I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Anna and Annabelle had fun splashing in the rain water this morning.

One friend transitioned from a bassinet to a crib today, and another friend went from a crib to a Montessori bed! Big changes in Wee Wee World.

A new toy was introduced to the climbing area! Our friends had so much fun exploring our new toy. Smiles and laughs were beaming through the environment.

For breakfast, kids ate whole wheat toast with butter and raisins. Lunch consisted of whole wheat pasta with black beans, cantaloupe, and peas. Afternoon snack was graham crackers and cantaloupe.

Have a nice night!

Amanda

This afternoon for snack we did something a little different. Instead of having orange slices, we decided to make orange juice! First, we cut the oranges in half. Then we squeezed as much juice as we could out of the oranges before pouring it into our glasses.

Besides challenging our small motor movements, this work provided an opportunity for friends to take a close look at oranges. We compared what the orange looked like before and after we squeezed and noticed how sticky your hands get when working with oranges. This experience also prompted many conversations about pulp and seeds and answering “what happens if you drink a little bit of a seed?!”

Making orange juice takes a lot of concentration!

The results were delicious!

Enjoy your afternoon. –Jessica

Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Toasted whole wheat bagels with peanut butter and bananas. Lunch: Whole wheat pasta with black beans, fresh green beans and oranges. Snack: Organic whole milk yogurt and homemade, freshly-squeezed orange juice.

We had a busy Friday full of sun, fun, and learning! 

Breakfast was whole wheat raisin bagels with butter and bananas. Wee sprouts were cherry tomatoes. Lunch was whole wheat tortillas with organic refried beans and cheese, fresh broccoli, and orange slices.  Snack was whole grain oatmeal and bananas.

Have a great weekend!

Our friends put on their bathing suits this morning and played in the water!

They had lots of fun splashing around!

It was a great summer day for the Wee Wees.

Breakfast was Whole Grain Cheerios and cantaloupe. Lunch consisted of whole grain brown rice with chicken, fresh peaches, and peas. Snack was goldfish crackers and raisins.

Have a good evening!

Amanda

Enjoy these pictures from today’s trip to the Potawatomi Splash Pad!

We had a blast! –Jessica

Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios, homemade whole wheat fruit muffins and fresh peaches. Lunch: Whole grain brown rice with chicken, peas and watermelon. Snack: Peanuts and wheat crackers.

*Announcement: Tomorrow, Thursday July 30th,  we will be taking a field trip to the Potawatomi Park SPLASH PAD! We will leave promptly at 9:30 am and be back around 11:15. Please sign the permission slip tonight at pick-up or tomorrow at drop-off. And as always, if any parents would like to come along, you are more than welcome to join! It is going to be a wonderful day to get a little wet!

Today has been a jam-packed day full of exploration and learning. Here are a few pictures from throughout our day.

Oftentimes, the unlikeliest of materials become the most entertaining. Yesterday and today friends experimented with a huge roll of masking tapes that were delivered to the house.

The tape rolls acted like a slinky, tunnel, and much more!

This morning started off with a huge game of “guess the object”. Melinda offered clues and descriptions of the objects while friends had to guess the object and say what category it belongs in. Example: “This is something cold that we drink during breakfast…” “Milk!” “What category does milk belong in?” “Food!”

Later, friends were invited to participate in a stained glass cutout art activity.

First, they punched out the cutouts and glued the frame to their paper.

Next, they used watercolors to paint their “stained glass”. Check out the finished artwork on the clothesline in the art room!

The Wee Friends Boat full of passengers:

Outside we discovered tomatoes ripe for picking (and eating) and a sunflower taller than Clara and Owen:

Plus a little ring-around-the-rosie action!

Happy Wednesday! –Jessica

Wee Sprouts: Red bell peppers and cucumbers. Breakfast: Whole grain oatmeal and bananas. Lunch: Farm fresh eggs with cheddar cheese wrapped in whole wheat tortillas, fresh green beans, apples and grapes. Snack: Refried beans and blue corn chips.

A few of our friends played with the pegs today. Anna liked stacking them, while Ruby liked taking two pegs and banging them together.

They had lots of fun playing with the rings.

And they always enjoy hanging out together on the habitrail.

For breakfast, kids had Corn Chex. Lunch consisted of whole wheat bread with almond butter, bananas, and cucumbers. Afternoon snack was homemade whole wheat cranberry muffins and cheddar cheese.

Have a great night!

Amanda

Baking with preschoolers is a joyful and creative process. Listening to their questions and conversations truly indicate the learning taking place! When baking with preschoolers we focus on the benefits of the process more than the outcome.

When baking Wee Friends are:

• practicing math skills such as counting, one-to-one correspondence and measurement
• seeing science in action
• being creative—choosing what flavors, spices, fruit, etc. to add to recipes
• listening—keeping track of what ingredient comes next, how much of an ingredient to add
• practicing literacy skills—reading the recipe, learning new vocabulary, i.e. “What is whole wheat flour?”
• having an opportunity for physical development—stirring, mixing, pouring and squeezing all help develop small muscle control and eye-hand coordination

Not only are we promoting healthy food choices, but we are also providing a confidence-building activity. Children feel empowered when they help create something from scratch that they can eat!

Today we decided to make homemade whole wheat fruit muffins. Here’s the process we went through. Gather the necessary ingredients:

Crack eggs and add some milk:

Add some melted butter and whisk all the wet ingredients together:

Start measuring and pouring the dry ingredients: whole wheat flour, unbleached flour, a little sugar, baking powder and salt:

Stir it all together!

Add some blueberries and blackberries and mix everything up:

Then into the baking cups the batter goes:

The result? Delicious and healthy muffins.

Wee Frienders can be proud to say, “We made that!”

Have a great afternoon. –Jessica

Wee Sprouts: Grape tomatoes. Breakfast: Kix and fresh apples. Lunch: Whole wheat bread with peanut butter, cucumbers and oranges. Snack: Homemade whole wheat fruit muffins and mozzarella cheese sticks.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Now that it’s getting hot, there will be lots of water play outside. Please bring in a bathing suit for your child.

Also, we’re running low on plastic bags, so please bring in any extras you have to donate to our poopy cause!  

Rosemary showed off her art skills while painting outside this morning!

Franklin had too many toys to choose between.

Anna, Ruby, and Annabelle all picked the rings.

Breakfast was whole wheat toast with butter and bananas. Lunch consisted of whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese, broccoli, and apple slices. Afternoon snack was whole wheat crackers and string cheese.

Have a good night!

Amanda

Today we welcome an old friend back: Lulu! Lulu used to attend Wee Wee Friends before spending the last year abroad. She is now back in the states and we are so happy to have her at WF. She has already reconnected with old friends from Wee Wee and is sure to make many more! Welcome Lulu.

Today friends decided to open up a hair salon station. We got out a variety of combs, brushes, spray bottles, barrettes and towels. The hair salon is full of unique ways to practice fine motor skills, such as squeezing the spray bottle and opening/closing barrettes. There are also opportunities for improving hand-eye coordination in combing hair!

Hairstylists went throughout the house calling for “customers” to get their hair done.

Have a great Monday! –Jessica

Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Toasted whole wheat bread with cream cheese and bananas. Lunch: Whole wheat pasta with mozzarella cheese and marinara sauce, broccoli and fresh apple slices. Snack: Organic whole milk yogurt and fresh strawberries.