Happy March! THINK SPRING, THINK SPRING…..

“Empathy is:

seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another, and feeling with the heart of another.” ~ inspiremykids.com

Today we read the book Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems. This story has quickly become a favorite of ours and friends ask for it to be read daily. Miss Marty also LOVES this story  and I could read it over and over to friends.  

The story is all about how a monster was trying to scare anyone he could find to possibly scare. Finally he found “the perfect candidate” and that’s when all the fun begins and the teaching/learning portion of the story comes into play.

Empathy and friendship making skills are huge in early childhood and teachers work very hard to instill these skills everyday in the classroom and this story shows just that… EMPATHY!

According to Parents magazine, “Studies show that around two years of age children start to show true signs of genuine empathy, understanding how other people feel when they don’t feel the same way themselves. And not only do they feel another person’s pain, but they actually try and soothe it.”

Just look at all the warm hearted embraces and gentleness beaming from our little ones.

Miss Rebekah finished placing all the colorful pictures up in the Wee Art Gallery and they look FANTASTIC!!! Make sure to check them out.

Breakfast: Whole wheat butter toast with Apples.

Lunch: Turkey and cream cheese lunchmeat roll-ups, whole wheat bread, green peppers, and pears.

Snack: Whole grain cheese crackers with Mozzarella string cheese. 

Wee Sprouts: Carrots.

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

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljb5hZeOfFbZRX6Sblw

Happy Friday and Happy March!

**Wee Friends will be closed Friday, April 19th in observance of Good Friday.

Lucy and Maxwell’s sign in today asked them to view the cover of this story and predict what the story was about.

We tested their predictions by reading the story in K/PREK1 group. The rest of our group members also made their predictions. Anna said, “I think it’s about people being different in a city.”  ‘Most People’ talks about what ‘most people’ like to do. Penny asked, “What does most mean?!”. This brought up a meaningful conversation right at the start of group. Lucy responded, “Most means mostly all people but not everyone.”

We were able to spend our group time by talking about what makes us alike as well as what makes us different!

K.RL.2.4: Make predictions about what will happen in a story.

Anna and Lucy helped Miss Kim bring up new house keeping clothing from the basement this morning. Our excitement was through the roof! Friends were so happy to wear new dress up clothes. Our favorites were the sparkly cape and the white princess dress.

Outside time (twice today!) makes for happy Wee Friend children!

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/6-reasons-children-need-to-play-outside-2018052213880

Breakfast– Rice cakes with peanut butter and fresh oranges.

Lunch– Ham or turkey cream cheese rollups, whole wheat tortillas, fresh oranges/banana, and fresh broccoli/cucumber.

PM snack– Block cheese and pretzels.

Wee Sprout– Fresh green beans/cucumber.

Have a terrific weekend!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 3/1

Good Afternoon!

After reading ‘Ferdinand’, we took six objects and used a ruler to measure the length of each item. Each friend got a turn to come up and hold an object while we measured it. As a group, we compared the length by using comparing words like ‘longer’ and ‘shorter’.

K.M.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.

In PREK2, children used their one to one correspondence skills to count which group of animals was bigger. The group of pigs went along with the book that they read which was ‘Pig Sty’.

Enjoy the pictures from our Thursday!

Breakfast– Corn chex and fresh pears/banana.

Lunch– Brown rice with shredded beef, fresh pears/oranges, and fresh green beans/peppers.

PM snack– Graham crackers and sunflower seeds.

Wee Sprout– Fresh peppers/green beans.

Have a great evening!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 2/28

Good Afternoon and happy last day of February!!!

“Children are like snowflakes each one is unique.”

Enjoy the pictures from our day!

Breakfast: Whole grain Chex and banana.

Lunch: Whole grain brown rice with shredded beef, broccoli, and banana.

Snack: Pretzels with cheddar block cheese.

Wee Sprouts: Corn.

Have a great night!

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljb4Vod20w1g1nv0ZlA

Good Afternoon All.

“The child is not an empty being who owes whatever he knows to us who have filled him up with it. No, the child is the builder of man. There is no man existing who has not been formed by the child he once was.” Maria Montessori 

Today our friends were busy, busy, busy! That equals a GREAT DAY!!!   

We as teachers get very excited when our Wee Wee’s parallel play and also work together as a team.  Today we saw much of that in multiple different activities. Friend’s used their words with one another, took turns, and were very patient when one friend was building off of the others blocks. We even noticed some problem solving skills being introduced with a couple of our older friends, and of course some silliness being added into our play.

Way to go guys!! 

Breakfast: Whole grain cheerios and banana.

Lunch: Farm fresh scrambled eggs with cheese, whole wheat toast with peanut butter, cucumbers, and strawberries.

Snack: Whole wheat Ritz crackers with hummus.

Wee Sprouts: Peas

Have a nice evening.

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljb0eVGz48adAhhtUbQ

Good Afternoon!

Lucy dove right into a kindergarten activity this morning which revolved around using a yard stick to measure items. After grabbing a pencil and clipboard, she went around the environment and grabbed several different materials. She used the yard stick to measure the materials and then documented it on her clip board. Lucy worked on her number identification as well as her kid spelling as she made her list.

K.M.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.

Lucy and Maxwell have a special kindergarten sign in that they complete every morning. Today’s sign in asked them to place four cups from smallest to biggest. After they did, they were asked to circle the cup that they think would hold the most water.

We set up an experiment at the art table where we tested out each of their predictions. Lucy and Max put the cups in the same order in their journal and that prediction turned out to be correct! Not only did we talk about the height of each cup but also how round it was.

K.M.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.

We want to wish Sophia a BIG Happy 4th Birthday!

Enjoy the pictures from our day!

Breakfast– Whole grain oatmeal with honey and fresh pears.

Lunch– Farm fresh scrambled egg roll ups on whole wheat flatbread, fresh cantaloupe, and fresh cherry tomatoes/green beans.

PM snack– Sophia’s birthday treat: applesauce muffins and string cheese.

Wee Sprout– Fresh green beans/cherry tomatoes.

Have a fantastic evening.

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 2/27

Good Afternoon!

In K/PREK1 group, we read a book that one of our kindergarteners picked out: The Berenstain Bears: No Girls Allowed. Before we started reading, we looked at the cover for clues as to what the book was about. When friends started sharing their thoughts, I asked a question: “Have you ever not allowed a friend to play with you?”. All six members looked around quietly at each other and slowly started raising their hand. We had a thoughtful discussion about our feelings and how friends can and do make sure feel. Not only did we talk about the sad feelings that we feel but the happy feelings too!

Our words have power and as friends get older, they come to understand just how much power they have! One of our main goals is to give children the tools to solve their problems with words. Problem solving is something that occurs several times a day. When children come to the end of their time here at Wee Friends, our goal is to have given them enough tools so they can solve their problems using their words, without any adult interaction.

“Every conflict presents you with a choice. You can choose to view conflict as an opportunity to teach or as an opportunity to blame and punish.”

-Dr. Becky Bailey

PREK2 took Montessori beads and created different sized chains. After their chain was made, they used paper dinosaurs as a measure. Franklin used more dinosaurs to measure his chain than Chloe did. Children quickly shared that Franklin’s bead chain was longer than Chloe’s.

Grady and Maxwell played around with wooden boards and blocks to try and make different ramps. They used cars on the ramps to see how differently they would move.

This idea grew and eventually took up the entire habitrail, our gross motor area. When they had the final product, we worked together to make sure it was stable enough. We switched out the cars for marbles because they are round and moved better on our ramp.

We had to make a few changes but eventually, a marble traveled the entire track, ending in a wooden bin which was our goal!

This happened over and over (and over and over!) again. Friends took various turns, picking out two marbles to put down the track.

This activity was full of imagination, trial and error, collaboration, and pure joy.

Chloe sat at the art table where she started by writing ‘mom’ without any help. After, she asked how to write her brothers name. She knew it started with an E and with a little teacher assistance, she was able to write his name. Her writing experience took off from there, writing different teacher and friend names.

Chloe used a letter guide where she focused on her uppercase letters. She turned it over and said, “I want to write these smaller letters!”. Through the whole experience, she guided the process, asked the questions, and shared her enthusiasm with friends who eventually came to the table too.

“Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment.”

-Maria Montessori

Breakfast– Total Whole Grain and fresh oranges.

Lunch– Hummus on whole wheat flatbread, fresh strawberries, and fresh green beans/carrots.

PM snack– Whole grain bagel with cream cheese and block cheese.

Wee Sprout– Fresh green beans/carrots.

Have a great evening!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 2/26

Good Afternoon.

“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.” ~ Maria Montessori 

Today our friends experienced a new, exciting way to paint. Several colors were added into a large bucket along with a small ball, and our little ones were happily rolling that ball all around in the bucket. They made beautiful and very colorful paintings.

We will be adding these paintings to our Wee Art Gallery very soon, so please keep a close look out for your child’s work of art!

Breakfast: Whole grain Chex cereal with Apples.

Lunch: Whole grain tortillas with hummus, sweet potatoes, and  strawberries,

Snack:Whole wheat bagels with butter and oranges.

Have a nice night!

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljbwuSLtWQ4fQ-Q78bw

Good Afternoon!

In K/PREK1, we read ‘Thidwick, the Big Hearted Moose’ which is a story about several different animals moving onto Thidwick’s antlers. When a different animal moved in, we compared them to the animals that were already there. “The animals are getting bigger!”, one friend shared.

After we finished the story, children helped me sort pictures into categories. I read all of the categories first: long, light, short, cold, hot, and heavy. We quickly came to realize that a few pictures could go in multiple categories. For example, we were trying to decided which group was best for the giraffe: long or heavy. Friends shared their thoughts and as a group, we decided that the giraffe belonged in the ‘long’ category because of it’s neck.

K.M.1: Make direct comparisons of the length, capacity, weight, and temperature of objects, and recognize which objects is shorter, longer, taller, lighter, heavier, warmer, cooler, or holds more.

In PREK2, friends made a prediction about the book they were going to read. The title was, ‘The Berenstain Bears Catch the Bus’. Before they started to read the story, children looked at the front cover of the book and answered the following question: “Will Brother and Sister Bear be able to catch the bus?”. It was almost a split decision, with three friends saying ‘yes’ and two friends saying ‘no’. As they read the story, their question was answer: Yes! The Berenstain Bears did catch the bus.

We had a request for the ‘Crystal Climbers’ this morning which were put out in the science area. Quickly, several friends came to join and build their own creations. This activity requires strong fine motor muscles as it can be challenging to put these pieces together.

The art table was buzzing with letters, sounds, and putting thoughts onto paper. Children played with letters as initiative was taken by writing the letters down on paper.

Breakfast– Whole wheat bagel with butter and fresh pears.

Lunch– Whole wheat noodles with kidney beans, fresh oranges/banana, and fresh cucumber/carrots.

PM snack–  Whole milk yogurt with fresh oranges.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/carrots.

Have a lovely night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 2/25

Happy Monday. I hope you all had a fantastic weekend.

“Free choice is one of the highest of all mental process.” ~Maria Montessori

The trampoline is always a great way to get and keep our friends bodies in motion when it is just too bitter cold outside. This gross motor activity is a favorite of all our little Wee Wee’s!

While engaged in this fun activity we can learn how to balance our bodies, use a jumping motion, work on taking turns, (waiting for our turn) and work together if we deicide to jump with a friend.

Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios with Apples.

Lunch: Whole wheat pasta with kidney beans, corn, and apples.

Snack: Whole milk yogurt with graham crackers.

Wee Sprouts: Peas.

Have a fantastic evening.

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljbseXkDa–1woIs-wQ