Good Afternoon!

In large group, we read a book that focused on BEARS; polar, black, and brown!

We started off our conversation by identifying that a bear is an animal and what that means. Our group learned several things about bears, specifically:

1. Once a ‘cub’ is three years old, they leave their mommy and go off on their own! We came to the conclusion that even though we’re three or older, we are NOT ready to leave our mommy.

2. Bears eat salmon, about fifteen a day!

3. Brown bears can climb tree and sleep on thick branches high up in a tree; they feel safe there.

Tomorrow, we’re going to talk about a special type of plant: a tree!

Science: K.4.2 Observe plants and animals, describing how they are alike and how they are different.

A look into the rest of our day..

Breakfast– Whole grain oatmeal with honey and clementines/banana.

Lunch– Farm fresh scrambled eggs with shredded cheese, whole wheat flatbread, PPC strawberries/banana, and cherry tomatoes/carrots.

PM snack– Air popped popcorn and bananas.

Wee Sprout– Carrots.

Have a great night.

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 4/19

**FARM ANNOUNCEMENT: We are going to have two groups this spring that will go to the farm. The children who are still TWO YEARS OLD as of today will need a parent to go with them to the farm. Otherwise, they will stay back at Wee Friends.

Group A: Jackson, Addi, Riley, Maddie, Lulu

Group B: Lucy, Tate, Max, Rosemary, Grady, Anna

Two year olds who would need a parent to go with: Elijah, Nina, Brycen, David, Ruby

If the weather is coorporative this Friday, April 21st GROUP A will be going to the farm. Please make sure your child is wearing farm appropriate shoes/clothing. I will put an update for farm travel on Thursday’s blog since the weather can be quite unpredictable.

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**SWIM ANNOUCEMENT: Swim starts up next Tuesday, April 25th. If your child is signed up for swim, please bring a swim suit so we can be prepared next Tuesday! We will provide towels.

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In large group, we continued our exploration into plants and animals. Today, we focused on spiders. Our knowledge of spiders grew exponentially. For example, did you know that spiders can have 8 eyes, 6 eyes, 4 eyes, or 2 eyes? It just depends on the type of spider.

Today Miss Melinda took some of the older friends on a nature walk. They walked around the block to observe the flowers and plants that are in bloom.

On this beautiful day, we were busy outside working our gross motor muscles by riding bikes, climbing the rocks and moving and lifting logs for building.

Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios and bananas.

Lunch: Hummus on whole wheat bread, watermelon and tomatoes/carrots.

Afternoon Snack: Toasted whole wheat bagels with cream cheese and watermelon.

Wee Sprouts: Carrots.

Have a great evening!

Rebekah and Mindy

Link to pictures: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulh_A0-NxPeLhirLlK8g

Please note: We are running low on plastic bags. Any donations would be appreciated!

Today we played with magnets at the sensory table…

Used shovels to scoop the pea gravel into buckets and trucks…

Showed off our bike riding skills…

And stacked the big blocks so we could do some climbing!

Breakfast was whole wheat bagels with butter and banana. Wee sprout was peas. Lunch consisted of whole wheat pasta with chicken, bananas, and peas. Afternoon snack was string cheese and blackberries.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulh-8-FirmtHeRzekkJw

Have a good night!

Amanda

Good Afternoon!

This week in large group, we’ll be concentrating on the similarities and differences between plants and animals. Today’s focus was on the sunflower. First, we read a story focused specifically on sunflowers before making a list of things we learned about this certain plant.

A few comparisons we found:

Plants (sunflowers) are stationary UNLIKE animals.

Plants and animals BOTH need food/water to survive.

Tomorrow, we will buff up our knowledge about spiders. Using this list, we’re going to compare the two!

Science: K.4.2 Observe plants and animals, describing how they are alike and how they are different.

Jackson expressed the desire to maintain the grass plants that are currently in the science area. So, Jackson grabbed a few friends and passed out scissors. Each child got a pair of scissors to cut the grass because the blades sure took off over the weekend!

Our plant theme continued outside as a few of our boys asked if they could start to weed the garden! They got to work in a few of the plant beds. Jackson made sure to show everyone how to pull out a weed, making sure to get the ROOTS too!

The animal theme started up as a group of children surrounded a spot by the slide: it was a BEETLE! The fascination and excitement from one little beetle is huge!

“When we deny young children play, we are denying them the right to understand the world.”

-Erika and Nicholas Christakis

Breakfast– Toast with butter and banana.

Lunch– Whole wheat noodles with butter and chicken, clementine’s/banana, and mixed vegetables.

PM snack– Whole milk yogurt with banana/apple.

Have a lovely night.

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 4/17

Enjoy the pictures from today and have a happy Easter! We’ll see you on Monday!

Breakfast was Whole Grain Cheerios and banana. Lunch consisted of whole grain brown rice with chicken, banana, pear, and peas. Afternoon snack was cheese crackers and banana.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulh-1y6ci9iyAIj3-KYA

Have a great weekend!

Amanda

Good Afternoon!

In large group, we looked at a book that focused on MANY different animals. First, we went through the book identifying what animal it was and if it was a small animal or BIG animal.

After we finished the book, each friend got an opportunity to share a small animal and big animal to put on our list.

Science K.4.1: Give examples of plants and animals.

Tate requested the light table this morning which went in a variety of directions.

We got out the gems and children sorted the gems by color first. After, we discussed which colored group had more/less.

Next, the stones/rocks were requested. Friends used descriptive words to describe the stones such as smooth, rough, big, little, and flat.

Finally, children asked for the seashells. A friend made the following comment: “There are animals that live in these shells!” So, that brought up the topic of predators! “Crabs live in a seashell so that they don’t get eaten. When they get bigger, they move to another shell.”

Predator vs. prey was discussed and how this affects the animals around us.

Science K.4.1: Give examples of plants and animals.

Friends anxiously made their way to the art table as we got to experiment and explore with SHAVING CREAM! Each child got to pick a color to add to their shaving cream, giving it that extra spunk!

For our younger friends, it was a different sensory experience. We ran it through our hands, moved it around the tray, and smelt it!

Our older friends took this opportunity to extend the experience by writing our letters in the shaving cream!

Jackson and Grady took a break in their morning to enjoy Wee Sprouts and practice their number identification.

Even though it was a short week, it was a jammed packed, fantastic four days.

We’re closing the week with a wink .

Breakfast– Kix and plums/kiwi.

Lunch– Brown rice with chicken, cantaloupe/pears, and cauliflower/green beans.

PM snack– Pumpkin seeds and graham crackers.

Wee Sprout– Red peppers.

Have a lovely holiday weekend.

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 4/13

In large group, we read ‘The Tiny Seed’. We’ve been excited about watching our grass grow today so we used that excitement to foster learning in our large group session.

After reading the story, we discussed specific parts of the plant including roots, stem, leaves, and flower. Friends named each part as well as the specific purpose it serves!

Science K.4.1: Give examples of plants and animals.

This morning our creativity was in motion as we built with the magnatiles and trio blocks.

Some friends enjoyed a sensory experience by scooping and molding the moon sand.

As we were taking the bikes out of the garage, Addi requested the collapsible sphere. Many of the friends enjoyed going inside of it and walking around the backyard.

Over the weekend Miss Tami and her husband Charles, hung a new chalkboard outside for us. We enjoyed creating our own chalk masterpieces on it as well as the sidewalk. The art table supplies were brought back out for us to draw with the markers now that winter is over.

Breakfast: Whole grain oatmeal and pears.

Lunch: Scrambled eggs, whole wheat English muffins, clementines and cucumbers.

Afternoon Snack: Block cheese and a special treat, mini cream puffs left over from last nights tour event.

Wee Sprouts: Green beans.

Have a great night!

Rebekah

Link to pictures:   https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulh-wFvbaYV4ChF4a_8A

We had a new activity for our friends today: water beads!

They’re a slippery and squishy sensory experience! We had a new tool to use, too. Friends learned how to use clamps for picking up the beads along with spoons, bowls, and their hands. This activity was great for fine motor work since the slippery beads were challenging to pick up with fingers. The beads often had to be chased around the trays, table, and floor!

Breakfast was whole wheat toast with butter and banana. Lunch consisted of farm fresh eggs, banana, whole wheat bread with butter, and corn. Afternoon snack was wheat crackers with hummus.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulh-xNib6svSVJ5sS1Dg

Have a great night!

Amanda

Good Afternoon!

Tonight, Wee Friends is involved in ‘Celebrating the Professional’, previously known the Progressive Dinner. Early childhood professionals and community leaders will be touring three businesses including El Campito, Hope4Kids, and Wee Friends!

I’ve attached a flyer that we’ll hand out to our guests who tour, explaining what Wee Friends is all about. We’re excited for this opportunity and are looking forward to sharing the Wee Way!

In large group today, we continued on our animal theme by discussing animals that live on the farm. After reading a book focused on the farm, friends came up with a list of animals that they learned about. Plus, we have background knowledge thanks to our farm trips!

K.4.1: Give examples of plants and animals.

We gathered in the garden where each friend got a clay pot to plant grass seed!

First, we put potting soil into the pot before adding grass seed to it. We topped it off with a little more potting soil before watering it.

We placed the pots into the aquarium in the science area so that we can observe them daily. The consensus is that the grass will grow in approximately five days. We’ll have to see if we were close in our estimation!

We had moth cocoons in the aquarium before placing the pots in there. So, we cleaned it out and explored the moth cocoons that were still present. Lucy found a moth that didn’t quite mature enough and passed it around to her peers.

We continued to enjoy our new bouncy balls in the backyard environment. There are smaller balls and larger balls to throw and kick!

Breakfast– Kashi blueberry clusters and kiwi.

Lunch– Hummus on whole wheat buns, plums, and cherry tomatoes.

PM snack– Whole wheat bagels with cream cheese.

Wee Sprout– Cherry tomatoes.

Have a lovely night!

-Mindy

*The photo album was not cooperating this afternoon. I’ll try and post pictures again tomorrow. Sorry!

Wee Friends is one of the sites being toured tonight as part of celebrating the profession of Early Childhood!

Enjoy the pictures from our day!

Breakfast was Whole Grain Cheerios and banana. Wee sprout was peas. Lunch consisted of whole wheat tortilla with hummus, clementine’s, and peas. Afternoon snack was graham crackers and string cheese.

Link to photos: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIulh-sXFQH8LBNY59261Q

Have a good night!

Amanda