Happy Friday! We hope you all had a great week.

Please Note: WF will be closed Monday, May 28th in observance of Memorial Day. 

Bugs, bugs and more bugs! Mack and Daniel were all about bugs today. They both enjoyed the bug puzzles and the big play bugs that look all creepy and crawly.  We worked on identifying the different types and sizes and counted how many legs they have. 

We then headed outside and guess what friends quickly ran to do??? You guessed it…. hunt for REAL bugs!!! What’s better than finding real bugs? We then discussed the difference’s between the real deal and our pretend bugs we play with inside.

Breakfast: Whole wheat buttered toast with cinnamon and fresh PPC pears.

Lunch: Whole wheat bread toasted with turkey lunchmeat and cheese, corn and peas and PPC banana.

Snack: Whole grain cheese crackers and cheddar cheese cubes.

Wee Sprouts: Corn.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Stay safe and have fun!

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljKErv-L6thhqFDGCYA

Happy Friday!

One of our Wee Friend’s family brought in tadpoles that they found on their property! So, we cleaned out a spare tank that we weren’t using and made a new home for them. We’re excited to watch them grow!

We observed them all morning and noticed that there were times where the tadpoles stopped moving for a couple of minutes but then started swimming again!

This morning, we were able to get the device that will automatically water the garden set up but we figured we should just water the garden by hand one last time. Several children wanted to help so each child grabbed a sand bucket and filled it up with water. They all had certain areas of the garden to water.

The weather is starting to be more consistent which we’re LOVING! We thrive outside; exploration and adventure are dear to our hearts.

Breakfast– Rice cakes with peanut butter and banana.

Lunch– Open faced turkey and melted cheese on whole wheat toast, PPC kiwi/pears, and PPC cucumber/fresh carrots.

PM snack– String cheese and PPC pear.

Wee Sprout– PPC cucumbers/carrots.

Have a lovely holiday weekend!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 5/25

Good Afternoon!

Throughout the week, we’ve been talking about calendars and what they represent. Yesterday and today, blank calendars were put in the art area. One of our kindergarteners has been creating his own calendar over the last few days, focusing on writing each month at the top as well as writing a number in each square. After, he identified the two weekend days by highlighting it with a green marker. 

Social Studies: K.1.5  Explain that calendars are used to represent days of the week and months of the year.

The welcome activity used loose parts and a wooden tray. We use loose parts as an open ended activity. As seen below, the loose parts can be used in a variety of ways and it’s up to each children how they want to use the materials.

Loose parts are a crucial aspect of indoor and outdoor play as it requires imagination. Your child is probably using loose parts in their play at home and not even realizing it!

https://extension.psu.edu/programs/betterkidcare/early-care/tip-pages/all/loose-parts-what-does-this-mean

http://www.letthechildrenplay.net/2010/01/how-children-use-outdoor-play-spaces.html

The rest of our morning was full of using our fine motor skills to complete puzzles and explore with pegs before enjoying our outside time!

Breakfast– Kashi Blueberry Clusters with PPC mango.

Lunch– Brown rice with shredded beef, PPC banana/fresh oranges, and PPC cucumber/cherry tomatoes.

PM snack– Graham crackers and sunflower seeds.

Wee Sprout– PPC cucumber and peppers.

Have a fantastic night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 5/24

Good Afternoon!

Enjoy the pictures from our day.

Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios and PPC banana.

Lunch: Whole grain rice with shredded beef, peas and PPC banana.

Snack:  Graham crackers and mozzarella string cheese.

Have a wonderful evening.

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljKBSZXWblp7boC490w

Good Afternoon!

What another fabulous day here at WWF! We had a visitor this morning that will be starting our program on June 4th and boy did we enjoy him and his company!

Coloring was on the morning agenda and we had so much fun. Whether we color in our journals, on loose leaf paper or even the table we LOVE markers and all the colorful markings we create. Who needs crayons when you have markers?!?!   

We were then off to play outdoors! The bikes grabbed our attention first thing! Utilizing our gross motor skills and working our little feet to get going as fast as we can is such an exhilarating feeling!

Breakfast: Whole grain Kix cereal and oranges.

Lunch:  Scrambled eggs with cheese, whole wheat butter toast, carrots and PPC banana.

Snack:  Whole wheat crackers with cream cheese.

Wee Sprouts: Carrots.

Have a fantastic evening!

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljKARKR0sKtHAlUIWDg

Good Afternoon!

In pre-k/k group group, we read a classic story: ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’. Throughout the story, we noticed that the caterpillar ate different amounts of food on different days. So, after the story was finished, each member of the group got one notecard. On each notecard, there was a day listed as well as what the caterpillar ate. We started with ‘Sunday’ and went from there, putting the days in the correct order.

Social Studies: K.1.5 Explain that calendars are used to represent days of the week and months of the day.

Blank calendar pages were made available at the art area so children could explore them. The first thing that children did was highlight or block out Saturdays and Sundays which we do in pre-k/k group! We know these days to be ‘stay at home day’s’ so by highlighting them in group, we know which day’s we stay at home as opposed to coming to Wee Friends.

Our outside time was absolutely glorious! We were quick to ask for the bikes which we rode all morning long. Children who ride the balance bikes balance between speed and making sure that they are balanced on their bikes. Our speeds been picking up on the bikes because our confidence is growing!

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

-Winnie the Pooh

Breakfast– Whole grain oatmeal with honey and PPC banana.

Lunch– Scrambled eggs with shredded cheese, whole wheat tortilla/whole wheat english muffin, PPC watermelon, and PPC cherry tomatoes.

PM snack– Blue corn chips and refried beans.

Wee Sprout– Fresh cucumber.

Have a lovely night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 5/23

Good Afternoon!

Here are a few pictures from our day!

Breakfast– Corn chex and PPC banana.

Lunch– Refried beans and shredded cheese on whole wheat tortillas, applesauce, and PPC cherry tomatoes/peppers.

PM snack– A birthday treat: cucumber alligators with cheese, cherry tomatoes, and grape spikes!

Wee Sprout– PPC peppers/cherry tomatoes.

Have a fantastic night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 5/22

Good Afternoon. We hope you’re all enjoying a break from the rain, we sure are!  

This morning was full of excitement! Miss Rebekah and our friends decided today would be a fabulous day to make some new playdoh.  We were able to utilize our hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and learn a little science all at the same time! We thought it was very neat how the mixture of the dough changed when we added different substances to the bowl. We can’t wait to play with it.  

It was a fabulous morning to be outside. It was just perfect out…. not too hot and not too cold. Whether it was running and jumping fun, sliding fun or looking for creepy crawly bugs fun, we had a blast! Thank you rain for staying away!

Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios and PPC banana.

Lunch: Whole wheat/grain tortillas with refried beans and cheese, carrots and PPC banana.

Snack:  Whole grain bagel with butter and fresh PPC pears.

Have a wonderful evening, we’ll see you tomorrow!

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljJ8FA0uH60cwCPmfaA

Just a friendly reminder, Wee Friends will be closed next Monday, May 28th for Memorial Day.  Thank you.

Good Afternoon!

This morning our younger friends went in the kitchen and pulled out the pegs and pegboards.  They worked on their fine motor and hand-eye coordination skills as they placed the pegs into the holes to fill up their boards.

Mack pulled out the stepping stones off of the shelf and used them to create 3 different activities.  First, he lined them all up on the floor, next he worked on his balancing skills as he walked across them and finally he placed animals and cars on each of the stepping stones. Great use of imaginative play!

Breakfast: Whole grain wheat toast with butter and fresh PPC pears.

Lunch:  Whole grain wheat pasta with shredded chicken, corn and fresh PPC oranges.

Afternoon Snack:  Cottage cheese and pretzels.

Wee Sprouts:  Peas.

Have a great night!

Rebekah

Link to pictures:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljJ4XIuGm-prz0zcQqQ

Happy Monday!

**We have a lot of birthdays coming up in the summer and fall. It’s always a good time to send a ‘healthy birthday treat’ reminder. Here at Wee Friends, we really value nutrition and have high standards for the food we offer. If you’re going to bring in a birthday treat for your child (which we are absolutely love!), please keep it on the healthy side. A few suggestions are fruit, yogurt, homemade muffins, cheese, healthier fruit popsicles, etc. Also, just a reminder that we do have a TREE NUT allergy in the class so please no tree nuts. Thank you!

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In pre-k/k group, we’re focusing on the calendar this week! We’re in the routine of doing calendar everyday after we’re done with our book and activity. We always say the month, date, and year and cross off the day. If we have a specific holiday or special day coming up, we’ll count to see how many days until that event! For example, Maddie’s birthday is next Monday so all month, we’ve been counting down the days until she turns six!

The book we read today was called, ‘The Child’s Calendar’. The book went through all twelve months and offered a detailed description of each month and what we usually see. For instance, the month of July talked about loud sounds and bright colors in the air. Friends quickly linked this to Fourth of July!

Social Studies: K.1.5 Explain that calendars are used to represent days of the week and months of the year.

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The morning welcome activity used loose parts and wooden trays. Lucy, Maddie, and Anna moved the gems around before sorting them by color! They used comparison words to describe each group of colored gems.

Several friends attempted the pattern blocks and pegs at the island while enjoying Wee Sprouts and water.

The rest of our morning was spent inside building with trio blocks, drawing at the art table, and using our imagination in the housekeeping area.

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

Lunch– Whole wheat pasta with butter and shredded chicken, PPC cantaloupe, and PPC cauliflower/cherry tomatoes/cucumber.

PM snack– Whole milk yogurt with PPC pears.

Wee Sprout– PPC cauliflower/cucumber/cherry tomatoes.

Have a fantastic evening!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 5/21