WWF Daily Explorations, Monday 05.02.11

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Happy Monday!! The beginning of the week seems to always require a rather calm start; children seem more sensitive, therefore needing more emotional comforting than usual while they work at re-adjusting back into being away from home. Today children began their morning asking their teachers to read lots of books. Later they moved into pretend play and became interested on trying different hats on in front of the mirror.

Outside time was spent on the bikes and playing with the new balls. We tried rolling, throwing, kicking and bouncing. Children run after the balls and seemed to have had fun.

For lunch they had noodles with beef and grapes and broccoli. Read aloud today included “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle and “My World” by Margaret Wise Brown, two “must haves” in every child’s library.

Anticipating the better weather and the possibility of spending more time outside WWF’s will be exploring a picnic theme. We see this as an extension of the birthday theme and a way to tie into the garden theme. Using picnics as a focus, we hope to:

  • Bring awareness of the landscape and seasonal events (blooming trees, flowers, garden animals, weather)
  • Learn about fresh foods, especially fruits and veggies that can be easily eaten and transported to the outside places we will be visiting on our picnics
  • Going through the process of preparing and planning to go on a picnic
  • Read children’s books and sing songs about picnics and the related themes.
  • Emphasize counting and color description. This will be a natural experience in this theme.

We are looking for some picnic baskets, small tablecloths, and picnic blankets if you happen to have extras and are “not especially attached to it” please bring them over!

Thank you and have a wonderful start of the week!

Paulina, Amy and Marty

WWF Daily Explorations

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Several of the children played grocery store this morning by filling their baskets, picking out food items, and taking their train ride home.  Many were busy feeding their babies bottles, sitting them at the table, or swaddling and rocking with them.  It is so great to seem them pretending.   Many are still into our birthday theme, and love our pretend cake with candles.

Sunshine is here! We had noticed how the trees and tulips were blooming throughout this week and were eagerly awaiting for a sunny day to take a walk and observe the changing landscape. So wagons in hand, and Sloane in Miss Paulina´s back, off we went! We saw and conversed about colors, tulips, trees (especially Magnolia trees!), hyacinths, and dandelions.

Back at WWF’s children spent time playing at the playground. Outside children have been experimenting with a funnel in the rock area around the log cabin. Thanks to Amy’s idea. we have recycled some milk jugs, cutting them in half and making funnels. These have turned out to be interesting tools to be used in all sorts of ways.

Today the menu included whole-wheat pizza, lima beans, pineapple and apple.  The children have done an exceptional job with serving themselves this week with a little assistance from the teachers. This afternoon they will be using an apple peeler to prepare our snack.

Wishing you and your family a weekend full of sunshine.

Paulina, Lisa and Marty

WF Daily Explorations Friday 4-29-11

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Goop!!!!!!!!  Today Tami set up three bins and filled them with corn starch and water. Kids mixed, squished and stretched the goop, experimenting with texture and consistency! F.4.1 Use vocabulary that indicates understanding of scientific principles (e.g., sink, float, melt, solid, liquid).

 

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A stack of robot books arrived today, gathered and delivered by Wee Friends personal librarian, Carol Barbour. Thank you Carol!! Friends ate them up, spending a large amount of time studying the pictures. We will dive into them next week and see if a study emerges. F.1.3 Name objects from a picture book. F.1.4 Hold book right side up, looking at pages and pictures. F.1.5 Turn pages from front to back.

Our cottage climber has been a huge hit! Older friends climb up down and all around and many of our younger toddlers are able to climb up and down the east side of the log house. We ask our smaller friends to stay on the east side when climbing because the west side of the house has a drop off that their feet can’t reach as they descend. It doesn’t deter them, however, as the view from the top is exciting and they are victorious! F.1.2 Perform stability skills alone and/or with a partner. (e.g., transferring weight so as to rock, roll, stand on one foot for six seconds and walk up and down steps with alternating feet, tumbling skill of somersaults and log rolls, and walking on a balance beam forward and backward).

Beginning the Basics life skills program will continue working with potty and hand washing procedures next week. This week Melinda and I heard a few friends singing their ABC’s while washing their hands! F.4.2 Show a growing independence in hygiene, nutrition, and personal care when eating, dressing, washing hands, brushing teeth, and toile ting.

Enjoy this beautiful day!

WWF Daily Explorations, Thursday 4.28.11

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After spending some time coloring, working with play dough and going outside with Lisa,this morning WW’s worked on matching and memory games. Some worked with Amy at the housekeeping table and some used their small rugs to sit on the floor to work with Paulina.

 

For reading aloud today the children read “Brown Bear, Brown Bear” by Eric Carle for second time this week and “Dancing Feet” (another favorite) by Craig & Brown. Children at WWF’s have been especially interested in colors, animals and numbers. Books like “Brown Bear” (and the whole series), the “Blue Chameleon” and “My Many Colored Days” by Dr. Seuss have been of great use and inspiration for this new interest.

Yesterday afternoon WWF’s spent a lot of time outside enjoying the warmer weather.  They continued transferring bean sprouts into small transparent pots. Children are watering the bean plants daily and have also learned to be careful when handling them.

In a more practical note, our “Wee Wee-ests” (Olivia, Sloane and Elizabeth) have been learning to drink from a cup using a straw. In doing this we have realized that they are all very good at sucking from the straw and getting the liquid into their mouths, but sometimes they don’t keep it in. We keep practicing and observing the results.

In our constant search for more insight into the world of 2 year olds we had the pleasure to sit in two of Dr. Medina’s talks yesterday. We are very interested in his findings and would like to recommend to our parents reading these books. Here’s a link to more information about his work.

WF Daily Explorations Thursday 4-28-11

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Tumbling day! F.1.6 Show anticipation for regularly scheduled events.

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Tami and Melinda brought the outdoors in by helping friends plant grass seeds. They filled one bin with seeds and another with soil. The kids explored the textures of the seeds and soil while measuring the seeds and planting them in plastic cups. They watered tMG 8692he cups with a squirt bottle. F.1.4 Make selections from the science objects and materials available. F.1.5 Use the five senses (touching, smelling, seeing, hearing, tasting) to investigate the environment and to gather information.MG 8683

Melinda read The Secret Birthday Message by Eric Carle. They discussed the details of the story, including how they would act it out and what images they might recreate with paint at the art easel.  F.3.2 Actively look for or keep attending to things that an adult points to, shows, or talks about. F.3.5 Ask questions and make comments about a story being read.

Imaginative play was full force both in the Lego loft with dinosaurs and in housekeeping with dollies, scarves and food. A few friends built towers out of magnetic rods and spheres.

Our pirate study has officially phased out! While we are exploring ideas and activities related to spring, we are also listening intently to conversations and watching closely for any other interests the children express. If we hear/see something occurring repetitively over a few days (the robots!), we cultivate this interest to see if it will actually turn into a study. A study can last one day or one month! A child initiated study is our aim and it’s always exciting to see where Wee Friends are headed!

Have a great day!

WWF Daily Explorations, Wednesday 4.27.11

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Despite another rainy day, we have made the best of it by taping a big piece of paper to the floor, squeezing glue all over it, and having fun with glitter.  Rubbing our fingers through it was a great sensory experience.  Our wee ones enjoyed shaking it on to the paper and watching an array of colors appear.  We also glued various shapes in all colors and sizes and made circles with our dot markers.

Since we can’t be outside, we brought the sand in to us, and opened our sandbox.  We put some of our seashells and shovels in our box, and enjoyed the morning.

Miss Paulina did a great job with yoga this morning.  They stretched and relaxed to her great music selections.

At lunch time, WWF’s are working on learning how to serve themselves. Using tongs and big spoons they take turns serving their food transferring food from big bowls to their own plates.

After lunch we had a birthday party with our brand new birthday hats. We sang, blew out the candles, counted and talked about how old we are.

Lisa

WF Daily Explorations, Wednesday 4.27.11

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A Robot Buzz has hit Wee Friends! Many of our friends have been interested in robots so we captured their excitement yesterday by assembling several different sized boxes to create a moveable robot. The kids grabbed markers and furiously colored their new friend. They each had a turn walking around, exploring new lklkspatial boundaries inside a box! They continued their robot play today in the truck room.

Thanks to everyone who brought in cereal boxes! We put them to use today creating more robots! Using plastic bottle caps, pipe cleaners, beans, glue and paper, friends produced some incredible robots!

Forced by the rain to stay indoors, we exercised our gross motor muscles with  alphabet yoga, tug-of-war and rocking in the hopscotch boxes while singing “Are You Sleeping?”, toppling safely out.

We played a music game in which we hid instruments behind our puppet theatre screen. In a large group, we all sat and friends took turns going behind the screen, choosing an instrument and playing it. We then guessed which instrument we were hearing. Melinda sang the words to “Listen to the Rain” and we played  instruments as she sang, exploring loud/soft, smooth/choppy and ‘rest’  dynamics.  Enjoy the video of our exploration! 

Video of Listen to the Rain Activity

Have a great day!

WWF Daily Explorations, Tuesday 4.26.11

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We started our day today doing some texture painting with waffles. We dipped them on to paint and stamped it on paper. We felt the texture on the waffles, and observed the shapes and colors.  It was a fun project.

The small kitchen sink was filled with bubbles, and not only did we have some fun water play, but we washed our dishes from our Dramatic Play Area at the same time!

 

Finally, some time to enjoy the outdoors.

 

We were busy digging in the sand, running up and down the hill, going down the slide and

around.

 

 

Miss Paulina read us some wonderful stories before naptime today.  We read “I am a Baby”, a story about matching colors.  We also read “Blue Chameleon” by Emily Gravett, a story about colors and emotions…”Blue chameleon, I´m lonely”, Grey Chameleon, I´m frustrated”….

This afternoon we will play a memory game using our felt board.  By observing the objects we placed on the board and identifying which one is missing the second time we look at it.

Have a wonderful day!

Lisa



 

WF Daily Explorations Tues. 4-26-11

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This morning a couple of older friends continued yesterday’s project of building structures at the workbench. As they worked, another older friend assisted a few toddlers with the plastic tool box, hammering and screwing nails.

Some friends created easel art.

A small group of toddlers joined in alphabet yoga. Every letter has a corresponding pose. A few favorites were Alligator, the Kissing pose and Tarzan. We identified Wee Friends whose name start with these letters.

Older swimmers swam and the remaining younger friends were able to spend the better part of an hour outside before the rain came.

Monday afternoon we introduced Beginning the Basics: a Wee Friends life skills development project inspired by the Montessori approach to teaching young children important life skills. Our first lesson is potty and hand washing procedures. By acting out going to the potty and washing hands, we determined a few steps for each activity and then created corresponding illustrations that we taped to the bath room wall. We will spend a little time each day practicing this activity and when the children are ready to move on, we will introduce a new life skill. If there are any life skills you are working on at home and would like additional support for at school, please let us know and we will implement them! We are developing the program as we go and are excited about it being a family/school partnership!

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This afternoon we are hoping to build a life sized robot with the FAB! boxes the Nickerson-Guisinger family donated!

Have a great day.

WWF Daily Explorations, Monday 4.25.11

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Today some of our WWFs began the day playing birthday party in the housekeeping area.  They pretended to cut their birthday cake, put them on plates and offered pieces to their friends. Everyone seemed to be interested in the topic, so we decided it was time to finally get our hands on the birthday hats project that had been waiting for us.

Beginning with a brief look to the “Birthday at the Zoo” book,  children stamped dots of paint, choosing their own colors on a birthday hat printed template. The teachers cut the hats while the children practiced using scissors on craft paper. Making little holes on the side we used pipe cleaners for holding the hats in place. Children and teachers sang Happy Birthday to each child as they finished their hats. We are waiting for another opportunity to play birthday party again and bring the hats out and add some more interest to this long lived theme!

This morning we also did our regular music session. After our ussual greeting song and some well known popular songs, the focus seemed to shift into drumming. With a sequence of three songs the children improvised their own rhythmic accompaniments, echoed rhythmic patterns and created thir own. Our youngest ones joined in by bouncing, clapping and tapping on their legs.

We also had a surprise visit!!! Our friend Mac (who began the year with us but left us for care closer to his home) visited us and stayed for some play time and lunch!

For reading aloud the children read “My Friend Bunny” and “Hush. A Thai Lullaby”.

My Friend Rabbit Hush! A Thai Lullaby

Have a wonderful day!