Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Whole wheat cinnamon toast with bananas. Lunch: Ham and cheese on tortillas, broccoli and applesauce. Snack: Yogurt and animal crackers.

Hello!

Our morning started with a little shake to the left, shake to the right! Friends love the shakers. That is their first request when music time starts!

Friends P.K. and Clara sat in the rocking chair for some bonding time. At the count of three…one, two, three, funny face!

We enjoyed making one another laugh today! Emma had a ball with Lu Lu as they talked with each other.

Smiles and laughter filled the air today! “Cheese” is our favorite phrase when we see the camera.

The habitrail was a popular destination this afternoon. We’re becoming very courteous of friends as we’re up on the habitrail.

For breakfast, children had whole wheat bagels with cinnamon and butter with oranges. AM snack was peas. Lunch consisted of whole grain rice with cheese, mixed vegetables, and mixed fruit. PM snack was a scrumptious banana/oatmeal bread and hard boil eggs.

Have a great evening!

-Mindy

 

We wanted to alert you that we have 2 children and one teacher out with the flu bug that seems to be making its way through our classroom. Symptoms have been persistent fevers, upset stomachs and vomiting. Here is a reminder of our illness policy and please don’t hesitate to contact us should you have any questions. 

Illness Policy Wee Friend providers will care for you child while ill only if the illness is minor, such as a cold.  If your child becomes severely ill, begins to run a fever during the day, or if in sole judgment of the teacher, your child is too ill to remain in Wee Friends, you will be notified and asked to pick-up your child.  Please pick your child up promptly.  After 30 minutes we will contact the emergency contacts as indicated by the parents.

• WE WILL NOT SERVE CHILDREN WITH:
  • A FEVER OF 100F OR ABOVE OR HAS HAD A FEVER OF 100F IN PAST 24 HOURS
  • Unidentified skin rash
  • Diarrhea (2 or more times with no other symptoms)
  • Vomiting
  • Evidence of lice.  Child need to be lice/nit free.
  • Evidence of parasites
  • Difficulty breathing/ cough severe enough to cause shortness of breath
  • Eye infection
  • Skin infections
  • Severe cold sore
  • ANY OTHER UNFORSEEN CONDITION THAT  CALLS FOR EXCLUSION

  CHILDREN MAY BE READMITTED: A.  If visibly free from communicable disease, fever free without benefit of fever reducing medicines for 24 hours, and free from vomiting/diarrhea for 24 hours while on a normal diet. OR B. With a physicians statement that the child is free from communicable disease, and that returning poses no risk to the child or others

We will let you know as soon as possible by telephone and/or email if we will be closed due to illness of multiple teachers or if more than 50% of the children are ill with a contagious illness.

We’re moving on the Puzzle Mania. Using our felt board, blocks and Magna Tiles, we created our own puzzle board and fit tiles into different shapes.

Mel invented The Sequencing Walk: a game in  which she calls out a sequence of actions and friends have to get up and walk to accomplish them. Today, she addressed opposites and rhyming. When Arleigh came back to the music area (where another small group was working) and asked “I need a boy”. We later learned that her directive was to find and return to Mel something that rhymes with ‘toy’! Elliott obliged.

More procedure practice from today’s Master of Sequencing!

Marta requested Muppet play. After we worked with the Muppets a bit, we decided we would turn our own bodies into Muppets. A puppeteer worked from behind helping the puppets practice their hand motions to “Sunshine On My Shoulders”.

The Dorothy’s rested on their haystack as “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” serenaded them.

The number one way to prepare your child for/ignite interest in reading/writing=reading books out loud to them!

Tami created name puzzles for our younger friends. Our older kids made their own.

Elizabeth and Elliott took their time creating marker art with a variety of colors, lines and shapes.

Arleigh and Marta worked side by side, hammering.

Macy wore her Thumbelina costume all day!

Muppet sewing continues.

Wee Sprouts: Celery sticks. Breakfast: Oatmeal with raisins. Lunch: Cheddar Brown rice, banana/mandarin orange fruit salad and peas. Snack: Wheat bagels with peanut butter.

Have a great day.

Good Afternoon!

We welcomed our Wednesday with bright smiley faces! Reading was Eve’s first priority this morning.

A group of friends put the yellow car track together this morning. We all took turns taking cars and putting them down the track.

We used our imagination a lot throughout the activity. Miss Mindy asked friends where their cars were going? P.K. responded with “to get donuts!” Clara ran to the kitchen to get some donuts for us.

After we got donuts, Clara said, “home!” We headed on home and down the hill!

Clara ran down the slide. Friends are starting to put their arms out to the side so that they’re able to keep their balance.

Clara was also very independent as she put on a hat to play dress up. Independence as friends get older is a vital part of pretend play throughout the day.

Zoey also enjoyed putting her work hat on today!

We looked through a small mirror. Who did we see? We saw friends looking at us!

Zoey’s musical talent came out this morning as she worked on the xylophone. We listened to the different sounds that each of the plates made.

Today, beautiful snow fell throughout the day. We climbed up in the habitrail where we watched the snow fall and hit the ground.

Lu Lu enjoyed floor time with P.K. He was a great helper as he got Lu Lu special toys to play with.

She is working hard on sitting up and maintaining her balance. Her core sure got a workout!

As friends were sleeping, Zoey played with table top games. Her favorite were the connecters. With the help of Miss Mindy, she made a car that she drove around the table.

For breakfast, children had oatmeal with honey and oranges. AM snack was mixed vegetables. Lunch consisted of egg casserole with hash browns, pears, and whole wheat toast. PM snack was Colby jack cheese slices and animal crackers.

Have a terrific evening!

-Mindy

 

Yesterday’s foot exploration inspired Max to bring in a favorite book “Dog in Boots” by Greg Gormley. The book tells the story of Dog who, after reading “Puss in Boots”, decides he wants a fancier pair of shoes than his own paws. This led to a discussion about human hands, palms and fingers and how we use them. We made our feet dance, clap, tiptoe, trot, skip and walk to Tommy Dorsey’s “Happy Feet”.

Marta brought us shells that she discovered on the beaches of the Dominican Republic. We added warm water, blue watercolor, heart shaped ice cubes and paint brushes for a sensory exploration.

Leo, systematically, rinsed his hands and dried them. He rinsed them again and dried them. He did this over and over perfecting this important daily routine. Delicious water.

A Muppet Family visited Wee Friends and we practiced how to hold our puppets and use different voices to create individual character. Marta was distressed that her Muppet didn’t have ears or earrings and insisted that we add those. Ada wondered why her Muppet didn’t have a tongue. We practiced talking with out a tongue. And then we danced.

Elliott recorded what his friends were doing.

Ada expressed a curiosity and desire to make her own. Arleigh joined her.

Melinda got a round of Crazy Eights going. Friends identified numbers as they played. Next, she played a sand block alphabet letter guessing game.

Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Wheat Chex and oranges. Lunch: Farm fresh egg casserole with potatoes, pear slices and whole wheat buttered toast. Snack: Cheddar cheese slices and Tami’s homemade banana oatmeal bread.

Have a great day.

Good Afternoon!

This morning started out with individual play for P.K. He started out in the classroom building a special train track. To make sure the track didn’t get ruined, P.K. moved into the kitchen where he could fully focus on the task at hand.

A few friends came into the kitchen where they worked with table top manipulatives.

Our first activity involved waffle blocks. Waffle blocks involve concentration, planning, and strength. Friends need a good amount of strength to put the pieces together. The individual blocks fit together a certain way so sometimes friends ask for help.

Our creativity soared today as P.K. and Clara imagined there were spiders and bugs in their building! Oh no! Clara looked carefully into the tower as she looked for the bugs!

Our team work and concentration were amazing!

After children were done with the waffle blocks, they pointed to the puzzles. We used our fine motor skills to carefully place each piece into the puzzle board. Throughout the activity, friends talked about the animals, colors, and people they saw.

Zoey stacked wooden blocks one by one. Even when they fell down, she picked them right back up and started building again. Her perseverance was great!

Eren zoomed off in his airplane! He loves taking the airplanes, buses, and fire trucks around the classroom.

Peek-a-boo I see Clara!

Our Wee Wee’s always love sitting with one another on the rocking chair.

Hands up! Clara moved her body as she tried to spread her feet as far apart as she could!

P.K. tumbled on the habitrail in between going down the slide and climbing the ladder.

Our new favorite way to go down the slide is on our back!

For breakfast, children had cheesy eggs and banana. AM snack was corn. Lunch consisted of whole wheat noodles with kidney beans, mixed vegetables, and a mixture of banana and pineapple. PM snack was graham crackers and hard boiled eggs.

Have a great evening!

-Mindy

spark n. An incandescent particle, especially: One thrown off from a burning substance. One resulting from friction.

In our emergent curriculum classroom we’re always looking for sparks: a child initiated interest that sustains itself over a few days, or even a few weeks/months time. Our friend’s burning passions create an incandescence that results in one idea repeating itself over and over. We watch as the kid’s ideas rub together, combine and reshape themselves. The teachers catch the sparks and create Idea Webs for possible lessons. Before we know it, we find ourselves fully emerged in a child initiated study.

So that’s what we set out to catch today. Sparks.

Today it was Cinderella. At the top o’ the mornin’, a large group gathered beneath the habitrail for creative re-enactments of certain parts of the story. Then we read the book. We traced our feet to see how big OUR feet are (could they fit into the glass slipper?). Some friends colored their footprints in, others measured theirs.

An alligator made its way into our environment and Ada named her Mrs. Claw and proceeded to draw her portrait.

We are webbing a puzzle project. Months ago, Marta and Elliott’s puzzle passion sparked an interest that has spread throughout the classroom. After Christmas, Lisa and Tami bought at least ten new puzzles. We have a 4 level puzzle library to satisfy all of our friends developmental desires. 

Delicious stories and page turning techniques.

What else can we do with our footprint exploration, we wondered. Hopscotch!

Peer mentoring.

Obstacle courses.

Role playing: Mother and baby

What happened when Cinderella heard the clock strike twelve? We keep the Cinderella thread connected and explore a circle with numbers (a clock for some). First we matched the corresponding numbers and later, in Laurie’s lunch group, we added hand. Friends pointed the small hand to a number and guessed what time they created. Then we counted the numbers backwards around the wheel. (We recreated our Thumbelina sun, knowing we have more time to make another set piece!)

We added a triangle to create a corresponding chime to the numbers on the clock.

After play rehearsal, we danced to Danny Kaye’s “Thumbelina”. Friends paired up and danced together safely and with excitement!

We didn’t get outside this am, but Lisa had an exercise plan ready to go. After reading a story, she explained her physical therapy journey to Wee friends. She explained what a physical therapist is/does and gave them examples of the exercises she does to keep her back strong. Friends stretched their backs and legs and hugged their knees. Incidentally, as I write, all of our nappers (who generally nap each day!) are asleep!

O my, the Wee sparks fly. And we are READY….SET….GO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Oatmeal and pears. Lunch: Whole wheat penne pasta with red beans, broccoli and pineapple/banana fruit salad. Snack: Yogurt and apple slices.

Have a great day.

Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

We started off our Monday with gross motor action. P.K. and Clara jumped up and down along the slide. It’s wonderful to see our friends coming up with new ways to use materials throughout the classroom. Instead of sliding down the slide, friends are using it for jumping purposes.

Music was turned on so children pointed and said, “shakers!” Once the shakers were available, we walked around the classroom moving about to the music.

A few of our friends were particularly involved with babies today. We burped them, gave lots of kisses, and fed them!

It was gorgeous outside this morning! The sun was shining so we bundled up and headed out.

Friends gathered on the swing where we sang songs. We sung for a little bit until most of us ran off to another activity!

This afternoon, P.K. was involved with reading. His favorites were our ‘big’ books especially the train book! He has favorites on every page!

While we were low numbers for most of the day, friends lounged around with their friends in between gross motor play and pretend play.

Clara made her gross motor play known to her friends as she jumped down the slide and letting out a big scream!

For breakfast, children had cheerios and banana. AM snack was corn. Lunch consisted of ham, cheese slices, whole wheat bread, banana, and corn. PM snack was goldfish and string cheese.

Have a terrific evening!

-Mindy

Happy Birthday, Lisa! Today Lisa turns 29!

Monday Highlights!

• Since the Blue Bus didn’t come today, we created our own tumbling experience for Wee Friends! With a message board, we found out what our friends do on their Blue Bus and then we got to our workout!
• Life Skills at work! Friends work hard from everything to picking up toys, clearing their lunch plates and dropping them into the dishwasher to being a page turner. We learn how to share our physical space and sometimes sing “My Space” to remind ourselves.
• Math FAB K.2.1: Model addition by joining sets of objects

Wee Sprouts: Broccoli. Breakfast: Whole wheat toast with peanut butter and bananas. Lunch: Sloppy Joes, corn and pineapple. Snack: Birthday cupcakes and bananas.

Enjoy your day.

Happy Friday!

Here are a few pictures that were taken throughout the day.

For breakfast, children had Chex and raisins. AM snack was peas. Lunch consisted of scalloped potatoes with ham and cheese, banana, and corn. PM snack was rice cake with soy butter and oranges.

Hope everyone has a terrific weekend!

-Mindy