Happy Rainy Thursday. Rain Rain Go Away!
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. That more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” ~Dr. Suess
Enjoy the pictures from our Thursday.
Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios and Chex with Apples.
Lunch: Whole grain rice with shredded pork, peas, and fresh PPC pears.
Snack: Whole wheat crackers with hummus.
Wee Sprouts: Mixed veggies.
Have a fantastic evening.
Marty
LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljNMEntFLUHf144lxtg
Happy Wednesday!
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” ~Maya Angelou
Today was a very busy Wednesday! Our little guys sure did make the most of their morning. Fine motor, gross motor, cognitive, and early literacy activities were in full swing! There are always many choices that our friends can engage their minds and bodies in every day in the WWF classroom.
Offering choices to children is imperative for their development as it aids in respecting their individuality.
According to an article from YC it states that, “It is important to offer choices to children- especially infants because they don’t have a lot of choices. Offering choices for anything that involves them gives children power. They can see and feel how powerful they are when they make decisions that directly affect their well being.”
There are many choices in the outside world as well. Life is full of choices, and our friends love being in control of their own choice destiny!!!
Breakfast: Whole grain Kix and apples.
Lunch: Scrambled eggs, fresh WF garden cucumber, whole wheat bread with butter, and apples.
Snack: Pretzels and mozzarella string cheese.
Wee Sprouts: Cooked carrots.
Have a fantastic evening. 
Marty
LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljNIM7Wwmo8KZanq36w
Good Afternoon!
There were several manipulatives that were requested at the circle table. Maxwell used the white tiles to create a design. He counted each row and used that knowledge to complete his design that had the same number of tiles in each row.
Franklin and a peer explored coins. They talked about the differences that they saw in each coin, color being the biggest difference that they noticed.
We have a small group that’s been fascinated with making necklaces/bracelets lately. Not only does it put our fine motor skills to work when we put each bead onto the pipe cleaner but children discuss different colors that they use. Our older friends bring patterning into their creations which allows us and our older friends to talk about what patterns look like. Our older friends love these teachable moments that occur!
This article attached goes into detail what fine motor skills look like at this age and why they are just as important as gross motor skills. It also gives a few tips on how to strengthen young children’s fine motor skills as well as fine motor skills that children should be working on.
“In fact, research shows that emphasis on purely intellectual activities—memorization of letters and numbers, for instance—is far less useful at this stage than pursuits that encourage fine motor abilities and hand-eye coordination. These skills—rather than counting or reciting the alphabet—lay the foundation for academic learning in later years.”
https://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/development/physical/child-developing-motor-skills/
Our garden has given us quite a bit of vegetables this summer. Lucy and Anna helped Miss Hannah gather some tomatoes that were ready. We’re anxious to try them this afternoon as a Wee Sprout.
Breakfast– Whole grain oatmeal with honey and PPC pears.
Lunch– Scrambled eggs, whole wheat tortilla, PPC peaches/pears, and PPC cucumber/cherry tomatoes.
PM snack– Air popped popcorn with butter and fresh apples.
Wee Sprout– PPC cucumber/PPC cherry tomatoes.
Have a fantastic night!
-Mindy
Link to pictures: WF 8/15
Good Afternoon everyone!
“Only you can control your future.” ~ Dr. Suess
Today we had our new friend Evie visit our classroom. She will be starting WWF full time beginning Monday. We look forward to getting to know Evie and her family.
Miss Rebekah and friends had a GREAT time playing Ring around the Rosie. A friend had asked Miss Rebekah to hold hands, and that got things in motion! All of our WWF’s LOVE interactive play and the best part of this song and movement activity is the…“We all fall down” portion 
Breakfast: Whole grain Kix and Cheerios with fresh PPC pears.
Lunch: Whole wheat flatbread with hummus, corn, and fresh PPC pears.
Snack: Whole grain bagels with butter and cinnamon, and fresh PPC grapes.
Wee Sprouts: Peas.
Have a fantastic evening,
Marty
LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljNBp7II1HIP3NN1oOQ
Good Afternoon!
Our dramatic play center, or housekeeping as we call it, is vital to child development and children’s time here at Wee Friends. It may look like children are just playing with dolls but actually, they’re using/perfecting a slew of practices and techniques that they’ll need later on. For example, dramatic play teaches conflict resolution. Disagreements will often pop up especially when there’s a bigger group playing. When these situations pop up, children have the opportunity to use their words and work through their differences while hopefully coming to a compromise.
Below I’ve attached an article that goes into slight detail about the importance of a dramatic center in the early childhood setting.
https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/education/blog/why-dramatic-play-matters/
Miss Kim gathered several friends at the island who helped make homemade pretzels!
We helped measure out ingredients and help mix the dough in plastic bags. Once the mixing was done, we had to wait a while for the dough to come together and rise.
Anna and Lucy helped Miss Kim roll the dough into pretzels. They really worked on their rolling technique since the dough had to be a little thinner to make the pretzels.
When we went outside, a few friends gathered up rocks and talked about the similarities and differences between them. A few ideas that were stated concerned their size, color, and different noticeable marks on each rock.
Breakfast– Kix and PPC peaches.
Lunch– Hummus on whole wheat flatbread, fresh apples, and fresh carrots/PPC cherry tomatoes.
PM snack– Fresh, homemade pretzels with block cheese
Wee Sprout– Fresh carrots/PPC cherry tomatoes.
Have a great night!
-Mindy
Link to pictures: WF 8/14
Happy Monday! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend.
“Why fit in when you were born to stand out!” ~Dr. Suess
On Saturday, our friend Mack celebrated his birthday. Happy 3rd birthday Mackadoodle!!! We LOVE you buddy!!!!
Today we had a very special birthday snack. Mack brought in some yummy fruit yogurt granola snacks today so we could help him celebrate his special day. Thank you Mack and Mom (of course). Just look how Mack has grown of the last couple years of being at WWF.
Our friend was greatly utilizing his gross motor skills today inside and outside. Climbing up onto things is a huge part of our play at WWF.
According to a Luckey Climbers blog entry, “Climbing plays a key role in early childhood motor skills development. A study from PlayCore found evidence that climbing at a young age helps hone spatial and directional awareness, and also boosts physical skills such as balance, hand eye coordination, and agility.”
Breakfast: Whole wheat toast with Sunflower butter and apples.
Lunch: Whole wheat/grain pasta with marinara sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese, mixed vegetables, and fresh PPC pears.
Snack: Whole milk frozen yogurt with blueberries, and granola. (Mack’s special Birthday treat)
Wee Sprout: Corn.
Have a fantastic evening.
Marty
LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljM9kfH_Vgv80132-pg
Happy Monday!
Here are a few pictures from our day.
Breakfast– Whole wheat toast with peanut butter and PPC pears.
Lunch– Whole wheat noodles with marinara and shredded cheese, fresh vegetables from our garden, and PPC grapes.
PM snack– Whole milk yogurt with mango.
Wee Sprout– Fresh garden vegetables.
Have a great night!
-Mindy
Link to pictures: WF 8/13
Happy Friday!
Today we were busy working on a painting activity with a friend. Near the beginning of the week we received some new car and truck books that we are loving very much. So to end the week, with the help from our friend, we painted tracks all over our papers. We began by talking about the wheels on our cars. Miss Rebekah asked, “are the wheels on our cars smooth or bumpy?” We looked at the wheels and touched them and decided together they were smooth. Miss Kim then went to the other classroom and found us some cars with bumpy wheels. We were able to see and feel the bumps on the tires and see the difference. Then we noticed as we painted with them we had a continuous line of paint with our smooth wheel cars and little spaces or bumps as we used the bumpy wheel cars. We had so much fun exploring we needed to paint with our fingers and hands as well.
We then headed outside to play. We enjoyed getting some fresh air and many of our favorite activities.
Breakfast: Whole grain Kix cereal and fresh PPC pears.
Lunch: Whole grain wheat bread with no nut butter, fresh PPC pears and corn.
Afternoon Snack: Whole grain wheat crackers and mozzarella string cheese.
Wee Sprouts: Corn.
Have a fantastic weekend!
Rebekah
Link to pictures: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljM5xN1Bpcsr5oIF5Ww
Happy Friday!
Today, we celebrated Maddie’s last day here at Wee Friends. Maddie’s been a Wee Friender since early 2015 so there’s no doubt we’re going to miss her constant presence in the classroom. She’s taken her kindergarten role this year head on and has set such a great example for her younger peers. We hope you have a fantastic time in 1st grade—but make sure you visit!
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
Here are a few pictures from our day!
Breakfast– Rice cakes with peanut butter and PPC pears/banana.
Lunch– Peanut butter on whole wheat bread, fresh apples/fresh oranges, and fresh carrots/cucumber.
PM snack– Fresh watermelon from Maddie and pretzels.
Wee Sprout– Fresh carrots/fresh cucumber.
Have a great weekend!
-Mindy
Link to pictures: WF 8/10
Good Afternoon!
We had an active morning full of indoor activities such as reading, art table, and sensory bin. There are always different areas of the house to children to choose from depending on their mood or desire.
Before heading outside, Franklin showed his excitement about his magnatile tower by asking for a picture! He couldn’t believe that the tower was taller than he was.
Once we got outside, our older children started having races around the cement circle.
After the races ended, the group sat on the bench and bonded with one another. Getting a picture where everyone is smiling/looking at the camera is rare! 
“If something if fun, or messy, or beautiful, you remember it.”
-MaryLea Harris
Breakfast– Kashi Blueberry Clusters and PPC kiwi.
Lunch– Brown rice with shredded pork, PPC grapes/bananas, and PPC cherry tomatoes/fresh carrots.
PM snack– Homemade birthday muffins and peanuts.
Wee Sprout– PPC cherry tomatoes/fresh carrots.
Have a fantastic night!
-Mindy
Link to pictures: WF 8/9