Good Afternoon!

This morning we engaged in shaking shaker instruments and bells.  Friends were also singing the song, Jingle Bells.  Emily asked for the See The Bunnies Sleeping song.  Friends chose the animals they wanted to act out.  We acted out being bunnies, flamingos, hamsters, horses, lions and pigs.

We then headed into the kitchen for a sensory experience with playdough.  We were given pipe cleaners for the first time and golf tees to stick into our playdough.  We worked at manipulating the pipe cleaner to bend the way we wanted it to when we stuck it in the playdough.  We also used a hammer to pound the golf tees into it and used them for candles in our birthday cakes.

We then headed outside to engage in our favorite activities.

Breakfast: Overnight Oatmeal with cinnamon/sugar mixture and bananas.

Lunch: Farm fresh scrambled eggs, whole grain wheat bread with butter, peas and fresh oranges.

Afternoon Snack:  Whole grain wheat tortillas with hummus and watermelon.

Wee Sprout: Cucumbers.

Have a wonderful evening!

Rebekah and Tina

Link to pictures: 2023-04-19

Good Afternoon!

For kindergarten sign in, the three kindergarteners had to search throughout the environment to find animals that lay eggs, also known as oviparous animals. A few of the animals that children found were snake, lizard, alligator, and chicken!

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

In K/PREK1 group, we read ‘The Tiny Seed’ which shows how a seed turns into a flower. We watched as seeds sailed throughout the sky, eventually settling on the ground, and blooming into a flower come spring time. Afterwards, we looked at a visual of the life cycle of a flower. Tomorrow, we’ll dive into flowers more! For now, children had to say aloud the name of a flower and a few flowers that were shared were tulip, rose, sunflower, and morning glory.

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

To go along with our animal theme, we created a river habitat for imaginative play exploration.  We used tin foil to make a river through the middle of our tray to hold water.  Next we added gravel to create the banks.  We added plants and moss along the river edges.  Last we chose animals that might live in or around rivers.  Frogs and tadpoles could be added to the habitat.  We talked about how frogs lay eggs in water and a tadpole hatches from the egg.   The tadpole  must stay in the water at all times, but as it grows legs and lungs, it can start to come out of the water.  As an adult the frog can be both in and out of the water.  We used this information in our play.   Dragon flies were another animal we could choose for our river habitat.  We learned that dragon flies also lay their eggs in the water and live in water as larvae much like frogs and tadpoles.

We kept the ocean shore line habitat alive in the sensory bin today, using turkey basters to wet the gravel shore line.  We added animals that might live there like an octopus, a shark, a lobster and a sea turtle.  We talked about what kinds of animals might live in the water all of the time and which could live in both places.

Breakfast– Whole grain oatmeal with cinnamon and fresh apples.

Lunch– Farm fresh scrambled eggs with whole wheat flatbread, fresh watermelon, and fresh carrots/cucumber.

PM snack– Hummus and blue corn chips.

Wee Sprouts– Fresh carrots/cucumber.

Have a lovely evening!

-WF Teachers

Link to pictures: 2023-04-19

Good Afternoon!

This week, our kindergarteners have been exploring plants and animals. Today for their sign in, they had to write an animal that they eat and a plant that they eat. A few animals that friends wrote were pig and turkey!

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

In K/PREK1 group, we read one of our favorites, ‘Frog and Toad’ and like always, once we were done reading our first short story, Daniel asked if we could read one more. Afterwards, we compared and contrasted two animals at a time, writing a similarity and a difference whether it was a characteristic or a physical trait. It seemed to be much easier to come up with differences than similarities but children worked together and talked through it to find a similarity for each pairing.

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

We have been talking about animals this week and how they are different so we created a habitat table to demonstrate some of the differences in animals, what their needs are and how they live.  We created a tidal pool habitat, a rainforest floor and a desert habitat.  We talked about some of the differences between them.  Our imaginative play allowed us to explore all this by interacting with the different environments.  One friend asked about putting a boa constrictor into the ocean habitat because they can go into water. This gave the whole table an opportunity to talk about salt water habitats versus freshwater habitats and how most animals cannot live in both even though they are both water environments.

Breakfast– Chex and fresh apples.

Lunch– Peanut butter on whole wheat tortilla, cheddar cheese slices, fresh cantaloupe/oranges, and fresh green beans/carrots.

PM snack– Whole wheat bagel with cream cheese and string cheese.

Wee Sprout– Fresh carrots.

Have a wonderful night!

-Wee Friends Teachers

Link to pictures: 2023-04-18

Happy Tuesday!

This morning we began engaged in books.  We sat together with a friend to look at a book, sat with a teacher to have her read to us or looked at a book independently.

We all then headed into the kitchen to paint with our balls.  A friend sat across from us on the floor and we took turns scooting the bin to each other to make our balls move around.  We watched as a colorful design filled our papers.

We didn’t let the colder air stop us from going outside for a while.  We had our bodies rocking back and forth with a friend on the teeter totter and running around the circle.  Some of us then engaged with the big dinosaurs in the sandbox while using a paint brush to dust the sand off of them or just sitting on the rock path observing everything going on around us.

Breakfast:  Whole grain Cheerios and fresh oranges.

Lunch:  Refried beans and shredded cheddar cheese on whole grain wheat flatbread, fresh cucumbers and cantaloupe.

Afternoon Snack:  Whole grain wheat bagels with cream cheese and fresh pear slices.

Have a terrific evening!

Rebekah and Tina

Link to pictures:  2023-04-18

Welcome Back Ms Mindy!   We are all  so happy to have Ms Mindy back and to bring baby Charlette into our Wee Friends Family!  Everyone so enjoyed learning how to play with a baby, watching how to feed her and asking questions about babies.  There were a lot of questions about when a baby can eat big kid food!  Charlotte seemed to enjoy meeting her new friends as well.  She was all smiles today! 

Today we explored seed planting as imaginative play.  We planted pea seeds on Friday in the garden and the activity did not last long enough for some of us, so we created a way to do the planting as play.  On a tray of kinetic sand we had tiny cups of real bean and corn seeds.  We used ice cube trays and tiny cups to pretend to plant seeds as many times as we wanted.  Some of us got inventive with this activity.  The activity evolved into a cake baking activity with the seeds as chocolate chips for one friend.  For another, the sand became a volcano filled with lava seeds!

The farm theme transferred to the sensory bin a s well today.  Some of the older kids have started talking about the farm so we created an imaginary farm using popsicle sticks as fencing.  Many of us enjoyed making a paddock for each type of farm animal and putting like species together.  Eventually the project turned into a mountain building activity with a giant popsicle stick fortress on top!  Lots of creativity today!

We have planted a variety of colored tomatoes this year so today we tried a black tomato variety to familiarize ourselves with the flavors of different colored tomatoes.  Everyone who liked tomatoes enjoyed the black tomato flavor!

Breakfast:  Peanut butter toast, fresh pears and milk

Lunch: Pasta with beans, fresh strawberries, bananas and cucumbers

PM Snack: Yogurt with gram crackers

Wee Sprouts: fresh carrots and cucumbers

Have a wonderful afternoon!

Ms Linsey

Link to photos:2023-04-17

Good Afternoon!

This morning friends were engaged in the housekeeping area using some of the loose parts manipulatives in their cooking and mixing with the mixer and bowls.

Several friends then gathered up in the front area to build with our wood blocks.  They used their imaginative skills as they constructed their buildings. Friends also worked their fine motor and hand-eye coordination skills as they pieced their waffle blocks together.

Breakfast: Whole grain wheat bread toasted with peanut butter and fresh pear slices.

Lunch: Whole grain wheat macaroni pasta with butter and black beans, fresh apple slices and corn.

Afternoon Snack: Whole milk yogurt and graham crackers.

Wee Sprout: Green Bell Peppers

Have a great evening!

Rebekah and Tina

Link to pictures: 2023-04-17

To our amazing parents:

Yesterday afternoon Hannah asked if she could come up with a project for the class to try in the art center.  She had the idea to use magnetic tiles from the building center to paint and use as stamps.  She though it could make “interesting shapes”.  We did this project today with some interested friends.  She talked about her idea for the project and demonstrated first.  Other friends created their own versions of the artwork afterward.  It was fun for her to get to see her idea through.

 

We all helped create a water piping system on the deck today.  We got to experiment through trial and error to figure out how to get the water to go the way we wanted it to.  We also got to work together and use each other’s brain storming to help.  We learned about water pressure as we got to the ground.  At first we could not get the water to travel upward, but when we got to the bottom we could attach a pipe angled upward and get water to come out.  We talked about why this happens.

Have a great weekend!

-Ms. Linsey

Breakfast: Brown rice cakes w/ PB & banana

Lunch: Cheese and turkey on whole wheat flatbread & green beans/cucumbers & bananas

PM Snack: Special treat from Ms. Kim

Wee Sprouts: Fresh green beans

Link to photos:  2023-04-14

“Children are brilliant teachers. They notice the small details, the bugs and snowflakes for instance, and invite us to slow down and enjoy each magical moment.”

-Author Unknown

I’ve truly felt this way these past five years. I’ve learned and grown as an individual from working with these amazing little people. Thank you again for entrusting your child/ren with me! I’m so blessed to walk away knowing they will thrive in the years to come, and that I’ve had a small hand in that!

Thank you all for being such wonderful parents!

Ms. Kim

Happy Friday!

Enjoy some of the pictures from our day!

Breakfast: Whole grain brown rice cakes with peanut butter and fresh pineapple slices.

Lunch:  Rotisserie chicken lunch meat on whole grain wheat bread, red bell peppers, and fresh pear slices.

Afternoon Snack:  Pretzels and mozzarella cheese stick.

Wee Sprout: Cucumbers.

Have a wonderful weekend!  Enjoy the sunshine!

Rebekah and Tina

Link to pictures: 2023-04-14

Good Afternoon!  Another beautiful day!

This morning we exhibited our amazing dress up skills by putting on character headbands, hats, and colorful scarves. Arthur lined up his wooden cars and made sure to put wooden people in them. Hannah made some music by shaking her maracas.

Emily worked on building with Legos pieces while laying down. Friends asked for some books, so Ms. Tina read “Mouse Count” by Ellen Stoll Walsh. After the book was over, a friend said the ending was “so silly.” Paige and Arthur explored the Habi-trail together and took turns sliding down. Ben stacked different color beads on a wooden pegboard.

We made our way outside to play with some tins full of water, frogs, and plastic boats. We also played in the sand box, enjoyed the sun on our playmat, attempted to catch bugs and made a habitat with grass in the jar, and built with plastic waffle blocks.

Breakfast:  Whole grain Corn Chex cereal and fresh pineapple.

Lunch:  Whole grain brown rice with shredded turkey, fresh cantaloupe and corn.

Afternoon Snack: Sunflower seeds with whole grain Triscuits crackers.

Wee Sprouts:  Orange bell peppers.

Have a terrific evening!

Rebekah and Tina

Link to pictures:  2023-04-13

Happy Thursday!

We have been playing with dinosaurs in the sandbox and talking about them, so today we looked at real fossils.  We got to see the ancient fossilized sea bottom of Michigan from long before the time of the dinosaurs.  We also looked at petrified wood from the Triassic period just as dinosaurs were beginning their evolution.  Last we looked at the rib bone of an extinct prehistoric animal from after the time of the dinosaurs but before our time. 

WF is starting its own band led by Daniel! Our friends all gathered in a circle with their own unique instruments. The practice was a little rough from the start, so we had an introduction in the concept of keeping a beat. Ms. Kim showed them how to do this. Of course, with any band, the artists just play their own style (which must be a rock band because they quickly went back to their crazy rhythms). More practice may be required.  

We took the interest outside where our teacher berried the jaw bone of a horse.  We pretended to be paleontologists searching for fossilized bones.  It was exciting to finally find the jaw bone and many friends took turns re-hiding and rediscovering the bone.  A friend asked if this what the top or bottom part of the jaw so we got to talk about where the mandible is inside our own bodies as we inspected the horse jaw. 

Of course we also took care to water out seed trays in the green house!

Breakfast: Cheerios & cantaloupe/pineapple

Lunch: Brown rice w/ pork, pepper/cucumbers, & pineapple/cantaloupe

PM Snack: Ritz & sunflower seeds

Wee Sprouts: Fresh cucumbers & yellow/green peppers

Link to photos:  2023-04-13

Have a great afternoon!

Ms. Linsey & Ms. Kim