Reminder:  Wee Friends will be closed next Monday, September 1st for Labor Day.  Thank you.

We did some dancing with bean bags while listening to “Shake Your Sillies Out” and “The Beanie Bag Dance.” 

Then, we engaged with loose parts on our wooden trays! Some friends simply explored the dominoes and pom-poms while we had a couple put everything in their bowl to make imaginary cereal.

Please enjoy some additional pictures throughout our day!

Breakfast: Kix cereal with fresh nectarines.

Lunch: Peanut butter on whole grain wheat tortillas, fresh orange bell pepper slices, mild cheddar cheese slice and fresh apple slices.

Afternoon Snack: Homemade banana muffins with fresh oranges.

Wee Sprouts: Cherry Tomatoes

Have a wonderful evening!’

WWF Teachers

Link to Pictures: 2025-08-26

Good Afternoon–

**REMINDER: Wee Friends will be closed on Monday, September 1st for Labor Day.

We continued to dive into community helpers in our community. For our PREK1 group, we read a nonfiction story about Police Officers. This led into our group activity where each group member was given a card with a community helper written on it. We read each helper aloud before reading each prompt on the chalkboard. After we read a prompt, whoever had the answer raised their hand or signaled in someway that they had the answer.

Social Studies: K.2.1 Give examples of people who are community helpers (inside the classroom and outside the classroom) and describe how they help us.

Earlier on in the morning, we explored rules that we follow indoors and why we have those rules. Each PREK1 group member came up to the board where we read the sentence aloud, working at filling in the blank! This is a rule we talk about quite often so that we all stay safe: we walk in the classroom!

Social Studies: K.2.3 Give examples of classroom and school rules and explain how each helps us.

Yesterday, we talked a lot about places in our community as we explored a community buildings activity.  The Zoo is a place in the South Bend community that many of the kids talked about as having special interest to them.  Today, we made a zoo for our welcome activity in response to that interest.  We used popsicle sticks and other loose parts to make the fences for our zoo, then added our animals. 

Younger friends (and some older friends) enjoyed using the zoo animals for a sensory exploration option in the art center.  They painted the animals with colored shaving cream, then used eye droppers to dissolve the shaving cream and wash the animals. 

We hope you enjoy a few more pictures from our day!

Breakfast: Puffins cereal with fresh peaches.

Lunch: Peanut butter on whole wheat flatbread, fresh cantaloupe/peaches, and fresh snap peas/pepper/carrot.

PM Snack: Homemade banana muffin with cheddar block cheese.

Wee Sprouts: Fresh pepper/carrot/snap peas.

Have a lovely afternoon!

~Wee Friends Teachers

Link to Pictures: 2025-08-26

Happy Monday!

This morning we engaged in walking through the sheer curtain.

We then engaged with the balls and walking up and down the incline of the slide.

We then chose books from the bookshelf to look at independently or have a teacher read to us.

A friend then asked for the song, See The Bunnies Sleeping?, and we acted out the motions.

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

Lunch: Whole grain elbow macaroni with marinara sauce and shredded Colby-jack cheese, fresh nectarines and carrot chips/cooked sweet potatoes.

Afternoon Snack:  Whole milk yogurt and honey graham crackers.

Wee Sprout:  Mini sweet peppers.

Have a great evening!

WWF Teachers

Link to Pictures: 2025-08-25

Good Afternoon–

We kicked off our week by diving into the term ‘community helper’. For our PREK1 sign in, we talked about what a ‘community’ is. Once we identified it, we read the sign in board aloud as each group member took a turn signing in. Children were asked what community helper assists them when they’re feeling sick: a doctor or a librarian? Children immediately laughed and one even said, “A librarian doesn’t help you when you’re sick!”.

Later on in PREK1 group, we read, ‘I Want To Be A Firefighter’. We honed in on firefighters and how they help the community. Friends began raising their hands after the book was done, sharing where they’ve seen a firetruck or if they live by a fire station.

Social Studies: K.2.1 Give examples of people who are community helpers (inside the classroom and outside the classroom) and describe how they help us.

This morning we thought about different kinds of community spaces and buildings.  We talked about libraries, parks, zoos, fire departments, hospitals and more.  We used the welcome activity to think about community spaces we wanted to build.  We had some very creative ideas.  We had a large domed ice skating rink and a storm shelter for all of the community vehicles to be stored during a storm–very innovative!  We love allowing the space for kids to apply their own ideas to what they have been learning in the classroom.

Kids have been interested in floating things outside, so we added a sensory bin with bears and pieces of foam.  Arthur enjoyed counting how many bears he could fit on the “boats” without sinking them.  Hannah found that the foam stuck together so she could make a very long boat to hold her bears. 

On the building rug, several friends were wanting to move their bodies jumping from yoga card to yoga card.  We created an appropriate situation for jumping this way so kids could use their bodies how they felt they needed to!

Breakfast– Whole wheat toast with butter and cinnamon with fresh banana.

Lunch– Whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce, fresh peaches/banana, and fresh peppers (from our garden!)/cherry tomatoes/green beans.

PM snack– Whole milk yogurt with granola.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cherry tomatoes/snap peas/pepper.

Have a lovely night.

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2025-08-25

Good Afternoon!

Several friends began their morning engaged with the BounceBlocks.  A friend built a stack and then worked on their balance skills while on their tummy. Cece worked on her balance by standing on one while holding onto the ballet bar and habi-trail.

We then headed into the kitchen to engage with pegs and peg boards.  The older friends asked for the shape of pegboard they wanted.  We all then worked on filling all the holes in our boards with a variety of peg colors.

We then engaged in looking at books independently on the reading steps or sitting in the rocking chair with a friend.  While we were on the reading steps, we looked out the window at the birds eating on the bird feeders.

We then headed outside to enjoy the beautiful morning, engaging in many favorite activities.

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

Lunch: Hummus on whole grain wheat bread, fresh sugar snap peas and watermelon slices.

Afternoon Snack:  Mozzarella cheese stick and whole grain Goldfish crackers.

Wee Sprout:  Mini sweet peppers.

Have a great weekend!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures:  2025-08-22

Happy Friday!

It’s been a week full of transitions and new groups for some kids so today, we did a practice run for our PREK1 group sign in which will start next week! This group sign in is specifically geared towards our group of older peers. There is a wide range of ages even in this group so what each child is asked to do will be different dependent upon their readiness. There will be a daily question or activity that will be aligned with the FAB for the week, if applicable!

Today’s sign in asked children to find their name and then circle their name. Everyone was excited to officially sign in for the first time!

We read a book from our MACK collection titled, ‘Same Same But Different’. Throughout the story, the author and illustrator showed us how things can be the same but different. The two main characters lived in different parts of the world. They rode a school bus to school but the buses looked very different. They both had a tree house in their backyard but they looked very different.

As each child was called to roll up their mat, they were asked to share one thing that they see frequently in their neighborhood. Answers ranged from school buses to people walking their dogs to other houses!

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

Several friends have become interested in finger prints after talking about similarities and differences between people.  Today we worked on a large class finger print art project.  After we used ink to make finger prints, we used a magnifying glass to look closely and notice the differences in the lines and shapes in our finger prints.

We hope you enjoy a few more pictures from our day!

Breakfast: Brown rice cakes with cream cheese and fresh strawberries.

Lunch: Peanut butter on whole wheat bread, fresh watermelon/banana/strawberries, and fresh carrots/bell peppers.

PM Snack: Goldfish and string cheese.

Wee Sprouts: Fresh cucumbers/cherry tomatoes.

Have a great weekend!

~Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2025-08-22

Good Afternoon!

Our FAB’s kicked off this week! FAB stands for Framework for Academic Balance—essentially our Wee Friends version of state standards. These are aimed for our kindergarteners but we also implement these standards at a foundational level for our older preschoolers, when applicable.

Today in PREK1 group, we read ‘My Body’. We talked about similarities we have in our physical appearance such as we all have hair! We also dove into the specific differences such as hair color and whether we have straight or curly hair. When we were done reading, we talked about our family size. Each group member had a chance to count the number of family members that live in their household. We totaled the family members and marked it on our chart. This allowed friends to see what other peers have the same family size!

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

______________________________________________________________________________________

This morning we practiced sorting by color at our welcome activity.  We found all the right places for the colored beads.  We practiced color names and counting as well.  Some of us got so excited about sorting that it became a full body experience :).

In the art center we continued working on our water color leaf and flower paintings.  We created beautiful arrangements on out paper and added color.  We are excited to see what our paintings look like when they dry!

We hope you enjoy a few more pictures from our day!

Breakfast: Kix cereal with fresh apple slices.

Lunch: Brown rice with turkey, fresh watermelon/pineapple, and fresh carrots/cucumbers.

PM Snack: Whole wheat crackers with peanut butter and sunflower/pumpkin seeds.

Wee Sprouts: Fresh snap peas and bell peppers.

Have a great day!

~Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2025-08-21

Good Afternoon!

One of our morning activities, was painting.  We used red, blue, and yellow tempera paint with different sizes of sponge circle brushes.  One friend added yellow to their red that was already on their paper and created a new color.

Before Wee Sprouts, we sang and danced along to “Wheels on the Bus” and “We Are the Dinosaurs.” One friend stood and danced along while another sat on our reading steps and sang along. We also engaged with rhythm sticks! We tapped them together while listening to “Ants Go Marching.”

While outside, Miss Linsey set out water tables with seashells! We all went over to explore all the seashells.

Breakfast:  Whole grain Cheerios cereal and fresh nectarines.

Lunch:  Whole grain brown rice with black beans, mini sweet peppers and fresh pineapple slices.

Afternoon Snack:  Whole grain Triscuit crackers and sunflower seeds.

Wee Sprout:  Sugar Snap Peas.

Have a terrific evening!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures:2025-08-21

Happy Wednesday!

This morning we engaged in building with Magna-Tiles on the light table.  We observed and worked on identifying all the bright colors and shapes.

We then headed out to climb on the habi-trail.  We worked on our balance skills while walking up and down the incline of the slide.  We enjoyed sliding down on our bottoms as well.

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

Lunch:  Farm fresh scrambled eggs with Colby-Jack shredded cheese, fresh nectarines, sugar snap peas and whole grain wheat flatbread.

Afternoon Snack:  Hummus on whole grain wheat Ritz crackers.

Wee Sprout:  Cucumbers.

Have a wonderful evening!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures: 2025-08-20

Good Afternoon!

We enjoyed working on an art activity in the art center this morning.  Friends looked through a tray of leaves and flowers collected from our outdoor space.  Kids arranged their natural objects on their paper and then used an eye dropper to add watercolor around the leaves and flowers.  As the paint dries, we will be able to see the outlines of the leaves and flowers in the paintings.

We hope you enjoy a few more pictures from our day!

Breakfast: Overnight oatmeal with fresh nectarines.

Lunch: Farm fresh scrambled eggs with whole what flatbread, fresh watermelon/nectarines and fresh carrots/cucumbers.

PM Snack: Air popped corn with raisins.

Wee Sprouts: Fresh bell peppers/snap peas.

Have a great rest of the day!

~Wee Friends Teachers

Link to Pictures: 2025-08-20