Wee Sprouts: carrots, cucumber and kohlrabi (thanks, Pete!), Breakfast: Cheerios and bananas, Lunch: Whole wheat tortillas with refried beans and cheddar cheese, roasted green beans and carrots and applesauce. Snack: (thanks, Matt!)
See everyone Monday, July 9th!
Happy Wednesday!
We had a nice surprise today! Olivia and Aiden came to visit their Wee Wee Friends. Olivia stayed with us for a while this morning. It was great to see her!
This morning, Marina enjoyed stacking blocks to see how high they would go. They kept falling over so she kept rebuilding the tower. She showed great persistence as she tried it over and over until she built it up to her head!
Sydney read a ‘touch and feel’ book to Marina which she greatly appreciated!
We tested out a new sensory activity! Not only was it fun to manipulate but it made the entire house smell like Ivory soap! First, we took bars of Ivory soap and put it in the microwave. We waited patiently while the soap was in the microwave.
When the soap was ready, our friends used their hands to roll it and break it up into small pieces. It turned into a light play-dough substance that the children enjoyed exploring.
We turned it into snow! Children brought imaginative play into their sensory play. Children pretended it was snow and cars were driving through it. They became very involved and creative with their play using their sensory material.
Chloe joined Olivia underneath the tent where they scooped pebbles with cups and spoons. Their measuring and pouring skills are growing everyday which will help them at the table when they can serve themselves!
The log cabin was a popular hang out spot this morning. Clara climbed one log and held on with their hands. Marina sat and observed her friends playing in the house.
Ellie continues to work on her balancing skills while outside. One of her favorite activities is to walk along the longs. She’s understanding the different things that need to happen so you don’t fall off such as watching your feet and keeping your arms at your side.
Clara really enjoyed working in the sand this morning. She used a shovel and plate to transfer sand onto the logs.
Marina wanted some shade so she decided to head to the deck where again, she built a tower! Only this time, she used Legos instead of blocks. She made sure to snap the legs on tightly so it didn’t break.
Chloe and Marina joined Clara in the sand box where they buried their feet and poured the sand onto different surfaces such as towels and trucks.
For breakfast, children enjoyed English muffins with butter and cinnamon along with bananas. Lunch consisted of turkey on whole wheat bread, carrots, and bananas. PM snack was blueberry muffins and oranges.
Have a great evening!
-Mindy
“What Do the English Say?”
Sweets. Alexandra taught us that the English would say, not candy or dessert, but sweets. And everyone at WF is talking about them! On the playground this morning, two groups of friends spent an extended length of time selling strawberry ice cream and smoothies.
With sand as their material and plastic plates and buckets for tools, friends scooped, stirred and dished out serving after serving of ice cream. Shouts of “Ice cream! Who wants ice cream?!” were heard across the yard.
Inspired by Simon’s tarts, we decided to make another batch!
Lisa invited friends to create more baked yummies with green sparkly Play-Doh. They sang as they molded, cut, pressed, squished and rolled!
There were lots of games being played today. Jada, Sloane and Lea initiated a collaborative game of “London Bridges”.
With Melinda’s guidance, they played several rounds of the game singing and laughing along!
Kai, Viv, Simon and Max played “Hot Lava”. The ground was hot lava and they found any and every ledge, stone or mat they could, to walk safely across the lava. Max created his own obstacle (and solution!) by placing a chair close to a rock and moving carefully between them.
And…….base!
With Alexandra’s poster board full of familiar images with English names, we created a game called “What Do The English Say?”. (Thanks, Alexandra!) Friends rolled dice and landed on a picture. After practicing a proper English accent, we would ask, in unison, “What do the English say?”. If the WF answered correctly, she could stay on the picture. If not, she moved back to start!
One round took us nearly 45 minutes to play! And like every proper Englishwoman and Englishman, (and Wee Friend!) we shook the winner’s hand…and discussed how important good sportsmanship is!
Wee Sprouts today are cucumber slices and carrots. Breakfast was grits and cranberries. For lunch we ate turkey sandwiches on whole wheat bread, carrots and bananas. Snack: Grape tarts!
Have a jolly good day.
Parent Reminder:
DID YOU KNOW that “when you put Ivory soap into an operating microwave, the soap and trapped water absorb the microwave energy and heat up. Eventually the water turns to steam. Steam takes up much more volume than the equivalent quantity of liquid water, and this drives the expansion of the soap bar. In addition, the air in the trapped bubbles expands as it is heated, contributing to the expansion.”
SO…..We thought we’d try to create our own Soap Soufflés.
With Melinda at the helm, each WF chose a bowl of ivory soap shavings and took turns watching as they expanded into a mountain of fluffy peaks.
After watching the explosion, friends went to the table and, using an eye dropper, added water color.
Lisa worked with each Wee Friend as they wrote and mailed postcards from London.
Laurie taped six paper hearts to the rug. She read Mother Goose’s “The Queen of Hearts”, turned on Juice Newton’s “Queen of Hearts” and waited to see what happened.
We danced a bit, learned how to curtsy and bow, and invented a Queen of Hearts version of “Duck, Duck, Goose”. Then the hearts became stones on which to cross over hot lava. As Juice sang, friends walked carefully from heart to heart, being careful not to fall into the hot lava. When the music stopped, the friend who was in the lava sat down.
Sydney shared a few circle games and taught us how to play them. Instruments started slowly appearing, so we set out baskets of more for friends to choose from and began creating music.
There were three requests: Arleigh: the slow/fast rhythm song by Hap Palmer. Elliott: “Puff the Magic Dragon” and Finn: “Dynamite” (“Because I have super moves!”).
A few friends sat together looking for the Queen of Hearts in a deck of cards. Simon created the rules and carefully instructed his friends on how to play. Friends identified hearts, triangles and certain numbers.
Wee Sprouts are cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and green beans. Breakfast was Malt-O-Meal with applesauce. Lunch was ham rolls stuffed with cream cheese, corn and orange slices.
Have a great day.
Good Afternoon!
Our friends started their morning off by coloring with markers. They talked about different colors and the images that they were drawing. Marina pointed and said, “Daddy!” Elizabeth concentrated as she drew multiple green squiggly lines. Ellie stayed focused as she tried to put the marker back where she found it.
Children pulled different books from the shelf that they found interesting. Clara requested a book to be read to her that talked about different parts of the body such as hands, nose, and feet. Ellie sat quietly reading her book while talking to herself. P.K. pointed out Dora and many of her friends. Clara joined and they read the book together.
Outside, Ellie pushed the basket while P.K. and Clara headed for the blue dogs. Sydney helped Clara along the circle path.
Marina used her strong leg muscles to climb to the top of the wooden house! She stuck her shoulders out and smiled at her friends. We talked about the easiest way to get down. She said, “It’s hot!” Miss Mindy told her that when the sun hits the wood, it becomes hot.
Clara sat in the sand box where she filled an egg up with sand and gently poured it over her leg. She enjoyed the warm sand falling on her leg.
Our Wee Friend Sydney was nice enough to give a few of our friends a calm and gentle ride around in the basket. They relaxed as the warm sun hit their face.
Elizabeth joined Marina inside the wooden house where they worked on scooping rocks and pebbles. They put the stones and pebbles on the tree stump. Their goal was to get as many rocks on the stump as possible!
Friends gathered over by the house where a few friends were dishing out ice cream! Everyone made sure to put in their orders so they would receive the ice cream of their choice. Elizabeth and Ellie worked together as they prepared the ice cream for their friends. Marina went back and forth between the sand box and the house to retrieve more sand which they were using as the ice cream.
For breakfast, our friends enjoyed cheerios and oranges. Our friends LOVE oranges! AM snack was cucumbers. Lunch consisted of ham and cream cheese roll-ups, corn, and banana. PM snack was rice cakes with cream cheese and raisins.
Have a great evening!
-Mindy
This morning, friends pulled out their passports and we headed for “A Green and Pleasant Land”………….
….England and Great Britain! Simon’s mom, Alexandra, took us on a journey east, across the ocean to visit her homeland of England.
She first discussed how far it was in relation to South Bend, and that the capital city of England is London.
We learned, that like the colors of Simon’s football jersey, the colors of both flags are red, white and blue (just like the US!). Alexandra taught Wee Friends “London Bridges” and everyone had a chance to skip under the bridge…..and try to avoid getting caught!
We learned that English people love to garden and we even got to see a picture of Simon in his Granny’s garden!
Alexandra explained that great literature and wonderful stories had their beginnings in England. Of particular interest to our friends were the stories of Thomas the Train, Winnie the Pooh and Paddington Bear.
She spoke of castles, princesses, queens and moats. She showed us pictures of Big Ben, The Tower of London and Leeds Castle.
She showed us many pictures of things we THOUGHT we knew the name of…like soccer and candy, but as it turns out, in England, they call them something else! Soccer is football, a line is a queue, potato chips are crisps…and candy is a sweet…just to name a few!
We finished our time together with Alexandra reading “Lines and Squares” and “The King’s Breakfast” from A.A. Milne’s classic, When We Were Very Young. Afterwards, each friend was invited to sample a raspberry tart, made by Simon!
What a fantastic trip! THANK YOU ALEXANDRA for spending your time with us this morning and teaching us about England and Great Britain! We can’t wait ‘til you and Simon return from Paris for another WF European adventure!
Back in South Bend, Ada, Kai and Simon added a flashlight and measuring stick to their daily slug hunt.
Ada was so excited to capture the targeted slug that she danced a celebratory dance singing “I like to move it move it!!.
A rolly polly wouldn’t stay still long enough for Ada to measure it! But she was able to measure two slugs at 1” each. Simon explored the rulers further, adding and subtracting the two feet in different combinations.
The Little girls brought a little of their Myrtle Beach vacay back to Wee Friends by constructing an elaborate (first time ever at Wee Friends!) sand castle! Just in time for our trip to England to see other castles!
It was a happy morning.
Wee Sprouts are cucumber slices and green beans. Breakfast was whole wheat toast with peanut butter and pear slices. Lunch was whole wheat penne pasta with black beans and chicken, watermelon and peas.
Have a good day.
Happy Monday!
After a great weekend, our friends started their Monday off by gathering in the kitchen where they worked with cars and colorful letters. Children chose a car and made noises as they drove it along the table and on the ground. A car even said, “beep beep!” Chloe decided that she wanted to share her car with Elizabeth. She let Elizabeth know this by saying, “Here Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth showed an interest in coloring so she got out markers and paper. She was involved for quite some time and made various drawings. She used different colors and sat at different angles. She stood, sat, and even knelt down so that her face was parallel to the picture.
P.K. had a great time talking to Mommy and Daddy! He said, “Hi” and “Momma” while talking on the phone. He pressed the numbers and even let friends use the phone.
Marina enjoyed setting up the table with a variety of food and serving ware. She held a baby, pointed and said, “Baby Zoey.” Zoey didn’t join us today at Wee Wee Friends due to being under the weather so Marina thought she’d call the baby, Zoey!
It was a gorgeous morning! The sun was shining and our friends took advantage of the wonderful weather. P.K. couldn’t quite ride the big tricycle by himself so his friend Clara gave him a gentle push to get him going. Marina pushed around a basket that she collected pretend food with. She informed a few of her friends that she was going to the grocery.
The sand felt warm on our feet and hands! Marina worked on pouring sand from container to container. Clara and P.K. took shovels and scooped sand up to transfer to different places.
Chloe filled her bowl up with sand, took it over to Miss Mindy and said, “Yum!” Our friends are very creative when it comes to play. They take things and situations they see in real life and apply it to their play. Elizabeth took half of an Easter egg, filled it with sand and began sticking her finger in the middle. She said, “Look my finger made a hole!”
Chloe sat on the teeter totter with Jada. They sat together and then decided to sit side by side. While rocking together, they said, “Wee!”
Marina worked on bouncing a basketball. She found out it is much heavier than a bouncy ball. She was working on strengthening her arms as well as her coordination. Chloe and P.K. worked on their balance as they sat on bouncy balls. They used their hands to grasp the fence and used their feet to keep their balance on the ground.
Our Wee Friend Macy served up food to our friends! She asked what they’d like to eat and our friends responded with their favorite foods! Ellie and Marina joined Sloane in requesting pizza and noodles! They sat very patiently as their food was cooking and told Macy, “Thank you” when their food was done. We’re working with our Wee Wee Friends on saying “please” and “thank you” in different situations.
For breakfast, our friends enjoyed Chex with pears. AM sprouts was corn. Lunch consisted of noodles with black beans and chicken, green peas, and fresh, juicy watermelon! Our friends kept saying, “More” which means they LOVED lunch! Children even gave the sign for ‘more’. PM snack was string cheese and apples.
Have a great evening!
-Mindy
Happy Friday!
**Just as a reminder, we are only only next week Monday through Thursday. Our summer vacation starts Friday, June 29th and goes through July 6th. We will reopen on July 9th! Thanks!
Our day started off with puzzles. Children showed interest in their favorite puzzle by pointing to it or verbally asking for it. They helped one another if someone was having problems finishing it.
Ellie sat at the window opening reading, “Where Is My Mother?” After she was done reading, she asked Miss Mindy if she would read her the book.
Marina showed interest in coloring so P.K. decided to join her. They shared markers and talked to each other as well as themselves about what they were drawing.
Marina put away her markers and got the play-dough out. She used play-dough along with foam shapes to make different creations. She took a shape and covered it with play-dough. She let Miss Mindy know that the “heart was hiding” so we had to be quiet.
P.K. sat nears vines and trees and pointed to different things he saw. He pointed to a fly that he saw flying around.
Along the fence, there are purple flowers that are growing. Marina and P.K. used their nose to smell the flowers.
As we’re smelling the flowers, Clara points to the sky and started to laugh. Everyone else looked up in the sky and an airplane was flying by. She used her ears and eyes to notice that a plane was flying above us.
P.K worked with bouncy balls while outside. He tried picking two up at the same time and found that it was quite difficult! So, he played with them while sitting on the ground.
Marina and Ellie used their leg and arm muscles to help them as they bounced on a bouncy ball.
P.K saw his friends bouncing on a bouncy ball and decided he wanted to do this too! However, he tried it with a small ball. He tried twice to sit on it successfully but he kept falling off. He stayed determined and finally mastered it! He bounced on the little ball while using his balancing skills to the max.
The trampoline was taken out for our friends to play with. Marina enjoyed testing out the springs and the different tricks she could do.
Ellie chose to jump as high as she could! P.K. was hesitant about jumping with any force but after watching his friends a few times, he felt more comfortable about bouncing and jumping.
For breakfast, our friends enjoyed Chex and pears. AM snack was snap peas. Lunch consisted whole wheat tortillas with melted cheese, pears,banana, and green peas. PM snack was oranges and pretzels.
Have a terrific weekend!
-Mindy
Parent reminders:
Yesterday’s rain didn’t stop Wee Friends from having a great time!
We began our day outside with watercolors and a tape mural.
Lisa started by drawing different shape and images on the banner. Friends then filled in with different colored tape.
A few friends chose to come inside and watercolor at the table.
We ended our morning (and our trip to Italy!) by making pizza dough! We measured, poured, combined, stirred and kneaded several ingredients until we had our dough!
Then we stretched and pushed and pulled and rolled the dough out onto two cooking sheets.
After we toasted them in the oven, Lisa added more magic and BOY WERE THEY GOOD!!!
Wee Sprouts are carrots and Breakfast was scrambled eggs orange slices.
Enjoy your weekend.
Good Afternoon!
Zoey started her Thursday morning off by studying different hanging toys from her baby gym. She is reaching for toys with her hands and kicking the toys with her feet at well. Her gross motor skills are growing. This is shown by her kicking and moving her legs much more throughout the day.
Ellie sat with her new friend Zoey while they looked at the fish. Ellie pointed the fish out to Zoey. She was very helpful and Zoey appreciated it! Zoey sat for some time watching the fish and the activities that occurred in the fish tank. Her attention span is growing with each day.
Our friends took a pretend camera and told their friends to say, “Cheese!” They are observing their teachers taking pictures throughout the day and using that knowledge to pretend play.
While Zoey took an interest in the fish tank, Marina pointed and say, “Grrr..” Miss Mindy talked with Marina about what sounds fish make. Instead of making a true ‘sound’, we talked about what fish looked like and the faces that they made. Marina was shown a fishy face and she responded with her own fish face!
While outside, Elizabeth stirred her food mixture with a utensil. She informed her friends and teacher that she had to make sure it was all blended together.
Our Wee Friends used red nets to catch different insects. Marina used one and found out that she could see through it. She looked through the net and said, “I can see you!”
P.K. took an interest to Arleigh who goes to Wee Friends. He really enjoyed her company and interacting with a new face.
Zoey enjoyed floor time today. She rotated from her stomach to her back. While on her stomach, she continued to work on holding her head up for an extended period of time. She used her arms to prop her up and found an interesting toy that caught her attention. When she moved to her back, she found that she could grasp toys. She got a hold of a duck head and pulled down with force.
For breakfast, our friends enjoyed egg casserole and banana. Ellie took initiative and when she was asking what she’d like for snack, she replied, “Corn, please!” So we had corn for AM snack. Lunch consisted of whole wheat English muffins topped with cream cheese and melted mozzarella cheese, fresh green grapes, and snap peas. PM snack was raisins and whole wheat crackers.
Have a wonderful evening!
-Mindy