Lisa stopped by the airport this morning to drop off our thank you note. She met Mike Daigle, A.A.E., Executive Director of St. Jo County Airport Authority and he expressed that he was told Wee Friends were the most well behaved and delightful group of students who had toured the airport in recent days. Sharon, a airport spokesperson, called Lisa this morning to ask if they could put our thank you note on display in the airport.

WEE FRIENDS WEE FRIENDS MIGHTY MIGHTY WEE FRIENDS…..WE GROW FRIENDSHIPS ALL DAY LONG!!!!!!!

The day started in a whirl! After all of our friends were dropped off and breakfast was eaten, a couple different work projects began, lasting the whole morning. Melinda worked with a group of friends on learning a new game: Richard Scarry’s Busy, Busy Airport. As the name suggests, (and in the spirit of Richard Scarry’s books) it is a busy game and engages players with multi tasks and directions. Friends loaded cargo, flew to a choice of four destinations and endured cancelled flights, to name a few things! (Literacy K.4.7)

While Elliott was playing with planes, he expressed to Tami that he needed a runway. With painters tape, she laid out runways of different sizes. Later, Lisa introduced a measuring tape to a small group of friends and they measured the runways. They used clipboards to record their findings. They continued measuring trees, benches, sidewalks and lots of outdoor materials when they went outside. (Math K.5.1)

Inspired by Teacher Tom (teachertomsblog@blogspot.com) we invited Wee Friends to the art table and explored clouds and rain with jars of water, shaving cream and droppers filled with watercolors.

First, friends measured half of a jar and we discussed how two halves make a whole. Next, they filled their jar halfway full of water. We filled the top half of the jar with shaving cream. We asked the question: “What color is rain?” Friends chose a variety of water colors to work with. They filled the dropper up with watercolor and squirted the top of the shaving cream to determine of the paint would seep through the clouds, creating rain. (Math K.5.1)

After this portion of the exploration was complete, many friends poured their rain jars into a larger sensory bin for more ooey gooey play.

This week’s FABS are: Literacy: K.4.7-Identify pictures and charts as sources of information and begin gathering information from a variety of sources (books, technology). Math: K.5.1-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. K.5.2-Understand concepts of time: morning, afternoon, evening, today, yesterday, tomorrow, week, month, and year. Understand that clocks and calendars are tools that measure time.

We enjoyed spending our morning with two more visitors from Family Connection as they continued to exercise their new assessment tool.

Our Wee Sprouts today are broccoli crowns and carrots. Breakfast was whole wheat cinnamon toast and pear slices. For lunch, Tami prepared whole grain rice with shredded beef, mixed veggies and fruit salad.

What a beautiful day to be alive!

 

While the swimmers were away, the remaining Wees enjoyed having their heads (and airplanes!) in the clouds!

With cotton balls, glue and a cardboard base, WFs began creating a cloudy sky through which their airplanes could fly.

Once there was sufficient cloud coverage, WFs used felt runways to ascend through the air.

When they had finished this part of their exploration, we moved the materials to the sensory bin. Elliott requested an air traffic control tower and the work continued.

Viv found an air traffic controller.

Arleigh discovered that she could pull the cotton balls apart and went on to make a pie.

Later, Viv and Marta practiced the piano.

Parent/Teacher Partnership Info:

On another note, this Saturday the WF staff attended an outstanding conference with Michael Brandwein (www.michaelbrandwein.com) as the keynote. His focus was “Life Skills: Getting Kids Ready for Life”. We were all inspired, affirmed and excited about a formula that he presented to use when communicating with our Wee Friends. When working with our friends, we first DESCRIBE what they are doing. Secondly, we LABEL it in a positive way. Lastly, we ENCOURAGE the positive behavior. An example is: Sally is playing dominoes with her friends. She sees that another friend would like more dominoes. Sally chooses to share her dominoes with her friend.

Teacher: “Sally, I see that you have shared your dominoes with Mary. You are choosing to be very cooperative. When you are cooperative, we can all play together peacefully. Sally, thank you for being cooperative.”

Our Wee Sprouts today are broccoli crowns. Breakfast was Cheerios and clementines. For lunch, we are serving melted cheddar on whole wheat tortillas, fresh beets/peas and fresh fruit salad (strawberries, raisins and clementines.

Have a terrific day!

 

WF Air Flight 123

In the absence of the Blue Bus on Monday, we would like to take all Wee Friends on a field trip to the South Bend Regional Airport. Our days this week have been filled with airport/airplane exploration and we think it will be a great adventure to incorporate into our blossoming study! Tami will email permission slip forms to you. Please return them Monday morning when you bring your WF to school. We will be departing at 9:30 and returning in time for noon lunch. We will take both the Weehicle and Tami’s Honda. While all four teachers will be accompanying the class on the field trip, parent volunteers are welcome!

While we ate lunch, we collected some information from our Wee Friends. When we asked “Where did you fly to on an airplane?” here’s what we learned:

Umi: “Chile!”

Annie: “Disneyworld and somewhere else.”

Ada: “I haven’t been on a plane.”

Nate: “New York!”

Max: “Minnesota and California!”

Vivian: “Minnesota and California!”

Kai: “Arizona and California.”

Alexandra: “I don’t know.”

Marta: “I went on the airplane!”

Finn: “spain!”

Stephen: “To the Batman store!”

Jane: “Grandpa’s house.”

Macy: “Aunt Ashley’s wedding.”

Simon: “To my Grandma’s house, England, New Jersey and Chicago.”

Elliott: “I flew to Florida.”

This morning Melinda read A Little Golden The Airplane Book, and friends worked on creating a runway.

Next, Lisa prepared passengers to board WF Air Flight 123. First, she demonstrated the job of the ground crew.

Next she described the job of the air traffic controller. WF chose who they wanted to be, we set out seats, passed out boarding passes and prepared for a flight to New York.

While on board, friends enjoyed snacks, beverages and entertainment. Flight Attendants passed out instruments when we hit our cruising altitude.

We landed, exited the plane and ran outside before the rain.

Our Wee Sprouts today are carrots. Breakfast was Wheat Chex and cantelope. For lunch we served whole grain brown rice with kidney beans, corn and pineapple.

Have a terrific weekend!