A quick note to say that there will be no gymnastics this coming Monday, June 3rd. To make the class up, Miss Jennifer will extend the session a week to have an ending date on Monday, June 24th.

Our caterpillars have started to cocoon. Ada was the first to notice and all of her friends ran over to examine the creatures in their habitat.

One group of friends headed to the back rug to see what it feels like to be in a cocoon.

Other friends worked with Lisa on a math game. They rolled a die and added that many pieces to a Magna-Tile structure.

Friends also began a Thank You collage for Kevin, our postman. He agreed to take us on a couple blocks of his mail route this Friday.

The cocoon exploration became a hot dog exploration. We experimented on walking in a cocoon. Then walking with our ankles tied together. Rhythm sticks became hot dogs and were wrapped up. Bodies became hot dogs that were poured upon, rolled around and eaten up! And then the rhythm sticks became ketchup and mustard bottles.  Several hot dog chefs emerged and fascinating hot dog concoctions were created.  We created a hot dog song. We learned how to spell “hot dog”. How do we build a study around hot dogs?

Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Whole wheat toast with butter and pears. Lunch: Cous–cous with red beans, peas and bananas. Snack: Graham crackers, peanuts and milk.

Have a great day.

Good Afternoon!

Hope everyone had a fun and safe holiday weekend!

After a long weekend with family, it’s nice to get back into our daily routine. Between reading stories, having music time, and heading outside, our Tuesday was eventful! By lunch, our friends were getting tired. We even had one friend put their head on the table to go night night! We shuffled our feet to the nap room where children got wonderful naps to gear up for the afternoon.

For breakfast, children had kix and oranges. Lunch consisted of soy butter on tortillas, mixed vegetables, and oranges. PM snack was cottage cheese and cucumbers. We LOVE our cottage cheese!

Have a terrific evening!

-Mindy

It was a calm, busy morning after our long holiday weekend. Swimmers took off (and practiced bobbing in the water, I heard!) and the remaining Wees settled in to finding their morning’s work. Here, Elizabeth wrote Mom a note. Other friends joined her when they saw her work.

New friendships are developing.

We got outside as soon as possible, anticipating a downpour. Our friends favorite outdoor rain activity is wiping the deck, benches and slides dry.

Elizabeth found a job in the garden bed. Once again, friends caught on and joined her.

And then the sandbox. The wet, in some places gooey, diggable and delightful sandbox.

There has been an on-going game of tag over the last few weeks. There has been a great amount of discussion and negotiating among friends as the rules are fleshed out. That and the amount of running involved makes this a priceless experience!

 

Welcome back.

Wee Sprouts: Cucumbers. Breakfast: Kix and bananas. Lunch: Peanut butter and whole wheat tortillas, mixed veggies and apple slices. Snack: Crackers and cheese.

Happy Friday!

Today was about exploration. Exploring new things. Exploring interesting ideas. Exploring the unknown. It was an excellent way to end our week!

First, our exploration started off with our blue sensory tubes. Why do some make noise and some don’t? Lu Lu enjoyed making noise with her bells!

Clara and Daniel looked through theirs to see if they could see through the other side.

Once our exploration with our tubes was complete, Melinda brought out her harmonica! Friends sure loved listening to the sounds of this new and exciting instrument! Melinda got a round of applause .

Finally, our exploration into ‘why plants need water’ ended our morning. Melinda filled up the bucket and proceeded to water the flowers with water. We talked about letting the plants breath like we do! Plants need water and sun to stay colorful and beautiful for us to look at. Children found it quite interesting .

For breakfast, children had chex and oranges. Lunch consisted of egg and cheese roll-ups, banana/apple combo, and corn. PM snack was banana and string cheese.

Have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day weekend! See everyone Tuesday!

-Mindy

You could call them random activities, but in our play-based learning environment, our view is that very intentional works are being created and very intentional questions are being asked.

Today we saw many friends seeking quiet comforting activities. Loving a puppy became a listening game: Pass the Puppy.

We noticed a few fire fighters getting themselves ready for work,  so with our hoses, we created a gross motor, and life skills sharing opportunity:  tug-of-war.

 

An elaborate Sea Scene was created under the habitrail. There was a fairy, a pirate and “did you say penguin?” I asked. “Yes.” said Ada. Her next question (after looking into the WF backyard) “Do pigeons drink milk?”. Together we researched the answer.

This week, we began a new exercise of gathering the kids, mid-morning, to talk and share about what they had been working on that day. Friends loved sharing their ideas with others.

The delightfully random becomes intentional and great Wee works are created, and great Wee questions are explored.

Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Raisin Bran and raisins. Lunch: Whole grain tortillas with farm fresh eggs and cheese, apple slices and corn. Snack: Bananas with peanut butter dip.

See you Tuesday, May May 28th!

Hello!

**Just a reminder, that we are closed Monday May 27th for Memorial Day. We’ll see you on Tuesday .

****Also, we’re asking parents of Wee Wee friends to bring in a fever reducer for their child. Lately, we’ve been having fevers and various ailments that allow for this type of medicine to be given. If you would like us to give your child medicine when they’re feeling down/fever/etc, please bring in your choice of fever reducer.

We spent a lot of time this morning listening to different songs such as “You Are My Sunshine” and “Head, Shoulder, Knees, and Toes”! Friends used their soft touches and dance with their babies.

All the dancing tired us out!

For breakfast, children had whole wheat bagels with cinnamon and apples. Lunch consisted of ham and cheese on pita bread, watermelon, and broccoli. PM snack was pretzels and cheddar cheese slices.

Have a great night!

-Mindy

I love emergent curriculum.  I just do.  Last night I watched this YouTube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvQBUccxBr4 from Britain’s Got Talent Show.  For me it was unbelievably artistic and emotionally moving.  So I just had to share it.  It actually wasn’t my intention to get the kids involved in this, but as I was sharing it with Melinda, the WF crew gathered around.  Many watched it from start to finish.  Then some watched it again.  And yet again.  They were fascinated. 

So, in the way of emergent curriculum Melinda and I set up a sheet and projector so the children could explore the concepts of light and shadow.  So for an extended time, most children were gathered in the shadow area and all were disappointed when we had to pull it down for lunch time. 

As the children took turns being the audience and being the shadow, Melinda talked with them.  They explored together how the distance between an object and its light source affects the size of the shadow.  They recognized the projector as a source of light and its importance to the process of creating shadows.  They waited for turns. They all were in close proximity as the audience and they navigated this. The shadow dancers explored how turning different ways influenced how their shadow appeared. 

The shadow puppets this morning in an example of true emergent curriculum as a small spark was unintentionally introduced to the children, the WF teachers saw the opening and provided materials to explore the concept, and the children were completely absorbed in the moment. 

Check out the photo album for wonderful moments that happened before the shadow puppets as the WFer’s played together, created a thank you message for Officer Burns, did some large group message boarding, were introduced to some new music from Mel, danced, listened to stories, and played outside (briefly before we got rained out)!

Breakfast was whole wheat bagels and banana.  WeeSprouts were cukes.  Lunch was whole wheat flat bread with melted mozzarella and ham, broccoli, and watermelon.  Snack will be cream cheese and wheat crackers.

Have a great day!

Tami

Good Afternoon!

Water play. While it can be messy, children need to explore water and the concepts that come along with it. Friends gathered by twos at the sink to indulge in the water play! Eren enjoyed taking a measuring cup and filling it with water..just before dumping it everywhere . It’s about the exploration though. Whether water gets everywhere or not, a sensory experience occurred. A favorite motion of these children is to splash. Splash friends. Splash teachers. Their learning that when they splash the water and move it around, people and things get wet!

For breakfast, children had chex and banana. Lunch consisted of cheese and refried beans on tortilla, pears, and mixed vegetables. PM snack was cottage cheese and animal crackers.

Have a terrific evening.

-Mindy

Just a reminder that we are closed Monday for the Memorial Day holiday!

Today Officer Burns visited our classroom!

He taught us a lot about what it means to be a policeman and he also asked us some very interesting questions:

• What is a stranger and what do you say to a person you don’t know?”
• If the phone rings in your house, do you answer it?
• Do you answer the door if someone knocks on it? Do you open the door if it is someone you don’t know?
• When do you dial 911? When so you not dial 911?
• If you are at the park or another public place and a stranger asks you to come with them, what do you say?”

Wee Friends had lots of excellent responses to these questions as well as lots of questions for Officer Burns.

After our discussion, Officer Burns let friends sit in and explore his car.

As has become the routine, Mailman Kevin happened to pass by just as we were getting into the car!

As friends finished their car tour, they came inside and created a message board about what they saw.

Everyone got a souvenir badge and Officer Burns was on his way—sounding the siren and flashing the lights as we said goodbye!

Thank you Officer Burns! Come back anytime!

Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Cereal and bananas. Lunch: Cheese and bean tortillas, pears and mixed veggies. Snack: Apple slices and nuts.

Have a great day!

Good Afternoon!

**Just to inform our parents, we have multiple illnesses going through Wee Wee currently. These include: fever/diarrhea, fever/sore throat, and fever/vomiting. These may or may not be related but fever seems to be the underlying factor. To refresh, if you’re child has a fever of 100 degrees or above, they must be fever free for 24 hours without the help of medicine (Motrin, Tylenol, etc.) to return. Thanks!

Since numbers were lower than usual, friends played intently with one another. Between having play time in the house and outside time (thanks rain for staying away), friends were worn out. The result: another excellent naptime! It really shows that when children have a good nap time, their afternoons are terrific!

For breakfast, children had whole wheat toast with soy butter and oranges. Lunch consisted of chicken salad, whole wheat toast, oranges, and corn. PM snack was cheddar cheese slices and goldfish.

Have a wonderful evening!

-Mindy