Good Afternoon!

To start off our Wednesday morning, some friends gathered around the blocks. Within the blocks, there are different animals and food such as strawberries. We talked about the animals and the sounds that they make. A few blocks even made noise with bells and pebbles within them. Friends shook the blocks to hear the different noises.

Our friends looked intently at what was inside each block.

When all of the blocks were emptied out, we all picked up the blocks and put them back into the bin. Everyone did a great job picking up their toys!

When we were done with the blocks, friends decided they wanted to make music. The drums and music shakers were taken down off the shelves for friends to play with.

Friends worked with different rhythms and sounds. We started with soft sounds then worked up to LOUD sounds .

Friends then took turns doing water play. There were many toys including sponges, animals, and boats that were available in the sink. Daniel especially enjoyed taking water from one side of the sink and transferring it to the other side using a measuring cup.

Clara used a sponge to clean the baby. Boy, the baby was sure clean at the end of water play!

P.K. took all of his toys and lined them up on the edge of the sink. We talked about the different animals that he was referring to.

P.K. said, “Hug the bear!”

For breakfast, children had cheerios and banana. Lunch consisted of couscous with chicken, green peas, and apples. PM snack was apples and string cheese.

Have a great night!

-Mindy

This is the question we asked friends as they gathered together on the oval rug. We discussed what a neighborhood IS and then one by one and two by two friends ran to the front and back doors to observe River Park, the Wee Friends neighborhood. They returned with lots of information about what makes a neighborhood: cars, trees, sidewalks and people walking on them, logs and houses were among the many observations they made.

While in our circle, we learned the Sesame Street song “Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?” and belted it out while waiting for friends to return from their research.

Then we invited our Wee Friends and neighbors to the art table where we have begun a 3D model of River Park. With recycled packaging materials, friends created elaborate houses and river boats and fences.

Max and Finn began construction on a railroad.

Sisters Jane and Macy created a house and engaged several friends in an imaginary family exploration.

We have increased our Magna Tile set and friends continue to work with these math tools, ever expanding the complexity of their creations.

Outside, throughout our winterized classroom, the ice offered Wee Friends a very interesting science experiment. First, friends found a shovel, frozen in a pool of water in the back of a toy truck. Melinda led them in their quest to find out “How can we get the shovel out?” After much collaborative problem solving, the accomplished their mission! Then everyone got crazy about ice-running all over the playground looking for ice patches and working to dislodge them.

Next, they found rocks and shovels frozen solid in a black bin. Ellie thought it was the funniest thing she’s ever seen. Again, a conversation ensued about how to get the plastic shovels out. Finn suggested they pour hot water over it and Ada thought putting it where the sun would shine upon it would do the trick. We decided to bring it indoors and study how long it will take for the ice to melt.

Finding the ice, cracking it against the sidewalk and eating it filled the remaining moments of our outside time.

We warmed up inside with a hiding/guessing game: Who is That Friend in Our Neighborhood? Each friend had a chance to hide while the others guessed who was missing, singing our song all the while.

Wee Sprouts: Cucumber slices. Breakfast: Oatmeal and bananas. Lunch: Cous-cous and chicken, peas and pear slices. Snack: Whole wheat pancakes and bananas.

Conversation Starters:

• Who are the people in our neighborhood?
• What happens to ice when it melts?
• Look out the window-can you find your letter?

Have a great day.

Good Afternoon.

Our Wee Wee’s started their morning off with shaving cream. While this sensory activity has been done before, our friends are always a little skeptical when entering the kitchen. Most of our friends dove right in to the sensory play and enjoyed creating and exploring with the shaving cream.

Story time and reading occurred a lot throughout the day. Some friends read together. When friends want to read a book, they ask “please”, “read”, or “help”. Reading time is a great opportunity for friends to come together with a teacher and work on their vocabulary skills as well as social interaction. Taking turns is also a topic during reading time.

Daniel and P.K. looked at a book about food. They both pointed out food that they have in their own home. P.K. pointed to the ‘apples’ and said, “Home.”

Children gathered in the kitchen where they made a variety of food for friends and teachers. We’re getting better at using our words when a friend takes a toy or when we would like something.

Eve dressed her baby. She’s been very caring and gentle with the babies.

Gross motor was explored throughout the day. Whether we were rolling around on the jungle gym or working with the blocks, we were on the go all day!

P.K.’s choo-choo train came roaring through Wee Wee world!

We were on the phone much of the morning! Mom, Dad, and Grandpa were a few family members that we called.

Zoey is moving all around the house. She enjoyed maneuvering herself into a clothing bin as well as walking around the house using chairs and tables to help her.

To end our day, we relaxed and spent time with our friends.

We had a great Tuesday!

Have a terrific night!

-Mindy

Today Wee Friends teachers lined up and asked “Who is the youngest and who is the oldest?” We showed them three pictures: a baby, a middle aged woman and an elderly man. We talked about the different qualities each age group possessed. We filled a bag with different things, pulled the items out and asked “Who would use this?”

We moved the group over to our house collage and each friend took a turn identifying the oldest, middle or youngest family member they could find.

Friends explored the Montessori beads, creating structures, sequencing, counting beads and creating shapes with the bead strings.

 

Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Kix and craisins. Lunch: Tuna fish salad on whole wheat bread, cucumber slices and bananas. Snack: Yogurt and apple slices.

Have a great day.

Happy Monday!

Clara and P.K. started their mornings being involved in different activities with each other. First, they worked with building blocks. P.K. built them high up into the sky and then they talked about the colors of each block.

The trains were taken out and friends pushed the choo-choo’s around the room. Putting the blocks onto the train was a task but our friends took their time and made sure they were on tightly.

Look how tall the tower is!

Zoey enjoyed crawling in and out of the blocks. It was a great gross motor activity! She took a few toys in the block to play with.

Emma jumped, jumped, jumped on the jungle gym today! She loves sliding super fast down the slide and doing it all over again.

At some point in the morning, friends just went off and did their own thing. Whether it was taking a break from play or individual play, the morning went very smoothly!

We made music this afternoon. Zoey play the piano while Daniel took a tool and banged it on the floor making music too!

We also got out the blue tubes. A few of them made sounds such as the bells. P.K. started singing Jingle Bells!

For breakfast, children had English muffins with soy butter and apples. Lunch consisted of whole grain noodles with black beans, applesauce, and green beans. PM snack was goldfish and apples.

Have a terrific evening!

-Mindy

* This is the last call for gymnastics bus and YMCA swim forms/fees! Thank you!

Miss Jennifer and the Blue Bus were back this morning! They worked on the trapeze bar and the octagon barrel. On the bar, the practiced pike and ‘v’ swings. Then they got to swing upside down like bats! On the octagon, they learned a backward walkover. They practiced rockers and at the end of class were steam-rolled! The stamp of the day was a blue bus!

Our sign-in sheet this morning asked friends “How many floors are in your house?” They had 1-2-3 floors to choose from (some friends had 4 floors!). Conversations led us to explore the ideas of top/middle/bottom, 1st, 2nd, 3rd (birth order) and small/medium/large. A couple friends worked with stacking cakes. They built up cakes to correspond with the number of floors they have in their own house. They identified which floor their room is on, as well as the size and sequence of the cakes.

When friends lined up to go potty before hopping on the Blue Bus, they figured out who was first, who was in the middle and who was last in line. The line changed and friends redefined their positions.

We invited friends to choose 3 of the photos they brought in to share, and to tape them in their Wee Friends room.

Arleigh asked if she could make family sculptures. After brainstorming with Melinda, she decided on paper and tape for materials. She scrunched up the paper into balls and got to work. Lea joined her.

Other friends worked side by side: Jane and Macy worked with a “How to Draw” book and Marta created an original work of art for her cousins in Italy.

Sloaners made “a decoration” with Magna Tiles while Marina built a house. Elliott assisted both girls at different points in the process, creating his own work as he went along.

Twice and together, they built a castle. Both times, after finishing, they admired their work then sent it crashing down, only to rebuild again.

 

Pirates Finn and Nate built a ship with a bottom, middle and top deck. They couldn’t sail on it, but Little Animals could!

They moved their operation to the railroad and as they assembled train cars, we identified the first, middle and last on the track.

Friends sat with Lisa and created their families out of our family sorting pieces.

 

We ended our morning work with a musical message board:

You know at Wee Friends we make it a priority to expose our young musicians to an eclectic and quality repertoire and in this light, I feel it my duty to report that Dora was the favorite arrangement of this wonderful song. We were aghast, and feel our work cut out for us. Nevertheless, we explored how the songs were different and enjoyed every minute of working out our bodies and minds to the beat! We are learning a Wee Friends version and belted out the new lyrics as we jumped around.

 

Wee Sprouts:

Breakfast: Whole wheat toast with peanut butter and banana. Lunch: Whole wheat penne pasta with black beans, applesauce and green beans. Snack: Pretzels and cojack cheese.

Happy Monday.

Happy Friday!

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

For breakfast, children had Chex and banana. AM snack was Colby jack cheese. Lunch consisted of brown rice with chicken, green peas, and banana. PM snack was animal crackers and raisins.

Have a great weekend!

-Mindy

There’s a lot of building going on at Wee Friends. Today, if they weren’t building a puzzle, a Magna Tile structure, a fort or a wooden freeway….friends were picking out and decorating their own room in the Wee Friends House. This afternoon, we will invite friends to share their family photos (thank you!) and paste them in their room.

Wee Sprouts: Pea pods. Breakfast: Whole wheat English muffins with peanut butter and pear slices. Lunch: Whole grain rice with chicken, peas and mandarin oranges. Snack: Rice cakes and cheddar cheese slices.

Have a great weekend!

Hello!

We picked up where we left off yesterday: with our colorful blocks! To start off the day, we sat in them and talked about our morning.

Clara started off with her “one, two, three!” as she jumped off the blocks. These are an awesome tool for friends to use to increase their gross motor skills and strength their muscles. Plus, we work on counting!

P.K. jumped from block to block. He made sure his feet were steady. When he was finished, he said, “I jumped a lot!”

Children love to congregate in places. Lately, one of our favorites is at the jungle gym!

We shuffled over to the kitchen area where friends became involved in deep pretend play.

Daniel mixed up an orange in a bowl and gave it to one of his friends. It was like Thanksgiving dinner at one point! Friends were reaching, grabbing, and taking things from all over the table.

Lu Lu enjoyed floor time where she looked around at her friends and playing with different toys that her friends brought to her!

This afternoon, our stripped friends worked with a wooden cube with different shapes. Children took each shape and put it into the correct hole.

Once they were done, P.K. asked if he could have a turn. When it was finally his turn, he stacked the shapes instead.

Peek-A-Boo was the game of the day.

For breakfast, children had Chex and banana. Lunch consisted of egg and melted cheese rolled into a tortilla (YUM), mixed vegetables, and banana. PM snack was cranberry-orange muffins and Colby jack cheese slices.

Have a great night!

-Mindy

It’s a topic that comes up a lot in our lives at Wee Friends: how do we create an environment that will enable our friends to enjoy and celebrate their part in successful social negotiations? It’s hard not to jump in and solve it for them or do it for them. It’s hard to sit still and listen and carefully navigate the sometimes tricky communication dynamics of 3-5 year olds. But it happens. Everyday. And we WORK AT IT! Whew.

There’s one cash register on the table and one basket of coins but two friends want to play with it at the same time. As it turned out, our older Arleigh mentored our younger Marina.

There are two different books and each friend wants to hold both books at the same time and NOT share. With some support, friends agree to read one book at a time and then switch.

Two prima ballerinas are on a bus with only two spots. There is absolutely no room for anyone else.

But there are other friends who would like to ride the bus as well.

With no teacher guidance, THREE new spots were made and the bus filled with  girls not only rode around town, but had delicious snacks as well.

It’s the pay-off time of the year and everyone has enjoyed these great moments as a result of hard won negotiating skills. Not all the time…..but more and more each day. Happiness.

Wee Sprouts:

Breakfast: Kashi and apple slices. Lunch: Scrambled eggs and cheese on whole wheat tortillas, bananas and mixed veggie. Snack: Pretzels and Craisins.

Have a great day.