Good Afternoon!
Here are pictures taken throughout the day that demonstrates what activities were done! We really enjoyed the sunshine and we hope you and your family are able to enjoy the weather this weekend!
For AM snack, we enjoyed carrots and snap peas. Lunch was turkey on whole wheat bread, fruit salad (fresh pears, apples, and oranges), and corn. Afternoon snack consisted of rice cakes with cream cheese, craisins, and apple bread.
Hope everyone has a tremendous weekend! 🙂
-Mindy
Lisa generously shared her fading Valentine roses with us this morning. Here is an explanation of our Wee Friends multi-sensorial Rose Exploration!
SONNET 54
O, how much more doth beauty beauteous seem
By that sweet ornament which truth doth give.
The rose looks fair, but fairer we it deem
For that sweet odour which doth in it live.
The canker-blooms have full as deep a dye
As the perfumed tincture of the roses,
Hang on such thorns and play as wantonly
When summer’s breath their masked buds discloses:
But, for their virtue only is their show,
They live unwoo’d and unrespected fade,
Die to themselves. Sweet roses do not so;
Of their sweet deaths are sweetest odours made:
And so of you, beauteous and lovely youth,
When that shall fade, my verse distills your truth. -Shakespeare
Lisa continued working with Kai, Viv, and Annie on the high/low dice game introduced yesterday. Other friends gathered in our music center to play a stopping/starting game with the tambourine. We walked together as the tambourine shook and when we banged it like a drum, friends stopped and scurried into a hiding place. Using wooden building blocks as instruments, a small group of musicians sat together and beat out different rhythms. We practiced playing together and taking turns. After our rhythm work, we took turns laying the blocks down to create a structure. This cooperative group building activity encouraged friends to, again, take turns, and work side by side in a collaborative way. After the sculpture was completed friends expressed what they saw: “A smoke-stack!”, “a castle!”, “steps” were among the many observations.
We played outside this morning for nearly two hours! Our Wee Sprouts today are green pea pods. Breakfast was Corn Chex and raisins. For lunch we had whole wheat chicken salad sandwiches, corn and applesauce. For snack, Lisa made homemade muffins!
Have a terrific weekend.
Good Afternoon!
*Since it is starting to get a little warmer outside, we just wanted to inform parents that we intend to go outside whenever we get the chance. Please make sure that you child has the appropriate attire at WWF such as hat, snow pants, coat, boots, and gloves. Thanks!*
Here are some photos from yesterday afternoon. We had our afternoon snack that consisted of apples and Lea was our special helper. Lea used the apple peeler to prepare apples for all of her friends. Our friends loved how the apple got cut into small pieces to make it easier to eat! Lea sure did use a lot of force and strength! Who will be our next special helper?
We started off our morning at WWF by having music time. Our friends worked on their beat and rhythm by using shakers and drums to make musical sounds. A specific beat would be given and children were repeating the beat! Ms. Paulina played the “Quena” (an andean flute) while children added drums in the background to combine the two different sounds.
Once our music time was over, the children gathered in the kitchen for some painting and water play. While working with the blue paint and green/blue colored water, children were in high sensory mode. Children gathered around the sink to splash the water as well as dump and scoop the water into different containers.
After our sensory exploration in the kitchen was completed, we traveled outside for some fresh air. While the sun wasn’t out that much, it still felt good to be able to run around! Some friends chose to ride bikes and tricycles while others played inside the wooden house.
Once lunch was ready, we gathered all of our friends and headed inside. Of course we took off all of our snow pants, coats, and boots. Our friends are getting very independent in terms of being able to take their snow gear off!
For breakfast, we had chex cereal with milk. Our morning snack consisted of cucumbers. Our friends enjoyed hummus on whole wheat bread, fruit salad (pineapple, crasins, and apples), and cucumbers for lunch. Afternoon snack was yogurt and muffins.
Hope everyone has a terrific evening!
-Mindy
Today we explored our last sense: Touch.
Melinda invited friends to join her at the art table to make clean mud. First, they grated one bar of soap. Then they unrolled three rolls of toilet paper. They measured 1/3 cup of Borax and mixed it with the soap and TP. They added water until it was wet and gooey. As they combined ingredients, they discussed what real mud is. Simon first said “Oil!” and then changed his mind and said “No, it’s dirt!”. Pulling the TP off the roll, and measuring and mixing the ingredients were favorite moments. When the clean mud was finally mixed up, we noticed friends leaving the table one by one. The texture of today’s clean mud, while sweet smelling and clean, when touched, was a little too warm, a little too wet and most unpleasant to touch. Oh well.
Lisa played a dice game with a few of our older friends. Two players took turns rolling dice. They each recorded what they rolled on the message board. Whoever had the higher number, got the next turn.
Simon brought in City Blocks today. All of our friends enjoyed creating sculptures with them. Alexandra made her letter “A”!
Elliott requested “Puff, the Magic Dragon” this morning. After reading and singing the song several times, we created Puff out of felt and worked with the felt pieces on our felt board. Later, Simon created a Star Wars creature out of the same pieces. We talked about, how, when an artist creates a work of art, he knows what he created, but another friend may see something else when they look at it.
Before heading outside, we asked all of our friends to find something or someone they loved and bring it to the oval rug. We meditated to Donny Osmond’s “Puppy Love”, snuggling close to our favorite lovie. After a few moments, Arleigh (aka Mrs. Kelly) stood up and started walking to each friend, touching them lightly and lovingly on the forehead as they meditated. When Finn, Macy and Marta saw this, they helped her.
And then we played “Dynamite”.
Books were read, cards were played, nursery rhymes were spoken/sung, dances were danced and the Jumping Beans letter game explored. A good day.
Parent/Child Conversation Starters:
Our Wee Sprouts today are carrots, cucumbers and sweet peppers. For breakfast we served whole wheat bagels and green grapes. For lunch, Lisa prepared hummus on whole wheat bread, pineapple, Craisin fruit salad and mixed veggies.
Have a great day.
Good Afternoon!
We started off our day at WWF with activities that the children could choose from. A few children chose to work with babies and their ‘housekeeping’ skills while playing in the kitchen and cleaning the living room. Others came to the light table to manipulate the magnetic shapes.
When our friends were ready, we started getting read to go outside. Our friends worked on getting their snow pants, coats, hats, and gloves on all by themselves. Their self help skills were kicked into high gear when they were zipping and buttoning their outside attire. While outside, our friends got a bit dirty playing in the snow and dirt! A few of our friends made snow angels while others worked on their jumping skills from different platforms.
After getting inside from the cold, our friends played with the felt board. Felt letters and numbers were used to place on the felt board. They’re getting advanced in being able to distinguish between letters and numbers. Also, recognizing the letter ‘A’ and knowing that Aiden starts with an ‘A’. It was fantastic to hear the different words they came up with for each letter! 🙂
While our older friends were sleeping, P.K. and Clara went on a hunt together in the living room! Their interactions with each other were priceless!
This afternoon, our friends partook in a music session where they made their own music! They strummed the guitars and were amazed at the sounds they were making. They showed great team work while working with their friends to make fabulous sounds that rang througout the house.
For breakfast, our friends enjoyed toast with soy butter along with pears. Our morning snack was red tomatoes and fresh red peppers. Miss Tami prepared a fabulous lunch that was enjoyed by all! It consisted of whole wheat cous cous with black beans, mixed vegetables, and fruit salad (pears and grapes). This afternoon we had crackers with hummus and a fresh vegetable will be served later this afternoon around 4:30.
Hope that everyone has a fabulous evening!
-Mindy
Yesterday, we discussed three senses: what love looks like, tastes like and sounds like. Today, we gathered to explore another sense: smell. We wiggled our noses and went on a smell hunt. We talked about the different things we smell each day and how they smell. We talked about smelling muffins, markers, perfume and…poopy diapers! We set out a tray with three different items to smell: peanut butter, cherry chap stick and eucalyptus smelling beads. “Sweet”, “nutty”, “like candy”, “spicy” and “yucky” were a few adjectives friends used to explore what they were smelling. Friends smelled and sniffed and explored and finally voted on which smell they liked best.
Kai worked with Lisa on a card game that supports this week’s FAB, K.1.2. – identification of equal to/more than or less than. After one player lays a card down, the next player has to lay down a card with a higher number. The first one to lay down all his/her cards wins!
A small group of friends gathered with Lisa on the oval rug to explore a mystery rhyming basket. Objects were pulled out of the basket and friends had to offer up a word that rhymed with the chosen object. (FAB K.1.10 – Say rhyming words in response to an oral prompt)
Without knowing it, Elliott executed an early mathematical concept: sequencing. He chose the gear shift bin, lifted it off the shelf, placed it on the floor and opened it, and began his work. Simon’s puzzle work offered him the same sequencing opportunity, in a different way. These are ordinary moments that occur everyday and are rich developmental experiences.
Finn gathered several friends to join him with his train work. He taught Nate how to set up the gross motor blocks so that Nate could have his own train.
We filled four sensory bins up with soapy water. Two bins had liquid soap and two bins had solid soap bars. This activity morphed into many interesting moments as friends explored. We discussed how the soap felt and liquid/solid. We added solid spoons with spoons with slots. Friends studied how the spoons operated differently with liquid/solid. Elliott added the gingerbread men and they were scrubbed clean. Friends used words such as washing, scrubbing, stirring, soapy, pouring and Arleigh, Alexandra and Umi suggested we sing sang our Halloween favorite “Stirring Our Brew.” Two friends practiced negotiating when one friend badly wanted a spoon with no holes while the other friend wasn’t ready to share.
We love when our Wee Wee Friends come to visit us!
Today’s Wee Sprouts are cucumber slices and yellow bell pepper. Mel served grits and pears for breakfast. Lunch was whole wheat cous cous, mixed veggies and fruit salad. For snack we will serve pretzels and cheese.
Have a great day.
Laurie
Happy Valentines Day to all!
We started off our day here at WWF by making our special afternoon snack: Valentines Day muffins (gluten-free) in the shape of a heart! Our friends went into the kitchen to help Miss Marty mix the ingredients together. They were a big help in the preparation of the muffins! They loved mixing the dry ingredients together and are anxious to see how they taste.
While the muffins were baking, our friends chose to work with the felt board, music play, and reading stories. Special Valentines Day hearts were made for the felt board and children would take the hearts and put them by our special poem for the day. During music time, children worked with streamers, drums and their special body movements such as run, walk, and jump.
Before snack was ready some children chose to work on their special hearts that were made for each child. They used marker to color in the heart! Some children chose to draw circles and designs in their heart while others colored it in using different colors.
For our morning snack, our friends enjoyed fresh cut cucumbers and orange sweet peppers. Our lunch consisted of melted turkey and cheddar on whole wheat tortillas, fruit salad (strawberries, oranges, and bananas) and lima beans/carrots. For our afternoon snack, we’ll have our special heart shaped muffins that our friends helped make and another special treat brought in by Jada. Dates with walnuts, dark chocolate cocoa powder and vanilla. They should be delicious!
Hope everyone has a fantastic night!
-Mindy
Happy 4th Birthday Simon!
Look Like?
Jane: “Red! Chocolate!”
Umi: “Angelina Ballerina!”
Kai: “Hearts! My cousin Jacob!”
Alexandra: “A Christmas Tree!”
Stephen: “Animals and tires!”
Macy: “Earrings!”
Simon: “A heart.”
Annie: “A princess.”
Vivian: “Red!”
Finn: “A train!”
Nate: “A castle.”
Taste Like?
Jane: “Sweets!”
Umi: “Chicken and pasta!”
Alexandra: “Bananas and applesauce!”
Stephen: “Avocado, kiwi, pancakes, hamburgers and bagels.”
Macy: “Noodles!”
Simon: “Oatmeal.”
Annie: “Chocolate!”
Vivian: “Chocolate!”
Finn: “Candy!”
Nate: “Sweet potatoes.”
Sound Like?
Jane: “Kai!”
Alexandra: “A pig and a parrot!”
Stephen: “Birds!”
Macy: “Mommy’s voice.”
Simon: “A boar and a car.”
Annie: “A princess singing!”
Vivian: “A zebra!”
Finn: “A whistle from the train.”
Nate: “Hearts.”
Our Wee Sprouts today are cucumbers and green pea pods. Breakfast was Kix and grapes. For lunch, Tami served melted turkey and cheddar on whole wheat tortillas, fruit salad (strawberries, oranges and bananas) and lima beans/carrots. For snack we will serve Simon’s Birthday Banana cake!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Laurie
Good Afternoon!
Since tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, here is a list of all of our friends at WWF in case you and your child want to send out Valentine’s Day cards:
Eleanor (Ellie), Elizabeth, Chloe, Jada, Sloane, P.K., Clara, Aiden, Olivia, Ozzie, and Lea.
We started our day off at WWF by doing multiple activities. Some children chose to go into the kitchen to paint. Our friends painted with different colors and made amazing art work. Others chose to play dress up with their friends. They acted out different parts and made a chose as to what ‘profession’ they were such as a ballerina!
Our friends enjoyed some music time where they danced to BINGO and different songs that they requested. For a good ten minutes, children chose to dance and run around the living room in a circular fashion. While friends were dancing and singing, a few children chose to go into the kitchen where they played with play-dough. They used hammers and utensils to work with the play-dough.
For lunch, our friends enjoyed pasta noodles with spaghetti sauce, bananas and oranges, and corn. Afternoon snack consisted of crackers and crasins. Our vegetable for our late afternoon snack will be snap peas.
Hope everyone has a wonderful evening!
-Mindy
FAB (Framework for Academic Balance) Week of 2/13
Literacy: K.1.10 Say rhyming words in response to an oral prompt / Math: K.1.2 Compare sets of up to ten objects and identify whether one set is equal to, more than, or less than another. K.1.3 Know that larger numbers describe sets with more objects in them than sets described by smaller numbers.
The gymnastics bus returned this morning and friends worked on the rings and the cartwheel mat. On the rings, they performed tuck and “L” hangs. They practiced a skin the cat flip and swings. The also practiced lunges and handstands against the wall. They used the cartwheel mat to practice mini/full cartwheels.
While our older friends were on the blue bus, our younger Wee Friends started working on their valentine’s mailboxes. Using tempera paint and cereal boxes, friends custom made a mailbox to receive tomorrow’s Valentine wishes! Older friends joined in after their tumbling time.
Math experiences were happening in every corner of the classroom! Lisa gathered a small group of friends on the oval rug to identify numbered hearts and then add the corresponding number of gingerbread men. (FAB K.1.2, K.1.3)
She also worked with Kai at the message board, exploring rhyming words. (FAB K.1.10)
In another part of the room, a small group of friends worked with numbered bags, 1-5. Friends hunted around our environment and filled the bag with as many objects as the bag stated. We came together afterwards and counted the objects out loud, determining which bag had the most and the fewest. (FAB K.1.2, K.1.3)
While a small group of friends played Crazy Eights, another gathered at the art table to make Valentines. While some created art, others practiced holding and cutting with scissors. Other Wee Friends chose to weave pipe cleaners into colanders.
Today our Wee Sprouts are carrots, cherry tomatoes and yellow peppers. For breakfast, Melinda served whole wheat bagels with peanut butter and bananas. Lunch was whole wheat pasta with marinara, corn and fruit salad. For snack today, we will serve goldfish and raisins.
*Tomorrow we are planning a Valentine’s card exchange. If your Wee Friend is planning on participating in the exchange, we have 15 total friends: Ada, Nate, Finn, Marta, Annie, Jane, Arleigh, Elliott, Macy, Simon, Vivian, Umi, Alexandra, Stephen and Kai.
Enjoy your day.