The first aim of the prepared environment is, as far as it is possible, to render the growing child independent of the adult. (Maria Montessori. The Secret of Childhood: Fides Publishers, 1966.)

This quote came to me this morning as I watched the Wee Frienders choose and work on activities independently and at their own pace. Our environment has been thoughtfully arranged to facilitate and maximize independent learning and exploration in all of the learning areas. It is really cool to reflect after a busy morning on just all the learning areas that have emerged in just a few hours. Oddly, the children manage to keep it all balanced every day!

Here’s just a few examples of some of what happened this morning:

Scientific and Mathematic Development

Several children participated in mixing their own sculpture dough. Some required help (from friends), while others have learned to do this alone. The sculpture dough requires fairly exact measuring to get the correct dough consistency. Today children brainstormed together how to “fix” the dough when it was too dry or too wet. They also discussed how many scoops were necessary to fill the measuring cup.

As a table activity, bears with stickers were set out with bear counters. Children gathered and matched the bears with the stickers. Also, they became creative and filled the bears with the counters to see how many could fit! Other children lined the bears up and counted them in rows.

Language, Literacy & Communication

Story after story, Melinda read to small groups of children. Ada had decided this morning that she wanted to learn about alligators, so Melinda got out the non fiction books and children were completely absorbed in learning and talking about the differences between crocodiles and alligators!

There was also a variety of games that encouraged cooperation and letter recognition this morning. Journals were done after lunch.

Creative Development

At several different times this morning, children participated in creative music and movement. Melinda facilitated a music instrument exploration and later she let the children through an organized bunny trot.

Sculpture dough designs were put on trays to dry and be painted later. Outside, sidewalk chalking and water and chalk painting at the easel were both some ways the children were creative in art.

Physical Development

Fine motor is often developed in ways that are unexpectedly effective. A few examples from this morning are: mixing the salt dough, kneading it, and forming objects out of it. Another way seen this morning was children using the play pliers to pick up the fuzzy balls. Finally, outside children were digging in the sand and scooping it. These types of fine motor work helps form the muscles needed for writing!

Personal & Social Development:

This morning shortly after Addi arrived at WF, she saw Nate. She announced, “Nate, I’m here!” Nate immediately came over and gave her a huge hug.

Taylor patiently helped Nate through the process of making his own sculpture dough. Children are learning as “big” kids helping, and the younger child is learning by being helped.

For lunch today: multigrain flat bread with cream cheese, fresh shredded zucchini (from our garden), and cantaloupe.

And here are just a few cute shots from outside this morning…

Today was a morning filled with color! First Miss Paulina read Oso Pardo, Oso Pardo, Que ves ahi? Paulina and the children discussed the animals and the beautiful colors in the book. Next,azul, rojo, amarillo, verde and negro were heard as Paulina led small groups in a Spanish-English color explorations at the art table. The children enjoyed using the trays, brushes and tempura to mix colors. Many used paper to further explore the colors they created.

Other activities included:

*playing with dominos independently and in small groups

*Dancing to songs Miss Paulina sang.

*Lots of bear play in housekeeping.

*A very enjoyable a time outside with the beautiful weather.

For lunch today we had whole wheat spaghetti noodles with tuna and peas, fresh fruit salad, and cucumbers from our garden.

Have a great day!

This morning Melinda and Tami took a group of our older friends on a walk to play at Nuner Elementary playground.

This afternoon we will say goodbye to Yonatan and Oliver! We’ll celebrate with brownies and berries! Thank you Jason, Atalia, David and Alexandra for helping us make it a special day!

For lunch we served white pizza, watermelon and peas.

Have a terrific weekend!

This morning we read Blueberries For Sal by Robert McClosky. We discussed what sort of bear Little Bear might me (black, grizzly or polar) based on where the story takes place. We discovered a new vocabulary word: tremendous. Many friends gathered at the art table for a blueberry taste test. We gathered many descriptive words and information about blueberries.

We moved our bodies and bears to Fats Domino’s I Found My Thrill! We discovered the rock ‘n roll blues beat was heavy and loud-like a bear’s walk!

Paulina moved the rhythm exploration to the truck room and created a drumming circle with many friends. As they sang “Listen, Listen”, they played accompanying rhythmic patterns with the drums. They talked about how, if they made flat fingers to tap the drum instead of a whole flat palm, they would be able to get a better sound. They talked about using singing voices to sing instead of talking voices. Some friends understood this concept and practiced a singing (not yelling 🙂 voice!!

Yesterday we put three sensory bins out: one with ice, one with bark and the last, with vines. We talked about which of our bears of study would live where! Today we added plastic polar bears to our ice bin and friends enjoyed cracking the ice into small pieces with their plastic bears.

Other great moments of the day:

 

For lunch we served chicken and whole wheat pasta, apple sauce and corn.

Tomorrow, to celebrate Yonatan’s last day at Wee Friends, we are planning a long walk to the Nuner Elementary playground!

Have a great day!

Each day at Wee Friends, we see our friends imitating the roles of moms and dads, playing dress up, acting out real life stories (hammering or making last night’s dinner), and creating make believe spaces.

In these explorations, emotions, minds, language and sensory motor skills are hard at work! Today friends continued creating bear daybeds in housekeeping and the reading area. Today their interest evolved into a more abstract/complex daybed: a hammock.

Practicing the art of negotiation, friends determined where the hammock should be hung. They exercised fine motor (and problem solving!) skills working at tying it to a hook. More social skills were cultivated as friends took turns swinging their bears.

 

To keep our study connected to reading/writing we sought to demonstrate our friend’s names in written form throughout our classroom. We cut out brown, gray and black bears, wrote a friend’s name on each bear and went on a literacy bear hunt! Our friends loved the hunt, and we loved watching our kids identify either their name in its entirety or the first letter of their name. Some of our older friends recreated their own bear at the art table with a template, wrote out their own name and created their own hunt.

We continued our conversation about the differences between grizzly, black and polar bears.

 

For lunch we served whole wheat cous cous with red beans, cantelope and a cucumber/tomato salad.

 

Have a terrific day!

Congratulations, Wee Friends Graduates!

With “Pomp and Circumstance”, we send Isaac and Oliver to Kindergarden and Taylor, First Grade! We will miss you!!!!!!!

Today began with a message board:

Tami provided us with (at least!) 16 stuffed bears to sing along and act out Hap Palmer’s “Teddy Bear’s Playtime”. Friends threw teddies in the air, balanced them on their tummies and toes and had the time of their life! We ended our creative music with friends standing up and in big bold voices introducing their bear to the group and telling us one thing about their bear. Many of our bears were great runners named Fuzzy!

Afterwards, we read and studied Bears, a bear fact book by Deborah Hodge. We learned about the three types of bears, details of their habitats and bodies. After learning about daybeds (daily resting spots bears create near food) friends filled the housekeeping and reading areas making their own daybeds for their bears.

We moved our bear study to the art room where we created a bear paw collage. After cutting the toes out of old socks, friends slipped their fingers into the sock, dipped it in paint and created bear paws! This sensory experience offered friends the opportunity to compare/contrast bear paws to their own human “paws”. Many friends made bear tracks.

For lunch we served ham sandwiches on whole wheat bread, corn on the cob (thank you, Lisa!) and fruit salad. Have a great day!