Will it sink or float? Science discovery with different objects.

“And we’re going to the zoo, zoo, zoo….” and how we got there this morning was the big work: how to build the car, who is old enough to drive, what we might see when we get there.

What REALLY happens when you don’t cover your sneeze? A water bottle sneeze-a-thon science experiment explored this idea.

And lots of other stuff. Questions posed. Questions answered. Ideas sprouting. Some grow and some dry up in a second. A great Wee day.

Wee Sprouts: Grape tomatoes. Breakfast: Kix and strawberries. Lunch: Brown rice with beef, fresh broccoli and oranges and bananas. Snack: Apple slices with peanut butter.

Good Afternoon!

It was a cloudy morning but that didn’t stop us from making awesome drawings on the sidewalk with chalk! Lucy and Tate both grabbed a piece of chalk and headed towards the sidewalk. Lucy let everyone know that she had green!

We love being able to interact with the Wee Friends while outside. Friends are able to form bonds and relationships with their older friends which is a GREAT social aspect of the multi-age setup.

Waffle blocks were a big attraction this afternoon. Lucy said, “I build castle!” while Tate put multiple pink blocks together. We talked about the different colored blocks that were available to build with. There seems to be an overwhelming number of pink blocks compared to the other colors!

For breakfast, children had english muffins with cream cheese and strawberries. Lunch consisted of chicken salad sandwiches, strawberries, and snap peas. PM snack was pretzels and raisins.

Have a great night!

*Reminder: If you haven’t signed up for Blue Bus yet and would like to join, please do! There is a sign-up sheet on the front porch. The next session will run for six weeks from Monday April 13 through May 18th.

 

This morning some friends were eager to share how they covered their hands in chalk. This naturally led to a conversation about the unique nature of hands and how there is NO ONE ELSE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD with your exact fingerprints. This reminded me of one of my favorite poems I’d like to share:

“I am Me. In all the world, there is no one else exactly like me. Everything that comes out of me is authentically mine, because I alone chose it—I own everything about me: my body, my feelings, my mouth, my voice, all my actions, whether they be to others or myself.

          

I own my triumphs and successes, all my failures and mistakes. Because I own all of me, I can become intimately acquainted with me. By so doing, I can love me and be friendly with all my parts.

 

I know there are aspects about myself that puzzle me, and other aspects that I do not know—but as long as I am friendly and loving to myself, I can courageously and hopefully look for solutions to the puzzles and ways to find out more about me.

     

However I look and sound, whatever I say and do, and whatever I think and feel at a given moment in time is authentically me. If later some parts of how I looked, sounded, thought, and felt turn out to be unfitting, I can discard that which is unfitting, keep the rest, and invent something new for that which I discarded.

    

I can see, hear, feel, think, say and do. I have the tools to survive, to be close to others, to be productive, and to make sense and order out of the world of people and things outside of me. I own me, and therefore, I can engineer me.

   

I am me, and I am Okay.” -Virginia Satir

To all our wonderful Wee Friends—Wee love you!

-Jessica

Wee Sprouts: Cucumbers. Breakfast: Rice cakes with peanut butter and pear slices. Lunch: Homemade chicken salad sandwiches on whole wheat bread, fresh tomatoes, and bananas. Snack: Hummus and blue corn chips.

Good Afternoon!

Tate and Rosemary worked with babies this morning. Tate enjoyed feeding and burping the baby. We’re working on using soft touches as a whole group. Lately, we’ve been talking about what nice touches look like and practicing on the babies is a perfect activity!

Children took at the easel to paint. Even before breakfast was served, Tate asked for painting so that’s what we did! Friends got full bellies and we headed to the kitchen for a little sensory action! Lucy was vocal about what colors she wanted to paint with.

After naptime, music was turned on and friends requested musical instruments. Between the maracas and drums, it was lively in the establishment .

For breakfast, children had chex and banana. Lunch consisted of whole grain bagel pizzas, strawberries, and corn. PM snack was whole wheat crackers and cream cheese.

Have a great night!

The rain threw us a curveball. So we filled our morning with straight lines to learning (science experiment resulting in homemade moon sand); zigzag routes to understanding (“That’s MY toy!”); and finally, curvy, swervy lines to fun (which route is gets you to the end more quickly? I’ll time you!”).

We caught the curveball and shouted “GAME ON!”

Happy rainy, curvy, zigzaggy day. –Laurie

Wee Sprouts: Red bell peppers. Breakfast: Chex cereal and raisins. Lunch: Homemade cheese pizza on whole wheat bagels, apple slices and steamed dill carrots. Snack: Coconut bread and cheese stix.

 

Happy Monday!

Hope everyone had a terrific long weekend.

“Play is the work of the child.”—Maria Montessori

So that’s what we did. Friends scattered throughout the environment this morning while they became involved in specific activities that peaked their interest. Tate worked with the teapots. As he adjusted the lids and put them on the stove, he touched the stove and said, “HOT!” As friends play, they take certain previous knowledge that they have such as Mommy or Daddy saying to watch the stove because it is hot and use it in their play.

Lucy headed straight for the sandbox where she worked on building castles that she’s been fascinated with! Tate and Rosemary joined her and the three of them worked together for quite a long time.

For breakfast, children had english muffins with cream cheese and raisins. Lunch consisted of homemade macaroni and cheese with whole grain noodles, peas, and oranges. PM snack was goldfish and string cheese.

Have a lovely night.

Today has been a day full of silly words and sillier phrases! When Eleanor was reading her Elsa book during quiet-time, she found a funny section in which Olaf the Snowman (who doesn’t know how to spell) mixed up the letters in Anna’s birthday banner.

We decided to recreate the sign ourselves! We started with Happy Birthday Anna:

Then we rearranged the letters while sounding out the words:

And came up with the very silly phrase: “dry banana hippy hat”!

Who knew words could be so funny?! Have a great Monday. –Jessica

Wee Sprouts: PPC carrots. Breakfast: Whole wheat toast with cream cheese and orange slices. Lunch: Whole wheat/cheddar macaroni and cheese, peas and orange slices. Snack: Yogurt and PPC surprise fruit!

Happy Thursday!

Friends used their nurturing skills this morning as they played pretend with baby dolls. Maya showed Rosemary how to burp a baby after they’ve been fed. Children pick up actions from parents and teachers among other people in their life. Friends watch as teachers feed their baby friends and transfer that knowledge into their play.

The rings and sensory tubes were made available this morning as friends listened to music. Maya and Rosemary watched intently as the materials fell from one end to the other once the tube was tipped.

We dashed outside before the rain started. Thankfully we were able to get a lot of time before the rain came.

For breakfast, children had toast with butter and cinnamon with blueberries. Lunch consisted of turkey on pita bread, corn, and apples. PM snack was goldfish and raisins.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday weekend!

We are waiting. Preparing. Keeping busy. Looking for it. We smell it in the air. We hear it in our laughter and in the chirping of birdies (and even our impatient restlessness!). It’s coming and going this time of year. But we’ll wait. Spring. Have a terrific three day weekend. –Laurie

Wee Sprouts: PPC carrots. Breakfast: Puffins and bananas. Lunch: Turkey on whole wheat flatbread, banana/pear and corn. Snack: Cashew milk and whole wheat crackers.

This week, we had a TON of cucumbers in our delivery from the Purple Porch. What to do with all these cucumbers? Let’s make pickles!

This morning started out with a discussion about what makes a pickle. We had some unique suggestions but finally figured it out: a cucumber. After a taste test of jarred pickles, both dill and sweet, we took a vote on which one friends preferred. The current count is DILL- 8 and SWEET- 6. We will take another vote after we taste test our own pickles.

How to Make Homemade Refrigerator Dill Pickles (Wee Friends Style)

Step 1. Cut the cucumbers.

                  

Cut off the ends.

Then cut them in half.

Step 2. Peel two heads of garlic. Boil them for 5 minutes in 10 cups of water.

Step 3. Add fresh dill, mustard seeds, dill seeds, and black peppercorns to large jars. (Smell each ingredient as you go)

Step 4. Add vinegar and pickling salt to the garlic and water. Pack the jars with cucumbers and add the water to the jars.

Step 5. Cover jars and refrigerate. Check how they taste tomorrow!

This afternoon we continued our pickle making extravaganza and made some sweet pickles with apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, allspice, mustard seed, celery seed and whole cloves.

The final jars of our dill and sweet pickles:

I’m sure you’ll smell pickles at pick-up!

-Jessica

Wee Sprouts: Sweet peppers. Breakfast: Rice cakes with peanut butter and oranges. Lunch: Hummus sandwiches on flatbread, fresh cauliflower and bananas. Snack: Blue corn tortilla chips and hummus.