Happy November!

Friends P.K. and Zoey started off their morning by working with each other to build a train! P.K. helped Zoey build a train and showed her how to push the train along the carpet.

Wee Wee’s had some laughs this morning! It was the war of screams! Our friends sure did find their voice throughout the morning

We bundled up and headed outside where children chose to ride bikes. With our hoods up, friends pushed with their feet and headed on forward.

Emma and Eve played together in the house. Outside is a great place for friends to venture off with one another and play in a group or just by one’s self.

Wee climbed.

Wee smiled.

Wee had fun.

The log house provides different opportunities for children. They love to climb up to the highest log possible. Not only does it work our leg muscles but we’re also using our arm muscles to hold on tight!

Plus, it’s a great way to play ‘peek-a-boo’ I see you

After our afternoon snack, we turned on the music. We listened to a variety of music that got our kids in the groove! We got out the blue tubes and friends shared with one another throughout the activity.

Children find it fascinating when the materials fall from one side to the other. It’s a wonderful way for kids to focus with their eyes and follow something through.

A few friends even tried to multi-task with two tubes!

We were so jumpy and full of energy after music time that we headed to the jungle gym to express that energy. We did this through sliding, jumping, crawling, and rolling.

It’s great when our friends share and take turns with one another. We’re working on waiting until your turn is up. Clara went down the slide and P.K. made sure to wait until Clara was out of the way!

Zoey has enjoyed clapping for us for the past couple of days. When she sees a friend or teacher clapping, she follows along! It’s awesome to see the gestures and motions that our friends pick up from just observing their surroundings!

For breakfast, children had whole wheat toast with cinnamon and pears. Lunch consisted of soy butter on whole wheat tortillas, banana, and squash. PM snack was pretzels and string cheese.

Have a terrific evening.

-Mindy

 

HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY MACY!

Today we went to CrossFit 061 with the older children to move our bodies and learn about fitness.  CrossFit 061 http://www.crossfit061.com/ is owned and operated by Jada’s parents, Nick and Chelssie Urankar.

While at CrossFit 061, we started out by doing some basic stretches and learning about Burpees. (If you haven’t tried a Burpees lately, you can’t appreciate the energy a few of them take!)

After thoroughly stretching, we had a bicycle relay race, a “sorta” relay running race that evolved into a game of tag, and then we moved into some really fun parachute activities.

After our organized games, the children had some free time to explore the gym.  The rings were the clear winner in drawing everyone’s interest.  Nick spent some time showing us how he can use the rings.  He’s quite the gymnast!  The kids (and teachers) were awed!

Thanks so much Nick and Chelssie for opening up your gym to us today!  We had a blast!

Back at the Ranch:

Our younger Wee Friends have enjoyed the puppy dog Halloween costumes we put out yesterday. Marta requested puppy music so we played our fav “Puppy Love”. Then she asked for dog music so we played our sound effects track of wolves howling. By that time several friends had joined her puppy play and it morphed into resting on the music rug. We played soft soothing music and friends trailed off and worked independently and in pairs. Elliott and Sloane built with Magna Tiles and Lea sequenced plastic trucks in a line. Marina , Elizabeth and Sophie built structures with the sensory pads, plastic and wooden blocks. Ellie curled up on the big lion pillow and listened to music.

Wee Sprouts: Celery sticks. Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with ham/cream cheese and bananas (we are protein loading for Halloween detox ) Lunch: Peanut butter sandwiches on whole grain flat bread, bananas and celery sticks. Snack: Macy’s Birthday Muffins and String Cheese!

Below, a few shots from yesterday, including our scary ghost bananas we had for snack

Happy Wednesday!

Multiple story groups started this morning. Friends read stories to get settled into their day. Lately, our friends have enjoyed our ‘big’ books. We have four different topics that children love: My Big World Book, My Big Animal Book, My Big Train Book, and My Big Rescue Book. Children love to learn about the different topics and read with friends and teachers.

We looked at our reflection through the mirror!

We got our gross motor in throughout the day! Morning and afternoon friends were jumping and climbing on the jungle gym!

Children help one another. We share. It’s a blast!

Zoey even enjoys trying to climb up the slide. She watches as her friends climb and she wants to follow along!

Our littlest pumpkin enjoyed putting her finger in her mouth this afternoon. After a long nap, she had snuggles with teachers and interactions with friends.

For breakfast, children had raisin bran. Lunch consisted of fresh egg casserole, green beans, whole wheat toast, and delicious applesauce! PM snack was rice pudding.

Have a terrific evening (and wonderful Halloween)!

-Mindy

PARADE CANCELLED FOR TODAY! (Sorry for the delay in notice, but this post failed to upload the first time and we just noticed!)  Rescheduled for same time on Friday.

Wee Sprouts: Cucumbers. Breakfast: Oatmeal Chex. Lunch: Egg casserole, whole wheat buttered toast, green beans and applesauce. Snack: Rice pudding and bananas.

Have a fun night!

Good Afternoon!

Here are pictures that were taken throughout the day.

For breakfast, children had cheerios and pears. Lunch consisted of whole wheat tortillas with hummus, pears, and mixed vegetables. PM snack was string cheese and graham crackers.

Have a terrific evening!

-Mindy

Wee Sprouts: Pea pods. Breakfast: Cheerios and bananas. Lunch: Hummus on whole wheat tortillas, mixed veggies and pear slices. Snack: Cottage cheese and pineapple slices.

Happy Monday!

Friends P.K. and Eren sat on the rocking chair this morning. P.K. tilted his head back on Eren. They enjoyed sitting together to start their morning.

Our morning sensory activity was painting pumpkins! Friends picked a pumpkin to paint. Children chose from a variety of paint colors including brown, green, yellow, and orange.

After they were done with their pumpkins, friends painted other white pieces of paper.

Daniel and P.K. found the sensory box fascinating! They reached their hands into the box to find different objects. We talked about hard and soft objects along with the color of each item.

P.K. rolled and tumbled around this afternoon using soft half circles. He also carried it across the room!

Daniel worked on the jungle gym by jumping up and down. He enjoys looking out the window at people walking by or cars driving by.

Emma said, “Neigh” as she carried the horse book around. She pointed at the picture and said the sound that was associated with the animal. Throughout the day, the birds are one of her favorite toys. When you squeeze them, the birds make a ‘tweet’ sound.

Eve and Zoey enjoyed reading stories this afternoon. They looked at the pictures and pointed to items that they found interesting.

For breakfast, children had toast with soy butter and pears. Lunch consisted of whole wheat noodles with chicken, mixed fruit, and corn. PM snack was raisins and animal crackers.

Have a great evening.

-Mindy

*We have planned our Halloween Parade for Wednesday at 3:45. Parents are welcome to join us! Our Parade is when friends, after nap/snack, dress up in their costumes (that they have brought to school that morning) and parade around our sidewalk with a banner and badges singing favorite songs! IF WE ARE RAINED OUT, AS IS PREDICTED, WE WILL MOVE OUR PARADE TO FRIDAY AFTERNOON AT THE SAME TIME.

Today began with a lot of reading. Friends reading alone and to each other were everywhere you turned.

“Spontaneous events that are pursued by bringing engaging materials, good conversation, and time for investigation into the classroom create a true learning environment that is a joyful place to be.” – ExchangeEveryday ( the online Exchange Magazine)

Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Peanut butter on whole wheat toast and pear slices. Lunch: Whole wheat penne pasta with chicken, corn and apples. Snack: Whole wheat crackers and cranberries.

Have a great day.

Happy Friday!

Zoey’s morning started with fine motor skills as she worked with a board that works on flipping, rolling, pushing, and turning with ones hands and fingers. It’s a great activity that allows infants and toddlers to work on multiple fine motor skills.

P.K. enjoys spending time with Zoey. He loves to make her laugh!

He gave her many soft kisses today and multiple hugs which Zoey enjoyed.

Once afternoon snack was done, friends went in their own direction. Daniel chose to work in the kitchen while Eren grabbed a book and started reading.

Our littlest friend enjoyed floor time. She is working on reaching for toys and items that are within her reach.

Some friends were in a Friday funk so we turned on the music and worked with instruments. We got out the blue tubes with items such as bells, plastic beads, and bouncy balls. They made different sounds.

We also got out musical shakers! Our friends enjoyed shaking their instrument to the music that was playing!

It was so nice to see our friends taking turns and sharing their instruments with one another.

Emma worked on dancing and bouncing to the music.

A few friends headed to the jungle gym where they got their gross motor in for the day!

We peaked, slid, and crawled on the jungle gym! It’s a great space to let friends know about boundaries and when friends need their space.

For breakfast, friends had cheerios and banana. Lunch consisted of tuna salad on wheat bread, mandarin oranges, and mixed vegetables.

Have a great weekend!

-Mindy

A quick reminder that the Blue Bus will not be here on Monday, Oct. 29th.

Lisa has started a  special exploration of having the kids Sing A Song of Who You Are. She invites them up one by one and asks them to sing out about something unique to them: flying to Cali, purple princess dresses, pirates, to name a few.

Our friends are learning how to sing out loud and sing out strong, singing of good things, not bad, happy things, not sad. (are you humming it now? Mission accomplished).

Our party planning continued today with spooky ghost art (white paint on black paper with googly eyes) and the construction of a pumpkin piñata.

Mel took the kids on a bear hunt with Max’s fabulous stuffed bear. Thanks, Max!

After acting out the book twice, friends settled in to a bear meditation with twinkly music.

Jane worked on a number grid. One by one friends joined her and explored math in developmentally appropriate ways.

The moments before heading outside this morning ended in friends picking flowers and placing them in baskets.

Some late afternoon moments from this week:

We encourage our friends to journal most everyday. Please feel free to explore their journals (under the art loft) anytime. They accumulate quite a lot of work and it’s very interesting to see the development over many days and months time.

Wee Sprouts: Celery sticks. Breakfast: Malt-O-Meal and orange slices. Lunch: Chicken salad with apples on whole wheat bread and mixed veggies. Snack: Popcorn and raisins.

Have a great weekend.