Good Afternoon!

This morning we offered another way to build upon the puppet interest among our Wee Friends this week.  A teacher showed the older group how to make a person using popsicle sticks and tape.  The kids took off with it and made themselves several dolls to play with.  Asher made a car for his person to drive in.  Paige and Ryan made their whole family.  Older kids were very helpful showing younger friends how to make the dolls they had just learned to make.  Teaching is the best way to learn! Older friends were happy to help younger friends where fine motor skills were less developed as well.  After they made their dolls, some friends enjoyed playing with them on the building rug.  Several friends combined their recycled materials projects with their home made dolls and created imaginative play.  Children love to make things for themselves to play with!  They take great pride in their growing abilities to use what they make themselves! During the process of this project, children built upon their creative problem solving,  critical thinking, fine motor, and social emotional development.

We hope you enjoy some more pictures from our day!

Breakfast– Overnight oatmeal with cinnamon and fresh blackberries.

Lunch– Farm fresh scrambled eggs, whole wheat english muffins with butter, fresh pineapple/banana, and fresh pepper/carrot/cucumber.

PM snack– Humus with tortilla chips

Wee Sprout– Fresh carrots/cucumber/pepper.

Have a wonderful night.

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-11-20

It was a happy Wednesday, engaging in a variety of activities on this rainy day.

We engaged with the object permanence boxes putting the balls and coins in the slot or hole and opening and closing the drawer.  We also worked on our colors and matching skills to place our pop-up people in the matching color hole of the base.  A few friends also worked to unscrew the pieces off the nut-and-bolt people.

We then headed into the kitchen to engage in kinetic sand in the sensory table.  We used a variety of scoops and saw how the sand will make a mold of the spoons, plastic eggs and bowls.

Breakfast:  Oatmeal with cinnamon/sugar mixture and fresh apple slices.

Lunch:  Farm fresh scrambled eggs, green grapes, red bell pepper slices and whole grain wheat flatbread.

Afternoon Snack:  Hummus and tortilla chips.

Wee Sprouts:   Cucumbers.

Have a wonderful evening!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-11-20

Good Afternoon!

We kicked off our Tuesday by continuing to explore addition problems for our PREK1 sign in. Children came up the board where they found their name written on a notecard. We flipped the notecard over and found an addition problem written on the back. Each addition problem had number representatives under the numbers to aid in counting to find the total. Once children figured out the total, they found the number on the board and taped their equation underneath the total!

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).

By the time we finished with group, we had a lovely journal experience where children were allowed to draw anything they wanted. Once children are done journaling, they’re asked to write their name which we’re all working on right now which is wonderful! Then, depending on developmental readiness, children either work with a teacher to explain their journal and put their thoughts down onto paper in the form on words while other children are working on kid spelling, writing the sounds that they hear in the words that they write. Our journal experience is set up to meet children right where they are developmentally.

There was a surge of renewed interest in puppet making yesterday, so today we went with the flow of child lead curriculum and offered a paper bag puppet making activity.  Almost everyone wanted to make one and several friends made their entire family in puppet form!  The kids came up with wildly unique characters using only a paper bag, markers, tape yarn and googly eyes!

Outside, the kids found some giant gold Sycamore leaves that had blown into the yard.  They were quite taken with the leaves and made all sorts of games out of them.  Wee Friends went through every possibility, from stir frying  the leaves to flying with them!  What strong imaginations our kids have!

Breakfast– Corn Chex and banana.

Lunch– Peanut butter on whole wheat bread/flatbread, fresh watermelon/cantaloupe/blackberries, and fresh pepper/cucumber.

PM snack– Whole wheat bagel with cream cheese.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/pepper.

Have a wonderful night.

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-11-19

Good afternoon!

Our friends started off their morning by looking at books. One of our friends sat next to Cece and showed her the book that they were reading.

We then made our way to the kitchen to paint with paper towel rolls. Our friends used the rolls to make circular patterns. A few rolls’ ends were cut into strips and our friends used those to paint with as well.

We then headed outside to enjoy the much warmer weather. Our friends rode bikes and teeter totters, played with balls, practiced their balance skills on the balance beam course, and scooped sand in the sandbox. Even Cece came out to join us for some fresh air!

Breakfast: Whole grain Kix cereal with fresh pear.

Lunch: Whole grain wheat tortilla with peanut butter, 1/2 mozzarella cheese stick, cucumber/peas and cantaloupe slices.

Afternoon Snack: Whole grain wheat bagel with cream cheese and watermelon slices.

Wee Sprout: Red bell pepper and cucumber.

Have a beautiful evening!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-11-19

Happy Monday!

We kicked off our week by introducing simple addition problems for our PREK1 sign in. Each friend found their name and after that, we worked with their specific addition problem. Each problem had representatives for the numbers underneath such as stars or hearts to give children something to count as they were working through their addition problem. A few friends wanted to write their number total while others requested a little help such as tracing the number.

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).

We continued this topic in group after we read, ‘Caps For Sale’. We used the content in the story to aid in our addition problems! Each friend got a turn with the tray and counters that represented the ‘caps’ in their problem. For example, Paige added 3 gray caps and 3 red caps and got a total of 6!

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).

This morning in the art center there were two waves of child lead projects.  It was fabulous to watch it all unfold and evolve!  We started with friends wanting to build or finish projects they had been working on last week.  As this went on someone decided to make a puppet and began talking about the puppet show they had put on a couple of weeks ago.  Others joined the conversation and switched to puppet making after they had completed what they were working on.  We in turn, switched materials to puppet making supplies.  Projects and shows went on all morning!  The beauty of emergent curriculum is being able to change gears at a moments notice based only on where interest takes the learning material of the day!

Other friends explored sand and wooded building materials at the round table.  They made beds, houses and fences for their farm animals and enjoyed imaginative play around what they had made.  Some worked alone and played with others at the table while others chose to work in pairs.  We like offering the option to meet the social needs of out students wherever they are.  In a multi-age early childhood environment those needs may change on a daily basis :).

PREK2: During group we read the story “Albert the Fix-It Man”.  In the story, Albert’s friends make food for him to show him kindness when he is sick.  We thought of something we would want to make for someone to show them kindness.  Everyone went with food .

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Breakfast: Whole wheat toast with butter and fresh clementines

Lunch: Whole wheat pasta with chicken, fresh watermelon/grapes, and fresh cucumber/pepper.

PM Snack: Whole milk yogurt with banana.

Wee Sprouts: Fresh cucumbers and red bell peppers.

Have a lovely afternoon!

~Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-11-18

Good Afternoon!

Reminder:  Wee Friends will be closed next Thursday, November 28 and Friday, November 29th for Thanksgiving break  Thank you.

We began our morning dancing and acting out the movements to our favorite songs.  We first went on a Bear Hunt with our stuffed animals. We then were all sleeping bunnies to the song, See The Bunnies Sleeping?.  We then got down the rhythm sticks to tap with while marching to the Ants Go Marching.

We then headed into the kitchen to engage in loose parts with wooden shapes and animals.  The friends explored the animals and made the sounds of them.  We talked about the names of the different shapes and Eleanor was sorting her shapes and stacking the matching shapes together.

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We then headed outside to play.  The friends were climbing up the rock paths along the slides and then sliding down the slide, building with the Outlast blocks and cars, cooked in the housekeeping area and dug in the sandbox,

Breakfast:  Whole grain wheat bread toast with butter and cinnamon/sugar mixture and fresh oranges.

Lunch:  Whole grain penne pasta with black beans, fresh red bell pepper slices and bananas.

Afternoon Snack:  Whole milk yogurt and fresh blackberries.

Wee Sprouts:  Snap peas.

Have a marvelous evening!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-11-18

Happy Friday!

We went into the kitchen to glue foam shapes onto a piece of construction paper.  We were each given a glue bottle to work on our fine motor skills to squeeze the glue from the bottle to work on strengthening our hand muscles.  The younger friends were then given a brush to spread their glue onto their papers.  Look at the colorful collages we made!

Enjoy the pictures from the rest of our day!

Breakfast:  Whole grain rice cakes with cream cheese and fresh apple slices.

Lunch:  Turkey and cream cheese roll-ups, fresh green grapes and snap peas.

Afternoon Snack: Goldfish /cheddar square crackers and Colby-Monterey-jack block cheese slices.

Wee Sprouts:  Red bell peppers.

Have a great weekend!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-11-15

Happy Friday!  We hope you enjoy some photos from our day!

**Reminder: Wee Friends will be closed on Thursday, November 28th and Friday, November 29th for Thanksgiving Break. Thanks!

Breakfast: Brown rice cakes with cream cheese and fresh clementines.

Lunch: Chicken breast sandwiches on flat bread/tortilla,  fresh green beans/peppers and fresh banana/cantaloupe/pineapple.

PM Snack: A birthday treat: Watermelon shark and cheddar cheese.

Wee Sprouts: Fresh pea pods, green beans, pepper.

Have a great weekend!

~Wee Friends Teachers

Link to Pictures: 2024-11-15

Good Afternoon!

Our PREK1 sign in message focused on verbs, specifically action verbs! Each child came up and found their name on the board. We read aloud their sentence, focusing on the missing word which was an action verb! Children used the surrounding context clues in their sentence to choose the right verb.

For example, Ryan’s sentence read, “I ______ the soccer ball with my dad.”. I gave him a couple of options such as swim and build which he said didn’t make sense. Once I came to the word kick, he said, “Yes! That fits!”.

K.W.6.1b: Verbs—Writing sentences that include verbs.

This morning we explored a loose parts magnetic activity.  We chose from a wide variety of magnet shapes and used them to build using a coffee can.  There are several kids who the round table activates really appeal to.  They usually contain an open ended imaginative building component, clear individual spaces and something novel.  This seems to attract kids that have a need for calm focus. The art center offers this as well but in a little bit broader and less defined way.  Offering these spaces is important for all children in a busy classroom. 

Several kids took off on the collage mixed media painting idea today.  Watching our two older girls painting their collage today sparked interest in other friends to try this art project as well.  Others finished projects they had drying from yesterday.  What a busy day for so many individual project ideas!

Water play is always popular in the sensory bin.  It allows friends to explore different ways to divert and move water.  Water is also a calming sensory experience for most children and feels quite grounding to them as they play.

PREK2: We read the story “The Way I Feel” at group today.  We talked about ways we can calm our bodles when we have big feelings.  It was not surprising how many friends mentioned various calming activities from our Mindfulness shelf.  So many children in our class have learned to utilize these activities for emotional regulation. 

Breakfast– Puffins with fresh banana.

Lunch– Brown rice with shredded chicken, fresh cantaloupe/pineapple, and fresh snap peas/pepper/cucumber.

PM snack– A birthday treat: fruit rolls with pumpkin seeds.

Wee Sprout– Fresh pepper/cucumber.

Have a lovely evening!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-11-14

Good Afternoon!

This morning, we went on a bear hunt with our friends. We all chose a bear out of the basket and marched around the front of our classroom along to the “Going On A Bear Hunt” song. Even Cece joined in!

We then made our way to the kitchen to engage in loose parts play. We each had a tray with a bowl, spoon, tongs, pom-poms and dominoes. We worked our fine motor skills while trying to squeeze the tongs to pick up the pom-poms. Some of our friends also held the domino up to their ear and pretended that it was a phone.

We used our imaginative play skills in the housekeeping area with our friends. We all pretended to eat play food or mixed items in a bowl to pretend we were cooking.

Breakfast:  Whole grain Cheerios cereal and fresh pear slices.

Lunch: Whole grain brown rice with shredded chicken, cucumber, fresh pineapple slices and green grapes.

Afternoon Snack: Whole grain wheat Ritz crackers with peanut butter.

Wee Sprouts:  Green bell peppers.

Have a beautiful evening!

WWF Teachers

Link to picture: 2024-11-14