Good Afternoon.

“Sometimes the littlest things take up the most room in your heart.” ~Winnie the Pooh

Today we had a puff ball party! We talked about the feel of the puff, the color of the puff and if we could eat the puff! Friends were very giddy about the question, “Can we eat the puff. I quickly received the answer of “NO!!!”

While we were enjoying the beautiful day outdoors, our friends were very enticed by the teeter-totters. Whether they decided to make it group fun or all by themselves, they had a blast! While engaging in group teeter-totter play our little ones learn about how to share their hand space while holding on and also needing to rock their bodies and keep themselves in rocking motion to keep the momentum going. “Teamwork makes the dream work” is the Wee Wee Friends motto!

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Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios with PPC banana.

Lunch: Whole grain pasta with shredded beef, corn, PPC watermelon and blueberries.

Snack: Pretzels and mozzarella string cheese.

Wee Sprouts: Carrots.

Have a fantastic evening.

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljL8bw00OFOgcSBS_pA

Good Afternoon, what another gorgeous day!

“Ten little fingers, ten perfect toes, fill our hearts with love that overflows.”

Our friends little hands and fingers were very busy building train tracks and engaging in the farm house this morning. The cognitive ability our friends display while they are building and placing the tracks and animals in just that perfect spot, is phenomenal. Their imaginations run wild and we as teachers enjoy watching them create away!

Breakfast: Whole grain Chex cereal and PPC banana.

Lunch: Scrambled eggs with shredded cheese, carrots and PPC banana.

Snack: Whole wheat Ritz crackers with hummus.

Have a fantastic evening!

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljL4cKJgccit0_l2C5w

Good Afternoon!

Here are a few pictures from our Wednesday!

“Children are born musicians, dancers, artists and storytellers and the opportunities for healthy development are endless. We just have to provide the canvas, the paper, the paints, the materials and the welcoming environment, setting the stage for creativity, learning and fun.”

–Gari Stein

Breakfast– Whole grain oatmeal with honey and PPC banana.

Lunch– Scrambled eggs with whole wheat english muffins, PPC watermelon/fresh oranges, and PPC cherry tomatoes/fresh carrots.

PM snack– Air popped popcorn with butter and PPC banana.

Wee Sprout– PPC cherry tomatoes/fresh carrots.

Have a wonderful night.

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/18

Good Afternoon!

Summer time is a time for family vacations, the occasional sleeping in, and adventure. These things can occur throughout the rest of the year but summer is special .

In just a few short weeks, we’ll start back up the ‘school year’ again and our peers who have been travelling or away for an extended period of time are coming back to Wee Friends! Our schedule and predictability will be a little more in tact. I wanted to dedicate a blog to routines and schedules and how they fit into a child’s day.

Majority of children require structure, routines, and predictability at home and at school. While our daily schedule is looser in general here at Wee Friends, children know what to expect for the most part. For instance, children know once we clean up breakfast, they’re welcome to open the art table. When it’s a nice day and we’re able to stay outside for a longer period in the morning, once we hear those bells down the road at noon, we know it’s time for lunch. These small periods of predictability offer children a safe space and comfortability in those moments.

Schedules happen at home whether it’s a bedtime routine or certain steps you take in the morning before heading out the door. If even one step is missed of forgotten, some children can break down. Even as adults, once our routine is broken, it can be challenging to get back on track.

Even though predictability and routines are important, there’s something to be said for spontaneity too . I’ve attached an article about how we can work together to create transitions and routines for our Wee Friends that are beneficial to each child and their development. Routines are very individualized to each child because at the end of the day, each child is completely and beautifully different!

https://childmind.org/article/how-can-we-help-kids-with-transitions/

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All areas of the house were appealing to our friends today as they occupied every part of the environment!

When we went outside this morning, Miss Melinda asked five friends to help her water our flowers in the backyard. We have a lot of children who love offering their assistance!

Our garden is on the brink of offering us wonderful veggies! We’ve tried a few yellow peppers but today, we got to try the kale and rhubarb. Friends loved the kale! It offers a yummy, healthy outside snack.

Breakfast– Kix and PPC blueberries.

Lunch– Hummus on whole wheat bread, PPC watermelon, and PPC broccoli/fresh carrots.

PM snack– Whole grain bagels with cream cheese and block cheese.

Wee Sprout– PPC broccoli and fresh carrots.

Have a fantastic night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/17

Good Afternoon! What a gorgeous day.

“Learning never exhausts the mind.” ~ Leonardo Da Vinci

Today the permeance boxes were requested by a couple of our friends. This activity enhances our hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and the recognition of our colors. We can also add in math concepts by counting how many balls and circles we have. Teachers absolutely love it when our little ones engage in an activity that has multiple learning capabilities.

Today while bug hunting, Daniel found a very fuzzy and colorful caterpillar. All of the WWF and WF loved seeing such a beautiful creature. We don’t see them often so when they do make an appearance, its a big deal to us all. We’re so glad he was friendly  

Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios and PPC banana and watermelon.

Lunch: Whole wheat bread with hummus, peas and PPC banana.

Snack: Whole grain cinnamon raisin bagels with cream cheese and PPC watermelon.

Wee Sprouts: Peas.

Have a fantastic evening.

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljL0JCuDsXNbv2mf49g

Happy Monday!

What a creative, imaginative morning. The art area was busy with children moving from the art easel to the art table and back again. One of our three year old friends painted with brown and orange paint and proclaimed, “I just painted a fire! But it’s not hot yet!”

The art table is not just art: it’s having conversations with peers about what is being made or thoughts being shared. Discussion happens non stop at the art table which allows for collaboration to happen naturally!

“We shouldn’t teach great books; we should teach a love of reading.”

-B.F. Skinner

Breakfast– Whole wheat english muffins with peanut butter and fresh apples.

Lunch– Whole wheat noodles with butter and shredded chicken, PPC banana, and PPC cucumber/fresh carrots.

PM snack– PPC mango with whole milk yogurt.

Wee Sprout– PPC cucumber/fresh carrots.

Have a lovely night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/16

Happy Monday, I hope you all had a fantastic weekend!

“I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning to sail my ship.” ~ Aeschylus

Enjoy the pictures from our Monday!

Breakfast: Whole wheat toast with butter and cinnamon and PPC Banana.

Lunch: Whole wheat/grain pasta with marinara and shredded mozzarella cheese, corn and PPC blueberries.

Snack: Whole milk yogurt, graham crackers and PPC watermelon.

Have a wonderful evening!

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljLwX7HYQA4bUT3xvPg

Happy Friday!

Enjoy a few pictures from our day.

Breakfast– Rice cakes with peanut butter and fresh strawberries.

Lunch– Homemade whole wheat english muffin pizzas with shredded cheese, fresh cantaloupe, and fresh cucumbers/cherry tomatoes.

PM snack– Block cheese, goldfish, and freshly picked blueberries from Anna (Thanks to Anna and her family!)

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumbers/cherry tomatoes.

Have a lovely weekend!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/13

Happy Friday Everyone! I hope you have all had a fabulous week.

“The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice.” ~Peggy O’mara

Today friends spent quite a bit of their morning in the kitchen manipulating puzzles and coloring with crayons. Puzzles are always an exciting and very cognitive activity that we enjoy very much. Teachers are always intrigued while watching our little ones working hard on puzzles. Puzzles are a great way for our toddlers to develop both their motor and thinking skills.

According to Play Group WA Inc, “Completing puzzles helps develop essential visual perceptual skills that are required for handwriting and other important daily activities later on. It is important to match the difficulty level of the puzzle with your child’s stage of development. Toddlers can loose interest in puzzles that are too easy, and become frustrated and give up if puzzles are too difficult. Having fun is key.”

 

Breakfast: Whole grain Chex cereal with Apples.

Lunch: Whole wheat/grain English muffins with marinara and mozzarella cheese, peas and PPC cantaloupe.

Snack: Whole grain cheese crackers and Colby cheese cubes.

Wee Sprouts: Peas.

Have a fantastic weekend, we’ll see you all on Monday!

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:    https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljLpeebVqa70UxbAVaw

Good Afternoon.

“Nothing is impossible, the word itself say I’m possible!” ~Audrey Hepburn

WWF has many things that we pride ourselves on in our classroom. One of those is how much we LOVE parent involvement. Today, we had not one but two parents get involved with our little ones. Reading a story and high fives were among the two activities our friends enjoyed. Parents… thank you for giving back to our classroom.  

We kept busy this morning. Whether we were utilizing our gross motor skills on the habitrail, building train tracks to run our trains and cars along or playing with the farm house, we had so much fun!

Breakfast: Whole grain Kix with PPC banana.

Lunch: Whole grain rice with pork, peas and apples.

Snack; Pretzels and mozzarella string cheese. 

Have a wonderful night! We’ll see you tomorrow.

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljLka9_gtiOWlm6GgAA