Good Afternoon!

Friends engaged with one another this morning in the habitrail. Mimicking took place during this time. When one friend did something, the others followed. The group of two year olds that we have learn an awful lot from one another each and every day. Each child brings in a different set of knowledge and skills that they get from their family and friends (home environment).

We’re seeing parallel play happen with some of our friends. Parallel play can be described as children sitting next to one another during play but not necessarily playing WITH them. Once our friends get older, they’ll start to interact/talk to one another during this play time. Our play is ever changing and ever growing. This is one of the many benefits of multi-age classrooms. Throughout the day, we observed our younger friends watching our older friends intently. “They do it so I can too!” is the mentality that we see .

Miss Monkey Emma had a blast outside pretending to be a monkey! She loved climbing on the log house and she had friends join her in her pretend play. The monkey play soon turned into lions growling around the yard!

For breakfast, children had cheesy eggs and oranges. Lunch consisted of tuna, whole grain bread, banana, and peas. PM snack was cottage cheese and chex.

Have a great evening!

 

We will be taking Farm Group B to the farm tomorrow. Here are the Wee Friends in FG-B (): Finn, Max, Ellie, Elizabeth, (Sloane), Elliott, Lea, Aislinn, and Owen. We try to have the kids here and ready to go by 9:30 as our departure time varies. Thank you!

The swimmers reported another great swim session! They practiced jumping into the water and getting their heads below the surface. The kicked their feet using a barbell. The door step to poolside routines are setting in and everyone had fun!

Back in the classroom, we offered friends long sheets of paper upon which to draw something of interest to them. after they drew it, we encouraged them to tell us about it, using descriptive words and details. (Literacy FAB K.7.3-Describe people, places, things (their size, color and shape), locations and actions. Friends drew moms and dads, rainbows and soccer balls, ballerinas and a variety of letters and shapes.

Leo asked Mel to read Going to the Zoo. After she read it, she played the song on the piano and taught Leo the lyrics. After they read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, Mel  invited friends to the art table to re-create, with markers, the butterfly “who pushed his way out.”

The swimmers returned and joined their friends outside. The wood cutters got to work and found another beetle larva deep within the wood. Tami created an aquarium to house the larvae as the wood cutters discover them.

Lisa practiced Blue Dog (trucks) safety with a game of “Red Light/Green Light”.

A Happy Day. Hope your is too.

Wee Sprouts: WG garden carrots. Breakfast: Cheerios and pear slices. Lunch: Tuna fish on whole wheat, bananas and carrots/cucumbers. Snack: Pretzels and cheese sticks

Happy Monday!

As we headed outside, we were welcomed with new sand for the sandbox! We loved it!

The sand box was this mornings gathering place.

For breakfast, children had whole wheat toast with cinnamon and craisins. Lunch consisted of yummy whole grain pasta with marinara sauce and melted cheese, fresh red grapes, and mixed vegetables. We ALL ate a terrific lunch! PM snack was crackers and cheddar cheese slices.

Have a great evening!

THANK YOU, Garden Committee!!! We arrived to school today to find a sandbox spilling over with sand and a garden weeded, trimmed and delicious. We are so grateful and we love our back yard so much!!

While the Blue Bus groups rotated, Melinda invited friends to go on a letter hunt, filling a basket with objects that start with S…then L.

Welcome back Lisa! Everybody was excited to have Miss Lisa back and feeling better!

Math FAB K.1.5: Divide shapes into equal parts.

We pulled out the patterning blocks and invited friends to explore parts of a whole. Many friends created squares, diamonds and hexagons! Finners created a stop sign and The Leaning Tower of Finners.

A few friends continued exploring the letters ‘S’ and ‘L’. They threw a beanie bag and whichever letter it landed on, they named the letter and a stated a word that began with that letter.

A great start to a Wee Week.

Wee Sprouts: WF garden carrots. Breakfast: Whole wheat toast with cinnamon and pear slices. Lunch: Pasta with cheese and marinara, mixed veggies and grapes. Snack: Sesame seed crackers and peanut butter.

Have a great day!

Happy Friday!

Have you ever had one of those days where you were just calm and not really yourself? Well, that sums up our Wee Wee day. A few friends have a cold that’s circulating. With transitions throughout the week and the weather changing day after day, friends and teachers had a calm and collective day. We (children not teachers ) took great naps! Friends were sure rejuvenated this afternoon.

The weather was EXCELLENT and friends had a nice time outside. The make-up of our day resulted in quiet play between friends, stories, snuggles from friends and teachers, and wonderful outside time to perk us up! Even though a few friends are a tad under the weather , it was a GREAT day! As the new Wee Wee group, we are finding our identity as a whole.

For breakfast, children had whole wheat bagels with cinnamon and banana. Lunch consisted of whole grain rice with shredded pork, broccoli, and oranges/banana. PM snack was raisins and rice cakes with cream cheese.

Have a lovely weekend and enjoy the weather!

Happy Friday!

After a couple weeks of Blue Bus, we have devised two new groups in hopes that it supports everyone’s morning schedule/routines. Here’s are the new groups:

9:00 – FINN, MARINA, LEO, SLOANE, OWEN and EREN

9:30- ELIZABETH, ELLIOTT, LEA, ELLIE, CLARA and DANIEL

Wee Sprouts: Carrots and Elliott’s garden tomatoes. Breakfast: Bagels/cream cheese and Craisins. Lunch: Hummus filled flatbread, broccoli and fruit salad (bananas/apples/oranges). Snack: Pretzels and cheese.

Have a great weekend!

Hello!

We were able to snap a few pictures throughout the day. It was a go, go, go type of day!

We spent most of our morning outside. We can see Fall in the distance!

Our inside play was extensive today. Friends went from the little people to playing with the shakers to reading a few good stories. Children definitely touched on the different areas of the room today: housekeeping, stories, and gross motor! It was a well rounded day!

For breakfast, children had kix and banana. Lunch consisted of cheese tortillas, corn, and banana. PM snack was hummus with crackers.

Have a great night!

Happy Birthday Elizabeth! Tomorrow, Elizabeth will turn four! We love you!

We offered our ballerinas a ballet bar today, as well as tutus and tulle tiaras. We played a four count piano piece and began our work.

Marina: “I’m going to have a purple tutu!”

Sloane: “I’m going to have a pink tutu!”

Finn: “I’m going to have NO tutu!”

We didn’t ask why some of our friends ran and sat under a table, we just went with it. Soon, many friends were snuggled underneath a tabletop, hidden away under a blanket.

The dancers danced on.

Some friends pounded Doo-A-Dots paint on construction paper. It feels so good to pound things.

Two good friends sequenced plastic cars and made a choo-choo train. Lining things up, in a row, helps young minds differentiate between things. It progresses into patterning and sorting. It asks the question “Why? Why is this one bigger/smaller/red/yellow?”

More pressing and brushing and stirring and mixing was had with watercolors. And creating art.

And Magna-Tiles. Magna Tiles tell the preschool brain: “Solve this problem, please. Put everything you’ve got into this. Still your body and breath deeply. Create.  Magna-Tiles: the brilliant math manipulative.

Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Oatmeal and apple slices. Lunch: Whole grain rice with pork, kiwi/pineapple/banana fruit salad (thanks, Lea!) and corn. Snack: Elizabeth’s bday yogurt and crackers.

Have a great day.

Good Afternoon!

Whenever Eve saw the camera out this morning, she said, “Take my picture!” She showed off her huge grin. Throughout the morning, her play grew to where she got the pretend camera and went around to friends and teachers. She instructed them to say, “Cheese!” while she took their picture. Depending on the situation, play can grow into whatever the child desires. Play is the seed of development in our children. As teachers, we need to nurture play.

Friends Lu-Lu and Saskia worked on their mobility and coordination as they climbed in and out of the colorful blocks. Eve decided she was going to stand in the block and take a shower. This play extended to washing her body and then asking Miss Marty for a towel .

We braved the outdoors before it got too hot. The sandbox with the awning over it made for a nice play area. The shade kept us cool.

Friends gathered down under the tree where we sat on the swing and sang songs. It was a nice, calming time where friends and teachers cuddled with one another.

For breakfast, children had bagel with cinnamon and banana. Lunch consisted of ham and cream cheese tortilla sandwiches, oranges, and freshly cooked carrots. PM snack was cottage cheese and pretzels. Miss Tami also surprised us with garden fresh carrots popsicles! They were yummy!

Have a great evening!

Quick Note!  Many friends enjoy having the window open so their goodbyes can be heard. Tami has requested that morning good-byes don’t involve opening the front porch window! Thank you so much for your cooperation!

The Wee day began with:

Finn: “They might not know it’s a sea, they might think it’s a hyena wolf.”

We are a child-initiated learning environment. From seas to hyena wolves, carrots and ballet slippers, baby dolls and sharks, we listen, all day long, to conversations and jump in to build on interests. We see what they see and we get to work.

It was time to pull up the carrots. Friends fell naturally into gardening jobs that included: pulling carrots out of the dirt, plucking off green stems, filling a bucket and scrubbing them clean.

From our garden to our tummies. Tami invited friends to help her make carrot/banana smoothies for snack (and test it!). She made carrot smoothie popsicles. She also blanched and buttered carrots for lunch. WE HAVE LOTS SO PLEASE HELP YOURSELVES!

We read part of Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens. The book explores a hare and a bare who split the tops and bottoms after harvesting a veggie garden. It led us into a Tops and Bottoms creative drama exploration. Friends became veggie seeds, buried under the earth, waiting to grow. Some had yummy tops (flowers) and others had yummy bottoms (radishes). Everyone got watered to help them grow.

And we are growing!

Breakfast: Cereal and bananas. Lunch: Ham and cream cheese on whole wheat tortillas, blanched and buttered WF garden carrots and orange slices. Snack: Carrot/banana smoothies.

Have a great day!