The idea hatched when I saw a Wee Friend standing on top of a backyard bench, starting to climb up a tree.

So, the first blog I wrote today was entitled “Why Teachers Whine” but I couldn’t get the words to say what I wanted to express. Delete.

The second blog I wrote was entitled “Why Friends Whine” and it didn’t come out well either. Delete.

So here’s a Friday photo journal of our classroom work, sprinkled with multi-aged (up to early 40’s) whining and multi-aged wonder. We are perfectly safe with all feet on the ground.

Have a great weekend.

Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Oatmeal and watermelon. Lunch: Cheese pizza, peas and pineapple/banana fruit salad. Snack: Pumpkin bread and cheddar cheese.

NOTE: There’s a bug making its way through our classroom. It includes fever and vomiting.

WELCOME BACK LEA! Lea has returned from Hawaii and we are so glad to see her!

The morning kicked off with a small group of friends mastering an alphabet puzzle. Aislinn, Owen and Leo worked at piecing three letters together to form a picture.

We gathered our whole classroom together to show and explain the ecosystem we created yesterday at the farm. Lisa read a book called A Place for Frogs by Melissa Stewart. We discussed pond life and then dove into a creative drama sensory exploration about tadpoles, frogs and pond life.

Wee tadpoles caught flies with their tongues, felt the spritz (spray bottle) of dew falling on their bodies, had a fly (plastic math chain) buzz around and dip into their ears and lastly, a beetle (soft, snuggly pillow) hug. Oh! And a froggy treat: a bit of banana!

Friends gathered at the art table to trace letters and create words with them. Or works of letter art.

We continue to enjoy this amazing weather!

Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Chex and bananas. Lunch: Turkey on whole wheat tortillas, corn/tomato salad and bananas. Snack: Pear slices and cheese sticks.

Hello!

The older Wee Wee kids headed outside this morning. It was a lovely, sunny day! It was definitely a sensorial kind of morning outside. We felt the grass and sand as well as smelled the flowers around the backyard. We even heard the birds chirping with our ears!

For breakfast, children were offered kix and oranges. Lunch consisted of whole grain rice with chicken, watermelon (it was delicious), and corn. PM snack was cottage cheese and watermelon.

Have a great night!

Farm Trip Number One. What else can we say? Only that it was spectacular!

Wee Sprouts: Celery sticks. Breakfast: Cereal and raisins. Lunch: Whole grain rice with beef, watermelon and corn. Snack: Peanuts and orange slices.

Happy Tuesday!

Hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day weekend!

After a long weekend, our friends get back into the swing of things! I’m sure friends loved staying at home for an extra day. We missed them and they missed each other. Our Tuesday was smooth as butter!

Plus we got a ton of smiles today!—Always a bonus!

For breakfast, we offered toast and banana. Lunch consisted of soy butter on tortillas, strawberries and banana, and peas. Afternoon snack was cheddar cheese slices and crackers.

Have a lovely evening!

Welcome back! The swimmers had a terrific session 1! This year’s instructors are Mr. Aaron and Miss Amy.

Tomorrow, Tami will be taking Group A for our first farm visit. The friends in Group A are: Finn, Max, Ellie, Elizabeth, Sophie, Elliott, Lea, Sloane and Marina.

This Fall, we will not have a specific day that we go to the farm. We will watch the weather and check with Farmer Charlotte’s schedule to make the decision. As always, we have farm boots for friends to wear, but if your Wee Friend is particular about his/her footwear, please bring a pair of boots or old shoes (meant for sloshing around and getting dirty in!) tomorrow. Thank you!

FAB K.1.1 – Math: Match sets of objects one-to-one.

Mel invited a small group of friends to the table to explore and match shapes.

They sloshed the word ‘pentagon’ around in their mouths and then found matches. Next was ‘diamond’ and Mel’s preschool rendition of “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend”.

Other friends sat on the music rug and tapped out 1-2-3-4 counts with rhythm sticks. They called out the names of their favorite songs and while some friends explored counts, others rocked their babies. Some friends did both!

Then the sticks (with a teacher’s guidance) became shapes and letters.

After the shape match and study, a few friends remained around the table to work. Max, first sorted toy cars into color patterns, and then, using a marker, created circular shaped patterns.

By simply introducing the word ‘shape’ and the math concept ‘matching’, all of our friends are able to embrace the FAB in their own developmentally appropriate way. We watch carefully as they begin their work and encourage them as they set their pace for understanding these concepts.

Wee Sprouts: Tomatoes. Breakfast: Chex Cereal and pear slices. Lunch: Peanut butter on whole wheat tortillas, salad with Ranch and strawberry/banana fruit salad. Snack: Hummus and crackers.

Have a great day.

TRAFFIC written by Wee Friend alumna,  Arleigh Hope Gee

Red light, red light, stop, stop stop.

Green light, green light, go, go, go!

Yellow light, yellow light, go if you can.

Yellow light, yellow light, go if you can.

Red light stop and green light go-

Yellow light, yellow light, slow……slow…..slow.

Or as Leo put it: “Red, stop. Green, go! Yellow, egg.”

And with that, here’s the green light for a terrific Labor Day Weekend. See you Tuesday, bright and early.

Wee Sprouts: Celery sticks. Breakfast: Corn Flakes and bananas. Lunch: Whole wheat zucchini pancakes, banana/pear fruit salad and cottage cheese. Snack: Pretzels and cheese sticks.

 

Good Afternoon!

**Just as a reminder, we will be closed Monday, September 2nd for Labor Day. We’ll see you on Tuesday! Have a great long weekend .

Our baby friends got a show today. It was called the ‘Emma Show’! While all of the babies were in the living room, Emma decided to provide them with some entertainment. She did cheerleading moves and dances. They found it quite funny . That’s the glorious thing about multi-age: they learn from each other. Emma sure felt important.

 

For breakfast, children had cheerios and peaches. Lunch consisted of egg and cheese roll-ups, apples, and cooked carrots. PM snack was cheddar cheese slices and craisins.

Have a terrific evening.

The Wee Library is rich with great books. It’s a diverse collection of softback, hardback and board books. Fact, fiction, poetry and workbooks. Original and classic works. Disney and Little Golden; Robert Munsch and Dr. Seuss. It has comfy pillows, a soft rug and three steps for our friends to curl up in to read. And make a mess. A frustrating (for teachers)and delicious (for Wee peeps) mess.

So, today, we all made a book mess and sorted it out together.  We discussed all I described above and had friends demonstrate how to treat books with kindness. They held the spine of the book and learned how to put it on the shelf. A small group of friends worked with Melinda to organize the books for easy access and easy clean-up.

As Finn’s dad, Lindsay, explained this morning: “Words are treasures and that’s why we read books!” It’s one of the most important things we do with our Wee Friends each day: Read.  For today, our treasures are very organized.

Ever wonder what happens after lunch?

12-12:20ish – We sit down to eat

12:20-1:00ish– we split into Lisa’s group (on the music rug) and Laurie’s group (on the porch)

1:00ish-2:30ish – Nap and rest time

Friends are excited about learning this routine and super excited about their group! This is the one time of our day that we schedule “direct learning”. Both groups include reading aloud, music (meditation and/or singing) and a literacy or math activity. The lessons are child-initiated and teacher developed/guided. Lisa is working on social and life skills with her Wee Friends. Laurie’s group, this week, has landed on the subject of constellations. Each day, after these groups wrap up, many friends sleep on cots in the back of our classroom, and other friends spend their rest time on green mats, quietly working. Some friends start with a short nap, and then get up and find a quiet activity.  We work with each individual friend (and parents!) to get the right mix of rest/sleep and quiet time.

Hope your day is going well!

Wee Sprouts: Fresh tomatoes. Breakfast: Oatmeal with applesauce and cantaloupe. Lunch: Farm fresh scrambled eggs wrapped in a whole grain tortilla, apple slices and cinnamon sautéed carrots. Snack: Orange slices and yogurt/peanut butter dip.