Hello!

* We’re asking for plastic grocery bags for dirty diapers. Our stock has run out! Thank you .

We traveled out of the house today to explore the area around us. Before we ventured out, everyone gathered in the reading area to talk about our FAB for the week, becoming familiar with our community and the businesses that are present.

Miss Melinda read “What Do You Do?: Job’s in Our Community”. After learning about several jobs that are occupying most communities, we made a possible list of businesses that we could possibly see on our walk through River Park.

We filled wagons and a stroller and headed off! Every child got a piece of paper full of different businesses, a pen, and a clipboard. This was for documenting what businesses that we actual saw!

As we walked along Mishawaka Avenue, we looked in the windows to see if we could get any clues. There were many different types of local businesses such as a gas station, laundromat, pet groomer, fire station, and bank! We also saw a few that we had to add to our list including a vet and a church. When we walked up toward the church, we realized it wasn’t on our list. Elizabeth asked, “Could I add it to my list?” As a group, we spelled church so that children could add it if they wanted.

To find the business on the paper, we worked with friends to look at the first letter of the word. For instance, we came upon a bank. Children looked at their list and looked for a word that started with the letter ‘b’.

Once we got into the neighborhood section of River Park, we observed our surroundings. We had friends point out different flowers, many kinds of mulch, and vehicles such as a work truck and a school bus!

As we started heading back to school, a friend spotted water flowing in the street! We looked ahead to see the hydrants getting flushed out! He explained to us what he was doing and why he was cleaning the drains out.

Both small group and large group used our exploration of the city for our focus.

In large group, we read two different stories that displayed businesses that are present in communities. The first story was about police officers. We talked about how police officers are similar to fire fighters. We saw a police car on our walk today which friends noted. The second story was about the dentist! Friends shared dentist stories that they had along with comments about how they help people!

For our group discussion, we revisited our walk and talked about businesses that are around us here at Wee Friends. Children recalled the places that we saw. When we talked about the police officers as well as the fire station, I had asked about the number that we call in case of an emergency. We referenced the police officer story that we were reading. The number 9-1-1 was brought up and we talked about how its only used in case of a serious emergency.

We had a terrific day exploring our small area of South Bend.

Breakfast– Whole grain cheerios with peaches.

Lunch– Brown rice with beef, banana, and cherry tomatoes.

PM snack– Whole grain crackers with pumpkin seeds.

Wee Sprouts– Red pepper.

Have a great night.

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 6/2