Happy First Day of April!

We tackled subtraction this morning for our PREK1 sign in. We used animal manipulatives to help us solve the problem. When children figured out the total, they identified the number on the board before writing their name.

K.CA.1-2: Solve real-world problems, objects, or drawings that involve addition and subtraction within 10. Demonstrate the equation (e.g. 5= 3+2 and 5= 4+1).

Our interest in tunnels and hideouts carried over into this morning which we played off of at the circle table. Wooden ramps were made available for children to use to explore this new found interest! Animals and cars were placed on the table as well. A few children stayed at the activity for a long time this morning, figuring out how to turn their ideas into reality using the materials that they had!

We had more unique painted that were created today. Paige helped Eliza, a younger peer by giving her tips as to how to paint a dog! We love all aspects of our multi-age classroom but when our older kiddos can take on the roll as the ‘teacher’ or ‘helper’, that’s when we see learning take place.

Enjoy a few more pictures from our day!

Breakfast– Puffins cereal with fresh strawberries.

Lunch– Peanut butter on whole wheat tortilla/flatbread, fresh grapes/apples, and fresh cucumber/carrot.

PM snack– Whole wheat bagel with cream cheese.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/carrot/broccoli/pepper.

Have a wonderful night.

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2025-04-01

Happy last day of March.  The months seem to be flying by!

This morning we engaged with the translucent sensory beads and sensory cylinders in the light table.  We used our hands to scoop up the beads and watch it run through our fingers.  We also worked our fine motor skills to pinch up a small amount of beads and place them into our cylinders.

Miss Bekah then got down our gross motor mats for us to climb, roll and jump like a frog off of them.

Breakfast:  Whole grain wheat bread toast with butter and cinnamon/sugar mixture and fresh pear slices.

Lunch:  Whole grain penne pasta with marinara and shredded mozzarella cheese, bananas and cooked broccoli.

Afternoon Snack;  Whole milk yogurt and fresh strawberries.

Wee Sprout:  Cucumber.

Have a marvelous evening!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures: 2025-03-31

Good Afternoon!

We kicked off our week in PREK1 by solving a word problem for our sign in activity. This week, we’ll be taking a look at simple addition and subtraction problems! Today, we solved an addition problem with the help of a visual display. Children were asked to find the total and then identify the number before writing their name.

K.CA.1-2: Solve real-world problems, objects, or drawings that involve addition and subtraction within 10. Demonstrate the equation (e.g. 5= 3+2 and 5= 4+1).

The art table was buzzing with various activities. Pastel tinted paints were made available at the art easel while the art table was full of children making bead bracelets or working on their drawing skills with the help of simple drawing books. While we love offering children an open ended, free art time, children pull out the sketching or drawing books from time to time when they want to draw something specific like an animal or in Arthur’s case, a butterfly!

An opened ended welcome activity occupied children this morning as their imaginations ran wild! Amelia worked on her one to one correspondence skills as she matched the people with the circles, creating a family. Another friend built a castle for her people and Dax shared that his tray offered cookies (the circles) and milk (the bottles)!

While a few peers were working at the welcome activity, they shared that they were making ‘hideouts’. I inquired about their hideouts and one friend shared, “We don’t really know what hideouts are.”. We talked about what hideouts are and that sometimes, they’re underground! This led into a ton of interest in learning about underground tunnels and hideouts. We looked at some pictures of underground tunnels and tried to build our own tunnels and hideouts using one of our favorite sensory tools: playdough! A four year old stated, “I’m using my finger to push the playdough in to make a tunnel!”

Breakfast– Whole wheat toast with butter and fresh oranges.

Lunch– Whole wheat pasta with shredded chicken, fresh strawberries/clementines, and fresh carrots/broccoli/cucumber.

PM snack– Whole milk yogurt with graham crackers.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/carrot/broccoli.

Have a great night!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2025-03-31

Happy Friday!  Enjoy the pictures from our day.

Breakfast:  Whole grain brown rice cakes with peanut butter and fresh apple slices.

Lunch:  Ham and cream cheese roll-ups, whole grain wheat tortilla,

Afternoon Snack:  Pretzels and medium block cheese slices.

Wee Sprout:  Snap Peas.

Have a great weekend!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures: 2025-03-28

Good Afternoon!

We ended our week for PREK1 sign in by exploring numbers. Each child found their name card and flipped it over to identify their number. They taped it into the middle of their number line when they were then asked to write the number that comes before their number and the number that comes after their number. For example, Paige’s number was 6. She shared that the number that comes after is 7 and the number that comes before is 5. Several younger peers hung out at the sign in board, watching their older peers complete sign in. Even though they’re not directly completing the activity, their soaking up everything that’s going on around them!

K.NS.3: Find the number that is one more than or one less than any whole number up to 20.

This morning one of our friends started a child lead project where he decided to use a box to make a robot costume.  He was interested in the idea of foil to make his costume look more metallic.  He also wanted to make a mask to go with the costume.  We figured out a way to make it, using card stock and tin foil so it looked authentically “robot”.  When he colored the mask and put it on, a class wide interest in making that kind of mask was born.  Several friends made them each adding their own creative ideas.  The masks evolved into crowns and parade hats as the project progressed.  Next a friend made a “trumpet” using a straw and some foil.  There was a trumpet making project that followed with many others making them.  Everyone enjoyed pretending to put on a parade in the classroom when all of the projects were complete.  During the long session of creative and imaginative play, kids developed: focused attention, creative problem solving, critical thinking, fine motor, cooperative and imaginative play, collaborative thinking, openness to sharing ideas and the ability to work creatively as a team.

We hope you enjoy a few more pictures from our day!

Breakfast– Brown rice cakes with peanut butter and fresh strawberries.

Lunch– Homemade english muffin pizzas, fresh strawberries/watermelon/oranges, and fresh snap peas/cucumber.

PM snack– Pretzels and cheddar block cheese.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/snap peas.

Have a lovely weekend!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2025-03-28

Good afternoon!

Miss Bekah sang “There Were Ten In The Bed” and our friends recreated the song by rolling on a pillow. They took turns “rolling off” the bed (the pillow) while sharing smiles. We listened to Miss Bekah read the book as well.

We made our way into the kitchen for a loose parts activity with wooden shapes and miniature farm animals. Our friends stacked their wooden shapes to make towers, and one friend looked through the wooden ring.

Our friends engaged i their favorite activities outside- using their imaginative play skills to cook in the play kitchen, drawing with chalk on the chalkboard and riding bikes down the hill.

Breakfast: Whole grain Puffins cereal with fresh cantaloupe slices.

Lunch: Whole grain brown rice with shredded turkey, watermelon slices and cooked carrots.

Afternoon Snack: Sunflower seeds with whole grain wheat Ritz crackers.

Wee Sprout: Cucumber.

Have a beautiful evening!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures: 2025-03-27

Good Afternoon!

Our focus for PREK1 sign in revolved around words that rhyme but our focus was looking deeper at the words. After children chose a card, they matched it to their rhyming word. We looked at the two words and underlined the letters that were the same in each word, noting that the only letter that was different was the first letter of each word! We talked about how changing the first letter and sound changes the word. Some children were able to talk about the sounds of each beginning letter of their matching rhyming words.

We played off of this topic during PREK1 group as we read one of Dr. Seuss’s most known books: Hop on Pop! Children quickly and easily identified MANY pairs of rhyming words in the book. Ryan was quick to share, “This is SO a fiction story.”

K.RF.3.5: Add, delete, or substitute sounds to change words.

We had another busy day!  We worked on threading loose parts as a creative counting and fine motor welcome activity.  We enjoyed trying to see how many items we could fit on a string.  We tried making patterns.  A couple of friends were able to thread a straw and asked for more to see how many straws they could fit on the string.  It was open for experimentation.  Some of us continued making projects in the art center and writing about what they made, like Ryan did with his alien ship.  We had some great journals and enjoyed some time outside moving our bodies and drawing with chalk.

Breakfast– Toasted oatmeal squares with fresh strawberries.

Lunch– Brown rice with shredded turkey, fresh watermelon/cantaloupe, and fresh pepper/cucumber/carrot.

PM snack-Whole wheat crackers with peanut butter and sunflower/pumpkin seed mixture.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/carrot/pepper.

Have a wonderful night!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2025-03-27

Good afternoon!

Our friends will ask Miss Tina to do their hair in the morning. We all wait patiently for our turn and once Miss Tina is done, we walk over to the mirror to look at our hair. Everyone looks so beautiful!

Miss Bekah switched out the sensory table for the bird seed and rice mixture.  We engaged with a variety of different sizes of scoops to scoop the mixture up and pour into a bowl, cups or back into the table.

We then engaged to make music with our shaker instruments.

Breakfast:  Overnight oatmeal with cinnamon/sugar mixture and fresh strawberries.

Lunch:  Farm fresh scrambled eggs with shredded mozzarella cheese, fresh cantaloupe slices, cooked broccoli and whole grain wheat bread.

Afternoon Snack:  White corn tortilla chips and hummus.

Wee Sprout:  Orange bell peppers.

Have a wonderful evening!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures: 2025-03-26

Good Afternoon!

Our PREK1 group sign in focused on addition problems with a total of ten. We used our fingers, just like we did during our group activity yesterday, and tried to do it on our own! Each friend found their name along with their addition problem. We worked together and used our fingers to figure out what number is missing in our equation. Some friends requested that I dot their number while other friends wrote their number on their own.

K.CA.4: Find the number that makes 10 when added to the given number for any number from 1 to 9 (e.g. by using objects or drawings), and record the answer with a drawing or an equation.

Later on in PREK1 group, we read ‘Save It!’ which is a great book from a series about money at a developmentally appropriate level! After we read the book, we worked together to fill in the numbers that were missing on the number line. As I pointed to a number, they said it aloud. When we came to a blank space, we worked together to identify which number came next. I called on one friend at a time, giving them two number options to choose from. As they identified the correct number, we placed it onto our number line!

We also started looking at the pattern in numbers, specifically the second number and how it goes in numerical order: 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, etc.

K.NS.3: Find the number that is one more than or one less than any whole number up to 20.

The opportunity arose to practice literacy skills in the art area this morning.  Several friends wanted to try writing directions for how to use the creations they were making. One friend wrote directions for a few different creations including a “Squirting Water Chair”.  He wrote that one would sit in the chair and press the button to turn it on.  Then the chair would spray you with water to cool you off on a hot day.  During the writing process, he learned how to write the “Qu” letter combination and how to write the “Ch” letter combination.  All this happened effortlessly and naturally as he worked through a project he wanted to do.

Another group of kids chose to work on writing stories.  A teacher was available to help write.  Friends wrote the titles and authors names themselves.  One friend wrote a story about a dog and cat that got chased by a dinosaur.  During the writing process we learned when to use an exclamation point and when the word “suddenly” could be used in a story.  Once again, all of this happened naturally as a child worked on a project they chose.  Our oldest friend was able to write her entire story herself using kid spelling.  Her book was titled “The Adventure Book”.  It’s wonderful to see so many friends interested in learning literacy to communicate ideas through the written word!

PREK2: During group we read “The Thankful Book”.  After the story, we thought of something we were thankful for at school.  We made a class list.  Our younger group is also continuing to show interest in literacy during stories and journaling. 

We hope you enjoy some more pictures from our day.

Breakfast– Overnight oatmeal with cinnamon and banana.

Lunch– Farm fresh scrambled eggs with whole wheat flatbread/english muffins, fresh cantaloupe/strawberries/banana, and fresh cucumber/pepper/broccoli.

PM snack– Air popped corn with butter and fresh watermelon.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/pepper/broccoli.

Have a lovely night.

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2025-03-26

Good Afternoon!

We worked with action verbs for our PREK1 sign in this morning. Each group member came to sign in where we read their sentence, trying to figure out which action verb should be placed in the blank space. We used context clues to figure out which action verb made sense.

K.W.6.1b: Verbs—Writing sentences that include verbs.

Wee Friends were hard at work on several individual projects at the art table this morning. These kids make things as fast as we can give them materials!  Ryan made himself a set of headphones to wear while he worked on a large race course for cars.  Paige made an obstacle course with a painted maze to follow at the end.  She demonstrated how it worked on the building rug.  Katherine finished her ramp that she has been working on and tested it with friends.  She said she was excited because “it worked so well!”.  Katherine invited others to join and play with the ramp with her. 

Imagining and creating these projects sets off an explosion of brain development in children.  To name a few: critical thinking, creative problem solving, social emotional learning and fine motor development.   Kids learn self motivation as well as trial and error experimentation which builds confidence.  They learn that mistakes are just a part of the learning process and gain the ability to try ideas without fear.  These are skills that will be essential to their success and well being in life!  We are so happy to provide an environment that fosters these experiences at Wee Friends.  

We built “small worlds” at our welcome activity this morning.  Friends used our new curved wood arches with a variety of loose parts to make tunnels for trains, islands, forests, arctic ice and bridges between them.  Friends worked together to create imaginative play environments for themselves.

PREK2: At group today we read “Bug Soup”.  A couple of friends voiced that they wanted to continue sorting words until we made it through the alphabet.  They shared some disappointment that we didn’t do that on the board yesterday.  Taking the constructive criticism into account (),  I created a word sorting board today and will continue to do the word sort periodically as requested! 

Loving our new dress-up glasses!

Breakfast– Corn Chex with banana.

Lunch– Homemade chicken avocado on whole wheat bread, fresh clementines/pears/pineapple, and fresh cucumber/carrot.

PM snack– Whole wheat bagel with cream cheese.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/carrot/pepper.

Have a lovely night.

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2025-03-25