Good Afternoon!

To kick off our Wednesday, PREK1 group members came to sign in where we worked with capacity. They had four glasses or jars that they had to work with. They were asked to place them in order based on how much liquid they thought the glass or jar could hold. They started with the one that would hold the least to the most.

Later on in PREK1 group, we read ‘The Grouchy Ladybug’. Very quickly, friends caught on to the trend that was occurring with the animals that were being introduced on each page. Each animal that the grouchy ladybug was meeting was bigger and longer than the last animal. Hannah quickly raised her hand and shared, “The animals are getting bigger and that’s why the pages keep getting bigger!”. As each animal gets bigger, the pages do get bigger to accommodate for the bigger animal!—love the connection made!

K.M.1: Make direct comparisons of the length, capacity, weight, and temperature of objects, and recognize which object is shorter, longer, taller, lighter, heavier, warmer, cooler, or holds more.

Today we continued our ice investigation given continued class interest in ice.  We set out a large tray of ice blocks along with jars of table salt.  Five volunteers began to sprinkle salt into the ice blocks and observing what happened.  As the salt melted its way through the ice, it began to form textures and tunnels.  Once this happened we used eye droppers to add colored water which made the tunnels visible and created beautiful visual effects.  Everyone was extremely engaged and fascinated by the effects of the salt on the ice.  These types of experiences built on existing interest help to open the door to the deep wonder which later fuels both creative thinking and scientific innovation. 

PREK2: Today we read the story “Brown Bear Brown Bear”.  We all practiced saying the rhyming lines of the story together.  Afterward we tried to recall our favorite animal from the story.

Breakfast– Oatmeal with banana.

Lunch– Farm fresh hard boiled eggs, whole wheat flatbread, fresh oranges/pineapple, and fresh snap peas/cucumber/pepper.

PM snack– Air popped popcorn with raisins.

Wee Sprout– Fresh snap peas/pepper/cucumber.

Have a lovely night!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-02-28

Good Afternoon!

This morning when it started snowing, several of us went to the windows to watch the snow fall.  After watching for a bit, we got out our snowballs to throw and stack to make a snowman.

We then headed into the kitchen to engage in the moon sand table since it resembles the snow we were watching fall from the sky.  We used our scoops to fill our containers and explored the animals that were in it.

Breakfast:  Overnight Oatmeal with cinnamon/sugar mixture and fresh pineapple.

Lunch: Farm fresh scrambled eggs, fresh blueberries/bananas, cucumber, and whole grain wheat bread toast with earth balance spread.

Afternoon Snack:  Blue corn chips and refried beans.

Wee Sprout: Yellow bell pepper.

Have a great evening!

Rebekah and Jena

Link to pictures: 2024-02-28

Good Afternoon!

It was a science oriented day of learning at Wee Friends!

First thing this morning we had a fly get into the house which turned out to be THE area of interest for many of the kids.  No one could think of anything else, so we turned it into a learning opportunity and studied it.  We were able to capture the fly at the window and get it into a jar.  We observed its color, how many legs it had and we were able to classify it into its proper Class (Insecta).  Several friends chose to make an observational drawing of the fly. 

In the art center we continued thinking about making comparisons between extremes like hot and cold as we created ice paintings.  We noticed that as we moved the ice across the warm paper, it began to melt and out marks became more fluid.  William and Adrian took a deeper interest in the melting process.  After they made their paintings, they continued experimenting.  They set three pieces of colored ice on their paper and observed the melting process.  Next they wanted to try it outside in the sun and see what happened.  After observing this, William had the idea to try shading the ice, then removing the shade to see if there was a change.  Given such strong interest in the melting process, we will be trying a salt/ice experiment tomorrow to keep the enthusiasm going!

Several friends experimented with ice melting in the sensory bin.  Adding color to ice makes the melting process very visible.  Several friends were excited that they could make the ice stick together under certain conditions.  They tried many times to recreate the phenomenon, but to no avail. 

Breakfast- Chex and fresh oranges/pineapple.

Lunch- Peanut butter sandwiches on whole wheat bread, cheddar block cheese,  fresh pineapple/banana, and fresh pepper/snap peas/cucumber.

PM snack- Whole wheat bagel with butter and cinnamon.

Wee Sprout- Fresh pepper/snap peas/cucumber.

Have a wonderful night.

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to Photos: 2024-02-27

Happy Sunny and warm Tuesday!

This morning we all explored wooden loose parts in the kitchen.  On our tray we had shapes, animals and people.  We stacked our shapes together and stood our people on top of our stack of shapes.

We then headed outside to enjoy another beautiful day!  Dax was watering the planter, Eliza filled the 4-circle shape piece with sand,  Eden held hands with her brother Adrian to go down the slide together, Eleanor rode on the teeter totter and another friend scooped a big scoop of sand with his shovel.

Breakfast:  Kix cereal and fresh blueberries.

Lunch: Hummus on whole grain wheat tortillas, fresh pineapple and red bell peppers.

Afternoon Snack: Whole grain wheat bagels with peanut butter.

Wee Sprouts: Cucumbers.

Have a great evening!

Rebekah and Jena

Link to pictures: 2024-02-27

Good Afternoon!

In our curriculum this week we are learning about comparisons.  Today during our welcome activity we talked about this idea as we compared the temperature of the objects on our tray.  We talked about other ways the objects compared like being soft or hard.  Nesta noticed that her cold objects were also attracted to her magnet while the soft objects are not.  We talked about how she had discovered a “correlation” on her tray.  This may not hold true for everything but when we find correlations we are noticing a connection that we can test through experimentation. 

We spent much of the morning outdoors enjoying the wonderful weather!

Breakfast– Whole wheat toast with butter and fresh oranges.

Lunch– Whole wheat pasta with shredded beef/fresh tomatoes/basil grown in our classroom, fresh pineapple/kiwi, and fresh cucumber/pepper.

PM snack– Whole milk yogurt with fresh pineapple/watermelon.

Wee Sprout– Fresh pepper/cucumber.

Have a great night!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures:2024-02-26

Happy Sunny Monday!

Before heading outside to enjoy the rising temperatures, we engaged in tons of activities.  We were grabbing our bears to go on a bear hunt, exploring dress-up clothes and accessories, playing musical instruments and making food in the play kitchen.

The rest of the morning was spent outside.  We enjoyed riding bikes, sandbox play and playing with a variety of animals and sea shells.

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

Lunch: Whole grain wheat penne pasta with shredded pork, fresh orange slices, and cucumbers.

Afternoon Snack:  Whole milk yogurt and fresh blueberries.

Wee Sprouts:  Mini sweet bell peppers.

Have a great evening!

Rebekah and Jena

Link to pictures: 2024-02-26

Good afternoon!

This morning we laid out a variety of experimental art materials for everyone to find creative ways to use.  We talked about how we can make flowers and that idea took off!  Everyone wanted to make them!  A group of older friends started a “flower shop” in the housekeeping area and sold them to friends! An interest in flag making crept up as well and several friends added a next door flag shop!

Breakfast: Chex cereal with bananas

Lunch: Brown rice with chicken and fresh cantaloupe, pineapple, peppers and cucumbers

PM Snack: Whole wheat crackers with peanut butter and seeds (peanuts,sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds)

Wee Sprouts: Fresh tomatoes and bell peppers

Link to Photos:2024-02-22

See you all at conferences tomorrow!

~Wee Friends Teachers

Happy Thursday!

Enjoy some pictures from our day!

Breakfast:  Puffins cereal and fresh apple slices.

Lunch: Whole grain brown rice with kidney beans, fresh cucumbers and cantaloupe/pineapple slices.

Afternoon Snack:  Whole grain wheat cinnamon raisin bagel with butter spread and banana.

Wee Sprouts: Cucumbers.

Have a great evening and we look forward to meeting with you all tomorrow for conferences!

Rebekah and Jena

Link to pictures: 2024-02-22

Good Afternoon!

To kick off our day, PREK1 friends came to the sign in board where they answered a question about the stay at home days, also known as the weekend! Friends were quick to answer and say, “I love the weekend days!”

Later on in group, we read a story from our MACK collection, ‘A Tale of Two Beasts’. It’s a book that has two sections: a story told two different ways, from two different perspectives. In the story, there are two main characters and they each get to tell their version of the story. We talked about the order in which the events occur as well as how people can see the same situation differently!

K.M.2: Understand concepts of time, including: morning, afternoon, evening today, yesterday, tomorrow, day, week, month, and year. Understand that clocks and calendars are tools that measure time.

On our our youngest friends, Hannah, loves our Robert Munsch collection in the reading area. Miss Amanda sat and read her several Robert Munsch stories. As the story time progressed, more and more kids came to listen. Robert Munsch books always spark interest and draw a crowd!

Letters and word cards were put out at the circle table for friends to explore. An open ended activity like this allows friends to use the materials as they wish. A few younger friends who sat down strictly worked with the letters, sometimes identifying letters that they recognized. Older peers were able to sit down and use the word cards. They looked for the letters that word spell a word from the word card they chose. Adrian ended up spelling several words as he became more and more excited as he found letters to spell words. He quickly figured out, “The words that I’m spelling all have three letters!”.

Enjoy a few more pictures from our day!

Breakfast– Rice cakes with peanut butter and banana.

Lunch– Farm fresh scrambled eggs with whole wheat flatbread, fresh cantaloupe/oranges, and fresh pepper/cucumber.

PM snack– Blue corn chips with refried beans and shredded cheese.

Wee Sprout– Fresh pepper/cucumber.

Have a wonderful night!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures:

Good Afternoon!

We started off our morning with some Habi-trail play, including musical instruments and games of catch.

Then, we made our way to the kitchen for some fun sensory play with playdough. Several friends said that they were making a pizza with their playdough!

Afterwards, we headed outside to enjoy the beautiful weather! Friends enjoyed sandbox play, sliding down the slide, and cooking in the mud kitchen.

Breakfast: Overnight oatmeal with cinnamon/sugar mixture and banana.

Lunch:  Farm fresh scrambled eggs, fresh cantaloupe and cucumbers and whole grain wheat tortillas.

Snack:  Blue Corn Chips and refried beans.

Wee Sprout:  Red sweet bell peppers.

Have a great evening!

Rebekah and Jena

Link to pictures: 2024-02-21