Good afternoon!

Today is Emily’s 3rd birthday! We loved celebrating this special day with her. Thank you for the yummy birthday treat!

 

Today, we…

showed off our dress up skills by putting on different clothing items and accessories…

helped celebrate Emily’s birthday with the birthday cake stacker…

practiced our balancing skills on a balance beam course we built with wooden blocks…

and shared smiles with a friend as we helped put plastic rings on their head.

Breakfast: Whole grain corn Chex with orange slices.

Lunch: Peanut butter on whole wheat tortilla, block cheddar cheese, peas, and fresh apple slices.

Afternoon Snack: Banana muffins with Goldfish crackers (Emily’s birthday snack) and pear slices.

Wee Sprout: Cucumbers.

Have a beautiful evening!

Tina

Link to pictures: 2023-05-16

Good afternoon!

Kindergarteners had to identify each coin for their sign in activity this morning. We carried ‘coin’ talk into K/PREK1 group where we read, ‘Froggy’s Lemonade Stand’. The main character, Froggy, started a lemonade stand where the lemonade was 25 cents. We talked about a few different ways that we could come to the total 25 cents.

We finally planted our tomato seedlings in the ground!  Many of our friends helped plant them.  We were all very carefully with our delicate plants as we covered their roots with soil.  We learned that tomato plants can sprout roots from their stem.   We planted them deep so that their  root system would expand, allowing them to get more nutrients form the soil.  Many helpers went to the water pump and carried buckets of water to give the new plants a drink!

Many of us created collages in the art center today!  We used colored and white glue to add beads, tissue paper and foam to our paper, resulting in a wide variety of abstract art!

Breakfast– Cheerios with banana.

Lunch– Peanut butter on whole wheat tortilla, fresh pears/banana, and fresh carrots/green beans.

PM snack– Whole wheat bagel with cream cheese.

Wee Sprout– Fresh carrots/green beans.

Have a great night!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2023-05-16

Good afternoon!

In K/PREK1 group, we read ‘Just Saving My Money’ which hits on our FAB for the week. We talked about money in general but specifically saving money and what banks are used for. Children shared a few things that they or their parents spend their money on. A few of the things that were shared were food, toys, and paper!

Social Studies: K.4.1 Explain that people work to earn money to buy the things they want. Introduce money names and values.

Today we explored a science activity experimenting with a mixture of cornstarch and water.  We were able to work with a jar or corn starch and one of water.  We added spoonfuls of each in different amounts, mixing it and observing the consistency.  As we explored we talked about what the mixture felt like and how it behaved.  It took some trial and error but eventually we got the right about to create the simultaneous liquid solid state that makes this mixture so fascinating.  We tried tapping the mixture with our finger and noticed that the surface stayed solid.  Then we tried very slowly letting our finger just rest on the surface and noticed that our finger sank right into a liquid.  This became captivating to many of our friends. 

We found that our pupating lady bugs began emerging from their pupa over the weekend.  There were three fully formed lady bugs crawling around the habitat this morning.  We had a chance to take a peek and talk about what had happened.  Some of us drew pictures of the new lady bugs. 

Breakfast- Whole wheat toast with butter and fresh pears.

Lunch- Whole wheat noodles with black beans and butter, fresh grapes, and fresh carrots.

PM snack- Whole milk yogurt with granola.

Wee Sprout- Fresh carrots/green beans.

Have a great night!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2023-05-15

Happy Monday!

This morning we were engaged in many activities through out the classroom.  Arthur worked to move the beads through the maze on the wall maze board, Dax drove the cars around, Eliza engaged with the teddy bears, Paige and Emily built with Magna-Tiles and Hannah engaged with the Little People and placed them on the ledge.

We then headed outside the enjoy the beautiful weather after our Wee Sprout.  Emily sat on the balance beam with her sister to have a conversation, Dax rode on the teeter totter, Eliza went down the slide, Hannah rode bikes down the hill and Paige explored and built with the tree logs.

Eleanor enjoyed her time outside with her outside toys while sitting on the blanket and interacting with her sister.  Miss Bekah sat behind Eleanor and she would lean back against her, but then use her core muscles to pull herself up to sitting position to engage with her toys.

Breakfast: Whole grain wheat bread toasted with butter and cinnamon/sugar mixture, and apple slices.

Lunch: Whole grain wheat elbow pasta with shredded chicken, fresh oranges, and broccoli.

Afternoon Snack: Whole milk yogurt with graham crackers.

Wee Sprout: Green bell pepper.

Have a marvelous evening!

Rebekah and Tina

Link to pictures: 2023-05-15

Happy Friday!

Today we celebrated a birthday with our friend, Paige. She started with us when she was 2 months old and now she is 3 years old!  We are so happy we could celebrate with you.  Thank you for the delicious birthday snack.

Since we celebrated Paige’s birthday today, Miss Bekah brought up the stacking birthday cake.  We worked on our counting, patterning and sizing skills as we built multiple times.

We then headed outside to toss the balls around and draw with markers at the art table.  What a great way to end the week!

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

Lunch:  Turkey lunch meat with cream cheese roll-ups, whole grain wheat bread, bananas and fresh cucumbers.

Afternoon Snack:  Fresh fruit salad with cream cheese fruit dip (Paige’s birthday treat), pretzels and cheddar block cheese.

Wee Sprouts:  Orange bell pepper slices.

Have a great weekend and Happy Mother’s Day to all of our wonderful mommies!

Rebekah and Tina

Link to pictures: 2023-05-12

Happy Friday!

Happy Mothers Day!  The kids have been working hard over the last couple of weeks painting and decorating their herb garden they made as a gift for Mom!  Each child layered their paints as process art, first laying down a base color and then rolling and stamping textures to build the surface.  They planted their basil, parsley and cilantro seeds all by themselves and placed a carefully decorated marker next to each planting so each herb is labeled.  We had many wonderful discussions about how different each kind of seed looked from the others.  The cilantro seeds were the favorite because for many of our friends they strongly resembled their beloved rolly- polly bugs!  Each of your children also spent a lot of time creating a colorful card and thinking of special things they loved about Mom to put inside!  We are sure you will all appreciate the hard work your children put into making mothers day special!

Breakfast– Brown rice cakes with peanut butter and banana.

Lunch– Ham and cream cheese rollups, whole wheat tortilla, fresh strawberries/banana, and fresh carrots/cucumber.

PM snack– Pretzels and cheese.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/carrots.

We hope all of our amazing mom’s have a fantastic Mother’s Day weekend!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2023-05-12

Good afternoon!

Today we enjoyed exploring a loose parts magnetic building activity at the round table.  We used magnetic tiles and magnets of different shapes along with a variety of nuts and bolts to use our imagination and build with.  Millie created an elaborate house covered with washers, nuts and bolts as decorations.  William was proud of himself for making the letter S.  A few friends liked building boxes to put their nuts and bolts into.  One long bolt was used as a “wand’” to “magically” pick up magnets. 

Many of us spent time at the new sensory bin for some construction vehicle imaginative play.  A few friends worked together to make a mountain out of sand and then pushed it around with bulldozers and back hoes to make a road. 

Breakfast– Chex and fresh watermelon.

Lunch– Brown rice with shredded chicken, fresh pineapple/banana, and fresh carrots/green beans.

PM snack– Sunflower seeds and whole wheat crackers.

Wee Sprout– Fresh carrots/green beans.

Have a wonderful night!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2023-05-11

Good afternoon!

Enjoy the pictures from our day!

Breakfast: Whole grain Kix cereal with fresh oranges.

Lunch: Whole grain brown rice with shredded turkey, fresh pineapple and peas.

Afternoon Snack: Sunflower seeds with whole grain Triscuits crackers.

Wee Sprout: Cucumbers.

Have a beautiful evening!

Rebekah and Tina

Link to pictures: 2023-05-11

Good Afternoon!

We had a lot of fun using our imaginative skills to play with playdough. We used different tools like shape cutters and scissors to manipulate it. Emily said she made a birthday cake for Miss Jena.

While we were outside, Miss Bekah brought out a box for us to enjoy. Our friends took turns sharing it with others or sitting in it by themselves.

Breakfast:  Overnight Oatmeal with cinnamon/sugar mixture and bananas.

Lunch:  Farm fresh scrambled eggs with shredded cheese, fresh cucumbers/red bell peppers, fresh apple slices and whole grain wheat tortillas.

Afternoon Snack:  White corn chips with hummus and watermelon.

Have a wonderful evening!

Rebekah and Tina

Link to pictures:  2023-05-10

Hello!

This week in K/PREK1 group, we’ve been talking about jobs that people have and the tools they need to do those jobs. Monday, we focused on dentists and Tuesday, we focused on construction workers. Today, it was all about firefighters! After we read a story focusing on Firefighters, we talked about tools they need to do their jobs and it was a long list including ladders, truck, water, hose, ax, and gear!

This morning a few friends noticed that the lady bug larvae are entering the pupa stage!  The larvae had gathered on the side of their habitat and hung themselves upside down like a caterpillar.  Some friends were concerned at first that they were not moving but their worries turned to interest as we talked about metamorphosis and how the larvae would now begin changing, inside the pupa, into adult lady bugs.  We talked about how their skin hardens almost like an egg shell as they change.  When they emerge it is almost like they are hatching for a second time!

This morning we had several trays out, each with a different set up of loose parts to interact with in imaginative ways!  Loose parts can be anything!  The outcome of a child’s interaction with them is completely open ended.  This type of play fosters creativity in pretend play.  The pretend play that is born of loose parts activities is often sustained for long periods of time.  Since there are few boundaries with this type of play, it tends to evolve from one thing to another to another… 

Breakfast– Whole grain oatmeal with cinnamon and banana.

Lunch– Farm fresh scrambled eggs with whole wheat bread, fresh watermelon, and fresh cucumber/green beans.

PM snack– Air popped popcorn with butter and raisins.

Wee Sprout– Fresh pepper/cucumber.

Have a wonderful night!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2023-05-10