Mrs.Wilson: Happy New Year!

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

Welcome back from winter break. We missed all of our little friends while we were away. It was so nice to receive a warm hug and see their smiling faces. While we welcomed them back we also welcomed a new friend to our community. The children gently guided our new friend around the classroom. They offer to hold his hand and help him navigate the environment.

Wednesday, we had our pajama and pancake party. The children started by participating in a lovely tradition that Ryan’s family does over the holidays. Before they enjoy their Christmas Eve dinner, they break a piece of a Christmas Wafer called Oplatek with one another to show how much they love and appreciate each other. The children all received a piece of this wafer and we modeled the language to say, Thank you for being my friend, I love you, or Happy New Year.

Thereafter, the children were invited to sit at the table to enjoy some delicious pancakes, mixed fruit, and a dollop of whip cream. They also enjoyed some Mexican Hot Chocolate with a couple of mini marshmallows. To end our party we had a pajama dance with fun music and scarves.

Thursday the children tasted a raw carrot. They learned about the parts of a carrot: carrot greens which are made up of leaves and stems, the root, and root hairs. They also learned that a carrot is a root vegetable that grows underground. We took the carrot tops and placed them into water. We are hoping to watch the carrots grow.

Mrs. Hood: Welcome Back!

Posted on by Andrea Hood

Happy New Year, families! We hope you had a wonderful holiday break and you got some relaxation and meaningful time with your families!

Your children transitioned peacefully after the break and they arrived eager and ready to explore the environment and all the new works on the shelves. As we have officially entered the winter season, we will be focusing on bringing it into the environment and enjoying different aspects of it. Water and its different stages will be a main subject for conversations and sensorial experiences during this month.

In the language area, children seemed to enjoy working with the winter clothes vocabulary cards. As children are growing in expressive language, they like repeating sounds, naming objects and having one on one conversations about them. Children were also introduced to an object-to-picture matching work focused on arctic animals. Children are learning to recognize a harp seal, an arctic fox, a killer whale, a walrus, a husky, a caribou, a beluga whale, and a polar bear. This was one of the most popular works this week.  

On another note, we introduced a beloved work by all the children: a baby doll. Her name is Molly. Through this work, children practice grace and courtesy, gentleness, and a lot of patience since everybody wants to take care of the baby. Children enjoyed this work so much! Some of them cuddled Molly with such care, others explored her body parts using it as an enrichment of vocabulary work. The fact that the baby can open and shut her eyes was a point of interest for many of the children. Needless to say, they reminded each other to not poke the baby’s eyes, which was great to witness. The children worked together to make sure Molly felt loved. They read, sang and kissed her… some of them even wanted to cuddle with Molly in her crib!

For food tasting we explored Kale and to our surprise most of the children really enjoyed tasting it!

The favorite books this week were: The Itsy Bitsy Snowman by Jeffrey Burton; Winter is Here by Kevin Henkes; Waiting Is Not Forever by Elizabeth Verdick and I Help by Cheri Meiners.

Reminder: Please check the updated Food Tasting and Flowers Calendar in resources on MyFWM. Thank you in advance!

Enjoy the weekend,

Mrs. Hood and Miss. Bethann

Mrs. Hood: ‘Tis the Season!

Posted on by Andrea Hood

And just like that, our first trimester comes to an end, filled with great moments and stories to tell. Your children are blooming and our environment is full of love, smiles, curiosity and great fun because of them! We feel honored to be able to see each of your little ones unfolding so beautifully.

We thank you SO much for your support and trust. We love partnering with you in this adventure! We also thank you so much for your generous gifts! We truly appreciate it!

May the wonder and Joy of this holiday season bring light, hope and peace to you and yours.

May 2023 be a great year for all of us, filled with happiness and health!

Enjoy a peek from our small pajama holiday celebration! We missed a bunch of friends but we are positive we will have more special moments like these in the coming months.

Stay safe and see you next year! 🙂

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Bethann

Mrs. Wilson: T’was The Week Before Break!

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

This was a busy, yet quiet week for us in Mrs. Wilson’s toddler class. The children continued to work with the holiday lessons, dancing to fun holiday music and enjoying the time with each other. On Wednesday, the children tasted a ruby red grapefruit. This was the perfect week to get in some extra vitamin C. The room was filled with the delightful scent of grapefruit and the children all had their pieces of the peel to feel, smell and explore. Not all seemed to enjoy it or may need a second taste before deciding if they like it. On Thursday, the children went to the holiday concert to watch the Primary through Middle School students perform. They sat so beautifully with big smiles on their faces.

Thank you all for the holiday love you gifted us. Ms. Sara and I want to wish you a very lovely break, making the fondest memories with all your loved ones.

Mrs. Hood: Holiday Joy!

Posted on by Andrea Hood

Winter holidays are used in our environment as a fun way to keep children engaged, encourage joy of learning, and help us to introduce the passage of time and seasons. Since they bring a sense of light and joyfulness to the long, dark winter months and create a sense of community, we welcome them wholeheartedly.

In addition to other materials, some of the favorite holiday works in our environment have been placing little ornaments onto the Christmas tree, placing candles on the Menorah, spooning and transferring holiday jewels and colorful ornaments, and flipping pretend latkes in the pan.

Holiday songs have also been present in our environment daily and children have had some fun times playing instruments and dancing to famous holiday songs.

On another note, painting on the easel was a new addition to our art shelf this week. There are three main objectives of this exercise. First, the development of hand-eye coordination. Dipping the paintbrush in and out of the paint pot requires a steady hand and a keen eye, working simultaneously. Second, small motor control. Holding the paintbrush and whooshing it across the paper in the direction you want it to go is hard work when you’re small. Think of all the pre-writing skills they are learning just by holding the brush! Third, and I have to say my favorite goal, creative independence! There are no rules when it comes to painting. There is no predetermined product, just a process. The children can plan their own painting from start to finish without any interference from adult rules or directions. The only thing they must remember is to paint only on the paper. Their sense of satisfaction after they finish their masterpiece is just incredible to witness!

In the practical life area we introduced the exercise of water transferring using a dropper. It’s a challenging exercise but children were so proud of themselves when they were able to make the dropper work and hear the sound of the water touching the silver bowl. It’s common to hear some children say to themselves, “squeeze, open,” as they work hard to coordinate their hand movements.

For food tasting, we explored sweet potatoes this week and it was a well received root vegetable by most of our toddlers.

We can’t wait for our holiday pajama celebration next week! Please feel free to send your child in pajamas on Wednesday, December 14th and thank you in advance for all your support to make this happen!

Have a joyful weekend,

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Bethann

Mrs. Wilson: It’s The Holiday Season

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

It’s the holiday season, and there is excitement everywhere. The children are busy with all the different holiday lessons on the shelf. I try to incorporate all the holidays the children in this classroom would celebrate. In the refinement of the hand area, the children can choose to put wooden candles into the menorah, hand transfer and sort poinsettias by color, use tongs to transfer miniature gingerbread cookies, and use a silver spoon to scoop blue and silver gems into a pitcher and then pour them back into a silver bowl.

Around the classroom, we have color-matching dreidels and felt ornaments to hang on a large felt Christmas tree. We have language cards that name items used in many celebrations, such as Unity Cup, lights, and Christmas tree.

The children were introduced to a trampoline. This has been a very exciting area of the class. They are learning patience while they wait for it to become available. With the colder weather approaching, we are going to add in more large motor movement to get our energy out.

Food Tasting this week was kale. They were able to explore the softness of a kale leaf, taste a piece of the raw kale, and also tasted it roasted. It was very sweet to see how they delicately nibbled a piece. Surprisingly, they seem to enjoy kale both ways.

Mrs. Wilson: Pao De Queijo

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

Last week Nicolas’s mom joined our classroom to make a special Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pao de Queijo). Giving the children the experience to cook offers them so much information. They learn new vocabulary by labeling: the utensils, the ingredients, the action, the senses, etc. The children took turns whisking some eggs, adding the ingredients, and mixing with their hands. Then they all helped “roll” the dough into balls. Some of the children went with Vanessa to put the bread into the oven. Once it was done the children sat together to eat the delicious, warm Pao de Queijo.

Food Tasting this week was a pomegranate. This was a fun food to explore. Pomegranates may seem like a tedious fruit to prepare but the children helped with a very easy food hack to help remove the kernels. They all took a turn using a wooden spatula to tap the pomegranate half to help the kernels fall out from the rind. After tasting the juicy and crunchy seeds they were offered a cup of seeds to enjoy. Everyone seemed to like them.

This week we are saying goodbye to exploring woodland animals and the season of autumn. Next week we will be celebrating the holidays. If you celebrate a special holiday or have a special tradition you would like to share, please reach out. We would love to find a way to celebrate with you!

Mrs. Hood: Shake, Shake, Shake!

Posted on by Andrea Hood

Shake, Shake, Shake! A word we practiced over and over while making our homemade butter! Now that our delicious bread and butter was ready to go, we were all ready for our big celebration. After joining the rest of the school on the Thanksgiving ceremony, we proceeded to our classroom to share bread. Children received a lesson on spreading butter and each one of them had the opportunity to do so on their own bread! It was a wonderful morning and we are so thankful for your support! You all helped to make this beautiful morning a success. 

For food tasting, we explored a pomegranate, and this fruit was a hit! Children seemed curious about how the fruit looked on the inside and they enjoyed watching the seeds just popping out and falling easily in the bowl. Eating pomegranate is like enjoying some little candies, so I wasn’t surprised children loved it! 

In the movement area we presented a new balance board and children have been creatively exploring its many uses! This board stimulates the vestibular system, supports muscles responsible for the correct posture, develops the sense of balance and supports the development of the sense of proprioception.  It’s a favorite in our environment these days. 

In our Spanish studies children have been practicing commands and words like: caminar (walk) parar (stop), brincar (jump), bailar (dance), correr (run), comer (eat) and dormir (sleep), through the song “Da una vuelta en tu lugar” by Baila Baila. 

As we enter the holidays, we would like to know if there is a special holiday you and your family celebrate this time of year. If so, please feel free to let us know! We would like find a way to include it in our environment and enjoy that holiday with you! 

Best,

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Bethann