Hello and Happy Monday. We hope you all enjoyed your weekend.

“They may forget what you said but they will never forget how you made them feel.”

WWF receives a magazine called YC (young children) and the current issue is all about Infants and Toddlers. I was so excited to read some of the articles and learn more about the ever changing times we have in the infant/toddler world.

The most important article I read was called, “The Heart of Serving Infants and Toddlers.”

There were several bolded sections I read that we at WWF strive for every day in our classroom.

1. Careful, peaceful observations. ~ Recognize that infants and toddlers need to develop a strong and reciprocal relationship with at least one other person in the environment and have a low enough child-to-teacher ratio to address the need. Interpret children’s intentions by carefully and peacefully observing, paying close attention to body language, cues, and gestures.   

2. Teachers invite children to engage. ~Invite infants to engage and then wait for their approval, asking again later if necessary.

3. Unhurried time. ~ Recognize that infants may prefer an unhurried approach to their individual care routines, learning, and development, and adapt to their pace.

4. Offering choices. ~ Offer infants and toddlers choices about what is going to happen to them, and wait for their response.

5. Supporting rather than intervening. ~ Support infants and toddlers in their learning and be available, but resist the urge to intervene unnecessarily. 

6. Resecting the whole team. ~ Recognize the need to deeply respect children, families, and the whole teaching team.

ENJOY THE PICTURES FROM OUR DAY.

Breakfast: Whole wheat toast with Sunflower butter and oranges.

Lunch: Whole grain pasta with butter and kidney beans, corn and PPC blueberries.

Snack: Whole milk yogurt with graham crackers.

Have a wonderful evening.

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljMIOl_6AmMIRq9wacQ

Happy Friday!

“Let me love you a little more before you’re not little anymore.” ~MTBottles.ca

Today we utilized our fine motor skills, our hand-eye coordination, our color recognition skills and painted at the easel. Mack asked for the color blue, while another friend asked for “lello”(yellow). We also love to mix the paints together to see what color we end up with. That’s the best part!!!  

Outside play is always one of the best parts of our day, especially when it’s so beautiful out. We had tons of fun in the sand box, playing with the little people and trucks and in the kitchen center.  Mingling with our older WF friends is ALWAYS a plus as well.

Breakfast: Whole grain English muffins with cream cheese and oranges.

Lunch: Whole grain oven baked English muffins with ham slices and shredded cheese, corn and apples.

Snack: Graham crackers and block colby cheese.

Wee Sprouts: Corn

Have a fabulous weekend, we’ll see you on Monday morning.

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljMFI66guA8-LzjwQBw

Good Afternoon!

One of our kindergarteners wrote a story this morning that he wants to turn into a movie. He sounded out majority of the words by himself, only needing a small teacher presence. He was over joyed every time he finished a sentence, running to peers and teachers to share his work. The amount of pride and excitement just radiated from his face.

One of our most important jobs as a Wee Friends teacher is to listen. We listen to what children are saying and listen to what they’re NOT saying. As our kindergartener was writing his story, he came up with all of the sentences using his imagination but a teacher sat to extend or help with the process of writing a story.

He created a cover and we transformed his words and thoughts into a book!

Here are a few pictures from our Friday!

Breakfast– Rice cakes with peanut butter and PPC mango.

Lunch– Whole wheat english muffin with ham and shredded cheese, PPC banana, and PPC cucumber/fresh carrots.

PM snack– Block cheese and pretzels.

Wee Sprout– PPC cucumber/fresh carrots.

Have a great weekend!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/20

Good Afternoon!

Our Wee Friends spend a lot of time together, giving them the opportunity to form strong bonds resulting in friendships that last longer than their time here at Wee Friends. Since our classroom is multi-age, children play with peers that are younger and older than themselves. For our children who have been here since infancy, they’ve had years to form bonds with peers as well as teachers.

There are sibling pairs that are at WF and WWF so when we go outside, they are so excited to see their sibling!

Forming positive relationships at this age is important to development. We cherish the bonds we have with one another and make sure that every child’s social/emotional development is at the forefront.

“You make each day a special day, by just your being you.”

-Mister Rogers

Breakfast– Whole grain Cheerios with PPC banana.

Lunch– Brown rice with shredded beef, fresh oranges/PPC banana, and fresh carrots/PPC cucumber.

PM snack– Triscuits and sunflower seeds.

Wee Sprout– Fresh carrots/PPC cucumber.

Have a fantastic night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/19

Good Afternoon.

“Sometimes the littlest things take up the most room in your heart.” ~Winnie the Pooh

Today we had a puff ball party! We talked about the feel of the puff, the color of the puff and if we could eat the puff! Friends were very giddy about the question, “Can we eat the puff. I quickly received the answer of “NO!!!”

While we were enjoying the beautiful day outdoors, our friends were very enticed by the teeter-totters. Whether they decided to make it group fun or all by themselves, they had a blast! While engaging in group teeter-totter play our little ones learn about how to share their hand space while holding on and also needing to rock their bodies and keep themselves in rocking motion to keep the momentum going. “Teamwork makes the dream work” is the Wee Wee Friends motto!

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Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios with PPC banana.

Lunch: Whole grain pasta with shredded beef, corn, PPC watermelon and blueberries.

Snack: Pretzels and mozzarella string cheese.

Wee Sprouts: Carrots.

Have a fantastic evening.

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljL8bw00OFOgcSBS_pA

Good Afternoon, what another gorgeous day!

“Ten little fingers, ten perfect toes, fill our hearts with love that overflows.”

Our friends little hands and fingers were very busy building train tracks and engaging in the farm house this morning. The cognitive ability our friends display while they are building and placing the tracks and animals in just that perfect spot, is phenomenal. Their imaginations run wild and we as teachers enjoy watching them create away!

Breakfast: Whole grain Chex cereal and PPC banana.

Lunch: Scrambled eggs with shredded cheese, carrots and PPC banana.

Snack: Whole wheat Ritz crackers with hummus.

Have a fantastic evening!

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljL4cKJgccit0_l2C5w

Good Afternoon!

Here are a few pictures from our Wednesday!

“Children are born musicians, dancers, artists and storytellers and the opportunities for healthy development are endless. We just have to provide the canvas, the paper, the paints, the materials and the welcoming environment, setting the stage for creativity, learning and fun.”

–Gari Stein

Breakfast– Whole grain oatmeal with honey and PPC banana.

Lunch– Scrambled eggs with whole wheat english muffins, PPC watermelon/fresh oranges, and PPC cherry tomatoes/fresh carrots.

PM snack– Air popped popcorn with butter and PPC banana.

Wee Sprout– PPC cherry tomatoes/fresh carrots.

Have a wonderful night.

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/18

Good Afternoon!

Summer time is a time for family vacations, the occasional sleeping in, and adventure. These things can occur throughout the rest of the year but summer is special .

In just a few short weeks, we’ll start back up the ‘school year’ again and our peers who have been travelling or away for an extended period of time are coming back to Wee Friends! Our schedule and predictability will be a little more in tact. I wanted to dedicate a blog to routines and schedules and how they fit into a child’s day.

Majority of children require structure, routines, and predictability at home and at school. While our daily schedule is looser in general here at Wee Friends, children know what to expect for the most part. For instance, children know once we clean up breakfast, they’re welcome to open the art table. When it’s a nice day and we’re able to stay outside for a longer period in the morning, once we hear those bells down the road at noon, we know it’s time for lunch. These small periods of predictability offer children a safe space and comfortability in those moments.

Schedules happen at home whether it’s a bedtime routine or certain steps you take in the morning before heading out the door. If even one step is missed of forgotten, some children can break down. Even as adults, once our routine is broken, it can be challenging to get back on track.

Even though predictability and routines are important, there’s something to be said for spontaneity too . I’ve attached an article about how we can work together to create transitions and routines for our Wee Friends that are beneficial to each child and their development. Routines are very individualized to each child because at the end of the day, each child is completely and beautifully different!

https://childmind.org/article/how-can-we-help-kids-with-transitions/

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All areas of the house were appealing to our friends today as they occupied every part of the environment!

When we went outside this morning, Miss Melinda asked five friends to help her water our flowers in the backyard. We have a lot of children who love offering their assistance!

Our garden is on the brink of offering us wonderful veggies! We’ve tried a few yellow peppers but today, we got to try the kale and rhubarb. Friends loved the kale! It offers a yummy, healthy outside snack.

Breakfast– Kix and PPC blueberries.

Lunch– Hummus on whole wheat bread, PPC watermelon, and PPC broccoli/fresh carrots.

PM snack– Whole grain bagels with cream cheese and block cheese.

Wee Sprout– PPC broccoli and fresh carrots.

Have a fantastic night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/17

Good Afternoon! What a gorgeous day.

“Learning never exhausts the mind.” ~ Leonardo Da Vinci

Today the permeance boxes were requested by a couple of our friends. This activity enhances our hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and the recognition of our colors. We can also add in math concepts by counting how many balls and circles we have. Teachers absolutely love it when our little ones engage in an activity that has multiple learning capabilities.

Today while bug hunting, Daniel found a very fuzzy and colorful caterpillar. All of the WWF and WF loved seeing such a beautiful creature. We don’t see them often so when they do make an appearance, its a big deal to us all. We’re so glad he was friendly  

Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios and PPC banana and watermelon.

Lunch: Whole wheat bread with hummus, peas and PPC banana.

Snack: Whole grain cinnamon raisin bagels with cream cheese and PPC watermelon.

Wee Sprouts: Peas.

Have a fantastic evening.

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljL0JCuDsXNbv2mf49g

Happy Monday!

What a creative, imaginative morning. The art area was busy with children moving from the art easel to the art table and back again. One of our three year old friends painted with brown and orange paint and proclaimed, “I just painted a fire! But it’s not hot yet!”

The art table is not just art: it’s having conversations with peers about what is being made or thoughts being shared. Discussion happens non stop at the art table which allows for collaboration to happen naturally!

“We shouldn’t teach great books; we should teach a love of reading.”

-B.F. Skinner

Breakfast– Whole wheat english muffins with peanut butter and fresh apples.

Lunch– Whole wheat noodles with butter and shredded chicken, PPC banana, and PPC cucumber/fresh carrots.

PM snack– PPC mango with whole milk yogurt.

Wee Sprout– PPC cucumber/fresh carrots.

Have a lovely night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/16