Good Afternoon!

Since we have a couple families coming back from vacation and summer is nearing the end, I wanted to review a few Wee Friend’s procedures .

–We stop serving breakfast at 9:00 am. If you’d like your child to have breakfast, please make sure they’re here before 9:00 am.

–We ask that parents park in front of either Wee Friend’s house or the Wee Wee house, the parking pad on the side of Wee Friends, or the parking lot. We try to stay in our neighbors good graces and ask that you do not park on the west side of the street or north or south of Wee Friends. The parking lot allows you to have a two minute chat with your child about their day or their upcoming day!

–In keeping  with parking, we ask that you keep it to a 10 minute limit if you’re parking on the street in front of either house. If you expect to be here longer than 10 minutes, we ask that you use the parking lot.

–Wee Friends closes at 5:30 pm which means you should be exiting the front door with your child by 5:30 pm.

Thanks for everyone’s cooperation and we’re looking forward to a fantastic Fall!

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In pre-k/k group, we read ‘The Fly Flew In’. On almost every page, we discussed what might happen next. We looked at the pictures to see if it gave us any clues as to what would happen on the following page.

We had several children return from different vacations so children got into the grove of journaling again with their peers. Our two kindergarteners set the example for kid spelling by sounding out every word that they write. As they kid spell, their younger peers are glued into what they’re doing and talk about the letters that they recognize.

We spent all morning outside. Children floated from space to space with their peers, becoming increasingly involved in different activities. We had our usual bug finders, art table goers, and children who just needed to run! On the other side of that, a few older peers sat in the shade and got caught up on each other’s lives as a few had been on vacation.

Breakfast– Whole wheat english muffins with peanut butter and PPC mango.

Lunch– Whole wheat pasta with shredded beef and butter, fresh apples, and PPC broccoli/Wee Friend’s garden cucumber.

PM snack– Whole milk yogurt with PPC mango.

Wee Sprout– PPC broccoli/Wee Friend’s garden cucumber.

Have a terrific evening!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 8/6

Good Afternoon!

Maddie moved onto the second box of BOB books this morning. After she read all of the books, she noticed that she read a lot of words that ended in ‘-ox’,  ‘-ex’, and ‘-ax’. She asked to get out the second box this morning since, “I’m going to Good Shepherd and I want to read a lot before I go there!”

Books continued to be a prevalent theme today as children not only read in the reading area but also the science area! Chloe and Ruby got out several science books and looked through them. They specifically looked at the pictures and talked about what they saw.

“Almost all creativity involves purposeful play.”

-Abraham Maslow

Breakfast– Rice cakes with peanut butter and PPC blueberries.

Lunch– Chicken breast and turkey on whole wheat tortillas, PPC banana/oranges, PPC cherry tomatoes/fresh carrots.

PM snack– Block cheese and graham crackers.

Wee Sprout– PPC cherry tomatoes/fresh carrots.

Have a great night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 8/3

Good Afternoon, and Happy Friday!

“Experience precedes understanding.” ~ Jean Piaget

Enjoy the pictures from our fun-filled Friday!!!

Breakfast: Whole grain English muffins with sweet pea butter and apples.

Lunch: Whole wheat bread with turkey lunchmeat, carrots, and PPC banana.

Snack: Whole grain cheese crackers and mozzarella string cheese.

Have a fantastic weekend, we’ll see you on Monday  

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljMsclF6wp4iKaLKSxg

Good Afternoon!

Pencils have been popular at the art table. Children specifically like how they can erase something unlike markers! Franklin worked on a waterfall and proclaimed, “I’m doing some hard work!”

One of our kindergarteners wrote a seventeen page book today, working hard to kid spell all of the words with little teacher assistance.

The rest of our morning revolved around books and experimenting in the science area with sensory tubes and different animals/insects.

This morning was GORGEOUS! Friends were actively engaged the entire time we were outside. Children really activate their imagination with their peers to make up their own game or story.

“The important thing is not to stop questioning; curiosity has its own reason for existing.”

-Albert Einstein

Breakfast– Kix and PPC kiwi/blueberries.

Lunch– Brown rice with shredded pork, PPC banana/oranges, and PPC cucumber/fresh carrots.

PM snack– Triscuits and sunflower seeds.

Wee Sprout– PPC cucumber/fresh carrots.

Have a fantastic night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 8/2

Good Afternoon.

“As soon as children find something that interests them they loose their instability and learn to concentrate.” ~ Maria Montessori

Today our big AND little friends wanted to color. We have fresh new markers that made bright, vibrant colors all over their pages. While we were coloring, teachers talked with friends about the color they were using and Mack told me, “I use Blue because it’s my favorite!” Coloring enhances children’s fine motor skills, color recognition, hand eye- coordination and their imagination skills.

In my blog yesterday, I talked about the relationships that our little ones obtain while at WWF and how important friendships are! Mack and Daniel are the best of buds, as you can clearly see. They engage together throughout most of their day, indoors and out. We absolutely LOVE these special bonds and friendships.

Breakfast: Whole grain Cheerios with PPC banana.

Lunch: Whole grain rice with shredded pork, corn, and apples.

Snack: Pretzels and mozzarella string cheese.

Wee Sprouts: Corn.

Have a fabulous evening.

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljMl66WOJ_D52knRnyA

Good Afternoon and Happy August! This year is really flying by quickly.

“The beautiful thing about learning, is that no one can take it away from you.” ~B.B. King

Our fine motor and cognitive skills were in impeccable shape today as we engaged in puzzles and pegs. While Mack was working on his puzzle, he was also learning about the letters of the alphabet and the colors of those letters. While engaging in the pegs, Daniel was also able to begin to work on his color recognition skills. Hand-eye coordination and cognitive skills are also amongst the skills being learned. 

We are so fortunate that our little ones get the chance to obtain such wonderful and long lasting friendships with their peers. Socialization skills are very important in early childhood.

According to, Tender Care Learning Centers, “ Interacting and playing with both peers and adults presents an immense amount of learning opportunities for young children. Even toddlers and infants reap the cognitive and emotional benefits of interacting with others. The right socially interactive environment will help children develop strong language skills, creativity, social intelligence, and confidence.”  

Breakfast: Whole grain Chex Cereal, and PPC banana.

Lunch: Scrambled eggs with shredded cheese, broccoli, whole wheat/grain butter toast, and PPC blueberries.

Snack: Whole wheat crackers with cream cheese, and apples.

Wee Sprouts: Broccoli.

Have a wonderful evening.

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljMkRR_ITpRnRjVKOJA

Good Afternoon!

I love to skim through Teacher Tom’s blog, seeing what he has to say about the happenings at his program. I found two blog posts that specifically spoke to what we do here at Wee Friends.

The first post revolves around an outdoor garden where children can get vegetables whenever they get hungry. We’ve heard it more than once that children will eat veggies here but not at home. That’s especially true about the garden. This week, children have been craving the fresh kale that’s been growing in the garden. A few children also ate rhubarb and fresh green beans. Our Wee Sprouts are always a hit (we have our favorites of course) but overall, the example that’s set for food choices is a healthy, wholesome one.

http://teachertomsblog.blogspot.com/2018/08/eating-from-garden.html

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I really enjoyed this blog post. It goes into detail about how teachers and parents set the example in different aspects of children’s lives. What we say, how we act, and what we do are important to raising children and making sure that we’re setting the best example possible.

This struck a cord with me:

“When we worry we are, at best, wasting valuable emotional bandwidth that would be better applied to right now. The only thing over which we know with any certainty is the next 10 minutes and, I’ve found, it’s generally not too hard to be the best me, the person I most want to be, for the next 10 minutes. When we can do that, 10 minutes at a time, we are being the teacher, the parent, our child most needs. And it is from those 10 minute building blocks that the future emerges.”

http://teachertomsblog.blogspot.com/2018/07/example-is-school-of-mankind.html

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Enjoy a few pictures from our day!

Breakfast– Whole grain oatmeal with honey and PPC blueberries.

Lunch– Scrambled eggs with shredded cheese, whole wheat bagel/tortilla, and PPC cucumber/cauliflower.

PM snack– Air popped popcorn with butter and PPC oranges.

Wee Sprout– PPC cucumber/cauliflower.

Have a fantastic evening!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 8/1

Good Afternoon!

Miss Tami bought us new cars for the habitrail area! Children used them in several different ways today. Chloe chose to line them up and drop them off into a bin one by one, counting each one along the way. Ruby and Sophia made two different ramps and sent cars down each ramp. They had their cars leave their hand at the same time and they became increasingly excited to see which car would hit the ground first.

It was a wonderful morning outside! We had a lot of energy that we were able to get out by running throughout the backyard space.

“Study nature. Love Nature. Stay close to nature. It will never fail you.”

-Frank Lloyd Wright

While we offer Wee Sprouts (fresh, local veggies) all morning long, some of our friends get hungry around 11:00 when we’re outside. This morning, Chloe asked, “Miss Mindy. I’m hungry. Can I go eat kale?”. She and I headed into the garden which attracted a few other friends. We had several pieces of kale which held us over until lunch!

Breakfast– Whole grain Cheerios with PPC kiwi.

Lunch– Hummus on whole wheat flatbread, PPC banana/fresh oranges, and PPC cucumber/cherry tomatoes.

PM snack– Whole wheat bagels with cream cheese and PPC banana.

Wee Sprout– PPC cucumber/cherry tomatoes.

Have a lovely night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/31

Good Afternoon!

“The more risks you allow children take, the better they learn to take care of themselves.” ~Roald Dahl

We welcomed back our friend Zoe today, from her very long vacation! We all missed her and we are glad she’s back to engage in all the fun and learning we do every day!

We happily got engaged in our sensory tub of moon sand today. We were able to learn about it’s color, texture, and smell. We were also able to utilize our hand-eye coordination as we scooped the sand into cups and other items available in the sand. We had a blast!

Mack came in at the tail end of the moon sand extravaganza, so he helped Miss Marty with a very important life skill job! He took the dust pan and small brush to sweep the sand that was on the floor into the pan and dump in into the garbage can. He did a GREAT job!!!! Way to go Mack  

Breakfast: Whole grain Kix and PPC banana.

Lunch: Whole wheat/grain flatbread with hummus, corn, and PPC Kiwi.

Snack: Whole wheat/grain bagel with sunflower butter.

Wee Sprouts: Corn.

Have a great night!

Marty

LINK TO PICTURES:  https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtTCDmdhjIuljMgUvJhdBv77G35LSw

Good Afternoon!

Wee Friends is a play-based environment which means that play is at the core of what we do. Children learn through meaningful play experiences. I’ve attached an article at the bottom that explains the five essentials to meaningful play, which in a nutshell, is how we want children’s play experience to be on a daily basis.

1. Children make their own decisions.

At Wee Friends, children are allowed to make their own decisions. At any given time, children can create at the art table or build with trio blocks for two hours. If an art project is being offered, only child who want to participate come to the table; it is a choice.

2. Children are intrinsically motivated.

We play because of a strong sense to understand the world, not because a parent or teacher tells us we have to. It’s that intrinsic motivation that allows children to work on their social skills with their peers to keep their play experience thriving.

3. Children become immersed in the moment.

Thankfully, our loose daily schedule allows for children to focus on what they’re doing. Usually, we go outside around 10:30 but if children are immersed in their play and having a meaningful play experience, we wait a little bit longer so we’re not disrupting their play.

4. Play is spontaneous, not scripted.

Play is unique and specific to each child based on their life experiences. For example, in the housekeeping area, two peers may be playing together using baby dolls because they have infant babies at home. A child’s outside worldly experiences influence their life at school and what they are able to pull from their imagination.

5. Play is enjoyable.

When children are playing, you can see the fun their having just by observing their facial experiences. This fun is linked to an enjoyable, meaningful play experience which they’ll be able to take the memory with them long after their play has ended.

Link to article: https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/five-essentials-meaningful-play

Enjoy a few pictures from our Monday!

Breakfast– Whole wheat english muffins with peanut butter and PPC banana.

Lunch– Homemade macaroni and cheese with whole wheat noodles, applesauce, and PPC broccoli/carrots.

PM snack– Whole milk yogurt with PPC pears.

Wee Sprout– PPC broccoli/fresh carrots.

Have a lovely night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 7/30