Good Afternoon!

*Wee Friends will be closed starting Monday, June 24 through Friday, July 5th. We’ll reopen on Monday, July 8th. Thanks!

What a hot day!  We got outside early and it was already very warm…so we got some water stations going to keep cool while we played!  Some of our friends took it upon themselves to bring some extra water to the plants in the play area and in the garden since they “had to be out in the hot weather all the time!”. It’s wonderful to see that blossoming empathy for other living things!

As the temperature rose we went inside to explore some cooler activities like building with colored playdough.  There were many ideas about what to make including a tri-colored unicorn and a magic wand!  Imaginative play is great…but it takes a whole other level of creative thought and ingenuity to first plan, create and then play!

Breakfast– Whole wheat bagel with butter and banana.

Lunch– Whole wheat pasta with black beans, fresh oranges/pineapple/banana, and fresh cucumber.

PM snack– Whole milk yogurt with granola.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber.

Have a lovely night!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-06-17

Good Afternoon!

This morning we altered our routine a bit and went outside earlier than normal to beat the heat.  While outside, we rode on teeter totters,   Eden engaged in the rocks at the balance beam, Ben and Eliza engaged in driving the trucks and all of us engaged in water play with the sea animals or in the play kitchen.

After coming inside, Eden peeked at Charlotte through the fish tank. Charlotte engaged in spinning the letters on the Zany Zoo Activity box and friends enjoyed having Miss Bekah read books to them.  Miss Tina also pulled down the sheer curtain for us to run through around the circle.

Miss Tina also helped Ben build a zoo out of wooden blocks. Ben had pointed out that a lot of the plastic animals could be found at the zoo. His friends helped place the animals in their ‘rooms.’ They then placed Duplo people near the ‘rooms’ and said they were “watching the animals.”

We then engaged with the object permanence boxes.  We worked our fine motor skills to place the coins and the balls into their slots and open the drawers.

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

Lunch:  Whole grain wheat penne pasta with black beans, fresh cantaloupe and broccoli.

Afternoon Snack:  Whole milk yogurt and graham crackers.

Wee Sprouts:  Orange bell peppers.

Have a great evening!

Rebekah and Tina

Link to pictures: 2024-06-17

Happy Friday!

Enjoy a few pictures from our day!

Breakfast– Brown rice cakes with peanut butter and banana.

Lunch– Turkey and cheese sandwiches on whole wheat bread, fresh banana/pineapple, and fresh cucumber/pepper.

PM snack– Goldfish crackers with fresh pineapple and Colby jack block cheese.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/pepper.

Have a wonderful weekend and a Happy Father’s Day to all of our Wee dads!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-06-14

Happy Friday!

This morning we were dancing to music while shaking our dancing scarves.

We then engaged in building with Magna-Tiles.  We enjoyed building towers and Eliza and Milo worked together to build a very tall tower, but unfortunately it was too tall and heavy and fell over before we could get a picture.

We then engaged with books on  the reading step.  We looked at books independently or Miss Tina read them to us.

We then headed outside.  We engaged in digging in the wet sand, pushed our construction trucks in the rocks, dug with the excavator bucket and peeked out the window of the little house.

Breakfast:  Whole grain brown rice cakes with cream cheese and bananas.

Lunch:  Ham lunch meat on whole grain wheat tortillas, fresh pear slices and sweet potatoes.

Afternoon Snack:  Goldfish crackers, bananas and mozzarella cheese stick.

Wee Sprouts:  Cucumbers.

Have a great weekend and Happy Father’s Day to all of our wonderful daddies!

Rebekah and Tina

Link to pictures: 2024-06-14

Good afternoon!

We started our morning by dancing and following along to the “Bear Hunt” song. This then led to friends asking to listen to the “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” book. We all sat down on the reading steps to listen to Miss Bekah read.

There was no better way to cool off this morning than with water play. Our friends had so much fun engaging with water in a variety of ways. They used loose part pipes to build and to pour water into a tub, sat down next to or in the pool with measuring cups and dragons, and they also chose to be sprayed with the hose.

Breakfast: Whole grain Kix cereal with fresh pear.

Lunch: Whole grain brown rice with shredded turkey, watermelon slices, and steamed carrots.

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

Wee Sprout: Green bell pepper.

Have a great evening!

Tina and Rebekah

Link to pictures: 2024-06-13

Good Afternoon!

The welcome activity this morning was a combination of loose parts that Hannah and Paige used to build their own school!

Paige used her wooden blocks to build desks for the student bears while a group of four parent bears looked on as they left their children at school (very realistic, right?!).

Hannah chose to make wooden desks for her big “Wee Friends” while she also had a group of smaller bears, which she called the Wee Wee’s, learning how to do handstands.

Both used their imaginations in their school setup but it inevitably looked different.

Are you a, “Jump right into the pool” type of person or a “I’m going to dip my toe into the water to see how cold the water is..” type of person?

We had water stations set up for BOTH types of people (or kids in this instance!).

A hose was used to spray water into the air as several kids just ran head first into the stream of water. This occupied them for a LONG time!

We had two different water stations set up where children could explore.

On the deck, a big bin of water was put out with various piping that flowed the water into a lower bin on the sidewalk. Children loved watching the water move from the top bin to the lower bin simply by adding water into the piping!

Saucers full of water were made available in the sandbox where children used dragons in their play. The water sensory experience quickly turned to a water + sand sensory experience!

Needless to say, there was something for everyone and as Hannah shared just before lunchtime, they were “exhaaaaausted” by the end of our morning.

Breakfast– Puffins cereal with fresh watermelon.

Lunch– Brown rice with shredded turkey, fresh watermelon/kiwi, and fresh cucumber/pepper.

PM snack– Wheat thin crackers with pepita/sunflower seeds.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/pepper.

Have a lovely evening.

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-06-13

Happy Wednesday!

This morning we engaged in a variety of activities.  We were busy cooking in the play kitchen and at the round table, looking at books, rocking in the rocking chair, climbing on the tiny turf stairs/slide and walking on the liquid squares.

A few friends then went over to look at each other through the side of the fish tank.  Eleanor observed her reflection in the mirrors.

We then headed into the kitchen to engage with pegs.  We chose a variety of colors to place in each of the holes of our pegboard or to make towers with them.  Ben and Eliza made tall birthday candles with theirs and sang the Happy Birthday song.

We then headed outside to enjoy some fresh air and sunshine.  Even though it was a little hotter than yesterday, it didn’t stop us from engaging in our favorite activities.

Breakfast:  Overnight oatmeal with cinnamon/sugar mixture and fresh pear slices.

Lunch:  Farm fresh hard boiled eggs, fresh watermelon, broccoli and whole grain wheat English muffin with buttery spread.

Afternoon Snack:  White corn tortilla chips and refried beans.

Wee Sprouts:  Cucumbers.

Have a wonderful evening!

Rebekah and Tina

Link to pictures: 2024-06-12

Good Afternoon!

The log area in the backyard is one of our favorite spots. Not only because it is shaded and offers somewhat of an “alone” space for friends but they get to challenge themselves not only physically but mentally.

William, Adrian, and Ryan started out by moving these large, heavy logs into the corner of the space, which may be referred to as “risky play”. Their goal was to make a fort. There was no clear cut plan and working with large logs can be challenging!

They worked together to stabilize the logs against the fence and had to make sure there was enough space in their fort for all three of them which proved to be challenging!

But, they were able to accomplish this goal by use of their trial and error skills as well as their perseverance.

Risky play in an early childhood classroom can be challenging but its necessary! Children learn boundaries. They learn how to regulate their bodies. They move by engaging their fine motor skills but more so their gross motor skills!

Below I’ve attached an article about how crucial risky play is in the early childhood years. In the article, it states, “While well-intentioned, imposing rigid rules on how children engage in the outdoors can lead to missed opportunities for development in multiple domains. As they climb up slides, jump over equipment, and chase each other, children learn to assess risk, devise a plan, and take action. They make decisions and problem solve when they face a challenging moment. They also learn to process and navigate their feelings and emotions.”

https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/tyc/spring2023/risk-taking-outdoor-play

And TA-DA! Their very own fort.

Enjoy a few more pictures from the rest of our day!

Breakfast– Overnight oatmeal with cinnamon and fresh pears.

Lunch– Farm fresh scrambled egg whole wheat tortilla rollups with shredded cheese, fresh watermelon, and fresh snap peas.

PM snack– Corn chips with hummus.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber/snap peas/pepper.

Have a great night!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2024-06-12

Good Afternoon!

**Wee Friends will be closed starting Monday, June 24th through Friday, July 5th. We’ll reopen Monday, July 8th.

This morning we started our Metamorphosis journals.  As we picked the colors for our journals a few friends chose to coordinate the color of the journal with the color of the caterpillar or the color that the Monarch butterfly will be!  We tried to be observant and draw what we saw.  Many friends included the milkweed in their drawings and carefully drew the stripes of the caterpillar one at a time.  Our younger friends got imaginative and drew the caterpillar they would like to see 🙂  We all got to practice our kid spelling as we wrote down our observations!

Katherine said she wanted the caterpillar to be rainbow colors, so she chose to draw it how she preferred it to look.  Katherine always likes to put her own positive spin on every situation!  There were aspects of Katherines drawing that were drawn from life however.  She apparently didn’t mind the caterpillar droppings at the bottom of the cage since she chose to include that in her drawing exactly how it appeared!

Outside we worked on some garden chores.  One friend asked about the strange pods forming on the kale plant.  We talked about that they were the seed pods and that they could be eaten.  Several friends tried them.  They were on the tough side so we were surprised that many friends liked eating them!  Dax was especially interested in peeling the pods open so he could see the tiny forming seeds inside.

Breakfast: Kix cereal with bananas

Lunch: Peanut butter on whole wheat bread, cheddar block cheese, fresh watermelon/banana, and fresh pepper/carrot/cucumber/cherry tomatoes.

PM Snack: Whole wheat bagel with cream cheese.

Wee Sprouts: Fresh cucumber and bell peppers.

Enjoy the rest of the afternoon!

~Wee Friends Teachers

Link to Pictures:2024-06-11

Good afternoon!

This morning, our friends asked for a ‘running’ song, so Miss Bekah put on “Listen and Move” by Greg and Steve. Our friends listened closely to the song and followed the prompts of running, galloping, and skating.

Our friends also enjoyed building with Magna-tiles, riding the wooden blocks like cars, and reading books with Miss Bekah on the reading steps.

We then made our way outside to play. The activity our friends enjoyed the most was drawing with markers under the shade.

Breakfast: Whole grain Corn Chex cereal with fresh apple slices.

Lunch: Whole grain wheat tortilla with peanut butter, mild cheddar block cheese, corn, and fresh orange slices.

Afternoon Snack: Whole grain wheat bagels with buttery spread and fresh pear slices.

Wee Sprout: Green bell peppers.

Have a wonderful evening!

Tina and Rebekah

Link to pictures: 2024-06-11