After playing with puzzles and Magna-Tiles, we headed outside and raced bikes up and down the hill.

This afternoon we rolled out our work in progress group artwork for some coloring. One friend said she drew two fish and another friend said he drew an alligator.

Then after snack we moved to the gross motor area. We climbed in and on blocks, up the ladder, and went down the slide together.

Breakfast was Kix and blueberries. Wee sprout was peas. Lunch consisted of farm fresh eggs, bread and butter, blueberries, and peas. Afternoon snack was pretzels and cantaloupe, honeydew, and strawberries.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuliI83i559tEN9jbc5AA

Have a good night!

Amanda

Good Afternoon!

In large group this week, we’ve been reading stories that dissect what a day/week/year looks like. So far, we’ve talked about ‘day’ and ‘week’. In general, children have a challenging time gaging time. It’s important to discuss these terms in a way that is meaningful to them.

Yesterday, when we discussed the term ‘day’ and what it looked like, a friend suggested, “It’s kind of like the time between when you wake up in the morning and go to bed at night.” As a group, we came up with the seven days of the week. Today, we separated those days into ‘school’ days and ‘stay at home’ days. We were having a little trouble remembering the two stay at home days so we came up with a way to remember it; Stay at home days are the two days that start with S (Stay at home- Saturday and Sunday).

Miss Melinda read ‘A Tree Is A Plant’ to a few older friends this morning before heading outside to plant all of our flowers and vegetable plants.

They were such great helpers!

Once they got done with the big flower bed in the garden, we concentrated on the individual flower pots. Each older friend was in charge of a pot, focusing on clearing out the leaves and ‘gunk’ as friends called it.

Inside, several different activities were explored.

The gems were put out on the table for the welcome activity and friends used the gems for different purposes all morning long. Anna and a few friends sat at the art table and used markers before deciding they’d like to get the glue out and make a collage.

It was a great Wednesday. We hope you had a great day!

Breakfast– Whole grain oatmeal with honey and strawberries.

Lunch– Scrambled eggs, tortilla, banana, and a mix of fresh vegetables (cucumber, cherry tomatoes, peppers)

PM snack– Air popped popcorn and

Wee Sprout– Cucumbers/cherry tomatoes.

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 5/24

Good Afternoon!

Today was a day of working on our fine motor skills as we worked on our puzzles, placed our pegs together or traced, drew and colored on our paper.

A few friends built a train track that different friends used through out the morning.

The moon sand sensory table was made available where friends were pretending to make many different kinds of food.

We then went outside to enjoy many different activities.

Breakfast: Corn Chex and apples.

Lunch: Hummus on whole wheat bread, pea pods and oranges.

Afternoon Snack: Homemade chocolate zucchini bread (Brycen’s birthday treat) and strawberries.

Wee Sprouts: Cauliflower.

Have a great evening!

Rebekah

Link to pictures:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuliI1h1Wz1PYiA3EpI8A

Today we painted with sponges…

Kicked and threw balls together…

Played in the log house…

And talked about colors while building with Magna-Tiles!

Breakfast was Whole Grain Cheerios and banana. Wee sprout was corn. Lunch consisted of whole wheat bread with hummus, blueberries, and corn. Afternoon snack was wheat crackers with cream cheese.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuliI4rbZkahxLvENqZwQ

Have a great night!

Amanda

Good Afternoon!

**Wee Friends will be closed Monday, May 29th for Memorial Day.

This week, we will be focusing on the use of the calendar and what information we can gather from a calendar.

In large group, we do calendar every day after our story which allows us to gain basic knowledge of the topic. Today, we talked specifically about the months and how many there are in a given year. Each child has different background knowledge of the twelve months. If you ask a child to name a month, they’re going to name their birthday month because it has meaning to them.

This week, we’ll be diving into the days of the week, months, and what a full year looks like as well as building our own calendars.

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

Summer is when we see transitions start to ramp up. Whether children are transitioning from the infant/toddler site to preschool, transitioning to a new school all together, or even just entering into a lighter school schedule, it CAN be a challenging time for children and parents alike.

I’ve attached an article that gives helpful tips as to how to make the transition time for your child a little easier. Since each child is different, no two children will enter into a transition time the same. Keeping an open dialogue with your child about their thoughts, questions, or anxieties is always a positive experience.

“When teachers and families collaborate to implement individualized transition plans they increase children’s comfort levels and prepare them to have a successful day of learning.”

http://www.naeyc.org/yc/article/first_day_jitters

Here are a few pictures from our day!

Breakfast– Whole wheat toast with no nut butter and pears.

Lunch– Whole wheat pasta with red beans, banana, and tomatoes/cauliflower.

PM snack– Whole milk yogurt with apples.

Wee Sprout– Cherry tomatoes.

Have a wonderful night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 5/22

Enjoy the pictures from our day!

Breakfast was Kix and banana. Wee sprout was mixed veggies. Lunch consisted of whole wheat pasta with red beans, cantaloupe, and mixed veggies. Afternoon snack was organic whole milk yogurt and cantaloupe.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuliIxxON1SCAMLC3EHXA

Have a good night!

Amanda

Happy Friday!

This week, we’ve been exploring the term ‘money’. Especially our older friends have come to understand that when you want something, you need to have money to buy it.

That being said; I took our four oldest friends to the zoo today. They wanted to take a special trip before Jackson and Addi’s time at Wee Friends ran out.

We walked around the zoo, observing our surroundings and the many other children that were there!

As we walked, we came upon an Okapi exhibit but it was empty. A zoo worker informed us that the Okapi should be joining the zoo very shortly. She told us some information about this specific animal including its habitat. The Okapi is a cross between giraffe and zebra.

Friends were quite excited at the thought of feeding fish! We quickly found out we needed MONEY to do so. I was able to find a quarter and we split the food between us.

Lulu jumped excitedly as she saw a map! During journaling time, she’s extended her knowledge and curiosity about MAPS! She found where we were and where we needed to head to get to our next destination.

It’s fantastic when our older friends can handle a field trip like this and make it meaningful. We used this as an opportunity to attach our field trip to our curriculum for the week; IF YOU WANT SOMETHING, YOU NEED MONEY TO BUY IT .

Breakfast– Rice cakes with cream cheese and banana.

Lunch– Refried beans and shredded cheese quesadillas, apples, and tomatoes/cucumber.

PM snack– Cheese slices and cantaloupe.

Wee Sprout– Cucumbers.

Have a terrific weekend.

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 5/19

Enjoy the pictures from our day!

Breakfast was Chex and oranges. Lunch consisted of whole wheat tortilla with refried beans and cheese, banana, and mixed veggies. Afternoon snack cheese crackers and string cheese.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuliIt_7su5bWL73a66Bg

Have a good weekend!

Amanda

Welcome to Wee Wee, Rose! We’re so excited you’re here!

We traded swings with the big kids and spent our indoor time swinging and spinning!

Breakfast was Whole Grain Cheerios and strawberries. Lunch consisted of whole grain brown rice with cheese, watermelon, and fresh green beans. Afternoon snack was pretzels and cheddar cheese.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuliItCGKvcIZ4EONjJZg

Have a good night!

Amanda

Good Afternoon!

We have a student teacher with us for the next four weeks. Here’s a letter from Miss Kaylee:

“Hello!

My name is Miss Kaylee and I am very excited to join Wee Friends as a student teacher! I am a senior at IUSB about to complete my student teaching next fall. In December, I will be graduating with a degree in elementary education with a concentration in early childhood. I have a strong passion and love for teaching young children. I take to hear the responsibility of teaching and preparing the next generation of children of our society. There is nothing better than walking into a room of bright-eyed children and watching the smiles of each one light up a room.

I am looking forward to this opportunity to spend time each morning with your child over the next four weeks. my goal is to help stretch your child’s imagination and curiosity to help them grow. This next month is going to be full of fun and lots of learning! I believe that the more time and effort that is put into helping young children find a desire for learning at a young age, the better chance that they will become life long learners. I cannot wait to get to better know your child and watch them grow as learners.”

_________________________________________________________________________

This morning, our younger group headed to the farm.

Once we got out of the weehicle, we sat down and went over farm rules. Some of the rules that our older friends shared were:

1. Only walk on the grass and make sure you have an adult when you walk on the gravel.

2. Don’t yell or talk loudly when you’re around the animals.

3. Stay with the group.

We walked around the farm, stopping to see and pet different baby animals and take turns on the tree swing which was a BIG hit.

As a group, we continued to work on being comfortable around different farm animals.

It was a big morning for us as this was the first time some of us had been to the farm. It sure does take a lot out of us .

Breakfast– Kix and strawberries.

Lunch– Brown rice with shredded beef, watermelon, and green beans.

PM snack– Whole wheat crackers with sunflower seed butter.

Wee Sprout– Carrots.

Have a great night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 5/18

Link to FARM/FARMER’S MARKET pictures: WF 5/18 FARM and FM