Good Afternoon!

“Children often learn best from one another, and they seek to do so naturally.”

Today was a true representation of the benefits of multi-age classrooms. At any time during the year, the difference between our youngest and oldest child is about three years (give or take a little!). This allows for growth on both sides: younger children learning from their older peers and older peers learning how to lead and guide their younger peers.

A few days ago I shared that three of our new four year olds have joined PREK1 group with our three oldest kids in the class. Everyday after group time, they have the opportunity to journal. Our older kids have been journaling for quite some time, gaining skills on putting their thoughts to paper. During this time, our three new kiddos have been quietly watching their older peers journal, drawing their picture and then kid spelling their description afterwards.

It’s a fantastic, authentic way to learn from peers which is sometimes more meaningful than learning from teachers. That’s why our older children have such a crucial role in the classroom.

Hannah and William went around the classroom this morning with paper and clipboards, accessing the classrooms favorite color. Their younger peers watched as they created a chart and tally marks for everyone’s vote. Again, a wonderful authentic learning experience for our younger kiddos who trailed closely behind as they ventured around the classroom.

A few more benefits of multi-age classrooms:

– children can build secure relationships with peers and teachers while having more time to learn about each other’s needs.

– older children can naturally take on leadership roles, which can benefit both age groups.

– children and families can benefit from fewer transitions, which can be especially helpful for children who are anxious or have difficulty with change. For example, an infant who stays here through their preschool or kindergarten year would have two total classrooms in their early childhood career.

– foster a sense of community and encourage cooperative learning..

Breakfast– Whole grain cheerios with fresh strawberries.

Lunch– Brown rice with shredded beef, fresh cantaloupe/strawberries, and fresh green beans/cucumber.

PM snack– Wheat thin crackers with pepita seeds.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/green beans.

Have a lovely night!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-07-11

Good Afternoon!

This morning, our friends played with the pattern ramps and wooden cars/people. They worked on placing their wooden people in the car and then pushed them down the ramp. They watched as the cars went in different directions based on the pattern of their ramp.

We then made our way into the kitchen to finger paint. Our friends were given a small bowl with red, yellow, and blue paint. Miss Bekah read us the “Mouse Paint” book while we painted and mixed our colors on our paper.

Outside, our friends played in the sandbox and rode bikes up and down the hill. Two of our friends found different uses for small sticks: to engage with at the play house and to pretend to use as a tool for a haircut.

Breakfast:  Corn Chex cereal and fresh strawberries.

Lunch: Whole grain brown rice with shredded beef, cucumber, and fresh orange slices.

Afternoon Snack: Whole grain Wheat Thins crackers with peanut butter.

Wee Sprouts: Mini sweet peppers.

Have a great evening!

Tina and Rebekah

Link to pictures: 2024-07-11

Happy Rainy Wednesday!

This morning Miss Bekah read us several books or we read independently on the reading step.  After reading the Potty book by Leslie Patricelli, the last page is a picture of different pairs of underwear and we all love picking out the pair that we like.

We then headed into the kitchen to engage with loose parts.  The loose part items were dominos, pom-poms, a wooden cup and bowl, a spoon and tongs.  Several of us worked at using our spoon or tongs to pick  up a pom-pom and place it into the bowl or cup.

Since it was raining this morning, we got down our sensory tubes and shaker instruments that mimic the sound of rain.  We enjoyed hearing the sound as we turned them back and forth in the tubes or shook our shaker instruments.  We also sang and listened to the song, Rain, Rain Go Away while engaging in the activity.

We then engaged with  our object permanence boxes as we watched our ball or coin disappear after we put it in the hole or slot and then reappear in the drawer or tray.

Miss Bekah then went to the basement and found some finger puppets and we enjoyed exploring them.  We worked to put them on our fingers or watched as Miss Tina showed us what do to do with them by putting them on her fingers.

Breakfast:  Overnight oatmeal with cinnamon/sugar mixture and fresh plum slices.

Lunch:  Farm fresh scrambled eggs, fresh strawberries, green bell pepper slices and whole grain wheat bread.

Afternoon Snack:  White corn tortilla chips with hummus.

Wee Sprouts:  Cucumbers.

Have a wonderful evening!

Rebekah and Tina

Link to pictures: 2024-07-10

Happy Wednesday!

This morning was wet and soggy outside, but inside we enjoyed all kinds of engaging activates! 

We played some dancing games to get our bodies moving! We played “Freeze Dance”, “The Floor is Lava” and “Musical Squares” .

Next we created an obstacle course practicing balancing, hopping and crab walking.

Many of us explored colored play dough and all of its imaginative play possibilities!  

…Others used Legos to build a “Spooky Haunted House!”

…still others explored creative expression with paint in the art center!  What a productive day!

Breakfast: Oatmeal with cinnamon and fresh strawberries.

Lunch: Farm fresh scrambled egg roll ups on whole wheat tortilla, fresh watermelon/plums, and cucumbers/green beans.

PM Snack: Air popped popcorn with raisins.

Wee Sprouts: Fresh cucumbers and bell pepper slices.

Have a wonderful, and hopefully drier afternoon!

~Wee Friends Teachers

Link to Pictures:2024-07-10

Good afternoon!

This morning, our friends asked for the “Bear Hunt” song.  We chose a stuffed bear from the basket and then marched around the front area of the classroom with them as we listened to the song.

We made our way into the kitchen to engage with playdough and used a variety of tools. Our friends used plastic egg halves, cookie cutters, and craft sticks to manipulate the playdough into different shapes and objects.

We went outside to take advantage of the nicer weather before it rained. Our friends used their imaginative play skills while pretending to cook with weeds in the outdoor kitchen. They also rode the teeter totters individually or side by side with a friend.

Breakfast: Whole grain Kix cereal with fresh orange slices.

Lunch: Whole grain wheat tortillas with peanut butter, 1/2 stick of mozzarella cheese,fresh green beans, and watermelon.

Afternoon Snack: Whole grain wheat cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese.

Wee Sprout: Green bell pepper.

Have a wonderful evening!

Tina and Rebekah

Link to pictures: 2024-07-09

Good Afternoon!

It was an imaginative day at Wee Friends! Some of our big kids had the idea to play Pirates!  We got out all of the pirate dress up we could find as well as a large pirate treasure chest!  The group played all morning.  We had to add a couple of trays at the round table filled with pirate treasure since there was not enough room in housekeeping to support all the pirates in the classroom!

In the art center some friends continued with collage.  They added some stamps so they could stamp the names of the people they were making their artwork for.  There were several for Moms and Dad’s.  Fun and kid spelling can go hand in hand!

There was a strong interest in books today…even more than usual!  There was a teacher in the reading area almost all day! 

It was also a day of personal growth.  Many of our friends pursued their own development using all of the tools for play available in the classroom.  This developmental progress ranged from cooperative play to gross motor skills!

Breakfast– Kix and banana.

Lunch– Peanut butter on whole wheat bread/tortilla, fresh watermelon, and fresh cucumber/pepper/carrots.

PM snack– Whole wheat bagel with cream cheese.

Wee Sprout– Fresh pepper/carrot/cucumber.

Have a wonderful night.

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-07-09

Happy Monday!

A few friends moved into PREK1 group today which was exciting! Katherine, William, and Hannah were extremely thorough when explaining our procedures in group time as well as journal time. We read, ‘The Gruffalo’ in group which elicited several comments about the characters and their intentions.

Our garden has been growing over break and many of us were thrilled to discover delicious snacks growing on our garden plants!  We enjoyed munching fresh picked snap peas and green beans during our time outdoors today!

We spent time in the art center this morning exploring colored fabric bits as collage material.  These kinds of open ended explorations allow for the development of creative problem solving, focus and overall executive function in the brain.  All this development is happening quietly in the background as a child is emersed in the flow of joyful creativity!

Breakfast– Whole wheat toast with peanut butter and banana.

Lunch– Whole wheat pasta with shredded turkey, fresh cantaloupe/banana, and fresh carrots/cucumber/pepper.

PM snack– Whole milk yogurt with graham crackers.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/pepper.

Have a lovely night!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-07-08

Happy Monday and welcome back from summer vacation.  We hope everyone had a great break.

Today we welcomed a new friend and family to our classroom and Wee Friends.  We are so happy you all joined us.

We were busy getting back into the routines and engaging in our favorite activities in the classroom.  Charlotte and Milo sat on the reading step to engage in a book, Eliza engaged with the loose part colored bucket people and bowls at the table, Eleanor climbed on the habi-trail, a friend built with Magna-Tiles and another friend engaged with a shape house.

We then engaged in making beautiful sounds on the pianos and xylophones together. After we were done with the instruments, Miss Bekah got down our silk dancing scarves and we danced with them to the song, Shake Your Sillies Out.

We then headed outside to get some fresh air and engage in a variety of our favorite activities.

Breakfast:  Whole grain wheat bread toasted with buttery spread and cinnamon/sugar mixture and fresh apple slices.

Lunch:  Whole grain wheat penne pasta with shredded beef, bananas and cooked broccoli.

Afternoon Snack:  Whole milk yogurt and graham crackers.

Wee Sprouts:  Cucumbers.

Have a great evening!

Rebekah and Tina

Link to pictures:  2024-07-08

Happy Friday!

It’s that time of year when our older kiddo’s move onto their next adventure and today, we say goodbye to two of our older preschool friends, Nesta and Adrian.

Both Nesta and Adrian started their Wee Friends journeys over at Wee Wee so needless to say, both of their families have been a crucial and intricate part of Wee Friends for several years! We hate saying goodbye but we are so thankful for these two and their families for all they’ve added to Wee Friends during their time here!

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Being the last day at Wee Friends for Nesta and Adrian, I asked them if there was a special activity that they wanted to do either that they enjoyed from their time here or something they hadn’t done.  Nesta said she wanted to make things with leaves from outside because she had really enjoyed that activity.  Adrian said he wanted to paint.  The two suddenly realized the two activities could be combined to make something new!  Everyone who participated in Nesta and Adrian’s activity was excited to come up with ways they could combine paint and natural materials from our outdoor space.  Here is what they came up with!

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

Lunch– Homemade english muffin pizzas, fresh watermelon/banana, and fresh cucumber/pepper.

PM snack– Pretzels and string cheese.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/pepper.

Have a wonderful summer break!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-06-21

Happy Friday!

Today we are saying goodbye to two of our classroom friends, Ben and Eden. We are going to miss you both so much and wish you well on your next adventure!

Please enjoy some pictures from our last day before summer break!

Breakfast:  Whole grain brown rice cakes with cream cheese/peanut butter (child’s choice) and bananas.

Lunch:  Whole grain English muffin pizzas with marinara and shredded mild cheddar cheese, fresh watermelon and fresh orange bell peppers.

Afternoon Snack:  Pretzels and mozzarella cheese stick.

Wee Sprouts:  Cucumbers.

Have a great weekend and summer vacation and we will see you July 8th.

Rebekah and Jena

Link to pictures: 2024-06-21