Good Afternoon!

Our classroom was a productive and busy place this morning. Children moved their bodies throughout the environment and chose activities based on their current interest.

Chloe and Grady as well as other peers stationed themselves at the circle table where they categorized items onto mats. We talked about the similarities and differences of the items on each mat. Chloe quickly commented, “Oh! That shoe doesn’t go here!”

The art table was a crowded place as children used markers, stencils, and scissors to make individual creations. A lot of our children are working on their grips while holding a writing utensil. When they’re done, they either write their own name or have a teacher help them! Today, Ruby came up to a teacher and said, “I did my R and U but can you help me with my B before I write my Y?”

Our reading interest is high everyday. Children love diving into a good book with either just a teacher or a group of their peers. This morning, we read a variety of stories ranging from fiction to non fiction!

We went outside for a little while this morning before the rain came but once it started raining, we came inside and settled in before lunch. The art easel was used by several children. Painting rainbows seems to be a current theme with a few of our girls!

“Every student can learn; just not on the same day or in the same way.”

-George Evans

Breakfast– Whole grain oatmeal with honey and PPC banana.

Lunch– Scrambled eggs with shredded cheese, whole wheat bread, PPC cantaloupe, and PPC snap peas/tomatoes/cucumber.

PM snack– Blue corn chips and hummus.

Wee Sprout– PPC snap peas and cucumbers.

Have a lovely night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 5/9

Good Afternoon!

“It is before the age of 7 years when children desperately need to have a multitude of whole-body sensory experiences on a daily basis in order to develop strong bodies and minds. This is best done outside where the sense are fully ignited and young bodies are challenged by the uneven and unpredictable, ever-changing terrain”, said occupational therapist Angela Hanscom from the article titled ‘5 Reasons Outdoor Unstructured Play is Important for Preschoolers’.

We’re lucky here at Wee Friends. Our days do not involve a strict schedule so on any given day, we may go outside at 10:00 am or 10:45 am. Children guide the curriculum and ultimately our day. Thankfully, the weather has taken a turn for the better and we’ve been spending quite a bit of time outside.

Not only is outside play crucial to child development and our philosophy here at Wee Friends but the important part is having our outdoor time be ‘unstructured’. We don’t go outside and give orders or directions as to what children should be doing. This is a time for children to make their own, safe, and appropriate choices for their own body. There are children who could search for bugs for two hours straight while other children enjoy riding bikes, being involved in the sand area, or imaginative play with peers. At the end of the day, each and every child is leaving here with a meaningful learning experience in our outside environment.

I’ve attached a couple of articles that support outdoor play at this age.

http://www.healthworldeducation.org/industry-trends/item/284-5-reasons-outdoor-unstructured-play-is-important-for-preschoolers

http://www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/2010/outdoor-play

“because little nature lovers grow into big nature lovers.”

Breakfast– Corn chex and PPC banana.

Lunch– Refried beans on whole wheat tortilla, fresh honeydew melon/watermelon/blueberries, and PPC cantaloupe/snap peas.

PM snack– Whole wheat cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese and PPC strawberries.

Wee Sprout– PPC cauliflower/tomatoes/snap peas.

Have a fantastic night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 5/8

Good morning!

Here are the picture links from yesterday!

Have a great day!

-Mindy

WF 5/7 FARM

WF 5/7

Happy Monday!

Here are a few pictures from our day at Wee Friends as well as the pre-k/k farm trip.

Breakfast– Whole wheat toast with cream cheese and PPC pears.

Lunch– Whole wheat pasta with chicken and butter, banana, and fresh carrots.

PM snack– A mixture of fresh fruit and string cheese.

Wee Sprout– Fresh carrots.

Have a lovely night!

-Mindy

The site that creates the picture link is down. I’ll post it as soon as it’s working again. Thanks!

Happy Sunshiny Monday! We hope you all had a fabulous weekend.

Today as we entered the classroom we were excited to see a brand new bright and very vibrant fish tank. The fish seem to love their new environment and we love watching them happily swim all around. Thank you, Tami.  

After the fish tank was explored for a while, friends decided the colorful puff balls were needing some attention, so we had fun being engaged with them. Throwing, rolling, placing them into the small bowls and putting them on one another’s head was all apart of the fun!

Then, we headed outside to soak up the abundance of sunshine! According to, magnificentmemagnificentyou.com, “Sunlight helps the body’s production of vitamin D, which is a very important compound for development of children. Vitamin D supports healthy bones and brain.”

Breakfast: Whole wheat/grain cinnamon raisin bagels with cream cheese and oranges.

Lunch: Whole wheat pasta with butter and shredded chicken, corn and fresh PPC kiwi slices.

Snack: Whole milk yogurt with graham crackers.

Wee Sprout: Corn.

Have an awesome evening!

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljJVF-xPaOEjGLnV0Uw

Good Afternoon!

Imagination: the faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts of external objects not present to the sense.

Imagination would be the best word to describe our day.

This morning, Maddie and a few of her peers used the pegs on the peg boards but they weren’t just pegs; they were popsicles! The popsicles had several different flavors that corresponded with the colors. For example, the green peg was avocado flavor on Maddie’s popsicle but on Maxwell’s popsicle, the green tasted with jalapenos! They made up popsicles for their peers and taste tested them before sharing them.

The rest of our morning was full of activities that grabbed our attention such as the art table and building with magnatiles.

We continued our bug journey as we searched mostly low for bugs ranging from rollie pollies to caterpillars to worms. After children find a bug or two, they’ve been making a habitat in their bug jar.

A group of our younger friends made up a game today. Here’s how you play:

Step 1: A friend pretends to be a cat that’s asleep. Chloe just happened to play the role perfectly!

Step 2: Friends walk up to her quietly and try to wake up her. But when she’s woken up, she’s becomes quite unhappy and roars at them.

Step 3: Run away screaming!

This game kept our attention for the last hour of our outside time and drew in more friends each round that the game was played!

“Almost all creativity involves purposeful play.”

-Abraham Maslow

Breakfast– Rice cakes with peanut butter and banana.

Lunch– Refried bean and shredded cheese on whole wheat flatbread, PPC pears, and PPC cauliflower/fresh carrots.

PM snack– Goldfish with string cheese.

Wee Sprout– PPC cherry tomatoes and cucumber.

Have a fantastic weekend!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 5/4

Happy Friday! We hope you all had a wonderful week.  

Please Note: WF is CLOSED Monday, May 28th in observance of Memorial Day. 

Enjoy the pictures from our day.

 

Breakfast: Whole wheat toast with sunflower butter and fresh PPC pears.

Lunch: Whole wheat/grain flat bread with refried beans and cheese, broccoli and fresh PPC banana.

Snack: Whole grain cheese crackers and mozzarella cheese sticks.

Wee Sprouts: Broccoli.

Have a wonderful weekend, we’ll see you Monday. 

Marty.

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljJRD03D5mX80VXaG4Q

Good Afternoon!

The welcome activity sparked interest this morning as children moved colored counters throughout the space provided on the wooden trays. Ruby picked out all of the blue counters and arranged them onto the tray before she started counting them. Franklin and a peer lined them around the perimeter of the tray and used their index finger to count. Chloe used the counters to form a square! There are no directions so children take the activity in the any appropriate direction they choose!

We got new sensory squares that we put down on the music rug. Children explored them with their hands and feet. When pressure is applied to the square, the colored water inside the square moves. We found it very mesmerizing!

We combined our science FAB for the week that focuses on how things move such as slow and fast AND the way we move our bodies!

This attracted quite a lot of friends so we turned it into a gross motor game. Everyone formed a line and completed the action that was given. For instance, I said, “March on the squares.”, or “Slither like a snack across the squares”. The space became a little tight so we switched up our game and started playing ‘follow the leader’!

Science: K.3.2 Investigate that things moves in different ways, such as fast, slow, etc.

We formed a line and different instructions were given. We moved our bodies quickly (march and jog for example) while our slower actions were crawling and tip toeing. We noticed that our faster actions made us a little tired! After playing this game for a while, we moved our bodies over to the music rug where we continued to get exercise by dancing to music. We played three different songs; If You’re Happy And You Know It, The Hokey Pokey, and Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.

After getting all of our wiggles out, children went to various quieter activities where they were really able to focus and interact with their peers.

The teachers have really been into infused water (cucumber and lemon specifically). Several friends have been inquiring about it so today, one of our pitchers were turned into a lemon/cucumber water pitcher!

“We call this vacation water because it tastes like vacation. YUM!”

NEW BUG CONTAINERS!

(the pictures explain what we did outside this morning)…

Breakfast– Kashi Blueberry Clusters and PPC mango.

Lunch– Brown rice with shredded beef, PPC cantaloupe/pears, and PPC cauliflower.

PM snack– Wheat thins and sunflower seeds.

Wee Sprout– PPC cauliflower/fresh carrots.

Have a great night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 5/3

Good afternoon! We hope you are having a delightful Thursday.

Today we were happily engaged in the wonderful outdoor world and all of its wetness. Friends love being outside, but when it’s wet it is even better! There is a more intense sensorial experience that our friends LOVE! The sand, the grass, the bushes and pea gravel all have a different feel to them that gives a more exciting sensory experience. Plus we can’t forget… dumping all the water from the buckets and cars/trucks. Now THAT’S FUN!!!

In the Infant/Toddler classroom, we have the joy of watching our infants achieve many fun milestones. Zoe is a pre-walker and has now begun pulling herself up onto the round table and walking around it. We bet she will be a walking little lady soon.

Breakfast: Whole grain Kix and fresh PPC banana.

Lunch: Whole grain rice with shredded beef, corn and fresh PPC banana.

Snack: Pretzels with Block cheddar cheese.

Wee Sprouts: Corn.

Have a wonderful night!

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljJNYYbUALQXzSjo_9A

Good morning!

Here are the picture links from this week.

Have a great day!

-Mindy

WF 5/2

WF 5/1

WF 4/30

WF 4/30 FARM