Good Afternoon!

PREK1 friends had the opportunity to come sign in this morning where we worked on creating rhyming words. Children were given the word ‘can’ and had to come up with a rhyming word. Once they said aloud a word that rhymed, they sounded their word out using their knowledge of letter sounds. Then, they kid spelled their rhyming word! Every single child was able to do this which was amazing! We’ve seen a huge uptick in interest level and readiness when it comes to writing and letter identification/sounds.

There has been a lot of interest in building zoos and animal houses in the building area lately.  Today as a loose parts activity, we offered the opportunity to expand on those interests with some new materials and see where it went.  As always many friends enjoyed watching what their peers did as much as they enjoyed doing the activity themselves.  There is such an incredible amount of learning going on during this focused observation, especially in a multi-age classroom like ours!

There are several friends who have really taken big leaps in their drawing abilities lately.  This ability represents leaps in both fine motor and cognitive development.  It takes a high level of neuro-cooperation to conceptualize ideas within the mind,  transfer those thoughts to paper using the hand, and then verbalize all of that processing!

PREK 2:  During group today we read the story “Friendship Day”.  After the story we thought of ways we could be friendly to others.  There were many creative answers like “Give a friend pineapple”!

Breakfast: Kix cereal with fresh bananas.

Lunch: Peanut butter on whole wheat bread/tortilla, fresh apples/pears and cucumbers/carrot slices.

PM snack: Whole wheat bagel with cream cheese and fresh blueberries.

Wee Sprouts: Fresh green, red and yellow bell peppers along with carrot chips.

Link to Photos: 2023-12-05

Stay warm everyone!

~Wee Friends Teachers

Good Afternoon!

This morning we began by engaging ourselves in a variety of different activities.  The friends engaged to build a shape train, dressed up in dress up clothes and accessories, danced to Jumping and Counting by Jim Gill, played with the food in housekeeping and enjoyed reading a book.

We then headed into the kitchen to paint with the watercolor cakes using a sponge brush on paper and coffee filters.  We filled our coffee filters and papers full of colors.

Breakfast:  Whole grain wheat bread toast with butter and fresh pear slices.

Lunch:  Whole grain wheat penne pasta with shredded beef, fresh apples and peas.

Afternoon Snack:  Whole milk yogurt and graham crackers.

Wee Sprout:  Red bell peppers.

Have a great evening!

Rebekah and Tina

Link to pictures: 2023-12-04

Happy Monday!

We were busy today in many different areas of the classroom.  Several friends helped to test some new painting materials to see what kind of marks they made when pressed against paper.  In the reading area, groups of friends gathered to look at books together and talk about the stories.  In the building area, a group project evolved.  A group of friends worked together with the notch blocks to create individual “animal rooms”.  In case you wonder if this was a zoo, I confirmed that it was not.  Every group member was in agreement that this was different from a zoo, so I apparently failed to see the subtleties.  The mindfulness activities have been very successful for helping our friends calm their bodies when needed.  The finger mazes have been particularly popular!

PREK2: During group time we read the story “What Should Darla Do?”. The book allows us to pick what choice Darla should make in a social situation and then tells us the outcome of the choice made.  We talked about what choices we thought worked out best in the end. 

Breakfast:  Whole wheat bagels with fresh orange slices.

Lunch:  Whole wheat pasta with marinara and cheddar cheese, fresh oranges/bananas and carrots/green beans.

PM Snack: Whole milk yogurt with graham crackers.

Wee Sprouts:  Fresh peppers and carrots slices.

Link to Photos:2023-12-04

Enjoy the rest of the afternoon!

~Wee Friends Teachers

Happy Friday and rainy 1st day of December.

This morning we began engaging in a variety of activities. We placed the textured stepping circles on the carpet and walked on them, looked at a book on the reading step and climbed up onto the habi-trail and stood up at the ladder.

We then headed into the kitchen to engage in a shaving cream and corn starch sensory experience with Miss Tina.  Waffle blocks and round caps were added for us to explore with in the shaving cream.  Miss Tina also asked us if we could identify any of the colors of the items on our trays.

Breakfast:  Whole grain brown rice cakes with cream cheese and fresh watermelon/cantaloupe.

Lunch:  Turkey lunch meat, whole grain wheat tortillas, carrots and fresh cantaloupe/pear slices.

Afternoon Snack:  Colby-Jack block cheese slices and whole grain Ritz crackers.

Wee Sprout:  Peas.

Have a great weekend!

Rebekah and Tina

Link to pictures: 2023-12-01

Happy Friday!  Enjoy the pictures from our day!

Breakfast: Brown rice cakes with peanut butter and fresh pears

Lunch: Ham on whole wheat bread with fresh carrots, peppers and cantaloupe

PM Snack: pretzels, mozzarella cheese and pears

Wee Sprouts: Fresh carrots and cucumber

Link to Photos:2023-12-01

Enjoy the weekend!

~Wee Friends Teachers

Good Afternoon!

** Wee Friends will be closed for our winter break starting Monday, December 25th through Friday, January 5th. We’ll reopen on Monday, January 8th.

*** To give everyone a early reminder, Wee Friends will be closed on Friday, February 23rd for Parent Teacher Conferences.

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We’ve been diving into maps and globes this week in PREK1 group and this morning, we identified the direction symbol that was located at the bottom of our map. We talked about the four directions after children wrote their name under what ‘N’ stands for which is North!

Social Studies: K.3.2 Identify maps and globes as ways of representing Earth and understand differences between a map/globe.

This morning we engaged in some water play, experimenting with water movement.  This activity was very popular and many friends spent the entire morning trying different water movement tools.  Some of the tools we used were: a syringe, a turkey baster, a squirt bottle and a pump bottle.  We set up the sensory bin and a couple of trays that each had something different to try.  There were several friends who realized that proposing a trade was a great solution for trying all of the different tools.  Many realized the mutual benefit here, and were eager to trade spots many times.  It was a good lesson in cooperation and awareness that what benefits “me” can also benefit “you”.

PREK2: Today during group we practiced the new deep breathing techniques that we learned yesterday.  The favorite seems to be Rainbow breath.  We read the story “Kittens first Moon” and practiced recalling events from the story.  At the end of group we each tried to remember one way the Kitten tried to reach the moon.

Breakfast: Chex cereal with fresh bananas.

Lunch: Brown rice with turkey, fresh pears/cantaloupe, and carrots/cucumber.

PM Snack: Whole wheat crackers with peanut butter and seeds sprinkled on top.

Wee Sprouts: Fresh bell peppers and carrot slices.

Link to Photos:2023-11-30

Enjoy the rest your the day!

~Wee Friends Teachers

*Please bring or keep snow pants, snow boots, winter coats, hats and gloves/mittens in your child’s cubby for outside play every day.  Please label them with your child’s name or initials.  Thank you.*

Happy Thursday!

This morning, our friends engaged in the front area with stepping stones and liquid squares. They also did flips on the ladder or sat on it like “a train” as Ben described it. Our friends also went up and down the Habi-trail slide.

Eden explored the animals inside the cube. She shared a big smile while standing in the cube!

Our friends enjoyed using colorful beads to stack and putting together the wooden trains.

We finally made our way outside for the first time this week. We played in the sandbox, worked on our balance skills, and walked around the play house with a truck.

Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios with fresh apple.

Lunch: Whole grain brown rice with red beans, corn, and watermelon slices.

Afternoon Snack: Sunflower seeds with Triscuits crackers.

Wee Sprout: Red bell pepper.

Have a wonderful evening!

Tina and Rebekah

Link to pictures: 2023-11-30

Happy Wednesday!

Today we explored a gigantic sensory bin filled with snow.  Many were eager to play with snow this morning so we decided to bring it inside.  We offered mittens to keep hands warm and to add a novel challenge to the activity.  Making snowballs with the ice cream scoops was a favorite activity in the snow.  Many friends noticed that as the snow was played with in the warm environment,  it began to change.  It was observed that the snow was getting “smaller”.  It was interesting for our friends to watch how the snow transformed as it slowly melted.

In the art center we enjoyed some new snowy white playdough with added silver and white sparkles.  A variety of sensory experiences at this age keeps young children engaged and at the same time promotes brain integration.  When all of the senses are stimulated simultaneously, the brain learns to function as one.  This will improve attention and focusing abilities though out life.

William played project manager today overseeing and designing a new obstacle course.  He added an L shaped balance beam, stepping stone blocks, stairs and bridges to hop or balance across.  It was a great social lesson in developing the skills needed for leading, using kind words and encouragement as a prompt to get others to willingly participate in a project.

Breakfast: Oatmeal with cinnamon and fresh watermelon

Lunch: Farm fresh boiled eggs with fresh bell peppers, cucumber, bananas and orange slices

PM Snack: Popped corn with cheddar cheese

Wee Sprouts: Fresh cucumbers and sliced carrots

Link to Photos:2023-11-29

Have a Lovely day!

Wee Friends Teachers

Good afternoon!

This morning we engaged with a few of our musical instruments.  We enjoyed making beautiful sounds from our pianos and xylophones together.

We then headed into the kitchen for a sensory experience with kinetic sand.  We each had a cookie cutter, half of a plastic egg, plastic caps, and a salamander or bug to explore with in it.  Several fiends told the teachers what their cookie cutter was when they made the imprint of it in the sand.  Our 1 year old friends explored playdough using a craft stick and an animal.

We then dressed up in dress up clothes and accessories. 

Eleanor enjoyed playing Peek-a boo with Eden with her silk blanket.

Breakfast:  Overnight Oatmeal with cinnamon/sugar mixture and fresh watermelon.

Lunch:  Farm fresh scrambled eggs, bananas, whole grain wheat bread and carrots.

Afternoon Snack:  Refried beans and white corn chips.

Wee Sprouts:  Cucumbers.

Have a wonderful evening!

Rebekah and Tina

Link to pictures: 2023-11-29

Good afternoon!

This morning, we brought down the snowballs for us to play with since its snowing outside. Our friends enjoyed exploring the texture of the balls and tossing them into the plastic blocks. 

We then made our way to the kitchen to draw and color with markers on our paper canvases. The babies even joined us and tried drawing with markers for the first time!

Eden and Eleanor engaged with some of the cooking tools from housekeeping to make food.

Breakfast:  Corn Chex cereal and fresh pear slices.

Lunch: Refried beans and shredded Colby-Jack cheese on whole wheat flatbread, apple slices, and cucumber.

Afternoon Snack: Whole grain wheat bagel with peanut butter and fresh watermelon.

Wee Sprout: Red bell pepper.

Have a great evening!

Tina and Rebekah

Link to pictures: 2023-11-28