Good Afternoon!

PREK1 kiddos came to the sign in board where we talked about our neighborhoods. I prompted them with the question, “When you walk out of your front door and walk into your neighborhood, what is something that you see?”. Some responses were trees, a house, and nature grass.

Social Studies: K.3.6 Identify and compare similarities and differences in families, classmates, neighbors and neighborhoods, and ethnic and cultural groups.

Later on in PREK1 group, we read a few pages out of one of my favorite books, ‘Here and There’. The pictures are super cool and throughout the book, we learn about differences between countries such as groceries, riding to school, and nature. Today, we focused on nature and what the outdoors look like in different countries. Because we were talking about our neighborhoods, we discussed how different our neighborhood looks compared to Borneo where the Orangutang lives! I asked, “Do you see Orangutangs in your neighborhoods?!”. Children of course laughed at this which prompted a conversation about animals that we do see in our neighborhoods.

We created a web where we documented different things we see in our neighborhoods! One conclusion we came to: squirrels are very prominent in our area!

Today was a great example of Wee Friends following their own interests!

It was a musical morning at Wee Friends!  Several friend’s used some magnets, some stools and their imaginations to create the perfect props for a music concert.  The friends took turns watching and performing.  Sometimes they all performed together.  One friend said to his teachers “We are singing songs of the world!”.

Other friends have been on a puzzle kick!  I’m pretty sure every big floor puzzles has been put together this week.  Today two of our three year old’s tried a 60 piece puzzle with success!

In the art center Paige drew portraits.  She made one of Miss Mindy and Miss Linsey.  She was careful to check to see that she had the right eye color staring deep into our eyes to be sure!

Outside was a construction zone as ALL of the big building blocks were dragged out and used to create!  Older friends did a great job jumping in to help younger friends move heavy blocks and problem solve!

…so many different ideas and interests with just as many ways to follow them!

Breakfast– Overnight oatmeal with cinnamon and fresh watermelon.

Lunch– Farm fresh scrambled eggs with whole wheat tortilla, fresh cantaloupe/oranges, and fresh snap peas/cherry tomatoes.

PM snack– Air popped popcorn with raisins.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cherry tomatoes/snap peas.

Have a wonderful night.

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-08-21

Happy Wednesday!

Today was recycle day, so many of us stood at the windows and watched the recycle truck go down the street and empty the bins.

Charlotte then heard the song, Shake Your Sillies Out and asked for the dancing scarves.  We all shook our scarves while we danced to the music.

We then headed into the kitchen to engage in the birdseed/rice sensory table.  We were busy using our hands, spoons and cups to scoop up the mixture and pour into a different container.

We then headed outside to enjoy another beautiful day!  We enjoyed building with the Outlast blocks and driving our cars down the ramp in addition to our favorite activities.

Breakfast:  Oatmeal with cinnamon/sugar mixture and bananas.

Lunch:  Farm fresh scrambled eggs, fresh green bell pepper and watermelon slices and whole grain wheat flatbread.

Afternoon Snack:  Hummus on whole grain wheat tortillas.

Wee Sprouts:  Cucumbers.

Enjoy your evening!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-08-21

Good afternoon!

Our friends started off their morning by climbing on the habi-trail and taking turns to go down the slide.

Some of our friends then went on to build with the BounceBlocks. They stacked the blocks to make towers to stand on while holding onto the bars of the habi-trail. Charlotte discovered that she could carry 3 blocks all at once!

We then made our way into the kitchen for some loose parts play with Slot-A-Shape builders. A teacher showed us how the pieces could connect and they all tried to do it themselves.  We also talked about the different colors and shapes of them.

We then headed outside to engage in some of our favorite activities. Our friends rode or pushed their bikes up and down the hill, used tools to scoop the sand in the sandbox, or simply walked around the backyard to enjoy the beautiful weather we’ve been having.

Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios cereal with fresh apple slices.

Lunch: Whole grain wheat flatbread with refried beans and shredded Colby-Jack cheese, fresh pear and cucumber slices.

Afternoon Snack: Whole grain wheat bagel with cream cheese.

Wee Sprout: Mini sweet peppers.

Have a terrific evening!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-08-20

Good Afternoon!

PREK1 group focused on two physical traits that everyone has: eye color and hair color! For PREK1 sign in, children had to identify their hair color and eye color.

Later on in group, we put our findings on a graph. We talked about what graphs are used for and were able to identify the group with the highest number—brown eyes and blonde hair had the most in our group!

Social Studies: K.3.6 Identify and compare similarities and differences in families, classmates, neighbors and neighborhoods, and ethnic and cultural groups.

We offered a special activity this morning for those who wanted to see what families look like for friends in our classroom.  We used black paper shapes to make a house.  Then we chose colored squares to match the family members who live in our home.  We chose as a class to add ourselves to the household tally.  We also decided to include pets.

Mom=red  Dad=green  Brother=blue  Sister=purple  Dog=brown  Cat=yellow

PREK2: During group today we sang “the name song” and clapped the syllables for everyone’s name in the circle.  We read the first scenario in the book “What Would Darla Do?” which outlined a conflict between siblings at the breakfast table.  We chose as a group what Darla should do to solve the problem.  I am proud to say that most of our friends felt Darla should move to another seat rather than push her sister off of the seat she wanted . At the end of the story we thought about meal time at our home.  We added something we could do to help at meal time to a class list.

Breakfast– Whole grain cheerios with fresh oranges.

Lunch– Refried bean and shredded cheese quesadillas on whole wheat tortilla, fresh plums/watermelon, and fresh snap peas/cucumber.

PM snack– Whole wheat bagel with cream cheese.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/snap peas/pepper.

Have a wonderful night!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-08-20

Good Afternoon!

We began our morning engaged in a variety of activities.  Several friends worked their fine motor skills as they worked on the activities on the Zany Zoo Activity Cube, stacked wooden loose parts on a stacker, remembered that our front door is magnetic and made a collage with the Magna-Tiles on it, and watched the birds at the bird feeders out the window.

We then headed into the kitchen to engage with our dominos and pom-poms loose parts activity.  We also had a bowl, cup, spoon and tongs on our tray.  We could use them to explore picking the items up or put them into, or however we wanted to use the items to explore with and play.

We then headed outside on this beautiful day. We rode bikes and teeter totters, drew with chalk on the chalkboard and sidewalk, and played peek-a-boo and smiled at our friend through the window of the little house.

Breakfast:  Whole grain wheat bread toasted with butter and cinnamon/sugar mixture and fresh oranges.

Lunch:  Whole grain penne pasta with marinara and shredded cheddar cheese, fresh plum slices and sugar snap peas.

Afternoon Snack:  Whole milk yogurt with graham crackers.

Wee Sprouts:  Cucumbers.

Have a great evening!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-08-19

Happy Monday!

**Wee Friends will be closed on Monday, September 2nd for Labor Day.

Today, we officially kick off our academic school year of 2024-2025! As we dive into our curriculum, we wanted to share a little bit about what that looks like, how it was created, and how we implement it everyday. Our curriculum was written by our director and owner, Tami.

The following descriptions are taken from our blog and if you’d like to learn more about our program curriculum, please visit our blog: https://weefriendskids.com/about-us/program-philosophy/

At Wee Friends, our ultimate curriculum goal is to foster a love of learning and inquisitiveness that will translate into a lifelong quest for knowledge while simultaneously assuring that every Wee Friend child is prepared for the academic and social challenges of elementary school. Our constructivist approach to education blends the best of emergent curriculum with thoughtful academic learning goals outlined in our Framework for Academic Balance Curriculum (FAB). Our classroom values the whole child so we meet social emotional developmental goals in our Mindful Attention with Curiosity and Kindness Curriculum (MACK).

To ensure the right ratio of child initiated academic activities to teacher directed Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) academic activities, our Framework for Academic Balance ensures our older preschoolers and kindergartners have been offered activities that encompass the Indiana Academic Standards for Kindergarten.  Our FAB curriculum does not compromise or change our constructivist learning environment because the activities are always connected to our emergent curriculum and incorporated naturally into our day.

Our FAB cycles begin each September and include math and literacy goals over a 12 week time frame. Science and social study topics are covered in intervals between the 12 week cycles. In addition to our FAB curriculum, children participate in daily routines that support their academic growth including daily journaling, individual and group story times, message boards, pop up teacher-directed and/or teacher supported learning activities, and an abundance of educational materials at their disposal for self-initiated learning.

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We started off our morning implementing PREK1 sign in again! PREK1 group members came to the sign in board where we talked about their family and how many family members live in their household.

Later on in PREK1 group, we dove deeper into our families by documenting the people that make up our family. After reading, ‘The Family Book’ by Todd Park, we talked about how different families can look. For example, one of our friends may have two mommy’s or another friend may have a mommy and daddy who don’t live together. We love to identify the diverse characteristics of our group while also noticing the similarities too!

Social Studies: K.3.6 Identify and compare similarities and differences in families, classmates, neighbors and neighborhoods, and ethnic and cultural groups.

As mentioned above, we are talking about family and home life this week.  Today we used freshly made colored play dough to match with little families and to spur some imaginative play around the subject.  Imaginative play is a great way for kids to process what they are learning.

PREK2:  During group time today we enjoyed a deep breathing “story” called “hot chocolate breath” to get our bodies into a calm state.  We read the book, “Love You Forever”.  Afterwards, we talked about how in the story there were two people in the family, a mother and a son.  We each talked about who is in our own family and made a group list.

Enjoy some more phots from the day!

Breakfast– Whole wheat toast with peanut butter and fresh oranges.

Lunch– Whole wheat pasta with shredded chicken, fresh plums/cantaloupe, and fresh cucumber/snap peas/cherry tomatoes.

PM snack– Whole milk yogurt with graham crackers.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/snap peas.

Have a lovely night!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures:2024-08-19

Happy Friday! 

We are saying goodbye to Hannah today as she graduates from Wee Friends and heads off to a new school.  We will miss her inquisitive mind, her ideas for experiments and projects and all her amazing organizing skills keeping the classroom tidy  We wish you all the best on your new adventure Hannah!

On her last day at Wee Friends Hannah chose Clay as her special project idea.  We just recieved a new type of clay for our classroom called plasticine clay.  I thought it was the perfect day to bring it out into the art center. The kids were amazingly skilled at building with the clay!  Among the creations were: “A queen with a thrown, a baby in a bassinet, a table with a candle on it, a dog dressed up in clothes, a train car, a forest, suitcases and cheese”

Breakfast: Brown rice cakes with peanut butter and fresh apple slices

Lunch: Hummus on flat bread with fresh bananas, pears, carrots and cucumbers

PM Snack: Mozzarella cheese with pretzels

Wee Sprouts: Garden fresh Cherry tomatoes and carrots

Enjoy the weekend!

~Wee Friends Teachers

Link to Pictures:2024-08-16

Happy Friday!

We began our morning engaged in a variety of activities.  We used our imaginative play skills as we played with the horses, stacked wooden loose parts on the stackers, listened to Miss Bekah read us our favorite books and rode the rainbow mat like a teeter totter.

We then headed into the kitchen to use our dot markers and make colorful dots onto a coffee filter.  We all used a variety of colors.  They are on display on the windows of the classroom.

We then headed outside to scoop the wet sand in the sandbox, scoop rocks in the rock area with a shovel or our hand and place in a bucket, use our imaginative play skills while playing in the housekeeping area and the little house,  drove the trucks, and rode the bikes and teeter totter.

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

Lunch:  Hummus on whole grain wheat bread, banana and fresh mini sweet peppers.

Afternoon Snack:  Pretzels and mild cheddar block cheese slices.

Wee Sprouts: Cucumbers.

Have a great weekend!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-08-16

Good Afternoon!

Art and science combined this morning as our finger painting got experimental!  The kids were so excited about making monoprints that we set out some art paper and let them have at it, making as many prints as they wanted.  Having this opportunity allows children to really get creative.  When given the time and space to experiment with materials, children can begin to ask themselves, “I wonder what will happen when I try it this way?”. When allowed more time and space to independently figure out the answer to that question, deeply meaningful learning takes place.

During this experimental process, some beautiful and spontaneous events took place.  One friend chose to write her name on the back of her paper while it was laying on top of her painted tray.  When she lifted it, she discovered that writing on the back of the paper would transfer a NEW type of image! She was so excited by this discovery that she tried it again and again!  Other friends followed suit, trying the technique with their own artwork.  Another beautiful thing that happened was the decision friends made to work collaboratively, sharing their creative ideas in paint and allowing them to intermingle.

Why is this art project important to my child’s education? Studies show that as society continues to advance in technology, the jobs available to our children at the time when they are heading off to college will require this set of skills; creativity, critical thinking, complex problem solving as well as the ability to work cooperatively and collaboratively.  Our kids are learning these very important ways of working and thinking right now in their early childhood classroom.

Breakfast– Puffins cereal with fresh cantaloupe.

Lunch– Brown rice with shredded pork, fresh oranges/banana, and fresh cherry tomatoes/carrots/cucumber.

PM snack– Whole wheat crackers with peanut butter and pumpkin/sunflower seeds.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cherry tomatoes/carrots.

Have a wonderful night.

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-08-15

Good Afternoon!

This morning, our friends discovered that their Magna-Tiles stick to the door. Our friends all took turns putting their tiles on the door and making a beautiful collage of colorful shapes.

We then went on a bear hunt with Miss Bekah. Every friend chose a special teddy bear to go on a bear hunt with.

Our friends were engaged with the wooden ring loose parts. Our friends used their imaginative skills to pretend that they were bracelets. Some of them placed one on each of their hands and waved while saying “hi!”.

We made our way to the kitchen to play with pegs and pegboards. We worked on placing our pegs in the holes and stacking them to make towers. Eleanor pretended that the pegs were candles and sang “happy birthday to mommy.”

Our friends then made their way to the reading steps to read. Some friends took turns choosing a different book for Miss Bekah to read to them.

Breakfast:  Corn Chex cereal and fresh cantaloupe.

Lunch:  Whole grain brown rice with red beans, fresh plums and cucumbers.

Afternoon Snack: Sunflower seeds with whole grain wheat Triscuits crackers.

Wee Sprouts:  Mini sweet peppers.

Have a beautiful evening!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-08-15