Good Afternoon!

**We have quite a few birthdays this month. So, as a reminder, if you plan to bring in a treat to celebrate, please make sure that it’s NUT FREE. Thank you!

We want to wish Elijah a belated happy birthday! He turned three years old on Saturday! Your Wee Friends hope you had a great birthday and are feeling better today .

We dove right in on this Monday morning. The welcome activity was the road map along with various motor vehicles. Children wanted to investigate more so we moved the road map back to the habitrail area where we could sprawl out. Friends talked about the various different vehicles including buses, planes, and cars. We talked about which vehicle goes the fastest and slowest.

This week, we will investigate things that move in different ways, such as slow, fast, etc. (FAB—Science K.3.2)

In large group, we started our week off with Tacky the Penguin. When we started group on Friday, Lucy vocalized “Mindy, I’m in a Tacky mood!”. So, this weekend when I was at the library, I picked up several Tacky books incase friends are in a ‘Tacky’ mood.

We love the character of Tacky. He shows us that it’s okay to be different; it’s nothing to be ashamed of. We are all different. Plus, we’re able to get out a few good laughs when Tacky’s around.

Before heading outside, water beads were requested by many friends. Our older friends got the first opportunity to explore them as they were at the farm when the beads were originally introduced. Afterwards, children got the chance to work with them using their hands as well as with the tongs.

The bucket of chalk was put on the deck. Children scattered throughout the environment drawing on the sidewalks and chalkboard. Lulu’s creation stretched quite a ways as she had a goal in mind.

A group of friends got together and used chalk to decorate the stone steps heading down the hill. “Can you take a picture of this and send it to our mommy’s and daddy’s?!”

We’re off to a great start this week! Hope everyone had a great Monday!

Breakfast– Whole wheat bagel with no nut butter and apples.

Lunch– Whole wheat noodles with butter and red beans, cantaloupe, and peppers.

PM snack– Whole milk yogurt and blackberries.

Wee Sprout– Carrots/cucumber.

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 5/1

Good Afternoon!

This morning, the oldest five Wee Friends took a farm trip. It was such a great morning, filled with learning experiences, team work, and conversations galore.

First stop on our adventure were the baby chicks. We took turns holding them, making sure to be extremely careful with them.

Taffy, the pony was out today so we took this fantastic opportunity to become more comfortable with ponies and horses! We strapped on our helmets and rode around the farm a little. Miss Charlotte told us that Taffy is 23 years old!

After spending some time with Taffy, nature called. We walked back into the woods, stopping at the swing of course! A few friends chose to pick wild flowers and dandelions along the way. It was a great morning to appreciate nature and all that it has to offer.

When we got back to the barn, Miss Charlotte had an important job for us; clean out the barn by sweeping the hay into one big pile. It was quite a task as there was hay everywhere! We didn’t even have to think about it. Our five friends quickly grabbed brooms and shovels to start transferring the hay into a pile.

We swept the hay into a pile for thirty minutes. Yes, thirty minutes. Not only did every child pitch in but they were all disappointed when we had to leave. They talked about what tools they were going to use, what strategy was going to work best, and literally worked as a TEAM.

That’s what’s great about this program; farm is an amazing place to take charge and learn important life lessons. Our older friends love seeing the animals but it’s about the experiences at the farm that truly make the trip worth while. Last fall, we may not have been able to help and put in this kind of work but with the level of maturity our older friends have exhibited this spring, the task got completed. We left that barn pretty clean!

We look forward to helping Miss Charlotte again.

Back at Wee Friends..

Children explored new water beads! Friends took turns at the art table to experiment with water beads while using tongs. We loved the feeling of the beads in our hands. It’s a new sensory experience for us to explore.

 

The fresh air was calling our name! Even though the sun didn’t great us at the door, we had a great morning outside.

Breakfast– Rice cakes with cream cheese and mango.

Lunch– Turkey and shredded cheese on tortillas, banana, and green beans/tomatoes.

PM snack– Pretzels and pears.

Wee Sprout– Green beans.

Have a lovely weekend.

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 4/28

Link to farm pictures: WF 4/28 FARM

Enjoy the pictures from our day!

       

Breakfast was Whole Grain Cheerios and blueberries. Wee sprout was mixed veggies. Lunch consisted of whole grain brown rice with turkey, watermelon, and mixed veggies. Afternoon snack was wheat crackers with sweet pea butter.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulh_o982ZJ7mrIN9FbMg

Have a good night!

Amanda

Good Afternoon!

**Parents: thank you for bringing in sunscreen this week! For those who may have missed the request: If you would like to have sunscreen applied to your child while at Wee Friends, please bring in a bottle (please refrain from spray sunscreen). Again, thank you!

In large group, we read a favorite of ours: Three Cheers for Tacky! We looked at Tacky’s habitat that he lived in and discussed how his habitat is different from ours.

“It’s snowy there all the time!”

“Penguins must like the cold.”

“We don’t have ice like that in South Bend!”

As a group, friends talked about what we can do here that we couldn’t do there! One of the most popular ones was that it’d be hard to ride a bike on ice! (we are obsessed with our bikes outside..in a good way)

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

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Our day was off to a great start as children were able to use the paint dotters once they walked in the door. It seemed to be a popular welcome activity!

Jackson noticed how tall our grass was getting so he asked if he could water it. Instead, we cut the grass first before we watered it! Our older friends took their younger friends under their wing and showed them how to cut the grass using scissors from the art area. We’re becoming quite interested in how our grass is doing on a daily basis.

At the art table, we investigated the new present that Miss Hannah got us yesterday! The package included reusable stickers and five habitat pages. The goal was to put the animals in the correct habitat. We talked about all of the animals, especially the ones that interested us! Our older friends did a fabulous job explaining WHY each animal had a specific habitat that they live in.

…”I’ve never seen a dinosaur at the farm!”

Jackson was quite excited that he was able to fit all of his stickers on the habitat page that he had!

Even with a chill in the air, children became occupied outside. Friends headed to the sandbox, played pretend with peers, and used the dump trucks in the gravel rocks. Our outdoor space is perfect for running around, releasing our energy in a positive way!

Breakfast– Kix and pineapple.

Lunch– Brown rice with turkey, watermelon, and broccoli.

PM snack– Wheat thins and pumpkin seeds.

Wee Sprout– Cucumber and tomatoes.

Have a great night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 4/27

A few friends played with water beads this afternoon. They are all becoming pros at using the clamps and worked hard to transfer all their beads from one bowl to another. While playing, they talked to each other and made observations about the beads. They identified what color beads each friend had in their bowl and described the beads to each other, using words such as “bouncy,” “wet,” and even “beautiful.”

Breakfast was Kix and banana. Wee sprout was corn. Lunch consisted of farm fresh eggs with cheese, pears, pineapple, and corn. Afternoon snack was pretzels and cheese.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulh_kqS-wN8fIsz4YZ3g

Have a good night!

Amanda

Good Afternoon!

Today, we said goodbye to Miss Hannah who has been our observing student from IUSB. As a good bye gift, she got every child a small container of play dough so please make sure to check your child’s cubbie at pickup.

We’re so thankful for the last several weeks that we got to spend with Miss Hannah! I know us teachers will miss her but the kids will miss her even more.

A friend went on a mini vacation this past weekend and brought back a few fossils to share! There were three fossils that we passed around. Our friend shared where he got them from and what the fossils were before they became fossils.

Jackson and Addi used their trial and error skills to find out the best way to build their creation. Using the magnets, they wanted to build upward but it kept falling over. Eventually, they started to use the wall for support and it worked! Talk about perseverance.

Miss Rebekah gathered a group at the island and made banana bread. Friends followed the recipe and helped by pouring in different ingredients. It was quite delicious.

It was another gorgeous morning. We spent a good amount of time outside experimenting with bikes we’ve never tried before and kicking our feet up to relax.

Breakfast– Whole grain oatmeal with honey and blackberries.

Lunch– Scrambled eggs with shredded cheese, whole wheat flatbread, PPC pineapple, and cherry tomatoes/cucumber.

PM snack– Homemade banana bread, string cheese, and pineapple.

Wee Sprout– Cucumbers.

Have a lovely night.

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 4/26

Enjoy the pictures from our day!

                                                

Breakfast was Whole Grain Cheerios and blueberries. Wee sprout was corn. Lunch consisted of whole wheat tortilla with hummus, blueberries, and peas. Afternoon snack was toasted whole wheat bagels with cream cheese.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulh_dfAe7nIJKRmmhQ0Q

Have a good night!

Amanda

Here are some swim pictures from today! Sorry for the quality; poor lighting plus phone pictures equals sub par swim pictures. We’ll try to grab a few shots from every swim class if we can!

There are two groups this session: beginners and advanced. At the beginning, children were given a small test as to their swim knowledge and comfortability in the pool. That’s when children were divided into their groups for this session.

The beginner group worked on becoming comfortable in the water as well as kicking their feet and using a noodle and bubble to aid in their swimming. With Miss Leslie’s help, our friends floated on their back and stomach across the width of the pool.

In the advanced class, friends worked on kicking their feet while hanging onto the side of the pool. Their teacher had them put their head underwater periodically as they did this! Towards the end, each child took a turn jumping off of the diving block and swimming back to the side of the pool.

We’re anxious to watch our friends blossom this session in swim class!

**IF YOU WOULD LIKE US TO APPLY SUNSCREEN TO YOUR CHILD, PLEASE BRING IN A BOTTLE FOR US TO KEEP HERE. PLEASE REFRAIN FROM BRINGING IN SPRAY SUNSCREEN. THANKS!

Good Afternoon! Enjoy some of the pictures from our day!

Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios and pears.

Lunch: Hummus on whole wheat tortillas, pears/strawberries and cucumbers/tomatoes.

Afternoon snack: Whole wheat cinnamon raisin bagels with cream cheese and pears.

Wee Sprouts: Cucumbers.

Have a great evening!

Rebekah

Link to pictures:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulh_cy4ZA9E8T3Y1RqLg

Happy Monday!

Group A went to the farm today! We ALWAYS have to start with re-buffing our farm rules. For example, we talk gently and calmly to the animals so that we don’t scare them. Also, children always always always have to stay with the group. We went over a few more housekeeping rules before we started our farm trip.

First, we started by getting down to work in the garden. Children picked dandelions and any weeds that they could find so that the garden will be ready for planting! We collected all of the dandelions that we picked and transported them to the compost pile. Miss Charlotte sure did appreciate our help!

 

Afterwards, we went into the barn where we were able to pet ONE DAY old baby lambs! We noticed that the mommy sheep was very protective because she was stomping her feet on the ground.

We went out into the fields to run some energy off. Friends came back to find that many goats were out in the field, one of which was VERY pregnant. We asked Miss Charlotte how long goats are pregnant for. She told us six months! When we go back, we’re almost positive we will see some babies .

It was such a nice day so we took a short walk into the woods to look for wildflowers that were starting to grow. On the way, we stopped at the swing and explored a little.

It was a great first visit to the farm.

Back at Wee Friends..

Children went on a walk to observe all of the flowers that are starting to bloom around the neighborhood. Afterwards, friends continued to enjoy the marvelous sunshine right up until lunch!

Breakfast– Toast with butter and banana.

Lunch– Whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce and cheese, pears, and carrots.

PM snack– Whole milk yogurt and watermelon/banana.

Wee Sprout– Carrots.

Have a great night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 4/24

Link to FARM pictures: WF 4/24 FARM