WWF Pics (585 photos):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/weefriends/sets/72157629218211793/
WF Pics (678 photos):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/weefriends/sets/72157629188581213/
Enjoy!
WWF, Bear Exploration, 2-7-2012
Hello!
We started our day off at WWF by conducting hands on experiences involving ice that was shaped like hearts. The kids loved playing with the ice and feeling it on their fingers. They could tell whether the ice was hot or cold. They also used the sense of taste by sucking on the ice cubes. Our friends loved how it slid around on the table! While a few of our friends were experimenting with the ice cubes, the rest of the kids were in the living room listening to music. We were jumping, stomping, and twirling to the different songs.
After the ice activity was over, our friends gathered in the living room to have music time. This involved singing and dancing. While the music was playing, children helped by playing the drums and shaking bean bags. They added another talent by twirling scarves around while the music was played. While learning about bears during music time, our friends went on a bear hunt. They came across different textures such as a fluffy green blanket, a rug, and foam tiles. A lot of our friends went through the tunnel and snuck into the bear cave. While having the bear hunt the kids got on all fours and walked around the living room like bears looking for food.
Following music time came outside adventures! The children got bundled up to go outside and say hello to their Wee Friends! Some chose to ride bikes and cars while others chose to play in the sand or swing on the swing set. After being outside for a while, we all started to get cold. So, we came inside for lunch!
Today’s lunch was a hit. All we heard was, ‘more’! :). We started out with pita bread with cream cheese, shredded cheese, and ham on top. Then came the fruits and vegetables which included corn and pears.
Hope everyone has a fantastic evening!
WF Daily Exploration Tuesday 2/7
Wee Friends love to read! Our library is filled with books appropriate for all developmental stages.
Yesterday Jane and Annie shared their journals with one another, describing what they drew and what they wrote.
Lisa seized another literacy opportunity by writing out “Twinkle, Twinkle” and inviting older friends to identify certain letters. Kai circled all the “A”‘s and Jane worked on “B”‘s. 
A small group of friends continued working on glitter stars that we will use as props for our Spring Concert. Today’s FAB (two-step direction) was to squeeze glue on the stick and attach the star.
We began a creative music session by gathering on the oval rug and, using dowels, tapped out rhythms in “Twinkle, Twinkle”. Friends called out names of other nursery rhymes (“Pat-A-Cake”, “Baa-Baa-Black Sheep” and “Hickory, Dickory Dock”) and we explored another FAB objective: counting syllables in each word. We offered friends different ‘shaker’ instruments and we determined which instrument sounded like a tick-tock, which sounded like mice running up the clock and which sounded like a chime. Later, when we practiced for our concert, three friends volunteered to play these instruments as we sing.
- Tick-tock: Macy on the rhythm sticks
- “Clock struck one”: Jane on the triangle
- “Mice run up/down the clock”: Ada on the hand cymbals
And then we just jammed out, as we have been doing, to WF new honorary anthem “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz. Annie organized a circle of friends who, at one point, put all their hands in the middle and danced together in a circle.
Simon and Kai worked collaboratively at the workbench for quite a while building a sailboat and flying machine, respectfully.
Stephen and Ada ended their morning work with Lisa adding (counting out loud) and taking away gingerbread men.
WEE FRIENDS SOCK COLLECTION-To achieve our Math FAB objectives for the week, we are going to invite friends (and families!) to bring in any out-of-commission socks. We will count them, match them, discover patterns and colors, and graph and record our findings (and who knows what else!). Thanks in advance!
Thanks, too, to the parents, who have contributed to our daily Wee Sprouts!
Our Wee Sprouts today are grape tomatoes and broccoli. For breakfast Lisa served Cheerios and apple slices. Lunch was whole wheat cream cheese and ham pizzas, corn and pears. For snack, we will serve yogurt and apples.
Have a terrific day!
Laurie
WWF, Welcome Back Monday!, 2-6-2012
Happy Monday!
We’re going to start off the week with great pictures of activities that occured throughout the day!
Hope everyone has a tremendous evening!
WF Daily Explorations Monday 2/6
FAB (Framework for Academic Balance) Week of February 6
Literacy: K.1.13 Count the number of syllables in words, K.7.1 Understand and follow one and two-step directions – Math: K.1.1 Match sets of objects one to one, K.1.9 Record and organize information using objects and pictures.
Stemming from the feedback we received at last week’s curriculum meeting, we are going to start including weekly FAB objectives. These objectives, taken directly from the Indiana Academic Standards for kindergarteners, will serve as the underlying framework that we use to stay academically balanced without compromising the emergent curriculum already in place at Wee Friends. Be assured that the activities that emerge are always met with a developmentally appropriate approach to include all of our Wee Friends!
Melinda started the day by inviting friends to join her in the reading area for a read aloud of two books: Curious George and the Boat Show (thank you Elliott!) and Goat’s Book of Making and Doing Things.
Afterwards, everyone gathered at the art table to create their very own soap bar sailboats! Melinda guided friends through four steps:
- Measure and cut a straw 6″ in length
- Cut a triangular sail out of construction paper
- Tape the straw to the sail
- Place the straw sail into the bar of soap by whatever means possible!
Among the many singular directives given was Melinda’s request “Please, don’t shout out when you are ready for a bar of soap, but raise your hand so I know.” A few friends managed their impulses by covering their mouths as they raised their hands.
There were many discussions had as friends created their sailboats. The first question was “Will our sailboat float?”. We compared/contrasted a bar of soap and an empty glass and determined that, yes, the soap will float. Wee Friends explored how the soap smelled and what it felt like after it got wet. After their boats were finished, they tested, again, if it would sail. There was lots of scissor work and lots of collaboration as older friends assisted younger friends. Elliott and Jane were buddies during this activity and stayed on after the boats were completed to further explore the fabulous smelling ooey gooey soap!
Tami spent time with a few friends reading Bob Books.
We began our Spring Concert rehearsal with a warm up:
“Macy is here today, Macy is here today. Let’s all clap together, Macy is here today. Ma-cy…one, two”, exploring how many syllables (claps) are in each friend’s name.
We sang through eight nursery rhymes!
Parent/Child Dialogue Starters: (Open ended questions to inspire daily conversation with your child. *Our aim is to avoid asking questions that elicit a “yes” or “no” response)
- When you held the soap in your hand, was it slippery?
- When you saw that your boat was floating, how did it make you feel?
- When Melinda read Curious George and the Boat Show, how did you feel when George broke his friend’s boat?
- What would you do if someone broke your boat?
Today, Wee Sprouts were broccoli and carrots. For breakfast Mel served whole wheat bread with peanut butter and bananas. Lunch was homemade mac/cheese with whole wheat penne pasta, bananas and mixed veggies. Snack will be whole wheat crackers and apples.
Have a terrific day!
Laurie
Curriculum Meeting Summary
- Education is not the filling a bucket but the lighting of a fire. ~William Butler Yeats
We had a great turn out for our first Curriculum meeting! Since there were a few families who wanted to attend, but could not make the scheduled time, I thought I would take a few minutes and blog about our discussions last night. Email me if you would like me to schedule another evening for those who missed. If we have enough interest, I will be happy to set a date.
I started the meeting last night by raising the question, “What are you looking for in your child’s Early Childhood Education?” The WF families responded with:
- individualized pacing for my child
- happy, content, stimulated children
- teachers with expertise on my child’s development
- creativity integrated into curriculum
- teachers who understand my child’s temperament
- love of learning
- knowing that my child is loved
- my child is given respect
- my child is given compassion
The next brainstorming question was, “What are your future goals for your child?” The WF families responded that they wanted their child as a young adult to be:
- passionate and confident
- generous
- comfortable in their own skin
- self disciplined
- resourceful
- resistant to peer influence
- people that we want to be around
- accepting and non-judgemental
After our brainstorming, I talked about the WF curriculum history, our current curriculum and how we will keep growing in the future. Here are some highlights of that discussion:
I started WF coming right from St. Mary’s College with my Elementary Education Degree. Back in 1996, “Developmentally Appropriate” was a newer concept and not one taught to Elementary teachers. So, I began with a very rigid traditional curriculum that included worksheets, whole group transitions, and LOTS of craft projects. Even then, I was enthusiastic about making WF awesome and invested all my energy into making our traditional program top notch. However, I lasted about 2 years before I couldn’t ignore how poorly this curriculum fit with many of my preschool children. And when traditional preschool doesn’t work for a child, it REALLY doesn’t work. Unhappy with the way things were going, I chose to go back to school for my Master’s Degree in Education.
Following the rigid traditional years, I completely reversed my philosophy and moved into the other extreme and landed solidly into a play based curriculum. I was afraid of the harmful effects of the rigid program I had done and totally overcorrected! But, over the years we have evolved into a program that has balance of the two extremes, is based on research, and been tweaked repeatedly into something that is phenomenal for both teachers and children.
I have been lamenting for months that the WF Curriculum doesn’t fit in a neat little box of Waldorf, Montessori or Reggio. Other local programs boldy proclaim that are “Montessori” or “Project Approach” and have tried to fit their curriculum into a little box. However, it would be disingenuous to name our program anything already established. Our unique Wee Friends curriculum is something that has evolved throughout the years of trying multiple methods of teaching and keeping the best parts and disposing of the parts that don’t work. I recently have been joking with everyone that we are Wal-essor-io because our program has many aspects of each of these wonderful curriculum models. But, we are not only Waldorf, Montessori, or Reggio Emilia. We are more than that.
Thanks to conversations with my colleague, Susan Cress (Indiana University at South Bend Associate Professor in Early Childhood Education and Interim Associate Dean) I can put a name to the extraordinary way we teach children at Wee Friends: Constructivism.
Constructivism at Wee Friends looks like:
- Qualified teachers that are passionate about children
- Curriculum created from teachers observations
- A mix of child initiated vs direct teaching
- Love of learning primary goal
- Experiential, real
- Filled with choices
- Individually paced
- Focused on the natural gifts of children
- Socially and emotionally focused
- Multi-aged groups
- Balanced
- Learning is integrated across curriculum
- Researched based
The teachers at WF know that our curriculum is doing what it is supposed to do and the children who have passed through our program have done extremely well in their elementary years. We know the Indiana Academic Standards and incorporate them naturally into our day. But, I know through talking with families that there is a panic that sets in right before their child graduates from WF. They fear gaps because our program follows the lead of the children rather than directly teaching skills in a systematic way.
My mission became to find a solution that did not change what I know works, but rather give families the peace of mind that there is a curriculum framework that will ensure that their child has been introduced to all skills they may need for entering Kindergarten or First Grade. Starting in Fall 2012, we will incorporate into our program the WF Framework for Academic Balance (FAB). The FAB is a teacher organizing tool that will ensure that our older preschoolers and kindergartners have been offered activities that encompass the Indiana Academic Standards for Kindergarten, but will not compromise or change our Constructivist Learning Environment. I think that it will be a great solution for everyone.
We ended the meeting with discussion/suggestions from parents that included:
- more pictures on the blog (so we don’t miss kids and upset grandparents!)
- more field trips for older preK and K children
- finding “rites of passage” for older children to aspire to (special duties, special field trips or activiites that only the 5 year olds participate in)
- developing an assessment tool for older preK and K children that gives real information to parents but doesn’t overwhelm teachers with paperwork.
Thank you again to all the families that joined us for this meeting. I really had a great time! (Ya’ll have some great senses of humor!)
Tami
WF Daily Explorations Friday 2/3
Thanks to Tami and everyone who attended the curriculum meeting last night! Our dialogue was inspiring, informative and fun!
A princess tea party started the day for a few friends. To the Disney tune “Cups and Saucers”, Jane and Macy balanced cups/saucers on their heads, standing as tall and still as they could to keep them on top. Umi demonstrated a princess ballet move “like Angelina Ballerina!”
Nate donned new pirate wear and brought Pirate Pete’s Giant Adventure by Kim Kennedy to share with his friends. Finn found a long red ribbon that became a rope on board the ship.
We discussed briefly the concept of a stained glass window. After showing our friends 2 illustrations, we dove into an art project using tempera paint and wax paper to create our own translucent windows.
Umi asked for pink paint. We discussed which colors, when combined, would create pink. She mixed them together and created her color of choice.
Crazy Eights are still the rage as we end the week! Young mathematicians continued to work on number recognition and matching. Lisa also invited friends to roll a dice and identify the number they rolled. They chose that many gold coins out of the treasure chest.
Simon was also interested in working on math today. He chose three questions to ask: How many pirate ships are at WF? How many fish are at WF? How many gold coins are at WF? Using a clip board and chart, he drew a line for each item he found. He then counted the lines out loud. A teacher drew the number he counted and he traced over it.
We are watching our older friends and observing how, for the last week, they have used the workbench as a hair salon, of sorts. After a week of using the work tools, Melinda offered them our barrette/twists and brush basket. We are excited to see how this interest will unfold.
We finished our classroom work this morning with music meditation. After a year and a half, we are still enjoying “What A Wonderful World” to calm our bodies and our minds…..all in preparation for running and jumping outdoors! 🙂
Today our Wee Sprouts are broccoli and carrots. Breakfast was Cheerios and raisins. For lunch, Lisa made pulled pork quesadillas with cheddar cheese and refried beans, avocado slices and pineapple. For snack we will serve pumpkin bread and bananas.
Have a terrific day and a restful weekend.
WWF, Ice Cube Exploration, 2-3-2012
Happy Friday!
We started off our day here at WWF by exploring ice cubes that had paint in them. The activity was a Valentines Day theme. Ice cubes were made in the shape of a heart and had pink paint added to them. The kids loved exploring the ice cube, especially when it turned from a solid to a liquid. Of course the question of the ‘taste sense’ came into play! Our friends were tasting the ice cube and using their sense of touch to see what it felt like. Some children chose to transfer the ice cubes from container to container and found that the ice cubes were rather slippery. Our friends were engaged through their senses for quite some time!
After the ice melted, we moved onto music time. We sang songs and stomped, walked, and ran around the room with the help of Miss Marty to show us what each movement looked like. A child suggested that we read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom so we pulled out the book along with the CD and sang along with the song. The bears made another appearance here at the WWF house but didn’t stay too long. Again, they looked for berries and were picking them from berry bushes! We even got to go inside the bears white cave! The kids loved walking around inside of it and pretending they were taking a nap! The children love acting out different roles and acting as a bear seems to be right at the top of their list!
We ventured outside after getting all bundled up. A few friends gathered up and went to the swing where they talked and swung back and forth. Others chose to play in the sand castle where they were scooping sand with a shovel and transferring it to a bucket. Everyone had a great time outside! There was a lot of running which of course made the children hungry!
After running outside, we decided to come inside where lunch was ready for us! Our friends enjoyed chicken and cheese tortillas made with pita bread, bananas, and peas. By the end of the meal, the bananas and peas were gone! Our friends was sure hungry today! 🙂
Hope everyone has a terrific weekend!
WWF, White Canopy of Fun! 2-2-2012
Hello!
We started off our day here at WWF with mat play! Children chose to work with shapes and blocks on individual mats in the living room. The kids love to use the tongs to pick up the hearts and put them into different cups and bins. Our friends chose to use the shapes in multiple ways. A few chose to stack the shapes while others chose to build with the shapes. It is strengthening their fine motor skills which is tremendous! Other children chose to work with the light table and the colored magnets. They love stacking up the magnets to see how high they will go.
The white canopy was brought out and the kids had a blast standing under it as it went up and down. Our friends were having so much fun! We wish there was an audio button so families could hear how much fun we were all having :). Of course those pesky bears came back to the WWF house and were roaming around the living room. We heard growling and snorting! Our friends loved walking on all fours around the living room, looking for fish to eat.
After those bears decided to leave, we headed outside. Since it wasn’t as warm as yesterday, we bundled up with hats and gloves and dove into the backyard. Some children decided to ride the bikes and tricycles. Others chose to play in the little house. A few of our friends were in the sand box making sand castles with their Wee Friends!
After having such a blast outside, we decided to come in and enjoy our lunch! Our friends had ham and cheese quesadillas, avocados, and cucumbers. The avocados were very popular!
Hope everyone has a great evening!
WF Daily Explorations Thursday 2/2
This morning, Lisa introduced Wee Friends to ribbon rings! Many friends spent many moments (on our new oval rug!) exploring all the different ways to interact with the rings. They danced with them, twirled them, used them as earrings, shoes, hats and ties!
Another small group began their day doing alphabet yoga on the oval rug! After yoga, a few friends sang “Pony Boy” (on the oval rug!) galloping on each others legs and laps! We moved forward/backwards and side to side as we sang.
We are really enjoying our oval rug.
All week long, Wee Friends have been choosing to work floor puzzles. Today, Melinda discussed elements of the farm yard picture, pointing out details as the picture came together.
It was a morning filled with many small group interactions filling each corner of the classroom! There were trains (of all sizes!) in motion, valentine card scissor work, card games and Caribbean music!
We also squeezed in a Spring Concert rehearsal. “Baa Baa Black Sheep” remains the favorite song to sing and act out. We are working very hard on “Sing a Song of Sixpence” and created beautiful choreography today to use as we sing it.
Our Wee Sprouts today were broccoli and carrots. Breakfast this morning was a bagel with cinnamon and apple slices. Lunch was melted ham and cheese on whole wheat tortillas, cucumber slices and a fruit salad with apples/mandarin oranges.
It’s not too late to join us this evening for our 7pm curriculum meeting. If you haven’t RSVP’d to Tami, feel free to email her today!
Have a terrific day!
Laurie