Elliott brought in his golf clubs/balls this morning. It inspired a backyard exploration using our big tubes, a red ball and long white sticks.  Long armed monsters, telephones and race tracks emerged as friends worked with the tubes.

Ada and Arleigh dressed plastic dinosaurs in pillow fluff. We experimented with the fluff by dropping it into a bag, adding watercolor and squishing the bag around to color the fluff. Tomorrow, we hope the dinos will have a more colorful wardrobe!

And the “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” dance routine is going very well.

Hope your day is going well.

Wee Sprouts: Zucchini. Breakfast: Peanut buttered bagels and bananas. Lunch: Lisa’s WF adapted Ratatouille (with WF green beans!), whole grain flatbread and bananas. Snack: Tami’s homemade zucchini muffins and cheese.

Hello!

With the high temperatures today, we decided to take advantage of it and have a water play day! We got friends in bathing suits. Eve and Clara showed off their suits to their friends .

We were a little hesitant at first.

Our friends let the water hit their legs and then eventually their arms.

At the end of water play, friends were splish-splashing around.

Eren and Clara loved putting their faces in the sprinkler head to get a refreshing drink of aqua.

Eren headed over with Emma who found a nice, big mud puddle! We got a big dose of sensorial play this morning .

For breakfast, children had cheerios and banana. Lunch consisted of ham, pita bread, blueberries, and corn. PM snack was raisins and animal crackers.

Have a lovely evening. Stay cool!

-Mindy

The Wee air conditioner went out today. Ed from Service Experts took care of it. As he and Tami wrapped up the paperwork, we invited Ed to tell us a bit about what it is he does. Friends shared information about the AC’s at their houses. Our enthusiasm took Ed by surprise but we were eager to role model to our Wee Friends that everyone has value-everyone has a gift to contribute to the community they are a part of. THANK YOU, Ed! And whew….the house is cool again.

Yesterday afternoon, we invited friends to dance in a Wee Dance Off. We picked it back up this am: each friend took the stage, chose their favorite song and jammed out!

We also began building choreography for a Wee favorite: “Don’t Go Breaking’ My Heart!”.

Lisa read Sleeping Beauty, and afterwards,  friends piled over to the music rug to act it out. Ada, Marina and Sloane volunteered to be Maleficent, the Evil Queen.

We got outside for about an hour this morning and came in to hear Thumbelina read aloud, as per Arleigh’s request.

A Happy Wee Day.

Wee Sprouts: Cucumbers. Breakfast: Raisin Bran and grapes. Lunch: Lisa’s homemade ham and bean soup (with WF garden green beans!), whole wheat buttered bread and blueberries (thanks, Max!). Snack: Yogurt and apple slices.

Welcome back!

Hope everyone had a fantastic summer vacation! We are inviting parents to take a look back in our Wee Friends garden! It is growing so well. The garden is full of tomatoes, beans, rhubarb, potatoes, and other fabulous food. Please feel free to take whatever you wish!

The camera was charging today since it was dead coming back from vacation .

This morning, friends got reacquainted with each other and the morning routine. We had a small crew this morning so we tried to head outside for a little while. Teachers and children lasted about 20 minutes. It was extremely humid! Since it’s supposed to be like this all week, we’re going to aim for a water day at some point during the week .

For breakfast, children had whole wheat toast with soy butter and raisins. Lunch consisted of whole grain spaghetti with cheese, watermelon, and broccoli. PM snack was freshly cut cucumbers and cheddar cheese slices.

Have a terrific evening.

-Mindy

Hello and Welcome Back! We’re so glad to see all of our Wee Friends! We are planning lots of backyard water play in the coming weeks. Please make sure we have a swimsuit for your child! Thank you so much!

We spent the morning talking and sharing vacation stories. Here are some things we heard about!

Elliott: When telling us about the postcard he brought with the goat standing on top of the restaurant: “There was pancakes there….and whipped cream…and syrup!”

Arleigh: “I went to the beach with my dad and got in the ball. I bent down so I could get really wet.”

Marina: “There was bugs in my house and Daddy flushed them down the toilet!”

Ada: “There was a snake from here (chimney post) to here (window).”

Sydney: “I went to Potawatomi pool once and Swanson pool twice.”

Sophie: “I liked the tall castle and the roller coaster!” –at Great America.

Sloane: “I have a rash. The medicine tastes yucky. It was bubble gum.”

Ellie: “We went to the Hotel Madison and I got toys. There was a big cold swimming pool and a small hot swimming pool.”

Macy: “I went to the pool with my friends.”

Taylor: “Same as Macy.”

Elizabeth: “I like Grandma and Grandpa ‘cuz it was kinda fun going to the pool with them. I could swim with a noodle. There was a deep part and not a deep part. I saw a nine-o-pede on the side of the pool.”

OUR GARDEN HAS EXPLODED!! Please remember this is YOUR garden too and we’d love for you to come anytime and pick veggies for your family. Elliott led the troops today as we harvested green beans and tomatoes. After we filled the colander, Elliott continued picking and tested each green bean by nibbling off one end. After each nibble, he ran inside and placed the nibbled upon bean on the counter. Thinking they had been rinsed and snapped, Tami enjoyed those nibbled upon beans as well!!

Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Whole wheat toast with peanut butter and bananas. Lunch: Whole wheat penne pasta with marinara and cheddar cheese, watermelon and broccoli. Snack: Bananas and animal crackers.

Have a great day!

 

Good Afternoon!

We started off our wacky Wednesday with a little exercising. Miss Mindy demonstrated doing a headstand.

Friends tried it on their own.

We figured out that we needed a little assistance .

Keerthi and Clara worked on their baby yoga poses. Clara demonstrated downward facing dog.

We had a fabulous upside down day! It was a great way to head off to vacation!

For breakfast, children had Chex and raisins. Lunch consisted of soy butter on whole wheat bread, pears, and peas. PM snack was rice cakes with soy butter and craisins.

Have a terrific summer vacation! See you on July 15th!

-Mindy

Macy began our geyser exploration by rousing the crowd with a cheer!

Using a geyser tube filled with Mentos, Mel showed friends how the porous candy absorbed the fuzzy coke to create a big coke explosion.

A community helper popped into the backyard during our study, so we had a chance to learn what a Meter Reader does.

We gathered back inside to talk more about the Fourth of July. We set out flags with red and blue tape and paper for friends to create art.

Lisa and friends played charades.

This morning, Finn arranged to have the garden looked after while he was away. Here’s the conversation:

Finn: “Caleb, could you do a job for me when I’m at the Island? Could you be the Boss of the Garden?”

Caleb: “For how many days?”

Finn: “Three and a half, I think.”

Ada: “If it’s only three and a half days, I can do it!”

Caleb: “Me too!”

Finn: “Ok. Thanks, guys.”

If you are in town, we’d like to invite you all to assume Finn’s Boss of the Garden job over the next week and a half. The cherry tomatoes are just about ready, and there are lots if peas ready to be picked. Kale, chives and other herbs are also ready to go. ENJOY!

See you Monday, July 15th.

Happy Tuesday!

Our sensorial Tuesday started off with painting. Clara informed everyone that she was making a sunshine! Eren enjoyed painting with his hands..and on the table!

Once children were done with painting, we transitioned into water play. We splashed and played in the water for quite some time!

As Emma was waiting for her turn with water play, she enjoyed feeling Miss Mindy’s hair. The sensorial feeling she got made her laugh and clap!

For breakfast, children had cheesy eggs with pears. Lunch consisted of grilled cheese sandwiches on whole wheat, pears, and peas. PM snack was whole grain crackers with yogurt/soy butter dip.

Have a great night.

-Mindy

WF Vacay: Thursday, July 4-Sunday, July 14th, reopening Monday, July 15th.

Today, when we asked Wee Friends what they were most looking forward to on their vacay, here’s what they told us:

Elliott: “Hey! Hey! I’m going to a restaurant that has grass and a goat on the roof!”

Finn: “I’m going on the boat and the green machine: that’s Grandpa’s thing to get out to the island!”

Elizabeth: “I’m going to Grandma and Grandpa’s house and then I get to go the pool and swim!”

Sophie: “I’m going somewhere far away to ride rides.”

Taylor: “Riding the paparazzi!”

Ellie: “I get to jump on the bed and swim in the cold swimming pool in Madison.”

Sydney: “Fireworks and other vacation surprises!”

Caleb: “I will play games.”

Lea: “I’m excited to go to Silver Beach!”

Sloane: “I’m gonna go on a ‘cation far away and then Grandma and Grandpa are gonna come!”

Macy: “I’m gonna see my aunt who lives in San Diego.”

Ada: “We are still planning our vacation.”

Marina: “I’m going in a pool and a beach. All my family is coming to the beach with me.”

Cassie: “Seeing my Dad in Indy.”

*Apologies for not posting photos-we lost power in both batteries! We’ll be back on track tomorrow.

Wee Sprouts: Cucumbers. Breakfast: Raisin Bran and apple slices. Lunch: Sloppy Joes (thank you, Lisa!), celery sticks and applesauce. Snack: Yogurt and raisins.

Have a great day.

Happy July!

To start off our short week, friends gathered around Miss Marty as she read ‘teacher’ books. We classify these types of books as teacher books because they are longer in length and are all paperback. Children LOVE when we get these books down!

Children cuddled up to one another as they listened to the stories being read. At one point, Emma had her arms around her friends Clara and Zoi.

Before we headed outside, Clara noticed our new painting project that was hanging up. She identified the sun that she had helped paint along with the hand butterflies that she and her friends painted!

As we headed out on this cloudy day, friends scattered throughout the yard. The sand box was a popular place.

Siblings Eve and Caleb decided to swing with one another.

For breakfast, children had whole wheat toast with soy butter and pears. Lunch consisted of melted cheese on flatbread sandwiches, broccoli, and apples. PM snack was cantaloupe and cheddar cheese slices.

Have a terrific evening.

-Mindy