Good Afternoon and Happy August!

This morning while Miss Annastecia was in the classroom she offered our friends a sensory/science activity.

We used watercolor paints and small eye droppers to squeeze the watercolor paint onto our papers. We utilized our fine motor skills to pinch the small dropper top so that the water would come out! Miss Annastecia showed our kiddos one time just what to do and all of the children soared with it! GREAT job guys.

Breakfast: Whole grain Chex and apples.

Lunch: Whole grain brown rice with shredded pork, fresh cucumbers and apples.

Snack: Whole wheat Ritz crackers and peanut butter.

Wee Sprouts: Snap Peas

Have a fantastic night.

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/u/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljqtRZ_WUmK84-q7-bw?e=ThlshR

Good Afternoon.

“The question is not whether we can afford to invest in every child; it is whether we can afford not to. ~Marian Wright Edelman

While engaged in early literacy this morning, our friends kept choosing one of my favorite children’s book author, Sandra Boynton.

We read, Opposites, Happy Hippo Angry Hippo, Barnyard Dance, But Not The Hippopotamus and Mooo Baaa Oink. There are many more selections, but those were the specific stories friends wanted to read and keep reading.

We then headed into the kitchen area for a sensory activity per Daniel’s “Can we go into the kitchen and do something fun?” request. We painted with very bright and vibrant colors. The children love to paint and its a wonderful multi learning activity. (Hand-eye coordination, sensory and color recognition.)

Breakfast: Whole grain Oatmeal with honey and banana.

Lunch: Scrambled eggs with Whole wheat butter toast, WF garden fresh cucumbers and pears.

Snack: Pretzels and Colby cheese.

Have a great evening.

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljqoLmRgcuPkm8viCAg?e=qywxk7

Happy Wednesday!

COLORS dominated our morning in many facets.

Children arranged the bear counters by color. They observed the different groups of colors and used descriptive words to talk about the groupings.

An activity was made available at the art table where children cut out pictures from magazines and sorted the pictures by color. The color wheel had six colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. When they found a specific colored picture, they cut it out and glued it into the corresponding category.

Our color curiosity even followed us outside as children took turns with clip boards that came equipped with a magnifying glass and a box of crayons. Our friends went around the yard, searching for something that caught their attention and put it down on paper. The magnifying glasses were used mainly for flowers or anything that was small to where children wanted to see the details of that item. The focus in their eyes was absolutely incredible!

“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.”

-Maya Angelou

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Breakfast– Whole grain oatmeal with honey and fresh blueberries (thanks to Anna’s family!)

Lunch– Scrambled eggs with whole wheat bread, fresh apple/banana, and fresh snap peas/carrots.

PM snack– Homemade banana muffins and cheese sticks.

Wee Sprout– Fresh carrots/snap peas.

Have a fantastic evening!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/31

Good Afternoon!

We have been fascinated with colors! This interest in colors is mostly evident at the art table where children use a collection of colors to explore concepts such as light and dark.

Today, however, this color exploration popped up on the building rug where Anna and Penny took all of the magnatiles out of the two bins and separated them by colors. They did so by starting with one color and building upward. They started by choosing the big squares and then adding the smaller magnatiles on top. As they were separating the colors, they surveyed the area and guessed which color would have the most. Penny said, “I think red is going to have the most!”—She was right!

Grady asked for pattern blocks this morning. He dispersed the blocks onto his tray and began building. When he was done, he came running and said, “I made a kitty robot that flies and dances!”. He used an array of shapes ranging from rectangles to hexagons.

Our paper mache project is coming along. Today, we painted the inside of our paper mache bowls with variations of the color blue!

Keep your eye open for a new art display..

Breakfast– Quaker Oatmeal Squares and fresh cantaloupe.

Lunch– Melted shredded cheese on whole wheat tortilla, fresh oranges/cantaloupe, and fresh cucumber/carrots.

PM snack– Homemade banana muffins and fresh oranges.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/carrots.

Have a fantastic night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/30

Good Afternoon.

We welcomed back our friend Zoe from her vacation today and we were able to get to know our new friend Caroline that will begin in just a couple weeks.

We are sad that summer is coming to an end but excited for Fall and all the wonderful changes it brings to our classroom.

We love the water, and that will be one sad transition we will be leaving as the weather turns to colder temps. But we will bask in the joy for as long as we possibly can.

Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios and Kix with banana.

Lunch: Whole wheat tortilla with shredded cheese, mixed vegetables and pears.

Snack: Homemade whole wheat banana muffin and mozzarella string cheese.

Wee Sprouts: WF Garden Fresh cucumbers.

Have a nice night.

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljqki57eLSgHG4Cf0vA?e=maAByu

Happy Monday!

Our paper mache project is in full swing. We let our paper mache creations dry over the weekend and today, we started to paint them. We focused on painting the outside while we’ll tackle the inside at a later date!

Paper mache is a process that majority of our friends haven’t had the pleasure of exploring. Throughout this process, children have become more accepting and excited about the sensory feeling of the materials. While we never demand children do an activity, we’re excited that most of our friends explored paper mache and are still interested in the overall process!

Our morning is structed in the way that children have choices. This morning, Franklin requested the coins. He took the coins out and sorted them. He was surprised when he found a ‘real’ Notre Dame gold coin! He was pretty shocked and immediately put it up to his shirt and said, “It’s like my Notre Dame shirt!”

Several friends sat at the circle table where they used their fine motor skills to place Legos onto their boards. One of our favorite things lately is rainbows. Friends have been using this new found passion in their art. Ruby and Sophia used a range of colors to extend their art drawings.

The amount of excitement when Maxwell walked outside could not be contained! Maxwell and his brother, Jackson, dropped off some new wood for our wood working bench! He quickly came out to say hi and give his friends a hug!

Breakfast– Whole wheat toast with butter and fresh pears.

Lunch– Whole wheat pasta with butter and shredded chicken, fresh cantaloupe, and fresh cucumber/snap peas.

PM snack– Whole milk yogurt with banana.

Wee Sprout– Fresh snap peas/cucumber.

Have a terrific evening!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/29

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend.

“If a child cannot learn in the way we teach, we must teach in a way the child can learn.” ~ Unknown

Please enjoy the pictures from our Monday!

Breakfast: Whole wheat butter toast with apples.

Lunch: Whole wheat pasta with butter and shredded chicken, peas and banana.

Snack: Whole milk yogurt with graham crackers.

Have a fantastic night.

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljqdtLlBUtbJZjBrKAw?e=eRTfmx

Lucy has been a Wee Friender since August 2013. We have had the privilege of watching Lucy tackle various milestones, form lasting friendships, and take on her Kindergarten leadership role with confidence this past year. We are so excited to hear about her adventures in 1st grade and will not only miss her but her supportive and amazing family as well. Once a Wee Friender, always a Wee Friender!

Enjoy the pictures from our Friday!

Breakfast: Rice cakes with peanut butter and fresh watermelon/cantaloupe.

Lunch– Peanut butter on whole wheat english muffins, fresh watermelon/pears, and fresh cucumber/snap peas.

PM snack– Lucy’s goodbye snack: homemade zucchini muffins and homemade watermelon sorbet.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/snap peas.

Have a terrific weekend!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/26

Happy Friday, I hope you all had a fabulous week.

“Early childhood education is the key to the betterment of society.” ~Maria Montessori

This morning we were able to watch and fully enjoy an exciting activity that our neighbors were having done to their home! They are in the process of getting a new roof. Our friends just sat and watched in awe. There’s nothing better than watching “worker men”.

We then headed out for a nature wagon ride around the neighborhood to see what else exciting we could find.   We started our walk by looking for colors and naming the colors we saw.  We then looked for objects.  We saw trash bins, cars and even saw a train on the railroad tracks and railroad signs. We had a great time!

Breakfast: Whole grain rice cakes with peanut butter and banana.

Lunch: Whole wheat bread with peanut butter, mixed veggies and banana.

Snack: Whole grain cheese crackers and cheddar cheese cubes.

Wee Sprouts: Fresh Peppers.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljqZVfTgnNKWVGd09RA?e=KZNVte

Good Afternoon!

For the last several weeks, we’ve been focused on emotions: our own emotions as well as the emotions of others. In both groups, we’ve been reading stories and exploring the emotions that characters exhibit.

Being able to identify feelings and emotions within ourselves can be challenging in the heat of the moment. Talking through problems, modeling the words needed to explain emotions, and being understanding/calm can help in situations where emotions are strong.

Below is an article that gives examples of how to talk to children about their emotions and how to assist them in the process of identifying their feelings.

https://extension.psu.edu/programs/betterkidcare/early-care/tip-pages/all/talking-with-preschoolers-about-emotions

Breakfast– Kix and fresh blueberries.

Lunch– Brown rice with shredded chicken and cheese, fresh watermelon, and fresh green beans/cherry tomatoes.

PM snack– Whole grain crackers and peanuts.

Wee Sprout– Fresh green beans/cherry tomatoes.

Have a fantastic evening!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/25