Our friends were in the kitchen this morning making dot paint masterpieces! Friends enjoyed using their dot paints in different ways. They tried stamping as fast as they could, carefully layered one dot over another, used two dot paints at once, and one friend took the time to cover his entire paper one dot at a time.

They proudly shared their artwork when it was done. Franklin told everyone he painted a dinosaur, and one of Emma’s pieces was a pig!

Breakfast was Whole Grain Cheerios and banana. Lunch consisted of English muffins with hummus, mixed veggies, and banana. Afternoon snack was cheese crackers and string cheese.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuliIAquefj0Kz7rhu6NQ

Have a great weekend!

Amanda

Enjoy the pictures from our day!

      

Breakfast was Whole Grain Cheerios and oranges. Wee sprout was mixed veggies. Lunch consisted of whole grain brown rice with turkey and cheese, banana, and mixed veggies. Afternoon snack was wheat crackers and cheese.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuliIAL0_MQuPmE96ALQg

Have a good night!

Amanda

Good Afternoon!

Even though it didn’t stop raining all day long, we were occupied and engaged throughout the morning.

Many children noticed that one of our fish lost it’s eye. We were quite concerned about it and friends started guessing as to how the fish lost it’s eye. So, we headed to the chalk board to write down our thoughts. Our list was quite extensive as we had various thoughts about this topic! Our empathy was pouring out to our fishy friend.

As we talked about the fish losing it’s eye, Jackson proposed a question: “Will another eye grow in?”

To this question, we started referring to humans. Lulu commented, “When someone loses an arm, they can get a new one!” This lead us to talk about limbs being replaced but a new one doesn’t grow in to take it’s place. Jackson just lost a baby tooth the other day. He said that teeth do grow in when you lose one! The conversation went in various directions .

Lulu, Maddie, Addi, Lucy, and Anna sat at the art table. They all used circle and square stencils but created completely different art. Friends examined their creations, noting the differences between each piece. “They don’t look alike but they’re both beautiful!”

I’ve attached the following article that goes into detail about two different types of art: process and product. Here are Wee Friends, we strive to provide process experiences, allowing children to create what they want and not go off of a model. No two children are the same so why would we want them to have identical pieces of artwork?

http://www.naeyc.org/tyc/article/process-art-experiences

We opened up the art easel for children to engage in a process art experience. Almost every friend painted multiple creations. When we open an activity such as the art easel, friends are encouraged to participate but it is not required.

Three things that go together on rainy days such as today: piano, stories, and of course…

Wee Sprouts!

Breakfast– Cheerios and blackberries/pears.

Lunch– Brown rice with shredded turkey, banana, and corn.

PM snack– Ritz crackers with no nut butter and pineapple.

Wee Sprout– Carrots and cucumber.

Have a great evening!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 5/4

Our friends current favorite activity is Magna-Tiles!

Magna-Tiles are a wonderful educational toy. They help work on:

• developing fine-motor skills
• colors
• patterns
• shapes (2D and 3D)
• understanding magnetic force/attraction
• understanding gravity
• critical thinking
• problem solving
• understanding spatial relationships

Breakfast was Kix and pears. Wee sprout was peas. Lunch consisted of farm fresh eggs, pears, and peas. Afternoon snack was wheat crackers with hummus.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulh_5oMPkvvdD4oc34cA

Have a good night!

Amanda

Good Afternoon!

Today’s sign in focused on speed using a variable such as a marble. A few friends thought that the ramp that was closer to the ground would allow the marble to travel the fastest. So, we did our own research today.

Jackson and a few friends experimented with a ramp this morning in various places throughout the house.

We made two ramps that were the exact same length. Jackson held a ramp closer to the ground while Addi held a ramp at more of an incline. At the count of three, they each let go of their marble at the same time. We realized that the marble hit the ground first using the steeper inclined ramp.

Jackson and Addi experimented with every incline possible. We also timed how long it took for the marble to hit the ground at differing inclines.

Science: K.3.2 Investigate that things move in different ways, such as fast, slow, etc.

Afterwards, Lucy got a group together to play ‘teacher’! She sat down on the bench and had arranged stools for her students. Taking turns, children got to write on the chalkboard. Jackson and Addi helped their younger friends write their name.

Here are some more pictures from our day.

Breakfast– Whole grain oatmeal with honey and blackberries.

Lunch– Scrambled eggs, tortillas, PPC watermelon, and peas.

PM snack– Elijah’s birthday treat: pineapple and organic oatmeal cookies along with string cheese.

Wee Sprouts– Cherry tomatoes and carrots.

Have a lovely night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 5/3

Here are some pictures of our colorful and messy morning!

Lunch consisted of whole wheat flatbread with refried beans and mozzarella cheese, blueberries, cantaloupe, and peas. Afternoon snack was toasted whole wheat bagels with cream cheese.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulh_1H7jSAgj5T_j-PwQ

Have a good night!

Amanda

While the swim group was at the Y, Lucy requested the slime. The children enjoyed manipulating it with their hands.

Through out our day we could be found working on puzzles, drawing at the art table, listening to stories and playing with the cars and trucks.

Breakfast: Corn Chex and pears.

Lunch: Refried black beans and cheese on whole wheat flatbread/tortillas, apples and corn.

Afternoon Snack: Whole wheat bagels with hummus.

Wee Sprouts: Peppers.

Enjoy your evening!

Rebekah

Link to pictures:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulh_0r_LTuYMZkUhm5_A

Today we played dress up…

Created beautiful sidewalk art…

Shared stories with each other…

And built with Magna-Tiles!

Breakfast was whole wheat toast with butter and banana. Wee sprout was corn. Lunch consisted of whole wheat pasta with black beans, cantaloupe, and corn. Afternoon snack was organic whole milk yogurt and cantaloupe.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulh_xq4NpM8mbg_Ividw

Have a good night!

Amanda

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