Maggie was cooking up a storm in housekeeping! She had food going in and out of the oven all morning long. If only it were real food, we would have had a feast!

Sophia loves playing with the pebbles outside. While in the log house this morning, she grabbed handfuls of the pea gravel and placed them along the window ledge. Then she discovered that the log house is a great place to climb and play peekaboo!

Franklin and Maggie enjoyed reading stories to themselves and with Miss Rebekah this afternoon. Row, Row, Row Your Boat was sang many times!

Breakfast was toast with butter and cinnamon and bananas. Wee sprouts was corn. Lunch consisted of English muffins with mozzarella cheese, pears, apples, and corn. Afternoon snack was string cheese and cheese crackers.

Have a great weekend!

Amanda

Link to photos: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=A58B8C61670EC2D4!92355&authkey=!AO4Cwcet7i5Szhg&ithint=folder%2cJPG

Enjoy the pictures from our day!

Breakfast was Whole Grain Cheerios and peaches. Lunch consisted of whole grain brown rice with shredded beef, pea, and bananas. Afternoon snack was pretzels and pears.

Have a great night!

Amanda

Link to photos: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=A58B8C61670EC2D4!92297&authkey=!AMYFTh-aA9znB0Q&ithint=folder%2cJPG

Hello!

* We’re asking for plastic grocery bags for dirty diapers. Our stock has run out! Thank you .

We traveled out of the house today to explore the area around us. Before we ventured out, everyone gathered in the reading area to talk about our FAB for the week, becoming familiar with our community and the businesses that are present.

Miss Melinda read “What Do You Do?: Job’s in Our Community”. After learning about several jobs that are occupying most communities, we made a possible list of businesses that we could possibly see on our walk through River Park.

We filled wagons and a stroller and headed off! Every child got a piece of paper full of different businesses, a pen, and a clipboard. This was for documenting what businesses that we actual saw!

As we walked along Mishawaka Avenue, we looked in the windows to see if we could get any clues. There were many different types of local businesses such as a gas station, laundromat, pet groomer, fire station, and bank! We also saw a few that we had to add to our list including a vet and a church. When we walked up toward the church, we realized it wasn’t on our list. Elizabeth asked, “Could I add it to my list?” As a group, we spelled church so that children could add it if they wanted.

To find the business on the paper, we worked with friends to look at the first letter of the word. For instance, we came upon a bank. Children looked at their list and looked for a word that started with the letter ‘b’.

Once we got into the neighborhood section of River Park, we observed our surroundings. We had friends point out different flowers, many kinds of mulch, and vehicles such as a work truck and a school bus!

As we started heading back to school, a friend spotted water flowing in the street! We looked ahead to see the hydrants getting flushed out! He explained to us what he was doing and why he was cleaning the drains out.

Both small group and large group used our exploration of the city for our focus.

In large group, we read two different stories that displayed businesses that are present in communities. The first story was about police officers. We talked about how police officers are similar to fire fighters. We saw a police car on our walk today which friends noted. The second story was about the dentist! Friends shared dentist stories that they had along with comments about how they help people!

For our group discussion, we revisited our walk and talked about businesses that are around us here at Wee Friends. Children recalled the places that we saw. When we talked about the police officers as well as the fire station, I had asked about the number that we call in case of an emergency. We referenced the police officer story that we were reading. The number 9-1-1 was brought up and we talked about how its only used in case of a serious emergency.

We had a terrific day exploring our small area of South Bend.

Breakfast– Whole grain cheerios with peaches.

Lunch– Brown rice with beef, banana, and cherry tomatoes.

PM snack– Whole grain crackers with pumpkin seeds.

Wee Sprouts– Red pepper.

Have a great night.

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 6/2

Please note: Summer break it coming up! Wee Friends will be closed June 30th- July 8th.

Enjoy the photos!

Breakfast was Kix and bananas. Wee sprouts was broccoli. Lunch consisted of turkey and cheese on tortilla, bananas, and broccoli. Afternoon snack was graham crackers and string cheese.

Have a great night!

Amanda

Link to photos: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=A58B8C61670EC2D4!92119&authkey=!ADPvfxcpl4QMX8U&ithint=folder%2cJPG

Happy first day of June!

Our trip to the farm started and ended with the black and white kitty cat! When we started walking up to the farm, the cat was a little skittish and a friend noted, “He may not like big groups.” We tried to beat the rain so as we walked back to the Weeichle, we spotted the cat again! This time however, he sprawled out on the table waiting for us to pet him!

We surveyed the farm before we dove right in. Miss Tami pointed out different flowers that surrounded Miss Charlotte’s house! A few children spotted a small chair underneath a tree so they all took turns gently sitting on it.

The last couple of weeks that we visited the farm, it was quite busy with other schools visiting as well! However this week, we had the freedom to run and run and run.

New baby turkeys were in the farm so we headed in to visit with them! We had the opportunity to hold the turkeys. Miss Tami showed us how to gently hold the baby turkeys so that we didn’t injure them.

We put on our helmets and were ready for our pony rides!

Our friends who took a pony ride did a great job working on how to get on the horse correctly. Miss Charlotte told us that we have to swing our leg all the way over instead of putting our feet on the horse.

As a group, we moseyed on down to the pond where we watched as a young man was fishing!

We took a short walk before the rain set in. Elliott found two slugs which he later shared with his peers.

Even though our last visit to the farm was cut a little short today, we enjoyed our time we were able to spend there. Plus who doesn’t like getting a few fresh rain drops on our face?

When the older group took off for the farm, the younger group headed outside! The sand box was quite a hit. Friends used shovels, buckets, and many more items to manipulate the sand with.

When the older group got back from the farm, most of the class engaged in a game where everyone was a different animal. Their imagination always follows them outside!

During large group time, we continued to focus on our FAB that has us looking at our community. Yesterday, we focused on the library. Today, we read two stories that turned our focus to the zoo! The second story we read, ‘My School is a Zoo’, was so popular that I was asked to read it again! It was quite comical and allowed for us to have a few good laughs .

After we read our stories, we talked about the local zoo, the Potawatomi Zoo, along with other zoos that our friends have visited. Children were asked the question, “What is your favorite thing to do at the zoo?” Friends gave their answer and talked about their experiences at the zoo.

Breakfast– Whole grain oatmeal with raspberries.

Lunch– Tortillas with turkey, cauliflower, and PPC red grapes.

PM snack– Refried beans with blue corn chips.

Wee Sprout– Carrots.

Have a terrific evening!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 6/1

We had a great morning outside!

We took turns on the teeter-totters…

Pretty flowers caught our attention…

We picked out buckets and shovels for digging in the sandbox…

And joined our older friends at the art table for some drawing!

Breakfast was toast with butter and cinnamon and strawberries. Wee sprouts was peas. Lunch consisted of whole wheat bread with hummus, strawberries, blueberries, and peas. Afternoon snack was toasted whole wheat bagels with butter.

Have a great night!

Amanda

Link to photos: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=A58B8C61670EC2D4!91864&authkey=!AKc5dfkNdnrTu_o&ithint=folder%2cJPG

Good Afternoon!

Hope everyone was able to enjoy their holiday weekend!

*Weather permitting, Group A will go to the farm tomorrow (Elizabeth, Clara, Elliott, Addi, Eren, Emerson, Riley). This will most likely be our last trip this season.

*If any families are willing to donate to our ‘plastic bags for dirty diapers’ collection, we’d be extremely grateful!

After the swim group left for the morning, many friends took the opportunity to read either by themselves or with a teacher.

When we headed outside, friends showed interest in the art table.

Maddie requested assistance when she was writing at the art table. “I have the D for Daddy. What comes next?” Our older friends are often willing to help with questions like this!

Our Kindergarten FAB for the week is: K.3.3 Locate and describe places in the school and community.

After reading the story, “The Library”, we had a discussion about the term ‘library’. Here’s what we heard:

“I go to the library to get books for my room!”

“I go to TWO different libraries.”

“Oh really? I go to FOUR libraries.”

“I have a library card.”—>This lead into our discussion about librarians and how they help us!

Libraries were our first stop around town. Throughout the week, we’ll discuss different places throughout our community that are relevant to us. I’ll also introduce new places in the community that friends may not be aware of, thus gaining new knowledge!

(I’d like you to notice the ‘doesn’t go to the library’ category..seems pretty bare!)

Breakfast– Kashi’s Wheat Squares and apples.

Lunch– Hummus on whole wheat bread, apples, and carrots.

PM snack– Maddie’s birthday snack: frozen yogurt sqaures with fresh fruit mixed in (YUM!) accompanied by pretzels.

Wee Sprout– Carrots.

Have a lovely night!

Link to pictures: WF 5/31

Enjoy the holiday weekend!

Breakfast was Chex and bananas. Lunch consisted of whole wheat bread with sweet pea butter, corn, and apples. Afternoon snack was string cheese and graham crackers.

Have a great night!

Amanda

Link to photos: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=A58B8C61670EC2D4!91734&authkey=!APLgFL48ZQkLbso&ithint=folder%2cJPG

Happy Friday!

A BIG Happy Birthday shout out to Maddie! She turns four years old tomorrow. We hope you have a terrific weekend and are able to enjoy that awesome new bike!

Our Friday morning consisted of:

Puzzles and housekeeping.

Teamwork with friends.

And making ‘Earth’ healthy banana muffins. After everyone helped with the ingredients, we separated the mixture so we could create a green batch and a blue batch, resembling the Earth.

They looked delightful going into the oven and tasted fabulous when we had them for snack. We talked about how they looked once we started eating them. The blue and green had run together, not necessarily resembling our Earth. (Possibly because the recipe I found called for ‘cupcakes’ and instead we made healthy whole wheat banana muffins?—they were still delicious!)

We had a valuable discussion that centered around this which was prompted from the comments, “This doesn’t look like the Earth!”:

Sometimes in life you try something for the first time and it may not work out like you’d hoped for. That’s no reason to give up and it’s always a good idea to try again. Rarely is anything every perfect and all we can do is try our best!

Miss Katelyn made a sorting activity available at the round table. Children were given colorful buttons and matching containers. Maddie and Anna both sat and sorted the buttons by color. Maddie even brought shape into the activity!

Cassie’s mom, Michelle, came to Wee Friends this morning to help us plant the flowers and vegetables that we got yesterday! We tore up newspaper to help us get the best result!

Our friends are always so eager to help!

In Kindergarten:

We had an Eric Carle day. The first story we read was about the moon. We correlated it to the Earth and the relationship that the Earth and Moon have. The second story we read was about a birthday surprise. In the story, a child had to use a map to find her birthday present! So, we made a map of our own! A Wee Friend’s map!

First, we made a list of special spots within the classroom. Using that list we started to create the map. I explained how before there were phones, families used big maps in the car if they were somewhere that they weren’t familiar with.

Elizabeth said, “But now we have Siri. We talk to her!”

Breakfast– Brown rice cakes with cream cheese and bananas.

Lunch– Whole wheat tortillas with no nut butter, pears, and broccoli.

PM snack– Homemade whole wheat banana muffins and cottage cheese.

Wee Sprouts– Peppers.

Hope everyone has a terrific long holiday weekend.

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 5/27

Good Afternoon!

*Just a reminder, tomorrow is PAJAMA DAY! Thanks!

*Since we are about a month away, here’s a reminder about our summer vacation. We will be closed starting Thursday, June 30th and we’ll resume on Monday, July 11th.

Elliott was interested in a math book that he found so we made our way through it. Our discussion ranged from shapes to right triangles to time to money. We learned new vocabulary and I found out that Elliott has previous knowledge on some of these topics!

This is ONE of the many amazing things that occurs during our day: taking part in conversations that allow us as teachers to gain knowledge about each individual child. This allows us to target our day and activities that we may present to better fit our group of friends as well as their interests.

We’re coming up on the end of our FAB that allowed us to learn about the difference and similarities between globes and maps. As children walked through the door, they were greeted with a map sign in board!

During large group, we read a Magic School Bus story that allowed us to learn about the inner workings of the Earth. Elliott commented, “The inside of the Earth is HOT!” When we got to the part about volcanoes, Eren was hooked. After finishing the story, children were interested in learning more about volcanoes so I retrieved a short video that we watched about how a volcano forms and how it looks when it erupts. This specific extension was quite popular. Our group of friends enjoy SEEING what they’re learning about.

Elizabeth used what she had learned during our large group time and transferred it to her journal. After she finished her drawing, she sounded the word ‘volcano’ without assistance!

Our younger peers sat down at the table this morning where they were interested in completing a journal! They enjoy getting to voice their thoughts with a teacher as well as use the date stamp and the choice to pick out a sticker to put on their journal!

While the older group headed to the farmers market, the bikes were a hot commodity.

It was a great morning for a trip down the street to the South Bend Farmer’s Market. We made a list yesterday of all of the things that we wanted to get while we were there so once we arrived, we revisited the list that we had made.

After we picked out our vegetables that we get to plant in our garden, the group took a walk around.

A HUGE thanks to Vite’s Produce who gave each of our friends their own plant to take home! How thoughtful!

We also noticed a lady who was weaving so we decided to stop and see what she was doing. The group found out that she was using what’s called a ‘loom’. It takes her 12 hours to put the loom together before she can start her work!

We had a FANTASTIC day here at Wee Friends. We hope you had a great day as well!

-Mindy

Breakfast– Kix and peaches/grapes.

Lunch– Whole grain brown rice with butter and turkey, oranges, and peppers.

PM snack– Sunflower seeds and graham crackers.

Wee Sprout– Snap peas.

Link to pictures: 5/26