Hello–

**Since we have a few more days left until Christmas break, as a reminder here are the days that we’re closed—Monday, December 26th through Friday, January 6th. We’ll reopen Monday, January 9th.

It was a world of creations this morning.

The trio blocks have been the hot commodity this week. Different structures were made this morning including a boat! Open ended building materials such as the trio blocks allow for anything to happen; the possibilities are endless. There is no ‘right’ way to build something. It’s through activities like this that we truly get to know the child; what they like and how their mind works!

Pine cones, beads, glitter, and pipe cleaners were put out at the art table for children to use. After painting the pine cone of their choice, children decorated the pine cone to their liking!

Our younger friends are challenging themselves with foam puzzles as of late. Children will try to do as much as they can by themselves before asking for help, if needed. Puzzles allow children to work on their fine motor skills as well as their spatial relations. David finished the firetruck all by himself—we know this because when he was done, he shouted, “I did it!”

Breakfast– Whole grain oatmeal with cinnamon and blueberries.

Lunch– Chicken avocado salad on tortillas, pears/banana, and green beans.

PM snack– Blue corn chips with refried beans.

Wee Sprout– Green beans.

Have a great night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 12/21

Good morning!

Below is a link for the Christmas concert pictures! Enjoy!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF Christmas Concert Pictures

Good Afternoon!

We want to thank everyone who was able to come to the concert earlier today. We are all so thankful to receive the support from each and every parent day in and day out.

Here are a few pictures that were taken throughout the day .

Breakfast– Cheerios and banana.

Lunch– Hummus on tortilla, pears/kiwi, and peppers/cherry tomatoes.

PM snack– A variety of cheese slices and raspberries.

Wee Sprout– Peppers.

Have a fabulous night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 12/20

Today we played with connectors…

Made tunnels and teeter totters out of the soft stars…

And read many stories together!

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

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulh5IkMYuQuC2ZlBLjoQ

Have a great night!

Amanda

Good Afternoon!

A COUPLE OF IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS:

**Since we’re in our last week until vacation, this will be the last reminder for updated shot records. Except for children who started this past fall, we need updated shot records by the first of the year! THANK YOU!

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**Our Christmas concert is tomorrow! Everyone has the following statement stapled to their child’s daily sheet. We appreciate everyone’s cooperation.

Dear Families,

For our Christmas gathering on Tuesday, we ask that you REFRAIN FROM TAKING ANY PHOTOS of your children DURING THE PROGRAM AND AFTER IT IS OVER.

Our wonderful teachers will get a videotape of the program and will take photos throughout and post them on the blog for you to share.

Additionally, for now, if you are taking any photos at WF for any reason at drop off or pick up, please check in with us first before posting any photos on social media. In advance, I appreciate you working with us on this!

-Tami

Here are a few pictures from our day!

We look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow for the Christmas Concert!

Breakfast– Toast with butter and pears.

Lunch– Whole wheat pasta with butter and red beans, apples/pears, and broccoli/cauliflower.

PM snack– Whole milk yogurt with oranges.

Wee Sprouts– Broccoli.

Have a great night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 12/19

Please note: As a reminder, Wee Friends will be closed December 26th-January 6th for Christmas break.

Ruby brought in books for the classroom that we all enjoyed reading this morning. One of the books, we were excited to discovered, had a page full of stickers!

We filled the afternoon with activities like tossing puff balls, dress up, and discovering toys in the kitchen.

In the gross motor area, we spread the colorful rings around the carpet and hopped into them. Then we spent time running and crawling through the habitrail and racing down the slide!

Breakfast was Whole Grain Cheerios and oranges. Lunch consisted of whole wheat pasta with black beans, raspberries, and corn. Afternoon snack was cheddar cheese and wheat crackers.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulh5BoQYLqf3AGTZD-Ww

Have a great night!

Amanda

Happy Friday!

**Just an FYI heading into the weekend: we did have a few kids out today with the stomach bug. Hope everyone is able to rest up this weekend.

Here are a few pictures that were taken throughout the day!

Have a safe and fun weekend!

Breakfast– Homemade oatmeal pancakes and oranges.

Lunch– Refried bean and cheese tortillas, raspberries/cantaloupe, and tomatoes/peppers.

PM snack– Colby jack block cheese and banana.

Wee Sprout– Cherry tomatoes/peppers.

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 12/16

Enjoy the pictures from our day!

Breakfast was Whole Grain Cheerios and banana. Lunch consisted of whole wheat flat bread with refried beans and cheese, banana, and corn. Afternoon snack was cheese crackers and blueberries.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulh4981YvGoIKKWKgvfQ

Have a great weekend!

Amanda

We spent most of our day in the kitchen doing different activities.

Our friends chose which puzzles they wanted and did a great job finishing them on their own.

Magna-Tiles were also out, which everyone loves to stack into towers.

The number boards were brought out later and our friends carefully placed the pegs into their spots.

When they had their fill of the kitchen, we went out to the other room and relaxed with some stories.

Breakfast was Rice Krispies cereal and oranges. Lunch consisted of whole grain brown rice with cheese, raspberries, and peas. Afternoon snack was pretzels and block cheese.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulh49QI4mbaY3EDMDZYA

Have a great night!

Amanda

Good Afternoon!

Block play offers extensive learning opportunities throughout our day. Here are a couple of examples from today:

Jackson constructed a train using wooden blocks. Using trial and error skills, he connected the separate tracks to make one big track. When he was done, he tested his track by running the trains throughout the entirety of the track. A few friends joined him which turned into not only a hands on activity but a verbal one as well.

He and Tate used their communication skills to work together to finish the track. After the track was finished, that’s when imagination comes into play a little bit more. Now..where can the train travel to?!

In the habitrail area, Max turned the blocks into an experiment center, testing out angles. He and a few friends used the two long, plastic blocks to increase or decrease the angle at which the blocks lay.

When the blocks were in order, they used different sized cars to observe as the cars travelled down the ramp. They noticed that some cars travelled faster on the ramp that was at a greater incline.

When a ‘simple’ structure like this is built, it is set up for a fabulous science experiment. We used language such as incline, ramp, and speed and used these words to describe what we were seeing.

Block play ISN’T just block play.

An article about what we learn through block play: http://www.naeyc.org/files/tyc/file/Block%20Off%20Time.pdf

In other parts of the house, the art table was open for children to explore as well interacting with puzzles either at the circle table or at the island.

David was interested in animals today in the habitrail area so we transferred that interest through puzzles! We named every animal and even watched a few videos on the internet, gaining interest on a couple of his favorite animals. He didn’t believe me when I said that gorilla’s pound their chest (I demonstrated). So, we pulled up a video of a gorilla banging his chest!

Journaling is an adventure and is different every day. Friends sat at the table, thinking about what they were going to journal about. After a thought comes to mind, it’s marker to paper time!

During this time, we’re working on expressing ourselves on paper as well as language development. For example, hearing consonant and vowel sounds when we spell out words. For most, consonant sounds tend to come first before hearing most vowel sounds. It’s critical to follow each child’s lead and know where each child is developmentally; because after all, each child is different and has many different things to offer!

Breakfast– Brown Rice Crisp cereal and clementines.

Lunch– Organic, brown rice with shredded cheese and chicken, apples, and cauliflower.

PM snack– Bagels with cream cheese.

Wee Sprout– Cauliflower.

Have a lovely night. Stay warm!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 12/15