Over the weekend, Tami turned our sensory bin into a light table. The top lid is white and the bin itself, she painted metallic silver. She added three small fluorescent lights inside the bin. Throughout the morning, friends took turns creating structures with the translucent Magna-Tiles.

Our older friends were the first group to hop aboard the gymnastics bus. Today both groups worked on the cheese mat and resi-rocker. They did forward rolls, backward rolls and straddle rolls. On the resi-rocker, they did cartwheels over the top of the mat. Ask your gymnast about

the rocket ship they ended class with!

While the big kids were on the bus, our toddler friends played a path game in which they rolled the die and moved spaces 1-6. We drew dots on the game, in the same configuration as a die and they matched their roll accordingly.

In preparation for our Thursday Fall Concert (Nov. 17th, 4:30pm), we created crowns out of orange construction paper, glue and sparkles. Older friends used scissors to create zig-zag triangular borders while younger friends used the scissors to practice cutting. Nate identified circular and star shaped sparkles.

We did get outside this morning for about 15 minutes, but came in when it started to rain. We read books, explored how our bodies and voices turn into turkeys in an imaginative musical improv. We rehearsed our concert songs and brainstormed different foods to prepare for our Wee Friends Thanksgiving lunch next week. Pizza, ice cream and spaghetti were among the favorites!

Melinda led a message board exploration on “What kind of game should we make in hopscotch?” Our plan is to convert hopscotch into a life-sized game board.

For lunch we served whole wheat pasta with cheesy white sauce and peas, banana/orange fruit salad and carrots/peas.

Have a terrific day.

 

 

 

 

Today the older swimmers practiced jumping off the bloc with a barbell shaped float. They worked on the back stroke as well as swimming from the deep end of the pool to the shallow end. The younger swimmers also swam from one side of the pool to the instructor near the rope. They swam to capture plastic duckies tossed ahead of them. They also practiced twirling their arms in circles under the water.

We’ve been talking about Thanksgiving, the pilgrims, the Native Americans and the Mayflower. Most of the conversations settle around the things we are thankful for. Yesterday we created a message board asking “How are the Pilgrims and the Indians Different/The Same?”

For the last two days, we have studied math by playing Letter Long Path Games. Using the letters ‘S’ and ‘K’ (so far!), we roll the dice and advance along the path of the letter according to the amount shown. The ‘S’ game has spiders that, when landed upon, makes the player return to Start. The ‘K’ game has a river and a mountain to get across to reach Finish.

Simon brought in a rockin’ CD and we all gathered in the truck room and moved our muscles to James Brown, the Beach Boys and many others! Thank you, Simon!

Here’s what the Wee Toddlers were up to while the swimmers were away!

For lunch we served melted turkey and cheese on whole wheat tortillas, peas and apples.

Have a great day!

 

  It was a great morning at WWF!  The children had a great time in the kitchen using Pla-Doh,  straws, pipe cleaners and strainers.  Many of them put the pipe cleaners into the straws, then into their Pla-Doh.  Long and short, big, little and many math concepts were learned.  We also did our famous “Down around the corner at the donut shop.”  It was so great to see Eleanor and Ozzie partake in this.  We also burned off some energy with our wiggle and dancing in the middle song and dance.  Ozzie as definetly flattering us with all of his dance moves!  Some of the children also played our matching memory game.  Elizabeth and Marta enjoyed their matching animal cards, while Ozzie loved his transportation card, Sloane, her fruits and vegetables, Olivia loved her zoo card, and Chloe enjoyed joining in the fun.  We also danced to our “We all sing with the same voice” CD and book.  Eleanor really enjoyed this, as did the others, we listened to it three times. Our breakfast this morning was cinnamon toast and fresh fruit, and for our outside mid-morning snack we had sliced cheese.  Our lunch today was scrambled eggs with ham and cheese,  avacado and bananas, and pancakes. Our potty trainers are making strides!  Two of our three are now telling us when they need to use the potty.  Marta is enjoying her book selection at the same time, so we added more to our bathroom library! Enjoy the afternoon, the warm and temperature, and prepare for the morning snow this Thursday.  (Yikes)Make it a great day!  
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Take a little of this…a little of that…mix it together….and…voila….some really cool art happens.

Today, that’s what happened!

First there were children experimenting with the new triangle crayons:

Add in some watercolor paints:

And there you have it…some really stunning pieces of art!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today, Sydney and Taylor (Macy’s sisters) were with us for the day! Isaac was also back for the day as Mishawaka and Penn had the day off from school.

We had a visit from our new little friend, Elliott (age 2), who will be joining WF in just over a week. He jumped right in to enjoy our art exploration!

The children also enjoyed our spooky new sensory table: spiders and webs! They had fun stringing the web out so that you could not see it while the spider dangled from their hands.

Laurie is still out sick, but we are confident she will be back with us on Monday. Marty is also out from WWF. She just got a walking pneumonia diagnosis today:( Please continue to send good thoughts and prayers in their direction.

For lunch, we had pizza with ricotta cheese on whole wheat crust, apple slices, and fresh carrots/cauliflower. For snack, the children are already excited because I promised pumpkin smoothies as a Friday treat!

FOR MONDAY & HALLOWEEN…

Please send your child dressed in regular clothing for the day. At 4:15ish, if you would like to send a costume for later, we will dress the children in their costumes for some afternoon fun. Weather permitting, we will do our Halloween parade outside. Please keep in mind, costumes may get dirty if worn here at WF for even just that short time.

The new swim group started today! We had nine swimmers (Umi will join us next week!). The children did fabulous with loading, unloading, walking to the dressing room, undressing, going potty,putting on swim suits, showering, swimming, drying off, taking off swim suits, dressing, walking to the Weehicle, loading, & finally unloading at WF!

A few requests: Please remember to dress your child in EASY to “manage while damp” clothing and shoes on Tuesdays for swim. Tight, leggings, and other snug clothing causes the children (and us teachers) frustration as we try to wrangle it over the damp bodies. Also, shoes with velcro and slip on are idea!

We could use another 3-4 small children’s hooded towels. They are ideal for the end of class because they get the children’s heads covered and they can walk easily in them without their towels falling to the floor. We would really appreciate it if we could borrow or you could donate a few.

The new group of swimmers were more excited than nervous today. All of the children were in good spirits and did exceptionally well!

Here are some pics to tell the story!

Our YMCA swim instructors: Miss Leslie (left, big kids), Miss Bethany, called Miss B (right, younger kids).

After swim, we came back and enjoyed some unseasonably nice weather for outside play. Lunch was Peanut Butter on whole wheat bread, cucumbers and green grapes.

TOMORROW: It is a farm day and the forecast is sketchy. The group that would go is: Kai, Owen, Ada, Macy, Jane, Annie, Simon, Alma, and Arleigh. If it is overcast, chilly and threatening rain, we will not go.

Laurie is still out sick today so Marty came over and watched our WFer’s with a few of her WWFer’s. It was reported that everyone had a great time! The plan for farm is tomorrow is the same if Laurie is still sick.

Have a great day!

Tami & Melinda

Last Friday afternoon we brought out the Pla-Doh for some afternoon fun. The children used our big buttons, straws, and popsicle sticks. After an hour or so, we decided it was time to take advantage of something we really hadn’t seen in a long time, the sun! Elizabeth was so engaged in her Pla-Doh, that Miss Lisa stayed inside with her. This literally kept her busy until 5:00. She rolled out tiny balls of cookies, laid them all on the table, and had an array of things going on wiht her imagination. It was wonderful!

 

This morning we read several books, then ventured outside. It was a great morning to use our infamous parachute, and the children really seemed to enjoy this activity.

Once we returned back inside, some of our friend’s opted to play with shaving cream, while others played individually or cuddled up for some story time.

 

For breakfast this morning, we had toast with soy butter, and bananas. Our lunch today was whole wheat pasta macaroni and cheese, French green beans, and apples. What a great lunch!

If you have not yet returned your CDA Form in the envelope near the front door, please do so today by pick up. Thanks for your help and cooperation in this matter.

Have a splendid sun shiny day!

 

 

 

 

WF (365 photos): http://www.flickr.com/photos/weefriends/sets/72157627924218096/ 

(There’s still about 100 pics uploading to flickr)

 

 

 

 

WWF (435 photos): http://www.flickr.com/photos/weefriends/sets/72157627794901089/

Enjoy!

Tami