Happy Eclipse Monday!

This morning the friends were busy in the play kitchen cooking, washing the fruits and vegetables before putting them in bowls or on plates.

Charlotte used a scarf from housekeeping to play peek-a-boo and rocked in the rocking chair with Eleanor.

We then headed into the kitchen to paint, using Q-tips and orange and red tempera paint.  We have read the book, Mouse Paint many times,  so Miss Bekah asked her older friends, “What color paint do we make when we mix our red and yellow paint together?.”  It wasn’t long before I heard Ben say, “orange”.  The friends loved using their Q-tip to make circles, along with squiggles and thin lines all over their papers.

We then headed outside the enjoy the beautiful morning weather.  We dug in the sandbox, pushed and rode the bikes down the hill, dug in the rock area with the excavator, our shovel or used our hand to pick up the rocks.

Breakfast:  Whole grain wheat bread toasted with peanut butter and fresh apple slices.

Lunch:  Whole grain wheat penne pasta with red kidney beans, fresh cantaloupe and yellow bell peppers.

Afternoon Snack:  Whole milk yogurt and graham crackers.

Wee Sprouts:  Cucumbers.

Have a great evening!

Rebekah and Tina

Link to pictures:  2024-04-08

Happy Monday!

This week, we’re focusing on animals and plants! Today, we started talking about the classification groups of animals. We had two friends in PREK1 who were able to correctly place their animal into the group after hearing a quick description and a few examples of animals in each classification group.

Science: K.4.1 Give examples of plants and animals.

We devoted the morning to learning about the solar eclipse and trying out some projects to visually enhance our understanding.  We talked about how the moon will pass directly in front of the sun today blocking it from view.  I used some balls to demonstrate how this will happen.  The older kids worked on a science project creating the eclipse with paper.  Adrian took special interest.  After the project he made several drawings to help him work out exactly what was happening with the sun, moon and earth!

We created a drawing project that made the effect of a total eclipse and how it looks in the sky when the moon completely covers the sun.  We used a paper circle and rubbed chalk around the outside.  When we removed the circle, we could see our eclipse!

Breakfast– Whole wheat toast with butter and fresh oranges.

Lunch– Whole wheat pasta fresh tomatoes/fresh basil/shredded cheese, fresh pineapple/pears, and fresh cucumber/pepper.

PM snack– Whole milk yogurt with granola.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/pepper.

Have a lovely night!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-04-08

Happy Friday!

This morning we were engaged in a variety of activities.  Ben and another friend tossed the ball across the front area of the classroom, Eleanor and Eden played together in the cube, Eliza, Ben and another friend cooked in housekeeping, Charlotte engaged with the baby blankets and wooden loose parts, and another friend and Eleanor played with the beanie animals in the cube.

Several friends were busy building with the clear cylinder blocks with our artwork inside.  They loved stacking them on top of each other.

We then headed into the kitchen to engage in the moon sand sensory table.  The friends were busy scooping using a variety of shovels and cups to scoop it and put it into.  They also explored the sea animals that were in the table and asked the names of them if they didn’t know it.  Ben used his shovel to “make a pile,” he said.

Breakfast: Whole grain brown rice cakes with peanut butter and fresh pear.

Lunch: Whole grain wheat bread with hummus, cantaloupe slices, bananas, and cucumbers.

Afternoon Snack: Goldfish crackers with mozzarella cheese stick.

Wee Sprout: Red bell pepper.

Have a great weekend!

Rebekah and Tina

Link to pictures: 2024-04-05

Happy Friday!

Enjoy a quick peek into how we wrapped up our week!

Breakfast– Brown rice cakes with peanut butter and banana.

Lunch– Peanut butter on whole wheat tortilla, fresh strawberries/cantaloupe/banana, and fresh pepper/cucumber.

PM snack– Pretzels and colby cheese

Wee Sprout– Fresh pepper/cucumber.

Have a great weekend!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-04-05

Good afternoon!

This morning our friends participated in their favorite activities like playing on the Habi-trail and throwing plastic balls and snowballs.

We then made our way to the kitchen for a sensory activity with shaving cream. We used different plastic bugs to engage with our shaving cream. Some friends stacked their bugs and said “they’re so tall!”.

Our friends also played with plastic blocks in two different ways. Some friends flipped them over to use as boats, and others flipped them over to use as a basket to throw their ball into.

Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios cereal with fresh apple.

Lunch: Whole grain brown rice with shredded pork, fresh orange slices, and sweet potatoes.

Afternoon Snack: Whole grain Wheat Thins crackers with peanut butter.

Wee Sprouts:  Orange bell peppers.

Have a wonderful evening!

Tina and Rebekah

Link to pictures: 2024-04-04

Good Afternoon!

Enjoy the pictures from our day!

Breakfast- Kix and fresh pineapple.

Lunch- Brown rice with shredded turkey, fresh pineapple/kiwi/banana, and fresh pepper/cucumber.

PM snack- whole wheat crackers with peanut butter and seeds on top (sunflower, pumpkin and peanut)

Wee Sprout- Fresh pepper/cucumber.

Have a lovely night.

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures:2024-04-04

Good Afternoon!

This morning, our friends got out the stepping stones and placed them by the slide. Friends would start at the steps of the habi-trail, walk around to the slide, go down the slide, and then walk on the stepping stones to make their way back to the steps of the habi-trail.

We then made our way to the kitchen to work on our hand-eye coordination in an activity using Styrofoam, wooden hammers, and golf tees. Friends would place their golf tees in the Styrofoam and then use a hammer to pound them further in.

Our friends then made their way back into the classroom to build with the Duplos. Some friends built on their own, while others worked together. Ben shared that he was “making a robot” with his Duplos.

Breakfast:  Overnight oatmeal with cinnamon/sugar mixture and fresh oranges.

Lunch: Farm fresh scrambled eggs, whole wheat tortilla, peas, and fresh kiwi slices.

Afternoon Snack:  Blue corn tortilla chips and guacamole.

Wee Sprouts: Mini sweet bell peppers and yellow bell pepper.

Have a wonderful evening.

Tina and Rebekah

Link to pictures: 2024-04-03

Good Afternoon!

Each PREK1 kiddo came to the sign in activity where they each worked with either a subtraction or addition story problem. We read the story problem and then children got the opportunity to write out the equation before attempting to solve it! A few kids were able to do the problem in their head while others used manipulatives to solve their equation.

A few younger friends were hanging around the sign in board and asked, “What’s a story problem?”. Adrian and William shared that it’s a story that has some sort of math problem in it!

K.CA.1-2: Solve real-world problems, objects, or drawings that involve addition and subtraction within 10. Demonstrate the equation (e.g., 5=3+2 and 5=4+1).

The welcome activity at the circle table revolved around various manipulatives such as colored wood pieces and animals. This open ended activity allowed children of all ages to explore it. Adrian and Nesta used the green wooden pieces to create their own forest for their animals. They made the forest the same on each tray! Hannah took her pieces and lined them up in a row. She started lining up the wooden pieces, talking about the colors she was using before ending her line with a few animals.

A few younger girls took it upon themselves to get smocks on and asked to paint at the art easel. Instead of regular paint brushes, children painted with circular sponges! This allowed children to paint in a few different ways: dragging the sponge across the page to make lines or by simply pressing the sponge into the paper, making small circles!

Breakfast- Whole grain oatmeal with cinnamon and fresh kiwi.

Lunch– Farm fresh scrambled eggs with whole wheat tortilla, fresh pineapple/apple, and fresh carrots/cucumber.

PM snack– Blue corn chips with refried beans.

Wee Sprout– Fresh pepper/carrot/cucumber.

Have a lovely night.

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-04-03

Good Afternoon!

This morning we engaged in a variety of activities.  We climbed  up on the habi-trail and held onto the top rung of the ladder to jump, built with Duplos and sat in our plastic blocks.

We then headed into the kitchen with Miss Tina to engage with our wooden shape loose parts and  farm animals.  We explored the different shapes, the animals and made shape stacks with the pieces.

Since it was raining and we couldn’t go outside to get some gross motor activity, Miss Bekah brought out a tunnel for us to crawl through.

Breakfast:  Puffins cereal and fresh pear slices.

Lunch:  Chicken avocado salad, whole grain wheat bread, fresh strawberries and corn.

Afternoon Snack:  Whole grain wheat bagels with butter and cinnamon/sugar mixture and fresh strawberries.

Wee Sprouts:  Mini sweet bell peppers.

Have a terrific evening!

Rebekah and Tina

Link to pictures: 2024-04-02

Good Afternoon!

We kicked off our Tuesday morning by working with addition problems for our PREK1 sign in activity. Each child came up to the board where they found their name. They counted each set of items in their equation, wrote the number under each grouping, and then added the numbers together! They wrote the total of the equation at the end.

K.CA.1-2: Solve real-world problems, objects, or drawings that involve addition and subtraction within 10. Demonstrate the equation (e.g., 5=3+2 and 5=4+1).

After we read, ‘Thidwick, the Big Hearted Moose’, we talked about story problems. Each child chose an addition strip and held it in their lap. I read one story problem at a time and when a child thought their addition problem matched the story problem, they raised their hand. We taped the problem underneath and solved it together.

K.CA.1-2: Solve real-world problems, objects, or drawings that involve addition and subtraction within 10. Demonstrate the equation (e.g., 5=3+2 and 5=4+1).

Even though it was cold and rainy outside this morning, we chose to have a great morning inside! Friends took turns at the circle table where they used gems in a variety of ways. Two big pieces of paper were made available with random lines and shape outlines. This open ended activity allowed children to use their imagination with the gems. A few children chose to trace the lines and shape outlines while others chose to put the gems in the blank spaces and match colors! The ideas were endless which allowed children to come back to the activity a few times to try something new.

Enjoy a few more pictures from our day!

Breakfast– Chex and fresh oranges.

Lunch– Homemade chicken avocado on whole wheat bread, fresh strawberries/oranges, and fresh carrots/cherry tomatoes.

PM snack– Whole wheat cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/pepper.

Have a wonderful night!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-04-02