Today started with a science exploration! Yesterday, we filled a bucket with water and placed it outside. Friends correctly hypothesized that it would turn into ice and were eager to touch the cold substance this morning.

First, the children cleared off the layer of snow on top of the ice. It was then that we discovered the water was not frozen all the way through!

Friends then experimented with a variety of methods to melt their pieces of ice. They sprinkled salt on top, sprayed warm water onto the ice and touched the ice with their hands.

Friends marveled at the crystals we saw! The addition of food coloring to our ice/water combination took this experiment to another level.

Kindergarten: Sometimes our lessons are based on what the kindergartners are currently engaged in. A teacher takes a few minutes to observe what is taking place and then thinks of several ways in which to extend friends’ learning even more.

For example, today Clara and Elizabeth were busy creating a Valentine’s Day banner to hang in the classroom. Both friends wanted to spell “Happy Valentine’s Day.” First they used kid’s spelling, hearing “hapy vlntins da”. Next, we compared that spelling to “teacher spelling”. Elizabeth pointed out that teacher spelling is important because “it helps moms and dads understand you better!” The two friends added in the missing letters and then added punctuation. A natural and engaging way to practice writing skills!

Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Kashi’s Blueberry Clusters and fresh blueberries. Lunch: Whole grain English muffins with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese, cucumbers/carrots and fresh oranges. Snack: Pumpkin seeds and wheat thins.

Link to the photo album: WF 1/14/2016

Savor this sunshine! –Jessica

Our friends love the classroom slide. Anna thinks crawling under it is also lots of fun!

Our friends were cooking in the kitchen this afternoon. Maggie found the basket of doughnuts. Emma and Franklin thought the fruit looked yummy.

Breakfast was hot wheat cereal and apples. Lunch consisted of farm fresh eggs, whole wheat bread, blueberries, and broccoli. Afternoon snack was pretzels and cheddar cheese.

Have a great night!

Amanda

Link to photos: http://1drv.ms/1P1zHWw

This week we have been working on literacy FAB: K.RF.3.2 Orally segment words into syllables. Our friends have been doing great with this foundational reading skill!  Separating words into syllables helps children recognize that words are made up of different sounds strung together and also helps them hear those sounds more clearly. 

Today’s kindergarten activity was called syllable graphing. Friends chose various words, drew a picture representing each word, figured out how many syllables were in each word and then graphed the number of syllables.

While this work was originally planned for just our kindergarten students, many other friends wanted to join. We love the opportunity to expose our younger friends to challenging curriculum! Soon we had a whole table of friends drawing, writing and graphing.

This activity was easily adapted to fit children at their developmental level. Some friends chose to just draw a picture and write the number of syllables, while others attempted to write the object’s name as well. Overall everyone was very proud of their work!

Our kindergarten students took syllable graphing to another level and practiced their lowercase handwriting!

Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Hot wheat cereal and fresh oranges. Lunch: Farm fresh eggs with whole wheat bread, fresh oranges and bell peppers. Snack: Refried black beans on whole wheat tortillas.

Link to the photo album: WF 1/13/2016

Have a wonderful Wednesday! –Jessica

Hello! I hope you all managed to stay warm this winter day. Our friends spent the day inside playing, where it was warm and cozy.

Breakfast was Whole Grain Cheerios and apples. Lunch consisted of whole wheat bread with almond butter, apples, and corn. Afternoon snack was toasted whole wheat bagels with cream cheese.

Have a good night!

Amanda

Link to photos: http://1drv.ms/1Kc3Nis

Good Afternoon!

Friends started off their day with an opportunity to build ice cream cones. In this weather?

Children took three different letters to create a multi-layer ice cream cone. One of the first letters that friends always recognize is the first letter in their name!

Everyone was involved in various activities that peaked their interest throughout the day. A sensory bucket was requested so friends took turns manipulating the sand with different objects such as paper, cups, and spoons. We also had an interest in the work bench as well as the art table.

Various conversations took place throughout the day about the weather. We talked about temperature and all of the snow that was falling! We can’t wait to be able to get out there and play in it!

Wee Sprouts– carrots.

Breakfast– chex and apples.

Lunch– hummus on whole wheat bread, apples, and corn.

PM Snack– cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese.

Everyone be safe and stay warm!

-Mindy

Link to photos: WF Pictures 1/12

Hello All,

I just ran a test of our text service at 10:57 a.m.  If you recieved a text from it, you are all set to receive our snow closing texts.  If you DID NOT get a text, please:

Text: @weefr

To this number: 81010 (works like a traditional phone number)

IF LOCAL SCHOOLS  (School City of Mishawaka or South Bend Community School Corporation) ARE CLOSING OR DELAYING…please be on the lookout for a text from us in the morning.  We will announce a closing no later than 7:00 a.m.  If you don’t get a text by that time, feel free to text me at 574-234-6037.  Our text service has been very reliable about sending texts, but occasionally individuals have had their phone delay delivering the text to them! 

Thank you,

Tami

Housekeeping was very popular with our friends today! David loves to play with the spoons more than any other housekeeping toy and likes to balance things on the pans. Everyone loves to pick out yummy food and lay out big meals on the table. Miss Marty and Miss Amanda are often chosen to be the food tasters!

Breakfast was whole wheat toast with butter and bananas. Lunch consisted of whole wheat pasta with chicken, pears, and peas. Afternoon snack was crackers with string cheese.

Stay warm!

Amanda

Link to photos: http://1drv.ms/1l1ai1d

Welcome back! On extremely cold days like today, the WF teachers provide a variety of indoor activities that keep friends engaged, active and learning.

This morning friends were invited to go on an Alphabet Hunt! This activity was based on one of our literacy standards for the week, K.RF2.4: Identify and name all uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet. This foundational reading skill is important for preschoolers of all ages and everyone was invited to hunt around WF for hidden post-it notes with the letters of the alphabet on them. This was a very exciting prospect for friends and we often heard shouts of glee, “I found a letter!”

Next, friends were asked to put the letters in alphabetical order. After lots of searching, scanning and singing of the ABCs song, they completed the task! To continue the challenge, we had another Alphabet Hunt with lowercase letters.

Various friends took turns working with the Connect 4, challenging their fine motor skills and making basic patterns.

Today was also filled with MOON SAND, block ramps, huge floor puzzles, small foam puzzles and reading books with friends. So much fun!

Wee Sprouts: Tomatoes. Breakfast: Toasted whole wheat bagels with butter and fresh pears. Lunch: Whole grain pasta with chicken, fresh broccoli and oranges/pears. Snack: Organic whole milk yogurt and granola.

Link to the photo album: WF 1/11/2016

Happy Monday. Stay warm! –Jessica

Another post to show you what we’ve been up to this afternoon: a cardboard tube marble trail!

Guided by Melinda, friends worked together to the tape cardboard tubes together. It was a trial and error process as we attempted to find the right angle and slope for the marble run.

When it was ready, friends waited to receive a marble from Melinda.

Then, they took turns climbing up into the habitrail, putting their marble down the cardboard tube and then crawling to the finish line to see their marble go into the basket!

A marble in action:

It’s been a great lesson in patience and the scientific process… it took quite a few tries and do-overs to make a smooth trip for the marbles. Friends are still experimenting!

Hope your Friday afternoon is as fun-filled as ours! –Jessica

Our friends played with the pegs today. David put all of his pegs into a bowl first before sticking them into the foam boards.

Then, they gathered around Miss Marty to listen to her read stories.

Breakfast was toast with butter and oranges. Lunch consisted of whole wheat flatbread with cheddar cheese, bananas, and mixed vegetables. Afternoon snack was string cheese and pretzels.

Enjoy your weekend!

Amanda

Link to photos:http://1drv.ms/1SEAiNv