Hello! I hope everyone had a good weekend and Monday. Here are some photos from Friday and today.
Breakfast was whole wheat toast with butter and grapes. Lunch consisted of whole wheat pasta with mozzarella, oranges, and broccoli. Afternoon snack was organic whole milk yogurt and pears.
Have a great night!
Amanda
This Week at a Glance:
Tuesday—swim lessons at the Y
Friday—our Halloween Parade is at 4:00 pm. Parents and costumes are welcome!
Hello! Today we would like to wish our friend Daniel a very happy birthday! Although his actual birthday was yesterday, we had a marvelous time celebrating with him at school today. It’s a joy to witness Daniel’s sweet smile and creative spirit every day! Happy Birthday, Daniel.
Friends spent the morning deeply engrossed in a number of different projects, including decorating Daniel’s “5” birthday card:
The music area was also in full use this morning. After warming up with some Halloween songs, including the WF favorite “Dancing Bones”, friends got out the guitars and played the piano. So many rockin’ rhythms!
Later, friends gathered in the reading area to hear Dr. Pompo’s Nose. We specifically wanted to share this book with friends because the illustrations are made up of photographs of carved pumpkins. Inspiration for our own pumpkin carving we will be doing later this week!
Outside, we took advantage of the beautiful, crisp weather through imaginative play, drawing at the outside art table and bike riding!
Have a marvelous Monday. –Jessica
Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Toasted whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter and fresh apples. Lunch: Whole wheat pasta with cream cheese and marinara sauce, fresh broccoli and apples. Snack: Organic whole milk yogurt and granola.
Happy Friday!
This morning started out with an invitation to continue work on our math FAB for the week: K.CA.5: Create, extend and give an appropriate rule for simple repeating and growing patterns with numbers and shapes. For most of the Wee Frienders this FAB looks like the opportunity to see patterns and notice different colors and shapes. Many friends enjoyed working with the unifix cubes and pattern books!
Next, friends gathered at the art table to work with the corn cobs and husks we brought back from the farm last week. We put out a plethora of materials: corn cobs, husks, yarn, fabric scraps, crepe paper, glue, scissors, ribbon, etc. Rather than dictating a “correct” way to create something, we let the friends use the materials in any way they pleased. Both the process and end results highlighted the Wee Frienders’ creativity!
Today we also examined the leaves we collected on our leaf hunt yesterday! Before we went outside, friends gathered on the music rug to classify the leaves.
Ms. Melinda held up different leaves and friends identified whether they were maple, oak, cottonwood or a mystery. We used our eyes to see the similarities and differences between each leaf. We noticed how some leaves were pointy and others round and how some were red, green, yellow or brown.
At the end, we had a beautiful leaf chart!
Kindergarten: Today the kindergarteners (and Daniel) worked on our math FAB for the week, but rather than using colors or shapes, we challenged them to figure out patterns using coins. While friends didn’t always know the names of the coins, they were often able to match the coins based on size and color. It didn’t matter if friends hadn’t learned the names of the American coins yet, as working with patterns was the objective of this lesson!
Hope you have a wonderful weekend! –Jessica
Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Brown rice cakes with cream cheese and fresh pears. Lunch: Homemade French toast casserole made with whole wheat bread and farm fresh eggs, fresh green beans and apples. Snack: Fresh pears and cheese crackers.
David did activities in the kitchen this morning. He would place a few puff balls on the cup tray and then flip it over!
Anna kept a close eye on the trucks parked outside today. She often told us that the “big trucks” were being “loud!”
Breakfast was eggs with cheese and pears. Lunch consisted of whole grain brown rice with turkey, pears, and peas. Afternoon snack was wheat crackers with sweet pea butter.
Have a good night!
Amanda
Today we went on a leaf hunt! Ms. Melinda set the stage by reading several stories about leaves this morning.
We also looked at a leaf identification chart and picked three leaves to look for: maple, oak and cottonwood.
And then we were off on our leaf hunt!
Our kindergarteners were in charge of collecting everyone’s leaves and documenting how many leaves there were. Elizabeth took friends’ leaves and helped identify the tree type. Elliott recorded the number of each type of leaf by making check marks on his clipboard.
When we got back to the house we had a huge variety of leaves! We used some of them to make leaf rubbings and plan to make leaf collages tomorrow.
Kindergarten: Today’s kindergarten work included being in charge of the collection and count of leaves during our leaf hunt in the morning. However, we could not forget about our stocking project! This activity peaked the interest of other friends and teachers provided them with a stocking activity appropriate for their developmental level.
This ranged from threading a needle to sew—to drawing and cutting out a felt stocking—to cutting a paper stocking. We always try to teach Wee Frienders within what psychologist Vygotsky calls the “zone of proximal development,” the area in which children can learn with guidance from a teacher. These differentiated materials help reach friends within their zone of proximal development, appropriately challenging them without overwhelming them with something too difficult.
Enjoy your Thursday! –Jessica
Wee Sprouts: Bell peppers. Breakfast: Corn chex and fresh pears. Lunch: Whole grain brown rice with turkey, fresh broccoli/peppers, and bananas. Snack: Homemade apple crisp and pistachios.
Rosemary and Anna enjoyed coloring with chalk this morning. David didn’t feel like drawing, but he had a good time repeatedly dumping the chalk out and putting the pieces back in the bucket.
An activity they always love to do together are the slides. The climb up is just as fun as the ride down!
Breakfast was whole grain oatmeal and bananas. Lunch consisted of whole wheat bread with hummus, pears, and bell peppers. Afternoon snack was wheat crackers and string cheese.
Have a good night!
Amanda
Today was a beautiful day for our trip to the farm. When we first got to the farm, we checked out how the grass seed we spread a couple of weeks ago was doing. It’s growing well!
We collected lots of feathers and pet a baby goat.
Next, Ms. Charlotte had lots of very interesting skulls and pelts to show us.
Then we ran through some paths made in the fields:
Later, we found that some new tree clippings had been added to these piles since the last time we were at the farm. They were full of chopped pine trees!
The smell of pine was so strong and heavenly! We wished we could bottle it up and send it to you via the internet…
These “mountains” were huge (Clara for scale):
It was a wonderful day at the farm, exploring nature, moving our bodies and breathing fresh air. Have a great afternoon! –Jessica
Rosemary and Anna enjoyed coloring with chalk this morning. David didn’t feel like drawing, but he had a good time repeatedly dumping the chalk out and putting the pieces back in the bucket.
An activity they always love to do together are the slides. The climb up is just as fun as the ride down!
Breakfast was whole grain oatmeal and bananas. Lunch consisted of whole wheat bread with hummus, pears, and bell peppers. Afternoon snack was wheat crackers and string cheese.
Have a good night!
Amanda
Hello! This morning started out with some focused pattern work:
Journal time:
And play dough!
But this afternoon, we were treated to some groundbreaking entertainment! City workers came to work on the sewer lines outside our house and it was fascinating for our friends.
The perks of being in a neighborhood setting—witnessing real-life work!
Kindergarten: Today Elizabeth and Elliott continued to work on their stockings. They finished cutting out their fabric and began sewing. There was lots of discussion of the correct size and spacing of stiches!
Have a great day! –Jessica
Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Whole grain oatmeal and fresh apples. Lunch: Whole wheat bread with hummus, fresh cauliflower/carrots and oranges. Snack: Blue corn chips with refried beans.
We have notice how much our friend Truman loves to stand, so we introduced him to the bouncer! It has fine motor activities on it, like a spinner, beads, and a little steering wheel.
Then a few of us went outside on the bridge to enjoy the nice weather. We played with balls and looked in on our friends next door.
Breakfast was Whole Grain Cheerios and bananas. Lunch consisted of whole wheat tortillas with cheddar cheese, strawberries, and cucumbers. Afternoon snack was toasted whole wheat bagels with cream cheese.
Have a good night!
Amanda
