Good Afternoon!

“The more risks you allow children take, the better they learn to take care of themselves.” ~Roald Dahl

We welcomed back our friend Zoe today, from her very long vacation! We all missed her and we are glad she’s back to engage in all the fun and learning we do every day!

We happily got engaged in our sensory tub of moon sand today. We were able to learn about it’s color, texture, and smell. We were also able to utilize our hand-eye coordination as we scooped the sand into cups and other items available in the sand. We had a blast!

Mack came in at the tail end of the moon sand extravaganza, so he helped Miss Marty with a very important life skill job! He took the dust pan and small brush to sweep the sand that was on the floor into the pan and dump in into the garbage can. He did a GREAT job!!!! Way to go Mack  

Breakfast: Whole grain Kix and PPC banana.

Lunch: Whole wheat/grain flatbread with hummus, corn, and PPC Kiwi.

Snack: Whole wheat/grain bagel with sunflower butter.

Wee Sprouts: Corn.

Have a great night!

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljMgUvJhdBv77G35LSw

Good Afternoon!

Wee Friends is a play-based environment which means that play is at the core of what we do. Children learn through meaningful play experiences. I’ve attached an article at the bottom that explains the five essentials to meaningful play, which in a nutshell, is how we want children’s play experience to be on a daily basis.

1. Children make their own decisions.

At Wee Friends, children are allowed to make their own decisions. At any given time, children can create at the art table or build with trio blocks for two hours. If an art project is being offered, only child who want to participate come to the table; it is a choice.

2. Children are intrinsically motivated.

We play because of a strong sense to understand the world, not because a parent or teacher tells us we have to. It’s that intrinsic motivation that allows children to work on their social skills with their peers to keep their play experience thriving.

3. Children become immersed in the moment.

Thankfully, our loose daily schedule allows for children to focus on what they’re doing. Usually, we go outside around 10:30 but if children are immersed in their play and having a meaningful play experience, we wait a little bit longer so we’re not disrupting their play.

4. Play is spontaneous, not scripted.

Play is unique and specific to each child based on their life experiences. For example, in the housekeeping area, two peers may be playing together using baby dolls because they have infant babies at home. A child’s outside worldly experiences influence their life at school and what they are able to pull from their imagination.

5. Play is enjoyable.

When children are playing, you can see the fun their having just by observing their facial experiences. This fun is linked to an enjoyable, meaningful play experience which they’ll be able to take the memory with them long after their play has ended.

Link to article: https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/five-essentials-meaningful-play

Enjoy a few pictures from our Monday!

Breakfast– Whole wheat english muffins with peanut butter and PPC banana.

Lunch– Homemade macaroni and cheese with whole wheat noodles, applesauce, and PPC broccoli/carrots.

PM snack– Whole milk yogurt with PPC pears.

Wee Sprout– PPC broccoli/fresh carrots.

Have a lovely night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/30

Good Afternoon!

“Children need the FREEDOM to appreciate the infinite resources of their hands, their eyes, and their ears, the resources of forms, materials, sounds and colours.”            ~Loris Malaguzzi                      

Enjoy some pictures from our Monday!

Breakfast:  Whole grain wheat toast with butter and cinnamon and fresh banana.

Lunch:  Homemade macaroni and cheese, fresh PPC kiwi and peas.

Afternoon Snack:  Whole milk yogurt and graham crackers.

Have a great night!

Rebekah

Link to pictures:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljMcj0vBVIP0JhtCAgA

Happy Friday! I hope you have had a wonderful week!  

“For all the things my hands have held, the best by far is you.” ~Author Unknown

I wanted to share with you another very interesting article I read in the YC magazine, as it has so many and also has a valuable understanding of what our program is based on.  As you are all aware, both classrooms at WF are multi-aged programs. I wanted to share with you the benefits of having a multi-aged classroom for infants and toddlers from this magazine.

“The developmental benefits for infants and toddlers in multiage settings are many, but four benefits in particular are prominent: forming a sense of empathy, nuturing attachment and continuity, building stronger family relationships, and providing opportunities for peer teaching.”

We as teachers in the Infant and Toddler classroom work with your children every day to become the best they can be in all these attributes and learn all the valuable milestones they need to be successful and eventually move on to the preschool program. 

Enjoy the pictures from our beautiful Friday!

Breakfast: Whole grain English muffins with cream cheese and PPC banana.

Lunch: Whole wheat flatbread with refried beans and shredded cheese, carrots, and apples.

Snack: Pretzels and Colby cheese cubes.

Wee Sprouts: Fresh garden grown cucumbers.

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

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljMZS57-2PQs0_dP0Zw

Happy Friday!

It was a baking morning as children gathered at the island to bake whole wheat banana muffins.

Not only do friends love to help when we bake, but they get exposure to different measurements and how recipes come together!

 

Our outside environment allows for an array of activities ranging from calming activities (art table, sandbox, housekeeping) to physically engaging activities (bikes, running, kicking/throwing balls). There’s something for everyone.

This morning, we had a lot of energy so the outdoors allowed us to get that out in a positive way. Children ran around the yard, going up and down hills, and transitioning from different surfaces which is challenging.

Breakfast– Rice cakes with peanut butter and fresh watermelon.

Lunch– Refried bean and shredded cheese on whole wheat flatbread, PPC blueberries/fresh watermelon, and fresh carrots/PPC cherry tomatoes.

PM snack– Homemade banana muffins, string cheese, and fresh blueberries from Anna’s family!

Wee Sprout– Fresh carrots/PPC cherry tomatoes.

Have a fantastic evening!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/27

Good Afternoon!

Our curiosities were over flowing. Our minds were constantly working. Our happiness was abundant.

Enjoy the pictures from our day!

Breakfast– Kashi Blueberry Clusters and PPC banana.

Lunch– Brown rice with shredded pork, fresh watermelon, and PPC cucumber/fresh carrots.

PM snack– Pumpkin seeds and whole wheat crackers.

Wee Sprout– PPC cucumber/fresh carrots.

Have a wonderful night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/26

Good Afternoon!

Enjoy a few pictures from our day!

Breakfast:  Whole grain Cheerios and fresh PPC banana.

Lunch:  Whole grain brown rice with shredded pork, fresh PPC blueberries and carrots.

Afternoon Snack:  Whole grain wheat crackers with hummus.

Have a great evening!

Rebekah

Link to pictures:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljMVOGiJWCDbyHEIyAw

Good afternoon.

“Always kiss your children goodnight – even if they’re already asleep.” ~ H. Jackson Brown

Today the colorful stacker tower was high on the list of activities to engage ourselves in. This is a dual learning activity for our friends and their little hands to manipulate. The activity enhances our fine motor skills, builds on our color recognition, strengthens our cognitive abilities to stack the circles from largest to smallest as well as strengthen our hand-eye coordination. The classroom offers a few different styles of this activity and our friends enjoy each and every one of them.

Happy faces equal an even happier day!!    

Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios with PPC banana.

Lunch: Scrambled eggs with cheese, peas, whole wheat butter toast and PPC pear.

Snack: Whole wheat crackers with cream cheese.

Wee Sprouts: Peas.

Have a wonderful evening!

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljMNtQ9RhZZ782l2mJw

Good Afternoon!

Children became engaged quickly this morning in different sections of the house. Franklin and one of his peers manipulated the unifix cubes. Franklin used the unifix tray and filled in every space from 1 to 10, noticing that each space required more cubes. After, he used his index finger to count each cube which displayed his one to one correspondence skills.

Ruby built with magnatiles for most of the morning. With the light shining in through the back door, the magnatile colors reflected onto the floor which added a special dimension to her creation.

Anna and Chloe each finished several ‘Melissa and Doug’ wooden puzzles at the island. Anna did three 48 piece puzzles. At first, she asked for help but once she got going, she realized she was able to finish them without much help at all!

“The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice.”

Breakfast– Whole grain oatmeal with honey and PPC mango.

Lunch– Scrambled eggs with a mixture of whole wheat breads (bagel, english muffin, bread), fresh strawberries, and PPC green beans/cherry tomatoes.

PM snack– Blue corn chips and hummus.

Wee Sprout– PPC green beans/cherry tomatoes.

Have a lovely night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/25

Good Afternoon!

In pre-k/k group, we read ‘Small Pig’ which is a story about a small pig who leaves home after his owner cleans his pig pen! He searches the city for nice, soft mud. He thought he found some but it turned out to be cement! With the help of firefighters and policemen, he was able to get unstuck and head back home with his owners.

After we finished reading the story, we talked about ‘cause and effect’ at a fundamental level. I picked out two main events that occurred in the book. We read each event and as a group, we talked about what happened because of each event. Maddie was eager to share her thoughts with her peers!

Miss Tami brought in paper weights of all different shapes and sizes yesterday. Today, we got the light table out and explored the paper weights using the light table as well as the light from my phone. We put the light at different angles on each paper weight. Children loved holding them (they’re heavy!) and exploring them intently.

We were able to have a lot of one on one time this morning.

Anna sat at the circle table with the sand paper letters. We took turns holding a letter and we talked about that letter as well as words that start with it. For example, Anna held the letter ‘t’. I came up the with words ‘Tucker’, ‘train’, and ‘turtle’. Using her knowledge of letters, she was able to match the beginning sounds that she was hearing to the letter ‘t’!

Maddie used wooden blocks to create an intricate structure. A teacher talked with her about what she was making and the shapes that she was using. Her final product was a house and bakery. The small shapes were the decorations in each space.

“We can best help children learn, not by deciding what we think they should learn or thinking of ingenious ways to teach it to them, but by making the world, as far as we can, accessible to them, paying serious attention to what they do, answering their questions—if they have any—and helping them explore the things they are most interested in.”

-John Holt

Breakfast– Kix and PPC pears.

Lunch– Hummus on whole wheat flatbread, mixed fresh fruit, and PPC cucumber/fresh carrots.

PM snack– Whole wheat bagel with cream cheese and block cheese.

Wee Sprout– PPC cucumber/fresh carrots.

Have a terrific evening!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/24