Hello!

We were so happy to see Emma and Sophia today! It’s pretty amazing when we get to see our past Wee Friends from time to time.

Elliott started his day by initiating a clipboard research project. He sat down and took all of the magnatiles out of the bin. He sorted the magnatiles by shape and then proceeded to count each set and chart it on a piece of paper. When friends want to find something out, they’re able to go full force and get as much assistance as they want!

Lucy occupied her time at the art easel where she noted, “I painted a picture of my mom!” Friends looked and commented, “Wow! That really does look like your mom!”

After we ran around for a while outside, we were a TAD sweaty so friends calmed their bodies by doing a little stretching.

We had a roaring good time outside. The opportunities are endless!

“Fire alarm! Fire alarm!”-Anna

This caused friends to turn and pay attention to her. We talked about what it sounds like when the fire alarm does go off and how we should act! “We go into the garage when we hear it, right?!” Yes..yes we do .

During large group, we read ‘Mortimer’ by Robert Munsch. There’s a video on YouTube where Robert Munsch reads the story aloud. After we finished, a few children commented that they love Robert Munsch stories. We complied a list together of new Robert Munsch books that we would LOVE to read.

“What’s a wish list?”

“A wish list is a list of things that you WANT or ‘wish’ you could have.”

“Oh. Like when I want new toys?”

Breakfast– Oatmeal blueberry pancakes with apples.

Lunch– Organic brown rice with beef and cheese, cantaloupe, and broccoli.

PM snack– Pumpkin seeds and whole wheat crackers.

Wee Sprouts– Fresh picked broccoli from our garden!

Hope everyone has a fantastic evening!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/28

Ruby, David, and Franklin stuck together when we went outside. First they each found a ball, then they moved on to trucks, and then Ruby invited the boys to join her on the teeter totter.

Mack enjoyed his outside time playing with his big brother. Grady shared all the interesting rocks he found.

Inside, we all played with the object permanence boxes. Ruby took a break to have a long and interesting talk with the classroom fish. 

Then we relaxed with some great stories before going outside for the rest of the afternoon!

Breakfast was Kix with bananas. Wee sprout was peas. Lunch consisted of farm fresh eggs, whole wheat bread, strawberries, and corn. Afternoon snack was crackers with cream cheese.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulhf0Y-eEfKn0QeYvt1g

Have a great night!

Amanda

Good Afternoon!

Here’s what a ‘typical’ morning at Wee Friends looks like!

First: Breakfast, sign in board, and various welcome activities made available (in no particular order).

Second: Differing opportunities to ‘get into’ our day.

Third: Usually some type of art activity that is made available to everyone (not mandatory however). Today just happened to be pipe cleaners and beads to make bracelets!

Four: Outside time! (i.e. bug hunting, little people, art table, sand box, bikes, etc.)

However, the AWESOME thing is that since we don’t have a permanent schedule day in and day out, we go with the flow and how/what the majority wants to do. If everyone’s engaged, we hold off on going outside. If we need to run around and let off some energy, we can go out early! Completely child directed!

“If you open doors for them to freely explore they will find their right answer.” -Joyce Fetteral

“Children are born passionately eager to make as much sense as they can of things around them. If we attempt to control, manipulate, or divert this process…the independent scientist in the child disappears.” -John Holt

Today in large group, after reading ‘Froggy Plays in a Band”, we made up a band of our own. We researched some of the instruments that were in the story that we had never heard of before. We would have QUITE the band .

Breakfast– Oatmeal and banana.

Lunch– Scrambled eggs, PPC strawberries/cantaloupe, and our very own cucumbers.

PM snack– Popcorn with a mixture of blueberries and grapes.

Wee Sprouts– Cucumbers.

Have a terrific night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures:
WF 7/27

We mixed things up today and painted with bath loofahs! Our friends dove right in and enjoyed stamping the loofahs on their papers and squishing and squeezing them between their hands.

More paint may have ended up on the kitchen table than on the paper, but we love the new art our friends created!

Breakfast was Whole Grain Cheerios and oranges. Lunch consisted of whole wheat tortilla with shredded cheese, oranges, and carrots. Afternoon snack was toasted whole wheat bagels with cream cheese.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulhfsP6hUfYyU4YjDoJw

Have a great night!

Amanda

Good Afternoon!

Everyday, children who are involved in large group are given the opportunity to complete a journal. This journal time usually ranges from 10-15 minutes. During this time, children have free reign to write or draw whatever comes to them. Usually, the journals that are completed come from prior knowledge or something that is taking place in their life at that time.

From balloons (just had a birthday) to airplanes (he’s quite a traveler), we are expressing our thoughts down on paper.

Elizabeth drew a picture of herself and Clara. She even got the details of Clara’s stripped dress down to a T!

The importance of having a set time where friends can come to the table to express themselves is needed in the classroom. Since there are different ages within the group, some may need teacher assistance to spell any words that they want to express while others are on their way to spelling by themselves!

We always want to hear what our friends are thinking and feeling!

Here are some pictures from our outside time today!

Breakfast– Kashi Blueberry Clusters and blueberries.

Lunch– Turkey and cream cheese tortillas, pears, and cucumbers.

PM snack– Homemade blueberry and peach muffins with Colby-Jack cheese.

Wee Sprout– Cucumbers

Have a lovely night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/26

We had a great morning outside!

Franklin, David, and Ruby went straight to the trucks and had the clever idea to use the wrap around bench as a track. They did a great job sharing all the vehicles with each other.

Sophia, Ruby, and Franklin happily splashed in a mud puddle for a while.

Then our friends squeezed in some time at the art table to draw a few pictures before it was time to come in for lunch!

Breakfast as whole wheat toast with butter and pears. Wee sprout was corn. Lunch consisted of whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce, pears, and corn. Afternoon snack was organic whole milk yogurt with apples.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulhfpT2nCEm0UySryr0g

Have a great night!

Amanda

Happy Monday!

Hope everyone had a terrific weekend!

Wee Friends was an active place today. Here’s a glimpse into our day..—>

The habitrail area was transitioned into a zoo! We only had one animal that was available to see though: a monkey!

Bug hunting! Children grab a plastic container when they want to search for different kinds of bugs. We often form bug hunting groups. The more numbers we have, the better!

There was success today for a few friends! Elliott caught a white and black butterfly that he showed to many friends. Some of his peers grabbed him flowers off the ground and grass to use as a habitat.

Our creation station was packed this morning as children used their imagination to make different drawings.

It was quite a Monday!

Breakfast– English muffins with cream cheese and plums.

Lunch– Whole wheat pasta noodles with marinara sauce, oranges/grapes, and cucumbers.

PM snack– Whole milk yogurt with homemade granola.

Wee Sprouts– A cucumber from our garden.

Have a great evening.

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/25

Enjoy the pictures from our fun Friday!

Breakfast was Chex with pears. Lunch consisted of rice with shredded chicken, peas, and pears. Afternoon snack was string cheese and wheat crackers.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulhfkYtDp40daNtNhz3g

Have a great weekend!

Amanda

Happy Friday!

We celebrated Eren turning 5 today! We hope you had a wonderful day!

After breakfast, we transitioned to the outside space where the bikes were made available along with the art table! We actually stayed out all morning because it was quite bearable and everyone was engaged in various activities.

Teachers AND children love the flexibility of our outside time. If we want to stay outside all morning, we have the option to. There are so many benefits to having a high quality outdoor space. There’s an informative article found here that I enjoyed:

http://www.naeyc.org/yc/files/yc/file/201411/YC1114_Quality_Outdoor_Play_Spaces_Wright.pdf

“Children need opportunities to do things that are exciting and adventurous. We can create a sense of risk and challenge in a safe environment. Open-ended components, such as a long, balance beam, stump, or flagstone path, challenge children’s physical, social, and cognitive abilities by encouraging them to create their own challenge or obstacle course and engage in increasingly more difficult and complex activities.” (Spencer, Wright 2014)

Of course with the heightened temperature, we decided to stay inside where the play dough was made available to friends! Our imaginations ran wild! The art table became a pizza oven where many different pizzas were created.

Breakfast– Corn cakes with no nut butter and plums.

Lunch– Turkey and melted cheese quesadillas, grapes and cantaloupe, and our very own garden cucumbers!

PM snack– Eren’s birthday treat: homemade banana muffins along with strawberries and cottage cheese.

Wee Sprouts– Cucumbers.

Hope everyone has a terrific weekend!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/22

We went outside early this morning to beat this crazy heat! We were glad to get some fresh air and time with our older friends.

The rest of the day was spent playing with sensory tubes…

Creating music…

Making meals…

And finding every toy we have that, according to our friends, say “vroom vroom”, “beep beep”, and “nee nar!”

Breakfast was Whole Grain Cheerios and bananas. Lunch consisted of whole grain English muffins with shredded cheese, bananas, and corn. Afternoon snack was graham crackers and plums.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulhfdjM6LknapgfVDZNA

Have a great night!

Amanda