Melinda played and sang along to her accordian today! She played many songs on her instrument and when she got to “Airplane”, we pulled out the car seats, set up a cockpit and acted out the lyrics as we learned the song.

 

Afterwards, Melinda explained the parts of the accordian and how it produces sound. Each friend was able to play a few notes.

We got out the WF accordian and friends continued making music.

Simon brought several airplane books to school today. We read A Little Golden Book called My First Plane Ride. Kai, who returned today from vacation, was able to share with us stories of his first plane ride last week! We discussed new vocabulary such as “hangar”, “cockpit”, “baggage” and “escalator”. We moved to the art table and, with our new plane collection, dipped wheels into paint and applied it to yellow construction paper.

Friends in hopscotch created a platform to jump off. They stood on the top block, counted as many numbers as they knew and jumped!

Other happy moments!

For lunch we served ham sandwiches on whole wheat bread, fresh peaches and string beans.

Have a great day!

 

 

 

 

 

It’s been a happy, busy day at Wee Friends!

We have a new camera and are still making computer program adjustments so that we can include photos of our daily activities! Thanks for being patient with us as we work out the kinks….

Many different interests were being explored in our classroom today. A few older friends have expressed interest in airplanes and other flying machines. To support their play, we created a pilot’s briefcase filled with a variety of airplanes and jets, a pilot’s journal with various colored pencils, a few library books about airplanes/flight and a felt board airplane matching game. Friends matched like airplanes and like numbers, 1-4.

Many of our friends are still exploring the lives of bears! Today, we incorporated a new cave: remember last winter when we made a life sized mitten (king sized bed sheet sewn together!) to play in as we read Jan Brett’s The Mitten? We pulled it out today and pretended it was a cave. Melinda gathered props and created a puppet play of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Friends listened intently and applauded when it was over!

Paulina led friends outdoors to plant seeds and pick tomatoes. She brought with her trays with white paper and red markers. After harvesting MORE TOMATOES!!! friends gathered on the deck to write about their experiences.

One of our toddlers is very interested in crickets. We all gathered in the music area to listen to/dance to/sing to and have conversations about crickets chirping in the night (soundtrack). Paulina read The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle. We discovered how crickets chirp and we rubbed our hands together and created a cricket chorus! The book has two repetitive sentences and an older friend shouted out these lines when it was time.

For lunch we served WF cucumbers, corn-on-the-cob (thank you Alexandra G.!), bananas and whole wheat pasta with chicken.

Have a great day!

We welcomed friends to school today with a continuation of our ‘exploracion de rokas’! We filled two tubs with warm water and added small glass stones to one and medium sized rocks to the other. With spoons, spatulas, and small/medium/large containers, friends poured, sorted, splashed and picked up the various rocks. We identified different colors of glass stones and added environmental music of a splashing stream to enhance discovery and a sense of calm!

A small group of friends explored the beautiful illustrations and interesting sounds of Boucle d’or by Pere Castor- a French adaptation of Goldilocks and the Three Bears! Thank you, Amy C.! Page after page represented illustrations of groups of three. We counted the objects within those groups and asked “which size is this?” Afterwards, we studied how the number three looks and moved to the art table to experiment with the lines and curves of ‘3’. One friend translated her understanding of the number and the concept of size by drawing three lines and calling them “Daddy, Mommy and Baby”. Another friend drew three letter ‘x”s and applied the same relationships to his drawing.

When a friend expressed that she wanted to be a bear in her cave, a small group of friends moved to housekeeping and we played the instrumental track “Grizzly Bear Cubs With Their Mom After a Storm”. Our cubs created caves and hibernated in the cold winter. When spring came, we added our splashing stream music and caught salmon in the stream, with a fishing pole! Our play-based exploration of the bears enabled us to collaborate as a group: when a friend would contribute an explanation of what she was doing, the rest of the group had the opportunity to listen/watch and follow an ever shifting leader. One friend became the protector of all the girl cubs. He chose to stay on shore (out of the stream) but followed our every move, explaining his actions as he went along. In this type of educational play, each friend ‘belongs’ and has the freedom to find his/her voice in the context of our storytelling. Our play ended with a fish fry and a long bear sleep under the imagined stars.

Our camera was on the blitz today so we aren’t able to tell you today’s story through photos! We’ll be back up next week.

Today’s lunch was WF roasted zucchini, whole wheat torillas with melted cheese and cantelope.

We hope you enjoy your family time this weekend!

Today’s blog is my day to share a passion of mine…teaching children to read through journal writing. Traditionally, reading is taught by asking children to memorize letters and attach sounds to these letters. Then, children are asked to read by “sounding” out the words. I have found this to be backwards and fraught with frustration and failure for both the kids and adults. My great success in teaching reading has been through journaling with children. Wee Friends teaches children to write first, then read. When children write first, learning to read becomes a beautiful journey that is exciting and rewarding for everyone involved.

Wee Friends makes journaling a regular and important part of our curriculum because:

Children have an opportunity to express thoughts, feelings, and words onto paper for others to see and read.

Children learn to value writing, and to respect the writing of others.
We often go into our journal time following a small group story time. We talk about the authors role in the story and connect how the children are “telling” their own story. Children talk with us about what they have written and they share with each other their stories. They learn that everyone’s picture has value.

Children have REAL and RELEVANT opportunities to learn the conventions of print such as; each letter has a sound (or many sounds) and words are made up of these individual sounds combined; print goes from left to right; and print goes from the top to the bottom of a page.

We can show a child the letter B a hundred times and it won’t stick. However, if the child is excited about a story that was read about a bear, came to the table and journaled about a bear, wanted to write about their bear, the letter B now has meaning. It is at that “teachable moment” a Wee Friend teacher is ready to supply the information that the child’s brain is hungry and ready to receive. This emotional connection will guarantee that the letter B is now learned.

Children can experiment with letters, letter sounds, and inventive spelling in a safe way. When children are asked to de-code words (read) prematurely, they are regularly wrong. When they do kids spelling, they are in control and they experience success. They can read what they wrote and they build literacy confidence.

The journey of learning to read starts with the first scribble when children are just toddlers. Children then move to drawing with purpose (circles to drawing people and objects). They then start to understand that writing can be dictated to “tell” their story. Finally, children become ready to start their own kids spelling and begin to sound the words to tell their story them self. It is the Wee Friends teacher’s role to walk with them through this journey and help them when they are ready to learn to write their name, to record their dictated words, to help them start kids spelling when they are ready, and all the zillion steps in between!

Writing gives children time to practice the fine motor control that will help them become better writers.

Yesterday’s blog gave several examples of ways that children develop fine motor skills other than writing. Often they need lots of other fine motor experiences to build the strength to write easily and with purpose. But, we foster a positive journaling culture that children want to be a part of. This means they get lots of time drawing and building the right fine motor muscles!

Have a great day,

Tami

Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart. ~William Wordsworth

The first aim of the prepared environment is, as far as it is possible, to render the growing child independent of the adult. (Maria Montessori. The Secret of Childhood: Fides Publishers, 1966.)

This quote came to me this morning as I watched the Wee Frienders choose and work on activities independently and at their own pace. Our environment has been thoughtfully arranged to facilitate and maximize independent learning and exploration in all of the learning areas. It is really cool to reflect after a busy morning on just all the learning areas that have emerged in just a few hours. Oddly, the children manage to keep it all balanced every day!

Here’s just a few examples of some of what happened this morning:

Scientific and Mathematic Development

Several children participated in mixing their own sculpture dough. Some required help (from friends), while others have learned to do this alone. The sculpture dough requires fairly exact measuring to get the correct dough consistency. Today children brainstormed together how to “fix” the dough when it was too dry or too wet. They also discussed how many scoops were necessary to fill the measuring cup.

As a table activity, bears with stickers were set out with bear counters. Children gathered and matched the bears with the stickers. Also, they became creative and filled the bears with the counters to see how many could fit! Other children lined the bears up and counted them in rows.

Language, Literacy & Communication

Story after story, Melinda read to small groups of children. Ada had decided this morning that she wanted to learn about alligators, so Melinda got out the non fiction books and children were completely absorbed in learning and talking about the differences between crocodiles and alligators!

There was also a variety of games that encouraged cooperation and letter recognition this morning. Journals were done after lunch.

Creative Development

At several different times this morning, children participated in creative music and movement. Melinda facilitated a music instrument exploration and later she let the children through an organized bunny trot.

Sculpture dough designs were put on trays to dry and be painted later. Outside, sidewalk chalking and water and chalk painting at the easel were both some ways the children were creative in art.

Physical Development

Fine motor is often developed in ways that are unexpectedly effective. A few examples from this morning are: mixing the salt dough, kneading it, and forming objects out of it. Another way seen this morning was children using the play pliers to pick up the fuzzy balls. Finally, outside children were digging in the sand and scooping it. These types of fine motor work helps form the muscles needed for writing!

Personal & Social Development:

This morning shortly after Addi arrived at WF, she saw Nate. She announced, “Nate, I’m here!” Nate immediately came over and gave her a huge hug.

Taylor patiently helped Nate through the process of making his own sculpture dough. Children are learning as “big” kids helping, and the younger child is learning by being helped.

For lunch today: multigrain flat bread with cream cheese, fresh shredded zucchini (from our garden), and cantaloupe.

And here are just a few cute shots from outside this morning…

Today was a morning filled with color! First Miss Paulina read Oso Pardo, Oso Pardo, Que ves ahi? Paulina and the children discussed the animals and the beautiful colors in the book. Next,azul, rojo, amarillo, verde and negro were heard as Paulina led small groups in a Spanish-English color explorations at the art table. The children enjoyed using the trays, brushes and tempura to mix colors. Many used paper to further explore the colors they created.

Other activities included:

*playing with dominos independently and in small groups

*Dancing to songs Miss Paulina sang.

*Lots of bear play in housekeeping.

*A very enjoyable a time outside with the beautiful weather.

For lunch today we had whole wheat spaghetti noodles with tuna and peas, fresh fruit salad, and cucumbers from our garden.

Have a great day!

This morning Melinda and Tami took a group of our older friends on a walk to play at Nuner Elementary playground.

This afternoon we will say goodbye to Yonatan and Oliver! We’ll celebrate with brownies and berries! Thank you Jason, Atalia, David and Alexandra for helping us make it a special day!

For lunch we served white pizza, watermelon and peas.

Have a terrific weekend!

This morning we read Blueberries For Sal by Robert McClosky. We discussed what sort of bear Little Bear might me (black, grizzly or polar) based on where the story takes place. We discovered a new vocabulary word: tremendous. Many friends gathered at the art table for a blueberry taste test. We gathered many descriptive words and information about blueberries.

We moved our bodies and bears to Fats Domino’s I Found My Thrill! We discovered the rock ‘n roll blues beat was heavy and loud-like a bear’s walk!

Paulina moved the rhythm exploration to the truck room and created a drumming circle with many friends. As they sang “Listen, Listen”, they played accompanying rhythmic patterns with the drums. They talked about how, if they made flat fingers to tap the drum instead of a whole flat palm, they would be able to get a better sound. They talked about using singing voices to sing instead of talking voices. Some friends understood this concept and practiced a singing (not yelling 🙂 voice!!

Yesterday we put three sensory bins out: one with ice, one with bark and the last, with vines. We talked about which of our bears of study would live where! Today we added plastic polar bears to our ice bin and friends enjoyed cracking the ice into small pieces with their plastic bears.

Other great moments of the day:

 

For lunch we served chicken and whole wheat pasta, apple sauce and corn.

Tomorrow, to celebrate Yonatan’s last day at Wee Friends, we are planning a long walk to the Nuner Elementary playground!

Have a great day!

Each day at Wee Friends, we see our friends imitating the roles of moms and dads, playing dress up, acting out real life stories (hammering or making last night’s dinner), and creating make believe spaces.

In these explorations, emotions, minds, language and sensory motor skills are hard at work! Today friends continued creating bear daybeds in housekeeping and the reading area. Today their interest evolved into a more abstract/complex daybed: a hammock.

Practicing the art of negotiation, friends determined where the hammock should be hung. They exercised fine motor (and problem solving!) skills working at tying it to a hook. More social skills were cultivated as friends took turns swinging their bears.

 

To keep our study connected to reading/writing we sought to demonstrate our friend’s names in written form throughout our classroom. We cut out brown, gray and black bears, wrote a friend’s name on each bear and went on a literacy bear hunt! Our friends loved the hunt, and we loved watching our kids identify either their name in its entirety or the first letter of their name. Some of our older friends recreated their own bear at the art table with a template, wrote out their own name and created their own hunt.

We continued our conversation about the differences between grizzly, black and polar bears.

 

For lunch we served whole wheat cous cous with red beans, cantelope and a cucumber/tomato salad.

 

Have a terrific day!

Congratulations, Wee Friends Graduates!

With “Pomp and Circumstance”, we send Isaac and Oliver to Kindergarden and Taylor, First Grade! We will miss you!!!!!!!

Today began with a message board:

Tami provided us with (at least!) 16 stuffed bears to sing along and act out Hap Palmer’s “Teddy Bear’s Playtime”. Friends threw teddies in the air, balanced them on their tummies and toes and had the time of their life! We ended our creative music with friends standing up and in big bold voices introducing their bear to the group and telling us one thing about their bear. Many of our bears were great runners named Fuzzy!

Afterwards, we read and studied Bears, a bear fact book by Deborah Hodge. We learned about the three types of bears, details of their habitats and bodies. After learning about daybeds (daily resting spots bears create near food) friends filled the housekeeping and reading areas making their own daybeds for their bears.

We moved our bear study to the art room where we created a bear paw collage. After cutting the toes out of old socks, friends slipped their fingers into the sock, dipped it in paint and created bear paws! This sensory experience offered friends the opportunity to compare/contrast bear paws to their own human “paws”. Many friends made bear tracks.

For lunch we served ham sandwiches on whole wheat bread, corn on the cob (thank you, Lisa!) and fruit salad. Have a great day!