

Wee Sprouts: Fresh yellow peppers.

Have a fantastic evening.

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIullLFi-FIrUXqeM_9Xmw

Good Afternoon and Happy Monday. I hope you all had a great weekend.

We welcomed back two of our friends that were on exciting vacations last week. Teachers got many snuggles and I miss you (s).  

We enjoyed many different activities today. It was a great day!

Breakfast: Whole wheat toast with butter and cinnamon and apples.

Lunch: Whole wheat elbow noodles with butter and red beans, sweet potatoes and oranges.

Snack: Whole milk yogurt with graham crackers.

Wee Sprouts: Cucumbers.

Have a fantastic night.

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIullLBzZkdStKRjxgsasw

Good Afternoon!

Mack and Evie made lists of animals based on habitats. They wrote three animals that can be found in the water, in the jungle, and in homes.

Science: K.4.1 Give examples of plants and animals.

After reading, ‘The Apple Pie Tree’ in K/PREK1 group, we went through the plant cycle before children worked together to identify the parts of a plant.

Science: K.4.1 Give examples of plants and animals.

PREK2 friends took animals and sorted them by habitat!

Various loose parts were made available at the art table for children to use to construct their own town! Some friends chose to add buildings while others drew roads using markers. They talked about what things make up a town.

After looking at the weather forecast for the week, we were sure we weren’t going to get outside much. But, the clouds cleared and the sun came out. We rushed outside so that we could have some quality outside time before lunch!

Breakfast– Whole wheat toast with butter and fresh apples.

Lunch– Whole wheat noodles with shredded chicken and butter, fresh cantaloupe, and fresh carrots.

PM snack– Whole milk yogurt with Real Fruit Yo-Yo’s.

Wee Sprout– Fresh pepper/carrots.

Have a wonderful night.

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 4/4

Good Afternoon and Happy Snowy April.

Please enjoy the pictures from our day!

Breakfast: Whole grain brown rice cakes with butter and cinnamon an pears.

Lunch: Cream cheese turkey roll ups, whole wheat bread, peas and banana.

Snack: Cheddar cheese slices and cheese crackers.

Wee Sprouts: Crisp carrots.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIullLAIdyFYHONoVy4ooA

Happy First Day of April!

Evie and Mack solved a mixture of addition and subtraction problems for their kindergarten sign in this morning. They had to identify whether the problem was addition or subtraction before beginning. Puff balls were made available if they needed manipulatives to solve the problem. Their confidence in solving problems under ten is quite high so some of problems worked with numbers under 20.

K.CA.1-2: Solve real world problems, objects, or drawings that involve addition and subtraction within 10. Demonstrate the equation (e.g., 5=3+2 and 5=4+1)

In K/PREK1 group, we read, ‘Caps For Sale’ before tackling subtraction problems! Each member got two cards where they had to say the problem aloud (five subtract three equals..) before trying to answer it. Some friends used their fingers as an aide in solving their problem.

K.CA.1-2: Solve real world problems, objects, or drawings that involve addition and subtraction within 10. Demonstrate the equation (e.g., 5=3+2 and 5=4+1)

Enjoy the pictures from the rest of our Friday!

Breakfast– Brown rice cakes with peanut butter and fresh pineapple.

Lunch– Homemade english muffin pizzas with shredded cheese/pepperoni, fresh oranges/pineapple/banana, and fresh carrots.

PM snack– Pretzels and string cheese.

Wee Sprout– Fresh peppers/carrots.

Have a wonderful weekend!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 4/1

Good Afternoon!

‘The Purpose Of Learning Is Joy’ just happened to be the first blog entry on Teacher Tom’s blog. As I started reading it, I wanted to read more. Two ideas stuck out to me specifically on this post. The first thought that jumped out to me was:

“We waste everyone’s time when we try to put a pin in learning, to assign a purpose to it. This is a concept that we adults often have a hard time comprehending, I think, this idea that not only is all learning deeply personal and individual, but it is also ultimately unknowable to anyone but the person whose curiosity and, therefore, thought is engaged.”

Just because a child can’t explain in detail what they learned, doesn’t mean they didn’t learn something. Learning is different to every single individual. What people find joy in is vastly unique to that individual.

“We are born to seek joy and learning brings us joy, thinking brings us joy, understanding brings us joy. To the degree that we’ve made learning hard work is the degree to which we cheat children of their joy.”

Learning, at this age, should be child driven. During our day, children are engaged in activities that bring them joy, that they connect to, and they find fulfilling.

Enjoy the pictures from our day: a day in which children were completely fulfilled and happy!

http://teachertomsblog.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-purpose-of-learning-is-joy.html

Breakfast– Whole Grain Cheerios with fresh strawberries.

Lunch– Brown rice with shredded pork, fresh pineapple/banana, and fresh carrots/cucumber/cherry tomatoes.

PM snack– Triscuits and peanuts.

Wee Sprout– Fresh carrots/cucumber.

Have a lovely night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 3/31

Good Afternoon.

Today is National Crayon Day!

“It is a day to celebrate the creation of crayons and the joy of coloring. The origin of crayons dates back to the 17th century. In those days, the original crayons were not made of wax. The colors in those early days, were more limited, and not as long lasting or durable.”  ~holidayinsights.com

We were all happy to sit at the table and color away. We did add in some markers, as friends really do prefer them over crayons. It was good to experience the beauty of the crayons though as well. 

Arthur has been working very hard on climbing up into the rocking chair. He has much determination and skill. He has mastered the skill and is very happy about it and pleased with himself.   YAY, Arthur!

Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios and apples.

Lunch: Whole grain brown rice with butter and red beans, mixed veggies and banana.

Snack: Pumpkin seeds and whole whet crackers.

Wee Sprouts: Fresh yellow pepper.

Have a fantastic night.

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIullK8ZyvQyTF3TLRZk3Q

Good Afternoon.

This morning our two littlest Wee Wee’s were playing peek-a-boo with me through the bars of the habi-trail structure. They both thought it was so funny. This is a great spot for playing peek-a-boo.

Friends had fun engaging in the sensory table today!

Paige also enjoyed getting her hair done as she was focused on the rice and bird seed mixture. 

Breakfast: Whole grain oatmeal with cinnamon and oranges.

Lunch: Farm fresh scrambled eggs with shredded cheese, whole wheat English muffins with butter, cucumbers and oranges.

Snack: Whole wheat tortilla with hummus.

Wee Sprouts: Cucumbers.

Have a lovely night.

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:   https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIullK4WsFmKla_-4Cqb3w

Good Afternoon!

Mack and Evie solved addition problems for their sign in. They had to count the configurations, write the number under each configuration, and add the numbers together! Not only did they work on number formation and addition but one to one correspondence as well.

K.CA.1-2: Solve real world problems, objects, or drawings that involve addition and subtraction within 10. Demonstrate the equation (e.g., 5=3+2 and 5=4+1)

In K/PREK1 group, we read, ‘What Do You Do With An Idea?’. We gathered in a circle after we read the book and each child was given an addition or subtraction problem. We read each word problem aloud and they had to write the two numbers in their equation. Some friends wrote the numbers by themselves while others traced dotted numbers.

A few children chose to try to add the numbers together in their head while others used counters as an aide.

K.CA.1-2: Solve real world problems, objects, or drawings that involve addition and subtraction within 10. Demonstrate the equation (e.g., 5=3+2 and 5=4+1)

Enjoy the pictures from the rest of our Wednesday!

Breakfast– Whole grain oatmeal with cinnamon and fresh strawberries.

Lunch– Farm fresh scrambled eggs with whole wheat tortilla, fresh cantaloupe, and fresh cucumber/carrots.

PM snack– Air popped popcorn with butter and fresh strawberries.

Wee Sprout– Fresh carrots/cucumber.

Have a great night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 3/30