Good Afternoon!

I wouldn’t even be able to give you an educated guess as to how many books we read in a given week. There are children who ask to read books more than others but when a book starts being read aloud, friends are automatically drawn to listening whether its right next to the teacher or from across the classroom.

As we all know, there are so many benefits to reading aloud, and the importance of starting this routine early in a child’s life. We are often asked by parents, “What can I do to help my child in their reading/writing journey?”. Our first answer is always, “Read to them.”. Read all types of genres as each are so vastly different in how they’re written and the information we get from each genre.

A quote from the article below reads, “One study found that kindergarten children who were read to at least three times a week had a “significantly greater phonemic awareness than did children who were read to less often.” Reading aloud helps strengthen things like vocabulary, comprehension, and visual clues.

It’s not JUST reading the story. It’s stopping in the middle of a page when a child has a comment or a question and willingly dive deeper into the story line, characters or events that are taking place. At the end of the story is a great time to check in to see what they were able to retain. “Wow! That was such an interesting story. What did you think about the character Frog?” (aim to ask questions that aren’t yes and no answers)—questions that provoke comprehension and thinking while building understanding of how books work which is so important for literacy development.

We always focus on ‘love of learning’ at Wee Friends but we also focus on ‘love of reading’!

Thankfully, our kiddos love listening to stories and we love reading them!

https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/why-reading-aloud-to-kids-helps-them-thrive

Enjoy a few more pictures from our day!

Breakfast– Puffins cereal with fresh cantaloupe.

Lunch– Brown rice with shredded chicken, fresh watermelon, and fresh pepper/cucumber/cherry tomatoes.

PM snack– Whole wheat crackers with peanuts.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cherry tomatoes (Thanks to Cassie and her mom!)/cucumber/pepper.

Have a lovely night.

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-08-08

Good Afternoon!

Our friends enjoyed sitting on a teacher’s lap or next to a teacher to listen to them read books.

Our friends shared smiles with the teachers!

We made our way to the kitchen to engage in some loose parts play. We were given wooden people, circles, and rings of different colors. Eleanor stacked the rings on top of a person and watched as the person disappeared in the tall tower of rings. Charlotte tried stacking her people, but realized that she couldn’t stack them due to their round head shape.

Outside, our friends explored animals at the table, rode a teeter totter, went down the slide, and drew with markers at the art table.

Breakfast:  Corn Chex cereal and fresh cantaloupe/oranges.

Lunch:  Whole grain brown rice with shredded chicken, cucumbers and fresh pineapple.

Afternoon Snack:  Whole grain Wheat Thins crackers with peanut butter.

Wee Sprouts:  Green bell peppers/cucumbers.

Have a fantastic evening!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-08-08

Good afternoon! 

Today we continued building on the big box project!  We used markers and pastels to add more color to our boxes.  Once the boxes were finished, everyone got to use their imaginations and cooperative skills to play in them!  We talked about the variety of possibilities for pretend as we played!  One pair of friends pretended to be in an airplane.  We found objects around the classroom to use for steering wheels.  The airplane became a bus and a fire truck after that.  Blocks were used as fire hoses! 

Next we took the boxes outside where they became houses, barns and a hospital!  Its amazing how many things a group of children can make from a box!

At the end of the day we made a list of favorite things we imagined the box to be.

Everyone enjoyed a group activity with both Wee Friends and Wee Wee friends outdoors today!  We played games with the parachute which were fun for all ages .  Then Miss Rebecka read stories on top of the parachute. What a busy day!

Breakfast: Oatmeal with cinnamon and fresh bananas

Lunch: Farm fresh scrambled eggs with fresh peppers, cucumbers, cantaloupe and orange slices

PM Snack: Air popped corn with raisins

Wee Sprouts: Bell peppers and cucumbers

Have a lovely afternoon!

~Wee Friends Teachers

Link to Photos:2024-08-07

Happy Wednesday!

This morning we engaged with instruments.  We used our hands to make beats on our drums and shook our shakers and bells.

We then headed into the kitchen to engage with our loose part wooden shapes and animals.  A friend worked to put her animal inside of her circle and Charlotte and Eleanor stacked their shapes to make a tall tower.

Since it was a very beautiful morning, we decided to head outside early to enjoy our Wee Sprouts.

Miss Bekah brought out something new for us to enjoy with our preschool friends….the parachute.  We held onto it to shake it fast and slow, we went under it and imagined it was an umbrella that was protecting us from the rain, and we even sat on it to listen to a few books.  We loved it!

Breakfast:  Overnight oatmeal with cinnamon/sugar mixture and bananas.

Lunch: Farm fresh scrambled eggs with whole grain wheat tortilla, fresh green bell peppers and cantaloupe.

Afternoon Snack:  Blue corn tortilla chips and hummus.

Wee Sprouts: Red bell pepper.

Have a wonderful evening!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-08-07

Hello!

**Wee Friends is closed Monday, September 2 for Labor Day.

This morning we worked on solving the problem: “What to do with a giant box?”.  We settled on painting the box and having a group discussion about what it would be when it was finished.  There were lots of creative ideas: a closet for clothes, a boat, a car, a house, and a hiding place. At the end of the discussion one friend said “I know! It could be a changing machine that does all of the things!”.  Everyone agreed that the changing machine was the best use for the box!  The learning that takes place during child directed projects like these is valuable life long skills.  During this one, our friends practiced how to have a brain storming discussion about a project resulting in the use of group creative problem solving to find the solution! What a skill to be developing at 3, 4 and 5 years old!

A large black peg board was brought up from the basement and placed on the building rug with golf tees and rubber bands. Slowly by surely, children sat down and started exploring the materials that were available.

A few friends used the golf tees to make the outline of shapes. Then, they placed the rubber bands around the golf tees. Arthur pointed out all of the triangles that he saw on the board because, “They all have three sides!”.

Others simply used the activity for fine motor practice. It takes patience to get the rubber bands to stay on the golf tees! One of our three year old friends took the job of ‘material administrator’ and she would pass out the rubber bands and golf tees when her friends needed a refill. She’d say, “Here’s more rubber bands. Say ‘thank you!’.

Breakfast– Corn Chex and fresh apples.

Lunch– Peanut butter on whole wheat tortillas, fresh pineapple/oranges, and fresh cucumber.

PM snack– Whole wheat bagel with cream cheese.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber.

Have a lovely night.

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures:2024-08-06

Good Afternoon!

Our friends were engaged in a variety of activities this morning. Eleanor worked on dressing her baby doll, a friend looked through a square color block from our pyramid, Charlotte explored the Peek-a-Blocks, and another friend played with Duplo people.

We then made our way to the kitchen to create some art. We were each given a sponge brush with a different paint color. Each sponge was a different size as well so friends watched as their brushes made small circles to large circles on their papers.

Our friends worked on building with the waffle blocks. Eleanor created a long path of waffle blocks with her pieces.

We then headed outside to enjoy the nicer weather. We shared a smile with Miss Bekah while sitting and exploring the feel of the grass with our hands, walked around the rock area with a bucket we used to collect pea gravel, and played in the housekeeping area.

Breakfast:  Whole grain Cheerios and fresh apple slices.

Lunch: Whole grain wheat flatbread with refried beans and shredded cheddar cheese, red bell pepper and fresh pineapple slices.

Afternoon Snack: Whole grain wheat cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese.

Wee Sprouts:  Cucumbers.

Have a wonderful evening!

WWF Teachers

Link to picture: 2024-08-06

Happy Monday!

We had some friends doing lemonade stands this summer so we thought we would give the opportunity for “lemonade stand” play.  We set up an area for individual play which usually draws the younger group of friends. We set up another area for group play which older friends usually enjoy most.  The most popular thing however was to try every station!  The only complaint was not being able to involve the whole class to play at the same time…so an outside version of this imaginative play theme is brewing in days to come :).

A group worked together to put together a giant alphabet puzzle.  Our older friends repeated letter sounds as they matched the letters to the squares and arranged it all in alphabetical order.  The younger kids began repeating the letter sounds too as they helped.  What a great spontaneous and authentic teaching moment between out older and younger friends!

Our PREK1 group has been working hard sounding out words as they practice kid spelling in their journals!

Breakfast– Whole wheat toast with butter and fresh apples.

Lunch– Whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce, fresh cantaloupe, and fresh cucumber/cherry tomatoes.

PM snack– Whole milk yogurt with granola.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cherry tomatoes/cucumber.

Have a lovely night!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-08-05

Reminder:  Wee Friends will be closed Monday, September 2nd for Labor Day!  Thank you.

Good Afternoon!

We began our day engaged in a variety of activities.  We tapped our rhythm sticks to Ants Go Marching, we danced and wore our dancing scarf, and climbed on the habi-trail and went down the slide.

We then engaged with our sensory tubes and were busy exploring the different items and hearing the different sounds they made as we moved them back and forth or shook them in our tube.

We then headed into the kitchen for some water sensory play.  We had a sponge, 2 cups and a bowl.  We worked on our pouring skills by pouring our water into our cup or bowl.  While we were using our sponge to soak up the water from our tray,  Miss Bekah explained that our sponge was getting darker in color the fuller it got with water.  We then strengthened our hand muscles as we squeezed the water out of our sponge back into our bowl, cup or onto the tray. Some of us even stacked our cups together and put our sponge inside of them.

We then worked on stacking our circles onto the stacker or our nesting cups inside of each other.

And it is Monday, so that means trash pickup day!  We love watching the trash truck come up and down the street.

Breakfast:  Whole grain wheat bread toasted with peanut butter and fresh oranges.

Lunch:  Whole grain wheat pasta with shredded chicken, fresh pineapple and cooked broccoli.

Afternoon Snack:  Whole milk yogurt and fresh oranges/cantaloupe.

Wee Sprouts:  Mini sweet peppers.

Have a marvelous evening!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-08-05

Happy Friday!

What a great end to our week!

We made english muffin pizzas with the Olympic Rings on them as a celebration of the final day of our Wee Friends Olympics. Everyone was QUITE complimentary of how good they tasted. It’s easy to please this group with yummy, nutritious food.

In the afternoon, we set up an obstacle course that challenged our gross motor skills. We had a blast!

When we finished up, Hannah suggested making medals so materials were made available. Hannah and William took initiative and helped all of their younger peers make a gold medal!

Enjoy the rest of the pictures from our day!

Breakfast– Brown rice cakes with cream cheese and fresh oranges.

Lunch– Homemade english muffin pizzas with shredded cheese and turkey pepperoni, fresh pineapple/apple, and fresh carrots/cucumber.

PM snack– Pretzels and block cheddar cheese.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/carrots.

Have a wonderful weekend.

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-08-02

Happy Friday!

This morning we made music on our xylophones and pianos.  Miss Bekah played with us while singing Wheels On The Bus.  The friends watched her and started playing along.  Charlotte then acted out the motions to the song.

We then headed into the kitchen for sensory play in the rice and birdseed bin.  We were busy scooping with our hands and watching the mixture run though our hands, and working on our scooping and pouring skills.

We then headed outside to play.  A friend worked at putting a lid on her cup of sand in  the sandbox, another friend enjoyed walking on the rock path, Eleanor enjoyed trying out a scooter, Charlotte enjoyed riding her bike down the hill and another friend enjoyed going down the slide. 

Breakfast:  Whole grain brown rice cakes with peanut butter and fresh apple slices.

Lunch:  Hummus on whole grain wheat bread, fresh pineapple slices and peas.

Afternoon Snack:  Pretzels and mozzarella cheese stick.

Wee Sprouts:  Mini sweet peppers.

Have a great weekend!

WWF Teachers

Link to pictures:  2024-08-02