Good Afternoon!

This morning we filled the sensory table with water and ice cubes.  We then added bears and polar bears, trucks, scoops and tongs to use to explore in the table.  The friends worked with the tongs to pick up the ice cubes.  We also talked about how polar bears like the cold.  One of our friends, touched an ice cube and said, “cold.

We then all sat on the reading step together to look at a book independently or sit with a baby doll.

Several of the friends played in the front area with the Little People, car hauler, airplane and bulldozer.

We the built with the waffle blocks, connecting them together like a puzzle.

Breakfast:  Whole grain wheat bread toasted with peanut butter and fresh blueberries.

Lunch:  Whole grain penne pasta with shredded chicken, fresh orange bell pepper and pear slices.

Afternoon Snack:  Whole milk yogurt and graham crackers.

Wee Sprouts:  Cucumbers.

Have a wonderful evening, stay warm and go Irish!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures: 2025-01-20

Happy Monday!

As we looked around our small class today, we noticed that children were constantly using their fine motor skills! Drawing, painting, and building activities occupied our morning. Within a multi age classroom, we see a varying level of development of our fine motor skills. Our five year old’s have more control and precision of their motor skills than their two year old peers.

Children are asked to use their fine motor skills everyday such as holding a fork for their pasta or holding scissors to cut their paper at the art table. Offering different activities each day that engages those muscles and movement are vital for fine motor development. 

I’ve attached a few articles below that dive into fine motor skills, what they are, activities to offer at home to strengthen motor skills, and what milestones are appropriate for specific ages. It’s always so amazing watching kids learn new skills and attempt to do activities that challenge their mind and ability!

https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/help-your-child-build-fine-motor-skills

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/25235-fine-motor-skills

Breakfast– Whole wheat toast with butter and banana.

Lunch– Whole wheat pasta with shredded chicken, fresh pineapple/banana, and fresh snap peas/cucumber/pepper.

PM snack– Whole milk yogurt with graham crackers.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/snap peas/pepper.

Have a lovely night! Stay warm!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2025-01-20

Happy Friday!

PREK1: During group today, we read the story “Stick Man” which one of our friends found yesterday while leafing through the book shelf.  Everyone loved the story so much that several kids chose to journal about it!

This morning we explored some natural objects for our welcome activity.  The kids have been interested in the shark teeth and bones on the science shelf, so we got some out to explore.  We used flashlights and magnifying glasses to investigate.  We found that some of the bones have a lot of interesting holes to peer into!

Paige came into class this morning with a drawing she had done.  She had accidently gotten it wet in the process  and was interested in the shapes the water had made.  We decided to do some experiments with markers, water and paper in response to curiosity she had.  We tried regular paper, water color paper and coffee filters.  Paige liked the way the markers looked on the coffee filters after adding water.  Several other friends wanted to try so we spent much of the morning exploring this interest.

Breakfast: Brown rice cakes with cream cheese and fresh cantaloupe

Lunch: Humus on tortilla with fresh apples/banana, cucumber/snap peas

PM Snack:Cheddar cheese, pretzels and blueberries

Wee Sprouts: Fresh bell peppers and cucumbers

Have a great weekend!

~Wee Friends Teachers

Link to Pictures:2025-01-17

Happy Friday!

Today we celebrated our friend, Charlotte/s birthday as she will be turning 2 years old this weekend.   Look how much she has grown the last year in our classroom.  We enjoyed celebrating your birthday with you.

This morning we filled a table full of snow!  Miss Tina added miniature animals, spoons and cups for us to use to scoop the snow.  We talked about the different animals we found and the colors of them.  We noticed the longer we played in the snow, it began to melt and turn into water.

We then were busy in the housekeeping area dressing up in hats and carrying accessories and walking to the door to go “bye”.  A friend also played with a baby doll and caring for her by covering it up with a blanket to keep it warm.

Breakfast:  Whole grain brown rice cakes with peanut butter and fresh oranges.

Lunch:  Hummus on whole grain wheat tortillas, fresh cucumbers, oranges/blueberries.

Afternoon Snack:  Organic Whole milk Strawberry/Banana Yogurt pouches and fresh blackberries/strawberries (Charlotte’s birthday snack)

Wee Sprout:  Cucumbers/red bell peppers

Have a great weekend!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures: 2025-01-17

Good Afternoon!

We focused on uppercase and lowercase letters today for PREK1 sign in! I chose nine uppercase letters that we use often and children were asked to match the lowercase letter to the uppercase letter, completing the ice cream cone! . Children naturally start writing using uppercase letters because most uppercase letters have straight lines while lowercase letters have a mixture of straight lines and curves. As children get older and when they’re developmentally ready, we slowly start transitioning them to lowercase letters when they’re writing!

K.RF.2.4: Identify and name all uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

This morning several friends came into school talking about seeing snow plows on the road and in the parking lot down the street.  We created a group welcome activity which allowed friends to explore this interest and share their ideas with one another! 

There was such strong interest in squeegee painting yesterday, so we continued the activity today.  After learning how the process worked, kids were given the freedom to simply explore what they could do with the materials …within reason .  As usual with open ended art, there was an evolution.  Friends tried using the squeegee in different ways first, then they began using just  squeeze bottles to make artwork.  As the bottle ran low, the young artists realized that the empty bottles made interesting splatter marks when squeezed.  Their work evolved into“almost empty squeeze bottle paintings”. 

Kids stayed with this activity for so long that only five friends got a chance to paint all morning.  We will be happy to continue offering this activity tomorrow.  We always want to allow kids the time to experiment until they see their ideas through to completion.  This is when deeper learning takes place!

Yesterday afternoon the kids got interested in making masks to wear around the classroom!  Kids also enjoyed looking at their reflection in the mirror wearing the mask and giggling about how they looked.  They had very creative ideas and a wonderful time bringing their ideas to fruition!

Breakfast– Toasted oatmeal squares with fresh blueberries.

Lunch– Brown rice with shredded turkey, fresh oranges/cantaloupe, and fresh cucumber/carrots.

PM snack– Cottage cheese with sunflower seeds/pumpkin seeds.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/pepper/carrots.

Have a great night!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2025-01-16

Good afternoon!

Our friends explored the Sight & Sound tubes. Our tubes had different objects inside like feathers, colorful jewels and bells. Our friends moved the tubes from one side to the other to watch the items move or to hear the noise they made as they moved.

Our older friends went into the kitchen to practice their puzzle-solving skills. As friends completed the smaller quantity puzzles, Miss Rebekah would give them a new puzzle that had more pieces. Some friends were able to complete puzzles with up to 15 pieces! Way to go.

Breakfast: Whole grain Kix cereal with fresh blueberries.

Lunch: Whole grain brown rice with black beans, apple slices and corn.

Afternoon Snack: Sunflower seeds with Wheat Thins crackers.

Wee Sprout: Orange bell pepper and cucumber.

Have a wonderful evening!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures: 2025-01-16

Good Afternoon!  It was such a beautiful day with the sun shining!

This morning we painted.  We were given 3 different items: a thin bristle brush, a sponge brush and a Q-tip to paint with using blue, red and yellow tempera paint.  We used the different brushes and Q-tip to mix new colors onto our papers while creating our painting masterpieces.

We then danced with our dancing scarves to Shake Your Sillies Out.

Breakfast:  Oatmeal with cinnamon/sugar mixture and fresh oranges.

Lunch:  Farm fresh scrambled eggs with shredded mozzarella cheese, fresh pineapple and orange bell pepper slices.

Afternoon Snack:  Refried beans with shredded mozzarella cheese and whole grain wheat flatbread.

Wee Sprout:  Cucumbers.

Have a wonderful evening!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures: 2025-01-15

Good Afternoon!

In PREK1 group, children found a card at the bottom of the board with their name written on it. On the back, they counted how many starts were in their circular array. After counting their array, they identified their number on the board where they then taped their card!

K.NS.5: Count up to 20 objects arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a circle. Count up to 10 objects in a scattered configuration.

In the art center we experimented with squeegee painting.  Several friends were interested in painting with the rubber scraper we tried last week.  Kids discovered independently how to use it as a squeegee.  This week we built upon that art interest!  Friends used squeeze bottles to make dots (or lizards in one case ) and then used the squeegee to pull the paint across the paper.  The kids were ecstatic about how the paint looked when they did this! 

Friends explored loose parts building during our welcome activity this morning.  There were all sorts of ideas about what to build in our large table-sized tuff tray!  Friends made ‘playgrounds with slides and merry-go-rounds’, ‘church steeples with bells’, ‘bridges’ and ‘neighborhoods’.  Our kids liked building together in the large tray as it allowed them to connect their creations and play together!

Our PREK2 journals are getting ever more descriptive and detailed!  This week we have had, “A rainbow monster with his eyes closed”, “My house in a windy storm” and “a rainbow with rainbow grass”.  There is certainly a rainbow theme pervading the PREK2 journals which makes sense given that they often share ideas as they work!  They all apply the ideas in their own way however!

Breakfast– Overnight oatmeal with cinnamon and fresh blueberries.

Lunch– Farm fresh scrambled eggs with whole wheat flatbread, fresh oranges/pineapple, and fresh cucumber/carrots.

PM snack– Air popped popcorn with butter and raisins.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/carrots.

Have a fantastic night.

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2025-01-15

Good afternoon!

We started off our morning by reading some books that were donated to our classroom. One of the books we read was “Never Touch A Dragon,” and our friends took turns feeling the different textures on the pages.

Some of our friends took a break from reading books to head into the kitchen for a loose parts activity. We were given a tray with wooden shapes, a wooden occupation figurine and miniature farm animals. Our friends asked,  “What’s that?” to inquire what occupation each of their figurines had. Other friends stacked their wooden shapes to make a tower and then watched as it lost its balance.

We also brought down a basket of bugs and a basket of waffle blocks for our friends to play with. We identified the different kind of bugs we were engaging with. Eleanor pretended that her bug was climbing “up” the wall, like in the Itsy Bitsy Spider song. Our friends collaborated together to build a path out of the waffle blocks and then took turns walking on it.

Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios cereal with fresh orange slices.

Lunch: Whole grain tortilla with peanut butter, 1/2 slice of mozzarella cheese stick, fresh blueberries and cucumbers.

\Afternoon Snack: Whole grain wheat bagel with cream cheese.

Wee Sprout: Yellow bell pepper.

Have a wonderful evening and stay warm!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures: 2025-01-14

Good Afternoon!

We kicked off our day by exploring our one to one correspondence skills! PREK1 friends came up to the sign in board one at a time where they identified their name and the number written next to their name.

They turned around to the ledge where they searched through various strips of paper. They were asked to find the strip that displayed their number using shapes. For example, Paige’s number was 10 so she searched through a few strips of paper before finding a paper with ten shapes. She used her finger to point to each shape as she counted, showing that she understands one to one correspondence.

K.NS.4: Perform one to one correspondence tasks.

Today, we explored a salt and ice experiment.  We sprinkled salt over several large blocks of ice.  We shared with the group what we observed happening.  Friends noticed that the ice was beginning to melt under the salt.  We noted this observation as we remembered salt getting sprinkled on icy sidewalks in the winter time.  Some of our friends noticed that tiny holes or dots were forming on top of the ice.  At this point, we began to add color using watercolor paint.  As we added drops of color, all of the tiny tunnels and structures formed as the salt melted the ice, were illuminated!  The result was an ephemeral sculptural science project.  We talked about the meaning of the word ephemeral.  Afterwards, one friend explained the meaning of ephemeral to another saying, “Yep! It just fades away!”.

PREK2: Today we read the story “Snow”.  Given the weather and our class ice experiment, it seemed appropriate!  After the story we talked about our experience with the ice earlier this morning.  We shared what we remembered.

Breakfast– Corn Chex with fresh clementines.

Lunch– Peanut butter on whole wheat tortilla, sliced colby jack cheese, fresh apples/clementines, and fresh cucumber.

PM snack– Whole wheat bagel with cream cheese.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/pepper.

Have a wonderful night.

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2025-01-14