Here is the blog from yesterday. We were having some technical issues.

Good Afternoon!  I am going to share a quote today by Fred Rogers regarding play.

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning.  But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”

Breakfast:  Whole grain wheat English muffins with cream cheese.

Lunch:  Whole grain brown rice with shredded turkey, fresh PPC pears and peas.

Afternoon Snack:  Pretzels and cheddar block cheese.

Wee Sprouts:  Peas.

Have a great night!

Rebekah

Link to pictures:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljI9tWfPH4V12cvBIOg

Good Afternoon!

“When children practice self-help skills such as feeding and dressing themselves, they practice their large and small motor skills, gain confidence in their ability to try new things and build their self-esteem and pride in their independence.”

The quote above was taken from the first link that I posted below. We have an older class this year so we’ve been focusing on several different help skills ranging from being able to get coats on to putting shoes on. If a child is able to do something, let them! This is a great way for them to build their confidence in daily tasks.

Children are all different so some children are able to put their coat on at 2 years of age while some children are 3 1/2 before they’re able to successfully put their coats on without assistance!

Here at Wee Friends, we are focused on having children complete self help tasks on their own and it needed, we’re here to assist and teach them different techniques to help them (aka the coat trick!).

Here are two articles that talk about becoming independent in daily tasks!

http://articles.extension.org/pages/26436/ways-to-encourage-self-help-skills-in-children

http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/documents/teaching_routines.pdf

In pre-k/k group, we read a book titled, ‘Snow’. After, we filled in our weather web with words that were weather related.  A few friends even took the weather theme into their journal experience. Maddie journaled about a volcano and after she was finished drawing, she kid spelled ‘volcano’!

Max and Franklin explored the welcome activity which revolved on different counters. Max made a pattern; big, little, big, little, big, little. Franklin took his gems and traced the outside of the wooden tray. A simple activity like this targets many areas: one to one correspondence, patterns, the use of descriptive words, and fine motor just to name a few.

We spent quite a bit of time outside this morning where we played house in the sandbox, transported pebbles from bin to bin and interacted with our Wee Wee friends!

Breakfast– Kashi Blueberry Clusters and PPC mango.

Lunch– Brown rice with shredded pork, PPC banana/fresh strawberries, and PPC snap peas/cherry tomatoes/carrots.

PM snack– Peanuts and Triscuits.

Wee Sprout– PPC snap peas/cherry tomatoes/carrots.

Have a great evening!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 4/26

Good afternoon.

Enjoy the pictures from our fun-filled day!

Breakfast: Whole grain cheerios and oranges.

Lunch: Scrambled eggs, bread, corn and apples.

Snack: Whole wheat crackers with hummus and banana.

Wee Sprouts: Carrots.

Have a wonderful evening.

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljI5Sa4q5Q4HYoGmlcQ

Good Afternoon!

Weather consumed our Wednesday! Thankfully..it was gorgeous weather!

Several children explored the activity at the round table this morning. Friends sat at a tray and picked different activity squares such as grilling food, wearing winter hats, and planting flowers. For each activity square, children had to decide if it went into the spring, summer, fall, or winter slot.

Science: K.3.5 Describe and give examples of weather changes and illustrate how weather affects people and the environment.

Two science experiments were conducted at the island before we headed outside.

The first science experiment started with three ingredients: warm water, blue ice cubes (representing cold air), and red water color (representing warm air). Miss Kim put several ice cubes in the water before adding drops of red water color. We watched with our eyes to see what would happen.

The blue ice cubes melted and stayed on the bottom on the bin while the red water color floated to the top. We explained that this is what happens before it storms! When warm air meets cold air, they come together to create a storm.

The second science experiment that we conducted was an example of how rain comes down from the clouds. We started with water in a glass jar. Shaving cream was added to the top of the water, representing clouds. Miss Kim put several drops of blue water color on top of the shaving cream which represented rain droplets. Once the rain droplets got too heavy, the water color started to go through the shaving cream and down into the water!

These trends continued on in pre-k/k group and small group today!

Our outside time is so cherished! We love feeling the warm sun on our face along with exploring the backyard including but not limited to the sand box, gravel circle, and anywhere that bugs may be .

Breakfast– Whole grain oatmeal with honey and PPC banana.

Lunch– Scrambled eggs with shredded cheese, whole wheat bread, fresh pineapple, and PPC cucumber.

PM snack– Air popped popcorn with butter and fresh strawberries.

Wee Sprout– PPC cucumber.

Have a great evening!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 4/25

Good Afternoon!

The welcome activity this morning had children spelling their own names as well as friends names using scrabble tiles! Friends searched through the wooden tray trying to find the letters that made up their name. Not only did we work on our letter recognition throughout this activity but children were eager to help their peers with their name if they needed a little assistance.

All of the Wee Friends teachers attended a ‘Progressive Dinner’ last Monday evening. We all received a butterfly and when planted, wildflowers grow! So, this morning, we went outside and planted all of the butterflies that we received. Hopefully soon, wildflowers will start to grow and add lovely colors to our backyard environment.

After we planted our starters, an art activity was made available at the island.

First, we read a book titled, ‘Stormy Night’. In the story, a storm occurs and the bear family comforts one another throughout the storm. Afterwards, we discussed what a ‘storm’ means to us. We transferred those thoughts to paper as we painted our own storm! These following thoughts and comments were heard at the art table:

“It’s getting WILD!”

“See..here’s my trees and lightning!”

“The towns almost all flooded because of the rain.”

“The rains getting up to the storm cloud!”

Bugs were all the rage this morning as children set out looking for them once we got outside. Worms to rollie pollies to pincher bugs were collected in our bug containers. Children did a great job at collecting the appropriate provisions for these bugs.

Breakfast– Corn chex and fresh apples/PPC mango.

Lunch– Refried beans on whole wheat flatbread, PPC banana/fresh oranges, and PPC cauliflower/cherry tomatoes.

PM snack– Whole wheat bagel with cream cheese and block cheese.

Wee Sprout– PPC cauliflower/cherry tomatoes.

Have a lovely night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 4/24

Good afternoon!

Today was a fantastic day to be engaged in the housekeeping/dramatic play center. Pascale and Daniel were busy cooking up all kinds of yummy foods for their friends and teachers to enjoy. Pascale thought it would also be fun to feed Daniel some of the food she made for him. “The process of pretending builds skills in many essential developmental areas. When your child engages in pretend (or dramatic) play, he/she is actively experimenting with the social and emotional roles in life…. Your child also builds self-esteem when he/she discovers they can be anything just by pretending!” 

The gross motor area was also a main focus throughout our play today. Friends gathered the colorful big blocks and soft star climbers to have all kinds of building, climbing and jumping fun! Gross motor activities strengthen a child’s body as well as their confidence level. Gross motor skills are important to enable children to perform everyday functions in life.

Breakfast: Whole grain Kix cereal with Apples.

Lunch: Whole wheat flatbread with refried beans and shredded mozzarella cheese, peas and banana.

Snack: Whole wheat/grain cinnamon raisin bagels with cream cheese and oranges.

Wee Spouts: Corn.

We hope you have a fantastic evening!

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljI1TSQavGJQLANBgsA

Good Afternoon!

Several friends helped Miss Melinda turn our old, dried out markers into new water colors! After Miss Melinda took the inside of the marker out, children sorted them before using them for their art creations!

It was pre-k/k’s first farm trip of the season. Miss Charlotte asked us to help her prepare an activity for other children that were at the farm today. After a tarp was put out, we gathered up all of the birds that Miss Charlotte had and sprawled them onto the tarp.

Afterwards, we were asked to make a circle of mats for all of the children to sit on! We even noticed that we were making a pattern with the mats.

After helping Miss Charlotte, we were able to let loose and run back to the swing.

It had been a while since we’ve visited Miss Charlotte so we had to make sure that we remembered all of the farm rules that keep us safe as well as the animals.

Breakfast– Whole wheat english muffin with no-nut butter and PPC pears.

Lunch– Whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce and shredded cheese, red grapes, and PPC snap peas/fresh carrots.

PM snack– Whole milk yogurt with craisins.

Wee Sprout– PPC snap peas/fresh carrots.

Have a lovely night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 4/23

Link to farm pictures: WF 4/23 FARM

Happy Monday! We hope you enjoyed your weekend.

Puzzles are popular amongst our WWF’s. This activity promotes fine motor skills, shape and color recognition and cognitive skills. Overcoming the challenges involved in solving puzzles gives children a sense of pride and self-esteem. When a particular piece is placed into the correct slot, our friends can get the biggest smiles ever. THAT is something teachers LOVE to see!!!  

Outside time… Ahhhhh, the joys of being able to enjoy a gorgeous day with an abundance of sunshine! There is nothing better. Just look at all the fun we are having.

Breakfast: Whole wheat English muffins with sunflower butter and oranges.

Lunch: Whole wheat pasta with cheese and marinara, carrots, and banana.

Snack: Mozzarella cheese sticks and graham crackers.

Wee Sprouts: Carrots

Have a wonderful evening.

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljIxMfcn4vUrnzTQWkg

Good afternoon. What a fabulous way to end our week!  

This past Monday the WF/WWF staff attended what is called a Progressive Dinner. This is a training where we tour three different childcare sites ranging from center, family and church based environments. Rebekah and I fell in love with one of the family based infant/toddler site activities. This is a colorful and intriguing floor sensory activity the kids also fell in love with.  Just look at those smiles and interest!

Breakfast: Whole wheat English muffins with sunflower butter and oranges.

Lunch: Whole wheat tortillas with cheese and turkey lunchmeat, mixed vegetables and apples.

Snack: Whole grain cheese crackers and block cheddar cheese cubes.

Wee Sprouts: Mixed Vegetables.

Have an awesome weekend, enjoy all the abundance of sunshine we are to expect!

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljItTBCj2gLpL5HDmYw

Happy Friday!

Lucy turned FIVE today! These last four and a half years, we’ve been lucky enough to watch her personality grow, her independence come alive, and her flourish in this environment. We’re so excited to see what’s to come in the next year of your life! We love you!

                           

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EXPLORATION.

We spent our Friday morning exploring the neighborhood. We gathered up our friends and headed out with our clip boards and colored pencils. Our eyes were looking for any animals, flowers, or trees that we could spot. Once we saw something, we stopped and either wrote down the word or drew a picture to describe what we were seeing.

This week, we’ve been diving into the similarities and differences between plants and animals so on our walk, we discussed what we’ve learned this weekend about both.

Science: K.4.2 Observe plants and animals, describing how they are alike and how they are different.

When we got back to Wee Friends, we stayed outside.

Miss Katie started up an activity with us that involved balloons and a water bottle. In the balloons, there was cornstarch, water, baking soda, and food coloring in each balloon. Each child got to pop a balloon and once they popped it and disposed of the leftover balloon pieces, they grabbed a spray bottle. The spray bottles had vinegar in them which when added to the ingredients that were in the balloon, caused a fizzing reaction!

Breakfast– Corn squares and fresh grapes.

Lunch– Shredded cheese on whole wheat tortilla, turkey/ham slices, PPC banana, and PPC broccoli.

PM snack– Lucy’s birthday treat: yogurt blueberry muffins and string cheese.

Wee Sprout– PPC broccoli/fresh carrots.

Have a fantastic weekend!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 4/20