Good Afternoon!

Today’s sign in focused on speed using a variable such as a marble. A few friends thought that the ramp that was closer to the ground would allow the marble to travel the fastest. So, we did our own research today.

Jackson and a few friends experimented with a ramp this morning in various places throughout the house.

We made two ramps that were the exact same length. Jackson held a ramp closer to the ground while Addi held a ramp at more of an incline. At the count of three, they each let go of their marble at the same time. We realized that the marble hit the ground first using the steeper inclined ramp.

Jackson and Addi experimented with every incline possible. We also timed how long it took for the marble to hit the ground at differing inclines.

Science: K.3.2 Investigate that things move in different ways, such as fast, slow, etc.

Afterwards, Lucy got a group together to play ‘teacher’! She sat down on the bench and had arranged stools for her students. Taking turns, children got to write on the chalkboard. Jackson and Addi helped their younger friends write their name.

Here are some more pictures from our day.

Breakfast– Whole grain oatmeal with honey and blackberries.

Lunch– Scrambled eggs, tortillas, PPC watermelon, and peas.

PM snack– Elijah’s birthday treat: pineapple and organic oatmeal cookies along with string cheese.

Wee Sprouts– Cherry tomatoes and carrots.

Have a lovely night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 5/3

Here are some pictures of our colorful and messy morning!

Lunch consisted of whole wheat flatbread with refried beans and mozzarella cheese, blueberries, cantaloupe, and peas. Afternoon snack was toasted whole wheat bagels with cream cheese.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulh_1H7jSAgj5T_j-PwQ

Have a good night!

Amanda

While the swim group was at the Y, Lucy requested the slime. The children enjoyed manipulating it with their hands.

Through out our day we could be found working on puzzles, drawing at the art table, listening to stories and playing with the cars and trucks.

Breakfast: Corn Chex and pears.

Lunch: Refried black beans and cheese on whole wheat flatbread/tortillas, apples and corn.

Afternoon Snack: Whole wheat bagels with hummus.

Wee Sprouts: Peppers.

Enjoy your evening!

Rebekah

Link to pictures:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulh_0r_LTuYMZkUhm5_A

Today we played dress up…

Created beautiful sidewalk art…

Shared stories with each other…

And built with Magna-Tiles!

Breakfast was whole wheat toast with butter and banana. Wee sprout was corn. Lunch consisted of whole wheat pasta with black beans, cantaloupe, and corn. Afternoon snack was organic whole milk yogurt and cantaloupe.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulh_xq4NpM8mbg_Ividw

Have a good night!

Amanda

Good Afternoon!

**We have quite a few birthdays this month. So, as a reminder, if you plan to bring in a treat to celebrate, please make sure that it’s NUT FREE. Thank you!

We want to wish Elijah a belated happy birthday! He turned three years old on Saturday! Your Wee Friends hope you had a great birthday and are feeling better today .

We dove right in on this Monday morning. The welcome activity was the road map along with various motor vehicles. Children wanted to investigate more so we moved the road map back to the habitrail area where we could sprawl out. Friends talked about the various different vehicles including buses, planes, and cars. We talked about which vehicle goes the fastest and slowest.

This week, we will investigate things that move in different ways, such as slow, fast, etc. (FAB—Science K.3.2)

In large group, we started our week off with Tacky the Penguin. When we started group on Friday, Lucy vocalized “Mindy, I’m in a Tacky mood!”. So, this weekend when I was at the library, I picked up several Tacky books incase friends are in a ‘Tacky’ mood.

We love the character of Tacky. He shows us that it’s okay to be different; it’s nothing to be ashamed of. We are all different. Plus, we’re able to get out a few good laughs when Tacky’s around.

Before heading outside, water beads were requested by many friends. Our older friends got the first opportunity to explore them as they were at the farm when the beads were originally introduced. Afterwards, children got the chance to work with them using their hands as well as with the tongs.

The bucket of chalk was put on the deck. Children scattered throughout the environment drawing on the sidewalks and chalkboard. Lulu’s creation stretched quite a ways as she had a goal in mind.

A group of friends got together and used chalk to decorate the stone steps heading down the hill. “Can you take a picture of this and send it to our mommy’s and daddy’s?!”

We’re off to a great start this week! Hope everyone had a great Monday!

Breakfast– Whole wheat bagel with no nut butter and apples.

Lunch– Whole wheat noodles with butter and red beans, cantaloupe, and peppers.

PM snack– Whole milk yogurt and blackberries.

Wee Sprout– Carrots/cucumber.

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 5/1

Good Afternoon!

This morning, the oldest five Wee Friends took a farm trip. It was such a great morning, filled with learning experiences, team work, and conversations galore.

First stop on our adventure were the baby chicks. We took turns holding them, making sure to be extremely careful with them.

Taffy, the pony was out today so we took this fantastic opportunity to become more comfortable with ponies and horses! We strapped on our helmets and rode around the farm a little. Miss Charlotte told us that Taffy is 23 years old!

After spending some time with Taffy, nature called. We walked back into the woods, stopping at the swing of course! A few friends chose to pick wild flowers and dandelions along the way. It was a great morning to appreciate nature and all that it has to offer.

When we got back to the barn, Miss Charlotte had an important job for us; clean out the barn by sweeping the hay into one big pile. It was quite a task as there was hay everywhere! We didn’t even have to think about it. Our five friends quickly grabbed brooms and shovels to start transferring the hay into a pile.

We swept the hay into a pile for thirty minutes. Yes, thirty minutes. Not only did every child pitch in but they were all disappointed when we had to leave. They talked about what tools they were going to use, what strategy was going to work best, and literally worked as a TEAM.

That’s what’s great about this program; farm is an amazing place to take charge and learn important life lessons. Our older friends love seeing the animals but it’s about the experiences at the farm that truly make the trip worth while. Last fall, we may not have been able to help and put in this kind of work but with the level of maturity our older friends have exhibited this spring, the task got completed. We left that barn pretty clean!

We look forward to helping Miss Charlotte again.

Back at Wee Friends..

Children explored new water beads! Friends took turns at the art table to experiment with water beads while using tongs. We loved the feeling of the beads in our hands. It’s a new sensory experience for us to explore.

 

The fresh air was calling our name! Even though the sun didn’t great us at the door, we had a great morning outside.

Breakfast– Rice cakes with cream cheese and mango.

Lunch– Turkey and shredded cheese on tortillas, banana, and green beans/tomatoes.

PM snack– Pretzels and pears.

Wee Sprout– Green beans.

Have a lovely weekend.

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 4/28

Link to farm pictures: WF 4/28 FARM

Enjoy the pictures from our day!

       

Breakfast was Whole Grain Cheerios and blueberries. Wee sprout was mixed veggies. Lunch consisted of whole grain brown rice with turkey, watermelon, and mixed veggies. Afternoon snack was wheat crackers with sweet pea butter.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulh_o982ZJ7mrIN9FbMg

Have a good night!

Amanda

Good Afternoon!

**Parents: thank you for bringing in sunscreen this week! For those who may have missed the request: If you would like to have sunscreen applied to your child while at Wee Friends, please bring in a bottle (please refrain from spray sunscreen). Again, thank you!

In large group, we read a favorite of ours: Three Cheers for Tacky! We looked at Tacky’s habitat that he lived in and discussed how his habitat is different from ours.

“It’s snowy there all the time!”

“Penguins must like the cold.”

“We don’t have ice like that in South Bend!”

As a group, friends talked about what we can do here that we couldn’t do there! One of the most popular ones was that it’d be hard to ride a bike on ice! (we are obsessed with our bikes outside..in a good way)

Science: K.3.5 Describe and give examples of weather changes and illustrate how weather affects people and the environment.

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Our day was off to a great start as children were able to use the paint dotters once they walked in the door. It seemed to be a popular welcome activity!

Jackson noticed how tall our grass was getting so he asked if he could water it. Instead, we cut the grass first before we watered it! Our older friends took their younger friends under their wing and showed them how to cut the grass using scissors from the art area. We’re becoming quite interested in how our grass is doing on a daily basis.

At the art table, we investigated the new present that Miss Hannah got us yesterday! The package included reusable stickers and five habitat pages. The goal was to put the animals in the correct habitat. We talked about all of the animals, especially the ones that interested us! Our older friends did a fabulous job explaining WHY each animal had a specific habitat that they live in.

…”I’ve never seen a dinosaur at the farm!”

Jackson was quite excited that he was able to fit all of his stickers on the habitat page that he had!

Even with a chill in the air, children became occupied outside. Friends headed to the sandbox, played pretend with peers, and used the dump trucks in the gravel rocks. Our outdoor space is perfect for running around, releasing our energy in a positive way!

Breakfast– Kix and pineapple.

Lunch– Brown rice with turkey, watermelon, and broccoli.

PM snack– Wheat thins and pumpkin seeds.

Wee Sprout– Cucumber and tomatoes.

Have a great night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 4/27

A few friends played with water beads this afternoon. They are all becoming pros at using the clamps and worked hard to transfer all their beads from one bowl to another. While playing, they talked to each other and made observations about the beads. They identified what color beads each friend had in their bowl and described the beads to each other, using words such as “bouncy,” “wet,” and even “beautiful.”

Breakfast was Kix and banana. Wee sprout was corn. Lunch consisted of farm fresh eggs with cheese, pears, pineapple, and corn. Afternoon snack was pretzels and cheese.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulh_kqS-wN8fIsz4YZ3g

Have a good night!

Amanda

Good Afternoon!

Today, we said goodbye to Miss Hannah who has been our observing student from IUSB. As a good bye gift, she got every child a small container of play dough so please make sure to check your child’s cubbie at pickup.

We’re so thankful for the last several weeks that we got to spend with Miss Hannah! I know us teachers will miss her but the kids will miss her even more.

A friend went on a mini vacation this past weekend and brought back a few fossils to share! There were three fossils that we passed around. Our friend shared where he got them from and what the fossils were before they became fossils.

Jackson and Addi used their trial and error skills to find out the best way to build their creation. Using the magnets, they wanted to build upward but it kept falling over. Eventually, they started to use the wall for support and it worked! Talk about perseverance.

Miss Rebekah gathered a group at the island and made banana bread. Friends followed the recipe and helped by pouring in different ingredients. It was quite delicious.

It was another gorgeous morning. We spent a good amount of time outside experimenting with bikes we’ve never tried before and kicking our feet up to relax.

Breakfast– Whole grain oatmeal with honey and blackberries.

Lunch– Scrambled eggs with shredded cheese, whole wheat flatbread, PPC pineapple, and cherry tomatoes/cucumber.

PM snack– Homemade banana bread, string cheese, and pineapple.

Wee Sprout– Cucumbers.

Have a lovely night.

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 4/26