Today we leave The Land of the Midnight Sun and set our sights on Virginia! Next Wednesday, Kai’s mom, Crystal, will come and share information about her home state. It’s the first (and only..so far!) trip within our own USA that we will have made! We can’t wait Crystal!

Friends spent most of this amazing morning outside. Every inch of the WF playground is used for creative play.

 

The sensational sensorial rocks and sand have been ice cream, smoothies, pies and today chef Finn created Stinky Soup. He used his T-shirt pocket as a hook to carry around his pot. 

The trees have been elevators and have great leaves to pick and pull and become something….

The garden ledges and log posts are balance beams and scary passages to scary places.

Buckets are swimming pools for slugs and beetles.

The deck, sandbox, climbing cottage and swing are communal spots where friends talk, build friendships, fight for their rights and learn to work together.

The sidewalks become singing paths, airplane strips, race tracks and bike paths.

The garden is a daily biology lesson as friends watch plants, flowers and vegetables grow and see bugs of every kind creeping around.  Have we mentioned a HUGE THANKS to the Chadderton/Tank family for the automatic sprinkler timers they installed last Friday? Thank you for helping the garden grow!

And happy Friday.

 

Wee Sprouts: Pea Pods. Breakfast: Chex and pears. Lunch: Turkey sandwiches on whole wheat bread, apple slices and mixed veggies.

Name Day in the Land of the Midnight Sun

On Monday, Amy taught us that in Sweden, each day has a designated name of honor, making it a Name Day. Today, Wee Friends celebrated their names, first by counting the letters in their names and then by tracing as many letters as they could in salt. The texture and softness of the salt was inviting…so too was the taste….

Lisa found The Name Game. We acted out each lyric.

She also found the definitions for each friend’s name. We gathered at the art table to begin creating self portraits inspired by our name’s meaning.

We acted out another book that Nate brought in called:

We ended our good manners exploration with our French Hip Hop song “Mind Your Manners”.

Sydney guided her friends in gymnastics routines. She set up an age appropriate balance beam and helped her friends walk across.

Friendships continue to grow as Wee Friends work together, talk together and learn to negotiate the sometimes turbulent pirate waters of their play!

Nate began his day jumping into a water volcano.  To support his imagination and interest in the rain, we collected rain water, a tub, a cooking funnel and a measuring cup and created our own water volcano.

We have all enjoyed creating the embroidered Wee Friends House and are so close to completing it!

Wee Sprouts: snap peas. Breakfast: Chex and bananas. Lunch: Cheese filled ravioli, broccoli, and cantaloupe.

Hope you’re having a great day.

Good Afternoon!

Our Thursday morning started with gross motor activity. Ellie worked on her jumping skills as she put her hands firmly on a level surface and jumped with her legs. Her feet went high into the air but she kept her balance. Also on her agenda this morning was dancing! She watched as her feet moved to the music. Chloe worked on wiggling through various holes in the jungle gym. She had to maneuver a few times but she accomplished her goal!

Children got a chance to paint this morning. Our patience and ability to sit at an activity is growing! We all did such a great job making beautiful artwork along with listening to directions and tips that teachers gave us such as using a variety of techniques (brush, hand, sponge, etc.).

We used different colors such as blue, orange, pink, and purple.

P.K. and Clara mixed different colors together as they painted.

P.K. noticed he got blue paint on her finger and he said, “Oh, No!”

Clara used all of the paint available! She loved getting the paint on her hands and then pushing her hands down on the paper.

Emma played with different animals as well as looking at her reflection in the mirror! She covered her eyes to hide from herself. She then popped her hands off her face and smiled. She is beginning to notice that when she covers her eyes, she can’t see anything! Emma had a great time playing this game.

For breakfast, children had kix and oranges. Lunch consisted of wonderful cheese ravioli and broccoli along with banana and bread. PM snack was apples and yogurt.

Have a great evening!

-Mindy

Happy Wednesday!

We’re excited to have Ellie back at Wee Wee Friends after an exciting family vacation that she took over the past couple of weeks!

Marina sat as Miss Melinda read her stories. She showed initiative by picking out certain books that she liked. She saw a book on the floor and pointed and said, “I’ve read that today.”

Children danced as music played. We clapped and twisted our bodies.

Marina and Clara played pretend in the kitchen. They shared utensils and worked together to make lunch!

Clara listened to the music that came from a toy by the door. She used her arm to pull the toy so that it made beautiful music!

Outside, children colored on boxes using markers. They worked on their fine motor skills while outside in the sun! Great teamwork took place as children worked together to color the box.

While her friends were quietly napping, Emma snuggled up in the corner where she read herself books. She enjoyed the quiet time and the chance to read new books!

For breakfast, children had Chex and apples. AM snack was cucumbers and banana. Lunch consisted of ham rollups with cream cheese, oranges, and broccoli. PM snack was animal crackers and raisins.

Have a great evening!

-Mindy

 

Ice Sculptures in the Land of the Midnight Sun

After researching Swedish ice sculptures, Lisa created several for Wee Friends. Adding plastic jewels, airplanes and blue paint to water, she froze them over night and brought them in this morning for friends to explore. She also froze multi-colored ice cubes!

Many observations were made by Wee Friends: Why does it melt? Can we eat it? My hands are freezing! It’s an iceberg! Where did it go? Can I keep it? To continue our exploration, we filled a bin up with ice cubes. We spoke at length about how water takes different forms in different temperatures. We challenged friends to hold onto an ice +cube for as long as they could to see what happened!

We are getting ready for the next stage of our sunflowers: popping the seeds out!

Wee Sprouts: carrots. Breakfast: Whole wheat toast with peanut butter and pear slices. Lunch: Ham rolls with cream cheese, mandarin oranges and peas.

Have a great day.

Good Afternoon!

To start off the day, Clara waved bye-bye to her friends as she went to the door to leave. She made sure to grab her purse as she left! P.K. relaxed after eating breakfast.

We headed outside for water play! It was a hot day. We stayed in the shade and filled up the sensory water tub with cold water. Our friends used different toys while playing in the water. A few favorites included sponges and measuring cups that children filled with water and then dumped back in the water. They found that it made a splash!

Clara and P.K. were so enthused during water play, they let out a variety of screams!

Friends played with one another and shared toys.

Chloe had a fabulous time running through the sprinkler! She had a non stop smile on her face. She laughed when the water hit her face as she was running.

Clara joined Chloe in the sprinkler fun!

Our friends had a great time in the water. Children found out quickly that when they are wet and play in the sand or dirt, they become muddy and very dirty!

Marina opened her mouth wide to scream with excitement while running through the sprinkler. P.K. scratched his head while thinking what he should do next!

For breakfast, children had corn bran and oranges. Lunch consisted of egg salad sandwiches on whole wheat bread, cucumbers, and cottage cheese with fruit. PM snack was whole wheat crackers and bananas.

Have a wonderful evening!

-Mindy

Breakfast: Chex and pear slices. Wee Sprouts: Snap peas. Lunch: Egg salad on whole wheat bread, cucumber slices and pineapple.

Have a great day.

Happy Monday!

Hope everyone had a terrific weekend.

Our friends started their Monday off with gross motor activities. Children climbed, crawled, and jumped on our gross motor stairs and slide. Everyone is getting used to the new toy and the different things they can do on it.

P.K. and Clara had quiet time while sitting under the cubby area.

We started a painting activity today where children painted their hands and pushed their hand on the paper to make a hand print! We talked about the different colors that we used.

Outside, friends gathered in the sandbox where they filled different containers with sand. The sand was still wet from the rain we got over the weekend. Children liked the feeling of the wet sand on their hands. Clara decided to take shade shelter and play with the pebbles. She poured the pebbles from container to container.

P.K. scooped sand using a shovel into a bucket. He worked on his fine motor skills and then decided to switch to gross motor by bouncing on a bouncy ball. He held the railing and propelled himself up by using his legs.

Zoey grasped different toys today and then transferred them to her mouth. Her hand muscles are getting stronger along with her upper body! She can hold her head up for a longer period of time.

Marina played pretend by serving herself coffee and drinking it with a spoon.

For breakfast, children had chex and oranges. AM snack was carrots. Lunch consisted of pita bread with hummus, corn, and apples. PM snack was whole wheat crackers and string cheese.

Have a great evening!

-Mindy

Parents: Water play tomorrow!

Day 36 of Around the World in 55 Days. Whew. What incredibly imagined summer journeys  Wee Friends have taken, thanks to the great generosity of YOU…Wee Friends parents and families! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!! Today, Amy Crosson guided our trip to…..

The Land of the Midnight Sun

We kept very busy this morning, waiting for our captain to arrive. Nate worked on a photo journal design project.

Macy, Max, Sophie, Jada and Sloane worked puzzles together.

Cassie and Arleigh continued their needlework on the Wee Friends House. Macy and Sydney joined in.

Ada found a quiet place to read.

And then it was time to take flight! Amy brought a Box of Sweden with her that included a variety of fabulous books, “Kubb” ( a Swedish outdoor game akin to chess), a map, a paper doll, a flag, a reindeer, an accent….and a fluent Swedish tongue.

Amy taught us that Sweden is called “The Land of the Midnight Sun” and that, during two summer months, the sun never sets! Swedes love to swim and the country is filled with moose and reindeer.

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We studied the Swedish flag and Amy named the two colors of the flag in Swedish.

She shared that her family lives very far north and showed us a fabric with an indigenous Swedish scene on it.

We learned a little about who the Vikings were! We agreed that they could be described as a people similar to pirates ….a little tough and not so very nice to others. We learned that there is a king and queen in Sweden.

We passed around a beautifully painted toy wooden reindeer.

Amy explained how far Sweden is from South Bend.

She regaled us with Swedish poetry, read in her lilting, musical Swedish accent. Our friends met the wildly fantabulous Pippin Longstocking!

Friends listened intently about Pippi and her life. We learned that she is strong enough to hold a horse with one hand. We also learned a few phrases from the the 1970’s TV show theme song “I am Pippi Longstocking.” Amy brought us a ‘wild natural treat from the Swedish forest’: Lingonberry jam on whole grain Wasa crackers. 

To the musical sounds of a Swedish Clap Song, we had our passports stamped and headed outdoors for a game of Kubb.

While all this was going on, Chef Lisa was in the kitchen whipping Swedish potatoes and rolling out Swedish meatballs! Thank you, Lisa, for the extra special lunch prep.

 

Tack så mycket, Amy! What a tremendous journey! We are grateful for your time, energy and knowledge of Sweden! SKOL!!!!!

Breakfast: Cheerios and bananas. Wee Sprouts: cucumber slices.

Have a great day.

Happy Friday!

**We’re asking current Wee Wee Friends families to please bring a family picture in next week if possible. We’d like to update the family picture board in the kitchen. Thanks!

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

For breakfast, children had English muffins with cinnamon and apples. AM snack was green peas. Lunch consisted of turkey sandwiches, mixed fruit, and snap peas. PM snack was blueberry muffins and raisins.

Have a great weekend!

-Mindy

Chloe wanted to say “Cheese” to the camera. She ran towards the camera and got a little too close! So we tried the second time which was a success! She was shown the picture of her face up close and she said, “Look, Chloe!”