Wednesday May 25

What a busy day! We started the day with a science/math experiment that involved racing two cars at a time down two different ramps. One ramp was short and wooden and the other was long and made of cardboard, with a tube tunnel attached. We asked the question “The race cars will go down faster on which ramp?” We also changed the heights of the ramps, asking the same question.

Isaac brought a microscope to school! We examined pond water from The Res and well as our own WF aquarium.

Anticipating the thunderstorm, we took the kids outside a little earlier this morning. When we came inside, we created art with gray, black and blue paper and chalk. Friends created incredible chalk drawings inspired by their feelings about rain and thunderstorms.

The rain passed and we had a little time before lunch so friends spent a few moments splashing mud puddles!

Thank you Yonatan for the delicious chocolate cupcakes!! We all enjoyed them!!!

For lunch today we served ham, mixed veggies, whole wheat toast and watermelon.

Have a great day!

Tuesday, May 24th

Happy Birthday, Yonatan! Yonatan turns three today!

INDY 500 Study

Today we began a new study: race cars and the Indy 500. After an incredible brain storming meeting yesterday, our friends have come up with some incredible ideas for the study. We’ve promised a real derby race as a culminating event!

In the truck room, we gathered all WF cars in a big pile on the floor. We sorted them in several different ways: race cars, cars of different colors, cars with stripes and cars with numbers. We counted the number of cars as we sorted them into piles. We explored different materials in the truck room that we could create ramps with. F.3.13 Talk about the cover and illustrations prior to the story being read.F.3.9 Sort a group of objects by more than one way. F.3.13 Categorize familiar objects by function and class. F.4.7 Sort a group of objects by more than one way.

After lunch, a group of older friends gathered to listen to Twelve Little Race Cars by Scott Pruett and Indy Cars by Kate Riggs. We created a message board asking “What do we know about race cars?”

While our swimmers were at the Y for their weekly lesson, other friends sorted colored buttons into

their corresponding colored bowl. F.3.12 Apply one to one correspondence with objects and people. F.4.6 Sort by one attribute (e.g., size, shape, color).

For lunch we served chicken apple salad, broccoli, whole wheat bread and cantelope.

Enjoy your day!

 

On two occasions today, unprompted by the teachers, large groups of friends gathered together first for a game and then for a more complex task of scissor cutting. They played, worked cooperatively, and laughed and conversed all the while. A few younger friends enjoyed shaking, rolling and studying plastic tubes, filled with different liquids.

Wee Friends gobbled up the delicious birthday snack Taylor brought last week: bananas on a stick, dipped in strawberry yogurt and rolled in graham crackers-then frozen!!!!!!! Thank you Taylor!

 

Waiting to load up and head to the Farm.

Kid Quotes:

When asked “What has been the best part of your day?”  here’s how your children responded:

Jane: “Helping Addi (her lunch buddy) and I like to be in the front for naptime.”

Jacob: “I was at the Farm with Tami and I was doing fishing.”

Alexandra: “I like my mommy and candy.”

Kai: “Catching a crayfish-it was a baby.”

Addi: “I like Kai and Jane and Annie.”

Taylor: “My best part was catching a baby fish.”

Simon: “Going outside!”

Owen: “Fishing!”

Isaac: “Going to the Farm.”

Macy: “I like my mommy.”

Oliver: “Stepping in mud puddles at the Farm.”

Check the blog later today for today’s farm adventures!

For lunch we served whole wheat pasta with tuna, pears and carrots/cucumbers.

Have a great day!

SCISSORS!

This morning we practiced using scissors, cutting from a variety of different magazines. For our younger friends, we discussed how to hold scissors and practiced opening and closing them. For all friends, we talked about how to safely pass scissors to a friend. One friend created a collage with her cuttings.

Many of our child-driven activities have an improvisational quality to them. To support our doctor study, Laurie started to play “Mind Your Manners” and friends quickly gathered to dance and sing. Melinda expressed “Let’s use our new green mats!” So we paused our music and began singing “My space, my space, here I am in my space…..my space, my space, only me!” When friends had established safe spatial boundaries in which to move their bodies, we pressed ‘play’ to resume “Mind Your Manners”. Technical difficulty (bad disc!). Laurie turned around to see friends quietly waiting for the music on their mats. Melinda exclaimed “I see you all waiting patiently and happily!” As friends watched and listened, Laurie inserted “If You’re Happy and You Know It”. Friends clapped and stomped and shouted! From there, 4 friends at a time played a watching/listening follow the leader game called: “Troll Freeze”: one friend is the troll leader and whenever he/she turns around, the following trolls freeze and drop to the ground. Then, a friend who finished Troll Freeze rolled himself into the mat and said “Look! I’m a hot dog!” Other friends joined in, going nuts over being hot dogs with green buns. More singing ensued and it was time to go outside. Melinda then guided our friends as they rolled their hot dog buns up and placed them into the basket.

This all lasted 25-30 minutes and while it reads with a frenetic quality, the transitions were terrifically smooth and logical with teachers and Wee Friends watching and listening closely to one another for the next inspired spark.

Now, what to do with the instant, exuberant (accidental?!) interest in hot dogs? Any ideas?!

Have a great weekend!!!

Thursday May 19

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAYLOR!

Taylor turns 6 today!

Today both groups of friends went to tumbling class!

Back at school, Tami read aloud several books and Melinda led a sculpture activity using salt dough. The recipe we use is as follows:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup salt

7 tbls water

(add water and flour to achieve desired consistency)

Here are a few of the many benefits of children working with salt dough:

1)Working with salt dough helps to gain control over hand and arm movements which improves coordination.

2)Great for fine/gross motor muscle development.

3)Salt dough is a natural outlet through which children can express their emotions.

4)Cooperative play and dramatic play can be seen when children use salt dough.

5)Discussing what has been made helps build communication skills and develops imagination

6) Dividing it up can be used to help children learn about numbers and counting.

7)Playing with salt dough with others helps children understand the importance of sharing.

To foster independence, Tami designed a salt dough “station” that friends can access on their own. There are two different colored/sized measuring cups for each dry ingredient. A small glass is used for the water, with 7 tablespoons clearly marked in words and a black line. A large ceramic bowl and wooden spoon are available for mixing.

Today nearly all of Wee Friends created with salt dough. They knew exactly the order of turn taking and waited patiently for their own turn!

Today for lunch we served cucumber and cream cheese on whole wheat tortillas and fruit salad.

Have a great day!

Wednesday May 18

A small group of friends began the day singing a new song “Super Manners” (sung to the tune of “I’m a Little Tea Pot”):

I have Super Manners, yes I do!

I can say “please” and “thank you”!

When I’m with my friends I listen and share,

That’s the way I show I care!

We played a few rounds of our Body Part dice game, exploring and talking/singing about different body parts.

At the art table, we made individual thumb and finger prints, using a stamp pad. We talked about how our skin had unique lines and textures, but mostly just enjoyed getting purple ink all over our hands! F.3.7 Make patterns on their own.

Another read aloud of Dr. Meow’s Big Emergency led to an interest in hospital ID bracelets. Using masking tape, we created our own. F.1.39 Talk about action pictures of family, pets, or self.

F.2.1 Identify a favorite story. F.3.16 Describe features of familiar places (e.g., buildings, stores).

Melinda led an science/art experiment: “What happens when you draw with chalk on wet and dry paper? Furthermore, what will happen when you paint over your chalk sketch with water?” Friends examined how chalk color changed as they created and how the chalk felt different drawing on wet and dry paper. F.1.8 Engage in a scientific experiment with a peer or with small groups of children using sharing/turn taking skills.

We resurrected a Wee Friends Favorite song “Mind Your Manners”, singing, dancing and stretching our bodies. We ended our Creative Music time with a music meditation, talking about how fast our heart was beating and how to breath deeply to slow it down as we relaxed our bodies. F.2.5 Hum or sing along to tune playing on radio, tape/CD player, or television.

Today for lunch, we served rice with chicken and corn, pears and salad.

Have a great day!

Tuesday May 17

Today began with an anatomy game/song! We created a large cube (dice) taping pictures of different body parts on it. We rolled the dice and when we landed on a body part, we sang:

“Eye, Eye, it’s the picture I see,

If you have an eye than blink with me!

Stand up, blink up and down,

And when you’re through blinking,

Sit back down.”

After interest in the song waned, we switched the game to identifying the letter that the body part started with (ex: What picture is this? SPINE! What letter does SPINE start with?”)

After the swimmers left for the Y, younger friends continued exploring the caterpillars, putting them into a plastic tub and returning them to the wild. 🙂

Three older friends helped Amy Crosson plant vegetables. Yesterday, Amy brought in rhubarb bread made from the rhubarb on our playground! Thank you Amy!!

Friends trimmed the grass growing in plastic cups. They created art with the cut grass using white paper and glue.

Enjoy this day!

After the two year olds left for the Farm, Melinda led an art exploration asking the question “What happens when you paint over crayon?” With different color combinations, friends first drew with crayons on paper and then painted over it studying the effect that different crayon/paper colors had when combined with red paint. F.1.6 Wonder about or ask questions about works of art. F.2.16 Demonstrate increasing skill in using different art materials. (e.g., paper, paint, clay, scraps, buttons)

Outside, friends discovered a sac of Eastern Tent caterpillars on the plumb bush. Friends hand picked them and put them in a plastic container. This afternoon we will study them up close! F.3.9 Observe and explore a variety of live plants and animals. F.3.12 Talk about different types of plants and animals that inhabit the earth.

Beginning the Basics introduced “Mind Your Manners” this morning. Understanding the natural curiosity (and fun!) to experiment with “bathroom words”, we created a message board that listed Appropriate Words and Inappropriate Words for our school environment. We played “No! Teacher! No!”: a game similar to “Mother May I” where the teacher says a word and if it’s Appropriate, the friend can move forward one big step. If it’s Inappropriate, the friend exclaims, “No! Teacher! No!” We role-played what to say when a friend grabs a toy or book out of your hand. We will practice these life skills along with continued potty and hand washing reminders/activities. F.2.11 Pretend through role-playing. F.2.2 Express self in dramatic play

Enjoy this beautiful day!!!!!!

Happy Friday!

Don’t forget to check the blog and the flickr account for new photos of Wee/Wee Friends!

WF:http://www.flickr.com/photos/weefriends/sets/72157626581289749/

WWF http://www.flickr.com/photos/weefriends/sets/72157626710618538/

It was a busy, peaceful morning at Wee Friends! There were many small group, child initiated activities happening. In the hopscotch room, several friends created a house with a dog pen. Friends took turns commanding the dog to sleep, wake up and get up!

A couple friends explored new materials to hammer with and new places to exercise their hands and the hammer!  Also, we created art with black paper, glue and white paper cut in different shapes and we also read lots of books!

 

 

 

Have a terrific weekend!

Tumbling Day for WF!

While the 2 groups were out at tumbling, the WFer’s stayed busy playing games with Melinda, playing with shaving cream, and choosing other self initiated play. 

The shaving cream activity was well recieved by all of the children!  The kids used paint brushes and plastic pieces to create textures and patterns on their tray. F.1.5 Use the five senses (touching, smelling, seeing, hearing, tasting) to investigate the environment and to gather information. F.2.10 Participate in activities using materials with a variety of shapes and patterns. F.3.2 Investigate and talk about the characteristics of matter (e.g., liquids and solids, smooth and rough, bend-not bend).F.2.9 Use different colors, surface textures, and shapes to create form and meaning.

Several other interest areas stayed busy all morning.  The housekeeping area was a busy whirl all morning and the workshop had children pounding and creating too.  Thankfully, the rain storm was shortlived and we were able to play outside at our normal time!