Good Afternoon!

**Group A will go to the farm (weather permitting) tomorrow (Wednesday) morning. We will leave around 9:50 am. Please make sure children are appropriately dressed for the weather!

Spring 2019 Farm Groups

We LOVE having a multiage preschool/K classroom! However, this means our mix of children is always changing and this makes us continually reevaluate the way we plan daily and extracurricular activities.

As we look to our spring farm trips, most of our crew is already 4 or 5 years old. This is great! But, it also means that we will need to adjust our farm groups to fit the children we have right now.

Therefore, this spring there will be 2 groups that will rotate every other week, with our kindergarten children attending every week.

*WE ONLY TAKE FULLY POTTY TRAINED CHILDREN. CHILDREN NOT YET POTTY TRAINED WILL NEED TO TRANSPORTED AND CHAPERONED BY A PARENT/GRANDPARENT/ETC.

Group A: Nina, Anna, Grady, David, Penny, Chloe, Franklin, Maxwell, Lucy

Group B: Emma, Sophia, Forrest, Ruby, Zoey, Brycen, Mack, Maxwell, Lucy

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The weather affects what we do, what we wear, and the outdoor environment. We created four weather webs after reading a book titled, ‘Snow’. I asked children to tell me what they thought of when hearing the following words: spring, summer, fall, and winter. Friends came up with activities and clothing that were specific to each season.

Science: K.3.5 Describe and give examples of weather changes and illustrate how weather affects people and the environment.

I read this ‘Teacher Tom’ blog post this morning and it rang true to what we deal with when we get a ‘new’ toy out. Even if it’s a toy we’ve played with before, when it makes it’s reappearance, everyone wants to play with it.

Max requested the ‘big yellow tracks’ yesterday afternoon so we brought them up from the basement. Max and Lucy helped me clean them so that they were ready to go this morning. We can’t deny that children have strong emotions from time to time. It’s how we deal with these emotions that will get them to the other side.

“We were playing with our very cool, new-to-us, train table. There was a crush of kids vying for space and vehicles. One boy was particularly excited, so much so that his emotions were right on the surface and it was almost too much to bear when he couldn’t get his hands on a specific pair of train cars. He did not want “regular cars.” He did not want the other colors. He wanted the cars that were in the hands of his friend who was not about to give them up.”

http://teachertomsblog.blogspot.com/2019/04/that-was-kind-thing-to-do.html

Breakfast– Kix and fresh strawberries.

Lunch– Hummus on whole wheat tortilla/flatbread, fresh apples/pears, and fresh carrots/peppers.

PM snack– Whole wheat bagel with cream cheese and fresh pears.

Wee Sprout– Fresh carrots/peppers.

Have a fantastic evening!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 4/23

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Good Afternoon.

“When you get, GIVE. When you learn, TEACH. ~Maya Angelou

Today we celebrated Jack and his special day. HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY JACK!!!

Reading was on the top of our list of activities to engage ourselves in. We LOVE to read!!!

We were able to head outside for a while and enjoy the sandbox and other activities. Due to the colder temps setting in, we were only out for about thirty minutes or so, but we all had a great time getting some fresh air and a change of scenery.

Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios and apples.

Lunch: Whole wheat flatbread with shredded mozzarella cheese, corn and oranges.

Snack: Whole wheat bagels with cream cheese. Jack also brought in a special Birthday treat of Watermelon and Yogurt pops. (2% Greek yogurt, fresh strawberries, and honey) Thank you Jack, Ben and Jill  

Wee Sprouts: Corn.

Have a wonderful night!

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljeEX9_voXkvLbbweUw

Happy Earth Day!

Lucy celebrated her sixth birthday over the weekend! We enjoyed celebrating the day with her today! Happy birthday, Lucy!

Enjoy a few pictures from our day!

Breakfast– Whole wheat toast with butter and cinnamon along with banana.

Lunch– Whole wheat noodles with black beans and butter, fresh banana, and fresh cherry tomatoes.

PM snack– Lucy’s banana birthday muffins and whole milk yogurt.

Wee Sprout– Fresh pepper/cherry tomatoes.

Have a great evening!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 4/22

Good Afternoon!  What a beautiful sunny and warm Monday to start off the week.   We were all very excited this morning to see the yard waste bin sitting next to the trash bin waiting to be picked up.  With that being said, that means we got look out the window today and see 2 different trucks come instead of just one.

We then headed in the kitchen for a water play sensory activity.  We were given scoops, sponges, boats and water and land animals.  Miss Rebekah did an activity with us where she held up a boat for example, and we told her where we would find it, on land or in the water? We even added some dish soap to make bubbles in our water.  We loved it!

We then headed outside to enjoy the beautiful weather.  We were using our gross motor muscles to ride our bikes down the hill, our imaginations as we were standing on the ladder at the fire station and then going on a bear hunt.

Breakfast:  Whole grain toast with cream cheese and fresh oranges.

Lunch:  Whole grain wheat pasta with black beans, peas and fresh apples.

Afternoon Snack:  Whole milk yogurt with fresh strawberries.

Wee Sprouts:  Fresh cucumber.

Have a great night!

Rebekah

Link to pictures:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljeAK4kDJojqWTjdPNg

Good Afternoon!

We combined two of our favorite things in K/PREK1 group: animals and poetry! We read a book by Eric Carle where he combined the two. Friends got to pick an animal poem and afterwards, we talked about the animal and certain characteristics that the animal displays.

Science: K.4.2 Observe plants and animals, describing how they are alike and how they are different.

A few friends were quite helpful this morning as they helped Miss Kim make a special Thursday snack! They used various items to make the final product: trail mix!

Before lunch, we all got together to have an egg hunt. Each friend has a bag in their cubbie with four eggs. Throughout the egg hunt, we saw various social behaviors that we try to encourage each day:

“Mack, you can find your fourth egg! You can do it!”

“Oh here’s Lucy’s egg. I’ll let her be surprised and not tell her.”

“I hope that Grady’s able to find his fourth egg soon!”

Friends were encouraging their peers and exhibiting great team work!

Here’s a short Teacher Tom blog post to send us off to a long weekend.

How we talk to children matters. What we say matters. Being honest and truthful to children matters. I often find myself trying to correct what I’m saying so that I’m telling the truth. Instead of saying, “We don’t hit friends.”, I change it to, “I can not let you hit my friend.” There are times when friends exhibit behaviors because they need to hit something or use their hands in a certain way. “I see you need to hit something. We can go find something that’s appropriate to hit (a pillow for instance).”—sounds much more appropriate than “We can’t hit.”

http://teachertomsblog.blogspot.com/2019/04/replacing-false-with-true.html

Breakfast– Quaker Oatmeal Squares with fresh cantaloupe.

Lunch– Brown rice with chicken and shredded cheese, fresh oranges/apples/cantaloupe, and fresh peppers/cherry tomatoes.

PM snack– Homemade trail mix (Annie’s Friends Bunny Grahams, peanuts, raisins, coconut).

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/cherry tomatoes.

We hope everyone has a fantastic holiday weekend.

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 4/18

Good Afternoon.

“Let your smile chance the world, but don’t let the world change your smile.” ~Unknown

Please Note: There is artwork in your child’s art cubby slot to be taken home.  

This morning Miss Annastecia had an impromptu music session with several of our friends. This one however, is just a little different than what you would call a “normal” type of music fun. We didn’t use the piano’s, drums or even the xylophone’s… we used our voices.

Miss Annastecia was lightly tapping on friend’s backs and bellies with her hands as our little guys used their voices to make different sounds. They said, “ahhhhhh” and heard how broken up their voice sounded compared to a regular ahhhh with no tapping on the back. We also added in using words to see what that would sound like.

This activity also enhances how we can be mindful of our bodies and different sensations-  in the present moment, connecting our breath and voice to the rhythm on our bellies/backs.

We went outside early this morning to beat any rain that may have been heading back our way.

Miss Annastecia and friends walked all around the outside play yard talking about the Spring season and all that it brings. Since the area was wet from the rain we had earlier in the morning Miss Annastecia told the kids all about how the rain helps our flowers grow, our plants grow, and the leaves on the tress to turn green. We were even able to see some flowers that had already bloomed.

Then they walked around the garden area to see what they could find. Jack saw a worm and said, “Look a snake!!” He then found out it was a worm and a conversation was struck up about what worms eat and what eats worms. We even saw that our Rhubarb had already started to grow.

It was a very full and morning with so many wonderful learning moments! What a great way to end our week.

Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios and banana.

Lunch: Whole grain brown rice with shredded chicken, fresh orange peppers and oranges.

Snack: Whole grain goldfish with cheddar block cheese.

Have a fantastic Easter weekend, and we’ll see you all on Monday!

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljd5i-7FRkOsXmLG_sQ

Good Afternoon.

“Let them be little. Because they are only that way for a while.” ~Pinterest.com

We absolutely LOVE parent and grandparent involvement with our Wee Wee’s!

Evie and Nesta’s Papa read us a few stories this morning before he left for his day and Jack’s grandma also read quite a few stories to everyone!

Thank you to both of you for your love, time and involvement with our little ones. You are appreciated.  

We enjoyed painting with Easter egg halves and square shaped Duplo blocks today. This activity enhanced our fine motor, hand-eye coordination, sensory and shape and color recognition skills. All while having so much fun.

Breakfast: Oatmeal with honey and banana.

Lunch: Farm fresh scrambled egg and ham mini muffins, whole wheat buttered toast,  peas and oranges.

Snack: Whole wheat Ritz crackers and hummus.

Have a wonderful night!

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljd1g7Gt_ae0PY-hnCg

Good Afternoon!

In K/PREK1, we read ‘Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy’ which centers around two main characters. The two friends met at the park and everything was going perfectly fine until they discussed what they wanted to play. They couldn’t agree upon a game which lead to frustration and arguing, which can be a common occurrence among three to five year old children. We roll played how we would handle something like this and we came up with several well thought out options:

1. “They could just go find another friend to play with if they were upset.”

2. “They could take turns playing a game that they wanted. The older child could start and then it would be the younger ones turn. That way they each get to choose a game.”

3. “They could figure out a game that they both want to play. I think that’s what happens in this book…”

This friend was right! We talked about how we would feel in this situation and how we can share our feelings with our peers and teachers if something like this should happen.

In PREK2, animal habitats were the main focus as friends had to determine which habitat belonged to which animal. The group discussed what a habitat was before deciphering where each of the animals lived.

Our Wednesday was full of paint, LEGOS, pretend play in the habitrail and housekeeping areas, and snuggle time reading with various teachers.

Wednesday is our egg day for lunch and instead of making our normal scrambled eggs, we made egg muffins! We used our farm fresh eggs from Miss Charlotte and friends took their time figuring out what they wanted in their egg muffins. They got to choose from cheese, ham, peppers, and tomatoes. They ended up being a hit! At first, a few friends couldn’t decide if they had eggs in front of them or a muffin. After talking it out, they realized it was both eggs and a muffin!

Breakfast– Whole grain oatmeal with honey and fresh watermelon.

Lunch– Farm fresh egg muffins (choice of ham, peppers, tomatoes), whole wheat tortilla, fresh watermelon/apple, and fresh carrots/peppers.

PM snack– Air popped popcorn with fresh cantaloupe.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/carrots.

Have a great evening!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 4/17

Good Afternoon!

When swimmers were off at the YMCA, the rest of our friends took advantage of this GORGEOUS day and strolled throughout the neighborhood, looking for signs of spring. We walked down to the train tracks where friends asked questions that they had. Teachers initiated a conversation about safety during walks. Several children shared that we should only walk on the sidewalk along with using walking feet.

Enjoy a few pictures from our day!

Breakfast– Corn chex and fresh oranges.

Lunch– Hummus on whole wheat tortilla, fresh watermelon, and fresh broccoli/snap peas.

PM snack– Whole wheat bagels with cream cheese, block cheese, and fresh oranges.

Wee Sprout– Fresh broccoli and snap peas.

Have a great evening.

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 4/16

Good Sunny Afternoon!

“Children:”

“I will let them be little, fill their hearts with laughter, help them grow wings, nurture their sense of wonder, inspire them to believe and love them like there is no tomorrow.”  ~Quotes.com 

It has been a long time since the Wee Wee classroom has a had a baby! We are overjoyed that Nesta is here with us daily and brings us all such joy and happiness with her big bright smiles and happy personality.

Daniel and Evie enjoy one another’s company very much. They both thought it would be so much fun to look at themselves in the mirror  and make silly faces at themselves and each other. Imaginations running wild!  

Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios and Apples.

Lunch: Whole wheat flatbread with hummus, corn and watermelon slices.

Snack: Whole wheat bagels with (Kids choice) peanut butter or cream cheese.

Wee Sprouts: Cucumbers.

Have a lovely night!

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljdxRCwj_O0DJPvaECA