The big news today is that Finn and Umi have returned! Our classroom is now full and complete and filled with lots of excitement!

Miss Jennifer brought the gymnastics bus this morning and friends were able to work on the vault and spring board. They learned approaches on the board with straddle jumps off. Then they added the vault and worked on a squat on, a straddle on and pike ups. Some friends did handstands over the vault. They practiced jump half turns off the springboard at the end of class.

As our friends (old and new) reunited, our classroom stayed lively!

Owen, Kai and Vivian continued their study on battleships (Kai) and fighter jets (Owen and Vivian). They’ve used photographs and diagrams to study the parts and recreate what they see at the workbench. Simon brought in another resource for study: The Ultimate Book of Cross-Sections.

The space surrounding the pillar (chimney) is proving to be a favorite spot for friends to gather and play. The pillar creates space for groups to ‘section off’, but is also open enough that groups can intermingle and collaborate as they create, build and play.

The sun shone so beautifully on our playground this morning, we were excited to get outdoors and take a bite! Literally!

For breakfast we served whole wheat English muffins and peanut butter with tangerines. Lunch was whole wheat pasta with chicken, corn and bananas. For snack, we will serve crackers and fruit.

Have a great day!

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Friday!

As a quick reminder, www.WNDU.com is an excellent resource to find out about area school closings. Here’s the WF/WWF Policy for anyone who has questions/confusions:

Inclement Weather/ Emergency Closing Policy

Wee Friends will delay opening until 10:00am on any day that Mishawaka OR South Bend Schools are closed or delayed for weather. You will be notified by email/text by 9:00am if we choose to close for the entire day.

We are open Monday, Jan. 16 (MLK Day).

Our delayed opening this morning created an easy going, play-filled morning! Among the many activities going on in our classroom were a battleship study, The Farm House and Alphabet Letter House puzzle work, farm animal and blocks imaginative play, Magna Tiles at the light table, book reading, painting, letter stamping and trapeze (low level!) walking.

We had a visit from a carpet professional (artist!) who will work with Tami on designing carpets in certain areas of the classroom.

For lunch we served melted cheddar cheese on whole wheat tortillas, mixed veggies and tangerines.

Enjoy your weekend!

In anticipation of the reported snowstorm, we want to remind you of the WF Inclement Weather/ Emergency Closing Policy. Under the “Handbook Policies” tab on our blog we state:

Wee Friends will delay opening until 10:00 on any day that Mishawaka OR South Bend Schools are closed or delayed for weather. You will be notified by email by 9:00 if we choose to close for the entire day.

Please continue to dress your child in winter wear that is appropriate to the weather but be assured that we do have snowsuits/boots/hats/gloves enough to accommodate all of Wee Friends.

Also, WWF has reported a case of strep throat and a case of Hand-foot-mouth.

 

Today Simon and Kai explored a new Alphabet Letter House puzzle. After they assembled the upper case letter house, they matched the corresponding lower case lettered people in each room.

Afterwards, Alexandra (with Arleigh!) explored the letter people further by first, finding ‘A’ and then lining them up next to one another.

Excited about our new letter t-shirts, friends requested to wear certain letters from the moment of arrival! After a large group of alphabet t-shirts was built, we gathered to act of Audrey Wood’s Alphabet Adventure.

First, all the letters hid around the classroom. Ada, as Captain T, searched high and low looking for her team of letters. Slowly, each one emerged from their hiding spot. We gathered on the alphabet mat and Ada, in a big loud voice, called out a letter and each friend identified which letter they were wearing and hopped up to be seen. Like in the book Little i (Alexandra) lost her dot. Captain T and the whole gang of letters continued their search until the dot was found. Melinda side coached explaining “you are warmer now…oops…colder….ok…very hot!”

We formed a line and flew around on an imagined pencil. We also examined the shape of Little i’s dot and explored what other shapes we might balance on our head.

After we had told our alphabet story, we acted out animals whose names started with the letters on our t-shirts. And then we were tired.

So Nate and Elliott paired off and headed to the workbench while another small group of friends gathered at the art table and requested bead work.

Tami brought in a tray filled with wooden lower case letters. Friends matched the letters to a corresponding laminate sheet.

We painted big cardboard letters….

…..and enjoyed each other’s company.

Today for breakfast we served cinnamon toast and pears. For lunch, we had hummus sandwiches on whole wheat buns, bananas and cucumbers.

Have a great day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the kid’s suggestions yesterday, on how to turn our classroom into an Alphabet Island, was “Put letters on the ground.” To support our friend’s continued interest in Audrey Wood’s Alphabet Adventure, we brought in an alphabet/number puzzle mat. Several friends spent a part of their morning assembling it. Afterwards, a teacher took all the letters out of the squares and then friends hunted for where each letter fit.

Comments such as “Where’s my letter?” or “This is where brother’s letter lives” or “Look! I found ‘N’!” were exchanged. Triangular, circular and oval shapes also came out of the letter squares. Stephen and Alexandra were particularly interested in finding the appropriate homes for the shapes.

Two puppies found their way to the mat for a good chase!

Later, a small group of friends gathered to work smaller foam puzzles.

A small group of friends gathered to work on a math exercise. Kai counted and discovered how many letters are in the alphabet! He wrote the corresponding number below each letter. Simon and Macy created color patterns under each letter. (Ex: blue, blue, green or orange, red, orange, red)

Friends enjoyed each other’s company as they waited patiently for an art project to begin. They not only talked about their marker art, but also moms, dads and families.

Another suggestion from yesterday’s Alphabet Island message board was to create letter costumes. Using T shirts and fabric paint, Tami led WF’s on an art exploration.

In an early childhood classroom, there are certain moments in the day that create a bit more stress 🙂 than others! Lunch time is one of them! Today, the teachers (and Wee Friends!) were able to celebrate the many hours that have gone into establishing a smooth, collaborative and peaceful lunch time routine! Each friend knows to drop coats/shoes in cubbies. Each friend heads straight to either the bathroom or kitchen sink to wash his/her hands. Each friend knows who their lunch serving buddy is. Today at lunch time, two tables full of WF ate peacefully, helping each other and enjoying great conversation. Yet another benefit of not only our Wee Friends’ hard work but also the open space and wide visibility of our new classroom!

For breakfast we served Cream of Wheat and apples. Lunch was whole grain rice with chicken, snap peas and fruit salad.

Enjoy this day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inspired by Nate’s request to read Alphabet Adventure by Audrey Wood, we began our morning by diving into an alphabet letter exploration! After reading the book and singing a few rounds of “A, B, C”, we played a musical merry-go-round game. Melinda placed our sand letter placards around the pillar and friends hopped, walked and swayed to Jane’s Phineas and Ferb CD. When the music stopped, Melinda called out a friend’s name and asked them to find a particular letter.

After each friend had a turn, the music continued to play and Wee Friends enjoyed a dance party. Annie brought special New Year’s celebration crowns to add to the fun!

After the dancing ended, we asked our friends via message board “How can WF become an alphabet island- like in the book?” The class came up with some terrific ideas that we will work on over the coming days.

After our conversation, we invited friends to participate in an alphabet hunt. We taped up all the letters of the alphabet around the art room and island. After finding a letter, friends would stick the letter next to their name on a message board. When the hunt was complete, we regathered and each friend identified which letters they found.

This was an excellent opportunity for the teachers to assess each child’s understanding of and recognition of letters.

After our large group lessons, friends branched off and enjoyed the classroom, independently and collaboratively.

Tami set out alphabet stamps and friends explored creating art with ink pads and watercolor. The question that arose was “which color (dry or wet) creates the clearest impression and sticks better to the paper?”

From our Moncure My First Steps to Reading Collection, Melinda read “Letter B”.

Breakfast today was Cheerios and raisins. For lunch we served scrambled egg casserole, peas and bananas. For snack we will serve yogurt.

Have a great day!

“Teaching is instruction, but the loving and caring presence of the teacher to her students is education.” -unknown