Happy Friday!

This morning several of us were busy on the habi-trail.  We worked on our tracing skills using our finger to trace the variety of tracing boards along the wall of the habi-trail.  We also worked on moving our beads through the mazes on the wall maze board.

We then headed into the kitchen to paint with our watercolor cakes.  We used a variety of colors and worked on getting enough water on our brush to make the color wet enough for it to be vibrant on our paper.  We also worked together to create a painting with another friend.

We then listened to Miss Bekah read us the book we chose or read independently, built with the hollow blocks and worked on our fine motor skills with the object permanence boxes.

Breakfast:  Whole grain brown rice cakes with cream cheese and fresh oranges.

Lunch:  Turkey lunch meat, whole grain wheat flatbread, fresh cantaloupe and corn/peas.

Afternoon Snack:  Pretzels, mild cheddar block cheese slices and fresh mango.

Wee Sprouts:  Cucumbers.

Have a great weekend!

Rebekah and Tina

Link to pictures: 2024-04-12

Good Afternoon!

We wrapped up our week in PREK1 by talking about fruits and vegetables that are grown on a tree, vine, and on the ground! After we read, ‘The Rainbow Fish’, we completed our list of animal classification groups focusing on birds and amphibians! Throughout the week, we’ve add a ton of animals and really started to look at animals physical characteristics and what makes a certain animal unique!

This morning we made a large animal classification chart on the floor with each of the categories that we learned about this week.  We sorted a large basket of animals into the correct columns under the headings: Amphibian, reptile, mammal, fish, bird, Arthropod and Mollusk.  The kids worked together, helping each other problem solve as they sorted. A couple of animals that were both interesting and a bit confusing as the kids sorted, were swimming birds (penguins) and swimming mammals (whales).  We had to go through our list of animal attributes so we could properly classify them.

Everyone enjoyed playing at the “animal habitat” table after todays sorting activity.  We explored a forest floor, an ocean, a desert and an arctic habitat.

In the art center, several older friends decided to make puppets and put on a late morning puppet show for the young kids in the class!  Everyone enjoyed the show!

Here are some of our PREK2 Journals from this week: Amelia “Mommy”,  Ryan “A bat”,  A wrote “Mommy, Achen, Me and baby sister”, Hannah “A Crown”.

Breakfast– Rice cakes with cream cheese and fresh mango.

Lunch– Hummus on whole wheat tortilla, fresh oranges/cantaloupe, and fresh cucumber/pepper/tomatoes.

PM snack– Goldfish and cheddar sliced cheese.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/pepper.

Have a lovely weekend!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-04-12

Good Afternoon!

We started our morning by engaging with some of our favorite activities like playing in the kitchen, building with Magna-tiles, and rocking in the rocking chair.

We then made our way to the kitchen for some sensory water play. We used soapy water and sponges to clean some of our housekeeping toys. Our friends filled their cups with water and poured them out into the bin or into a bowl.

We brought down the sensory tubes for our friends to play with. Our friends did such a great job of taking turns and asking their friend “can I have a turn with it?.”

Breakfast:  Whole grain Cheerios and fresh oranges/mangoes.

Lunch:  Whole grain brown rice with red kidney beans, orange bell pepper and apple slices.

Afternoon Snack: Sunflower seeds with Triscuits crackers.

Wee Sprouts:  Cucumbers.

Have a terrific evening!

Tina and Rebekah

Link to pictures: 2023-04-11

Good Afternoon!

PREK1 kids came to sign in where they had to decipher exactly what a plant needs to survive. We talked about the words need and want. Out of the six notecard options, only two weren’t needs: lemonade and the moon!

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

In PREK1 group, we read, ‘The Umbrella’ written by Jan Brett. It’s a great book with vibrant pictures that introduce several unique animals such as a kinkajour, tapir, and a quetzal! Since we’re talking about plants and animals this week, it seemed like the perfect fit!

We continued to add to our list today, focusing on insects and fish. We added several to each group! Tomorrow, we’ll tackle the last two classification groups: birds and amphibians.

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

At the round table we were challenged with an animal classification activity.  The older kids have been talking about animal classification in group so they tried sorting a basket of animals into the groups they are learning: Amphibians, Reptiles and Mammals…but two new wild cards were thrown in.  Yesterday there was sone confusion about how to classify sea shells so we got to learn about a group of animals called Mollusks.  We learned that octopuses, clams and snails all belong to this group of animals.  We also learned that mollusks have no skeleton so their bodies are very soft.  Some of them, like snails and clams, build shells around themselves for protection.  There was also talk of Kangaroos and curiosity about how they are not mammals, so we learned about Marsupials.  We learned that this group of animals carries young in a pouch.

After we sorted our animals into groups, we talked about the habitat where these animals might live.  We got to sort them into wet or dry habitats.  We learned that many groups of animals had species that lived in water and others that lived on land.  For instance, many reptiles only live on land but crocodiles spend a lot of time in the water…and of course we played with our animals once they were in their habitats!

Breakfast– Chex and banana.

Lunch– Brown rice with shredded chicken, fresh pear/mango/orange/banana, and fresh pepper/cucumber.

PM snack– Trail mix with Sun/Pumpkin seeds, peanuts and raisins

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/pepper.

Have a lovely night.

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures:2024-04-11

Happy Wednesday!

We were very busy today! We started our day by getting out bodies moving! Several friends requested Listen and Move by Greg & Steve, as well as the Freeze Dance song. We used scarves to dance with as we followed the directions of the song!

Then, we switched gears and enjoyed completing some puzzles! We had several puzzles to choose from including puzzles with shapes, animals, and cars.  The older friends worked to match half of the piece with the corresponding animals or cars.  The younger friends matched their car piece together with the match on their board and worked their fine motor skills to turn the piece in the correct position to fit.

Afterwards, we headed outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. Friends engaged in several activities such as teeter tottering with friends, riding our bikes down the hill, playing with trucks in the rock area, and sandbox play!

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

Lunch:  Farm fresh scrambled eggs with shredded cheddar cheese, fresh apple and cucumber slices and whole grain wheat tortillas.

Afternoon Snack:  Whole grain wheat bread toasted with peanut butter.

Wee Sprouts:  Yellow bell peppers.

Have a wonderful evening!

Rebekah and Jena

Link to pictures: 2024-04-10

Good Afternoon!

We continued talking about plants and animals in PREK1 group today. For sign in, children came to the board, found their name and animal description, and had to come up with an animal that matched the description! William came to the board and after reading his description, said that a shark would fit!

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

This excitement about plants and animals in PREK1 group led us outside on a nature walk today. We stopped at every weed, tree, plant, flower, or animal to write and draw about it. We only walked the block but were actively engaged for 45 minutes while on our walk! It was a fantastic authentic learning experience for these kiddos!

This morning our older friends worked on a curriculum based project that the younger kids could interact with.  They worked together to make a classification chart for plants and animals.  They drew examples of plants and animals in each category so their younger friends would have help understanding what went where.  After they were finished we put the chart on the round table with an assortment of plant and animal objects.  The younger kids worked together to sort them into the correct categories.  Some objects took a little thought, like a pinecone or a stick.  The one that stumped several kids was the sea shell.  It had a plant-like appearance to them.  When we remembered what builds and lives inside a shell however, it became clear how to classify it. 

Outside several kids worked on cleaning up the garden.  While we were all clearing debris we were surprised to discover a nest of baby bunnies in one of the raised bed boxes.  We took turns peeking at the bunnies in the nest from a distance.

PREK2: In group we leaned bee buzzing breath as we calmed our bodies.  We read the story “Up and Down in the Dirt” which talked about what happens under and on top of the garden soil through the seasons.  At the end we picked a a drawing of a branch and counted the leaves.

Breakfast: Oatmeal with cinnamon and fresh cantaloupe.

Lunch: Farm fresh egg casserole with cheese, fresh mangos/bananas, and peppers/cucumbers.

PM Snack: Air popped popcorn with butter and raisins.

Wee Sprouts: Fresh peppers and cucumbers.

Enjoy the rest of the afternoon!

~Wee Friends Teachers

Link to Photos:2024-04-10

Good afternoon!

This morning, our friends played with baby dolls. They would wrap their babies in blankets and feed them their bottles.

Our friends then took turns playing with the pop-up people. They worked on matching the people to the slot with the same color, which helps us develop our fine motor and hand-eye coordination skills.

It was another beautiful day outside for all of our favorite activities. Our friends rode trucks, bikes, and the teeter-totters. We also enjoyed drawing with markers at the art table and playing with construction vehicles in the rock area.

Breakfast:  Kix cereal and fresh cantaloupe.

Lunch: Whole wheat flatbread with refried beans and shredded cheddar cheese, fresh orange slices, and peas.

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

Wee Sprout: Orange bell peppers.

Have a wonderful afternoon!

Tina and Rebekah

Link to pictures: 2024-04-09

Good Afternoon!

PREK1 kiddos started their Tuesday off with a sign in activity about the parts of a plant. There was a drawing on the sign in sheet of a plant with six lines where words were going to go and their job was to grab a card from the bottom, read it, and find where it goes. For example, Adrian pulled the card that had the word ‘roots’ on it. He found where the roots were and taped the word next to the roots while we talked about why roots are important to a plant.

William kept saying, “I want you to draw me a flower like that!”—instead, a few real plants were put out at the table and art easel to use as a guide. William and Adrian grabbed paper and a utensil to work on drawing their own flower!

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

We read, ‘The Tiny Seed’ in group which played off of our sign in activity this morning for PREK1 friends. Afterwards, we talked about six animal classification groups. We talked about the characteristics of each and focused on one specific group today: mammals! Children were quick to raise their hand and share an example for me to write in the mammal group. A few friends shared that they were thinking about animals at the zoo who are mammals.

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

PRK2: After all of the activities this morning there was a lot of interest in the older kid’s “plants and animals” curriculum.  So Today at group, we classified plants and animals.  We each got to pick a picture from the tray, then identify and sort it as a plant or animal on our group chart.  Clearly animals were the more popular members on the tree of life:)

Hannah came in this morning and before she got her coat off, announced that she had ideas for some eclipse projects.  As she described the ideas, they sounded strangely similar to some projects we did yesterday.  I asked if she happened to have looked at the blog yesterday.  She said yes she had and she wanted to do those projects! Nesta chimed in saying she would also like to do those projects having been out viewing the eclipse as well.  So after breakfast we got to work!

Breakfast– Puffins cereal with fresh pineapple.

Lunch– Peanut butter on whole wheat flatbread, fresh cantaloupe/oranges/pineapple, and fresh pepper/cucumber.

PM snack– Whole wheat bagel with cream cheese.

Wee Sprout– Fresh pepper/cucumber.

Have a lovely evening!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-04-09

Happy Eclipse Monday!

This morning the friends were busy in the play kitchen cooking, washing the fruits and vegetables before putting them in bowls or on plates.

Charlotte used a scarf from housekeeping to play peek-a-boo and rocked in the rocking chair with Eleanor.

We then headed into the kitchen to paint, using Q-tips and orange and red tempera paint.  We have read the book, Mouse Paint many times,  so Miss Bekah asked her older friends, “What color paint do we make when we mix our red and yellow paint together?.”  It wasn’t long before I heard Ben say, “orange”.  The friends loved using their Q-tip to make circles, along with squiggles and thin lines all over their papers.

We then headed outside the enjoy the beautiful morning weather.  We dug in the sandbox, pushed and rode the bikes down the hill, dug in the rock area with the excavator, our shovel or used our hand to pick up the rocks.

Breakfast:  Whole grain wheat bread toasted with peanut butter and fresh apple slices.

Lunch:  Whole grain wheat penne pasta with red kidney beans, fresh cantaloupe and yellow bell peppers.

Afternoon Snack:  Whole milk yogurt and graham crackers.

Wee Sprouts:  Cucumbers.

Have a great evening!

Rebekah and Tina

Link to pictures:  2024-04-08

Happy Monday!

This week, we’re focusing on animals and plants! Today, we started talking about the classification groups of animals. We had two friends in PREK1 who were able to correctly place their animal into the group after hearing a quick description and a few examples of animals in each classification group.

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

We devoted the morning to learning about the solar eclipse and trying out some projects to visually enhance our understanding.  We talked about how the moon will pass directly in front of the sun today blocking it from view.  I used some balls to demonstrate how this will happen.  The older kids worked on a science project creating the eclipse with paper.  Adrian took special interest.  After the project he made several drawings to help him work out exactly what was happening with the sun, moon and earth!

We created a drawing project that made the effect of a total eclipse and how it looks in the sky when the moon completely covers the sun.  We used a paper circle and rubbed chalk around the outside.  When we removed the circle, we could see our eclipse!

Breakfast– Whole wheat toast with butter and fresh oranges.

Lunch– Whole wheat pasta fresh tomatoes/fresh basil/shredded cheese, fresh pineapple/pears, and fresh cucumber/pepper.

PM snack– Whole milk yogurt with granola.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/pepper.

Have a lovely night!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-04-08