Good Afternoon.
Please enjoy the pictures from our day.
Breakfast: Whole grain Chex and apples.
Lunch: Whole grain brown rice with shredded beef, carrots and pears.
Snack: Whole wheat Triscuit crackers and pumpkin seeds.
Wee Sprouts: Cucumbers.
Have a nice night.
Marty
LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AtTCDmdhjIulj45Xzwxn1j47inOBbQ?e=hDWCoa
Happy Snowy Wednesday!
Today we happily engaged in some gross motor activities that always get our bodies in motion and smiles upon our faces. We had “Happy Feet!” There was also some sensory action for feet as well while walking on the sensory stepping circles.
We then offered a fun, festive sensory/art activity that our friends raced in to get started.
Using glue is not always a sensory experience all of our friends enjoy, but today we LOVED gluing fluff balls and scrunched up pieces of red construction paper onto Santa hats and stockings.
It was a fun filled day.
Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios and clementine’s.
Lunch: Farm fresh scrambled eggs with cheese, whole wheat butter toast, tomatoes and apples.
Snack: Whole wheat Ritz crackers and cream cheese.
Have a fantastic evening. Stay warm.
Marty
LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AtTCDmdhjIulj44lghhZWkHKvbDRVw?e=GrY1ka
Good Afternoon!
After reading, ‘The Night Before Christmas’ in K/PREK1, we addressed a topic that children have been asking about and that’s Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. Both of these holidays appear on our calendar so today, we talked a little bit about what each holiday entails.
This wasn’t meant to learn the ins and outs of each holiday but more so, acknowledging that people celebrate different holidays. Each child shared one specific thing that their family does during Christmas time and even though we celebrate the same holiday, we all celebrate it in many different ways.
That was the meaning of our conversation: acknowledging and appreciating the differences between all of us.
Social Studies: K.1.2 Identify celebrations and holidays as a way of remembering and honoring people, events and America’s heritage.
In PREK2, children read the story ‘If You Take A Mouse To The Movies’ which deals with sequencing of events. After the story was done, they created their own sequence of events.
Enjoy the rest of the pictures from our day!
Breakfast– Whole grain oatmeal with honey and fresh pears.
Lunch– Farm fresh scrambled eggs with shredded cheese, mixture of whole wheat tortilla and flatbread, fresh pears/apples, and fresh cherry tomatoes/snap peas.
PM snack– Hummus with blue corn chips.
Wee Sprout– Fresh snap peas/cucumber.
Have a lovely night!
-Mindy
Link to pictures: WF 12/11
Good Afternoon!
**Updated shot records are due next Friday, December 20th! Thank you!
**Wee Friends will be closed Monday, December 23rd through Friday, January 3rd.
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We continued working on the art canvases that we started yesterday.
The first step today was to paint the second canvas and branches with a variety of chosen colors. Once the canvas was painted, children used a splattering technique to add texture to the canvas. We were able to get the splatter effect by taking a paint brush with paint on it and gently tapping it against a small wooden block which caused the paint to go onto the canvas. Children loved this technique and the end result!
We can’t wait to display these in the classroom environment!
What is mindfulness? We strive to teach it but more so, we try to implement it in our daily actions with children. What do I mean by this?
We see a child sitting down on the building rug, building this amazing creation full of imagination and what do we do (sometimes)? We sit down next to them and ask questions ranging from, “Oh! What did you make?” or “Can you tell me about this?”. While our intentions are valid and honorable, we are not being mindful of their thought process and play experience.
“We insert ourselves, uninvited, into their play with our ideas and concerns and scaffolding and witticisms, drawing their attention away from the present moment, often in a jarring manner. We can’t teach mindfulness to the experts, but we can leave them to it.”
So, instead, we try to sit back and wait to be invited into their play conversation where we then can dive more into their experience.
“A child bent over a puzzle in the midst of a noisy classroom is not just working a puzzle, she is the puzzle. Children negotiating their way through their games of princesses and super heroes are fully there in the moment, intellectually, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. And the younger the children are, the more mindful they tend to be: a baby staring off into the middle distance is, in that moment, the entire universe.”
Breakfast- Corn Chex and fresh kiwi.
Lunch– Refried beans and melted cheese on whole wheat flatbread, fresh banana/apple, and fresh carrot/cherry tomatoes.
PM snack– Whole wheat bagel with cream cheese and mozzarella block cheese.
Wee Sprout– Fresh carrots.
Have a great evening.
-Mindy
Link to pictures: WF 12/10
Good Afternoon.
Oh boy, did we ever have a lot of fun utilizing our gross motor abilities today! We used our Shipt brown paper grocery bags for some major fun and excitement!! We had some good old fashioned sack jumping as well as experimenting a little with using our bags as hats and backpacks. The kids LOVED engaging in this activity!
Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios and apples.
Lunch: Whole grain tortillas with shredded cheese and refried beans, sweet potatoes and kiwi.
Snack: Whole wheat bagels with cream cheese/peanut butter. (Kids choice)
Wee Sprouts: Sweet Potatoes.
Have a nice night.
Marty
LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AtTCDmdhjIulj4x69cDrKCX9nMiHyg?e=MLQZaJ
Good Afternoon. I hope you all had a fantastic weekend.
Today was the final observation date for our student, Cecilia.
We will miss having her in the classroom as she was a GREAT student and the children absolutely adored her for the nine weeks she was here.
Friends enjoyed working side by side engaged in the ever so popular Duplo blocks. “Big tall buildings” were bring built and then crashed down.
Fine motor, sensory and hand-eye coordination skills are being enhanced while engaging in the activity.
Breakfast: Whole wheat toast with peanut butter and kiwi.
Lunch: Whole wheat pasta with shredded mozzarella cheese and marinara sauce, corn and apples.
Snack: Whole milk yogurt with graham crackers.
Wee Sprouts: Peas/Snap peas.
Have a nice night.
Marty
LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AtTCDmdhjIulj4wZ1TDZQKjf8wIqHw?e=d4AgZC
Happy Monday!
After we read, ‘Bear Stays Up’, I asked the question, “Does everyone celebrate holidays the same?”
This sparked a conversation about the uniqueness of family traditions which we added to the web. Each child shared one holiday that they enjoy celebrating with their family and why it was so special to them.
Friends kept saying, “We do that too!” or “We’ve never roasted marshmallows over the fire before!”—K/PREK1 members were quick to identify the similarities and differences they share with their peers.
Social Studies: K.1.2 Identify celebrations and holidays as a way of remembering and honoring people, events and America’s heritage.
We’re adding new artwork to our environment. A canvas was put on the table and children got to place several sticks in a specific position before they were glued down. Once the glue dried, children had the option to paint the canvas and sticks! It truly was a group effort! We’re anxious to hang these once they’re done.
Breakfast– Whole wheat bagel with butter and fresh kiwi.
Lunch– Whole wheat noodles with marinara sauce and shredded cheese, fresh kiwi/banana, and fresh carrots.
PM snack– Whole milk yogurt with granola.
Wee Sprout– Fresh carrots.
Have a lovely night!
-Mindy
Link to pictures: WF 12/9
Good Afternoon and Happy Friday.
Please enjoy the pictures from our day!
Breakfast: Whole wheat/grain brown rice cakes with Sunflower butter and banana/clementine’s.
Lunch: Whole wheat/grain Flatbread with turkey lunchmeat, corn and kiwi.
Snack: Pretzels and mozzarella string cheese.
Wee Sprouts: Cucumbers.
Have a great weekend.
Marty
LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AtTCDmdhjIulj4sQd_94Nv-a7iBxEA?e=DR4FkL
Happy Friday!
A BIG happy birthday to Miss Kim who will celebrate her birthday this Sunday!
In K/PREK1, we looked at two different maps: one of the United States and one of the state of Indiana. The map of the United States was split into sections and Indiana was in the section ‘midwest’. We looked at the different states that were in the area too before specifically looking at Indiana. After we identified where South Bend was, N asked what the star was for. We got into a discussion revolving around capitols and how each state has one. Children tried to say the city, ‘Indianapolis’—it’s a tricky word!
Social Studies: K.3.2 Identify maps and globes as ways of representing Earth and understand the differences between a map/globe.
In PREK2, children took different colored markers to connect the line from Wee Friends to their letter on the map!
We found this blog post very interesting! There are times when we catch ourselves saying, “Be careful!” but Teacher Tom offers up some other suggestions that are better suited for children. When we tell children to ‘be careful’, we’re basically telling them that we don’t trust their judgement which can lead to self doubt.
http://teachertomsblog.blogspot.com/2019/11/instead-of-warning-children-to-be.html
Penny was walking around the outside environment yesterday afternoon and started finding really big leaves! She gathered several and we used them at the art table this morning.
Children used various colors to paint their leaf and a few friends even did a leaf print.
Penny and N were using toys as phones to talk back and forth to each other so Miss Kim made them a plastic cup- phone mechanism using two plastic cups and a long piece of string!
Children loved exploring it and having conversations with one another.
“Children are naturally creative. It is our job to give them the freedom, materials, and space to let their creativity blossom to its full potential.”
-Jean Van’t Hul
Breakfast– Brown rice cakes with peanut butter and fresh pineapple.
Lunch– Turkey on whole wheat bread, fresh kiwi/apple, and fresh celery/carrots.
PM snack– Miss Kim’s birthday treat–homemade whole wheat muffins and string cheese.
Wee Sprout– Fresh carrots/celery.
Have a fantastic weekend!
-Mindy
Link to pictures: WF 12/6
Good Afternoon!
Interesting blog from Teacher Tom today:
http://teachertomsblog.blogspot.com/2019/12/teaching-values.html
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Children used several different magnetic items such as bells, magnatiles, shapes, and cut up pipe cleaners to create various structures including trees!
Grady noticed that the bells against the magnatiles made sounds after he built a tree with the magnatiles and filled it with many bells.
Penny initiated a new classroom list. She grabbed a pencil and clipboard and went around the environment, asking friends what their name was. When she needed a little help spelling certain names, she used the cubby tags for reference.
Grady, Mack, and David covered the art table with leaves and then proceeded to make up their own game where they were workers.
We heard the following conversation:
“You’re fired!”
“Breaks over!”
..the imagination of children 
.
Breakfast– Whole grain Cheerios and fresh apples.
Lunch– Brown rice with shredded chicken and cheese, fresh pineapple/banana, and fresh pepper/cucumber.
PM snack– Peanuts and graham crackers.
Wee Sprout– Fresh pepper/cucumber.
Have a fantastic evening!
-Mindy
Link to pictures: WF 12/5