We tried a new sensory experience today: sea foam! It’s made with water, dish soap, corn starch, and liquid watercolor. We combined all the ingredients and mixed them in a blender. All the kids stopped what they were doing to watch and listen to the blender. It was a new, loud sound in our environment!

Our friends were hesitant to touch the mixture at first, but once they did they really got into it! They all loved dipping their hands into the tub, seeing how the foam stayed coated on when they pulled them back out, and then rubbing their messy hands together. Franklin enjoyed clapping his hands together and watching the foam splatter out. When they swirled their hands through the foam, it became even bubblier. Sophia looked for big bubbles in the tub that she could pop!

Breakfast was Whole Grain Cheerios and blueberries. Lunch consisted of whole wheat tortilla with mozzarella cheese, blueberries, and carrots. Afternoon snack was toasted whole wheat bagels with butter.

Have a great night!

Amanda

Link to photos: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=A58B8C61670EC2D4!92854&authkey=!ALV0205R3dUZoUg&ithint=folder%2cJPG

Good Afternoon!

Miss Melinda took a few friends out to see the caterpillars that have turned into moths! We took the lid off of our aquarium and waited to see if any of the moths would take off.

Later in the morning when children got back from swimming, a few of the moths flew into the air and landed on our hands!

When the swimmers were off enjoying their last swim day, the rest of us got to baking our afternoon snack! We prepared banana oatmeal bars with peaches. Everyone pitched it and helped me measure the ingredients that were needed.

After we got done baking, children went to different areas of the room and became involved in various activities. The art easel is a popular place as of late.

A math activity was made available at the table. Maddie and Miss Melinda worked on sequencing by using pieces of fruit. Maddie would talk aloud saying, “Banana. Grape. Apple. Banana. Grape. Apple.”

In large group, we continued to dissect stories. After we read our first story, we talked about the setting, characters, and problem within ‘There’s A Nightmare In My Closet’. Friends raised their hand to give their opinions and thoughts based on what they just read.

After reading the second story, we got into a discussion about nightmares. Eren asked, “What is a nightmare?” A few friends raised their hand to answer Eren’s question. Eren said, “Oh thanks! I have those sometimes.”

Breakfast– Kashi Blueberry Clusters and raspberries/grapes.

Lunch– Shredded cheese tortillas, pears/oranges, and tomatoes/carrots.

PM snack– Homemade banana oatmeal bars with peaches and string cheese.

Wee Sprouts– Cherry tomatoes.

Have a terrific evening!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 6/7

Happy Monday!

*Tomorrow is the LAST day for swim!

A big welcome back to our friends Sloane and Owen, who are going to be with us for some of the summer!

Many activities were going on this morning. Our older friends played games such as Candy Land and Connect 4. The art table was full of sequins and friends took turns at the art easel.

Miss Katelyn sat with a group as they read a book about feelings and emotions. After she read the story, she started up an activity at the art table that focused on getting in touch with our own emotions.

There were many friends who pitched in to create our own emotion book!

Our finished product!

As we headed outside, we quickly found out that Miss Amanda had the bubbles out!

So, we got out our own bubbles! We explored blowing the bubbles as well as popping the bubbles! Children were surprised how high in the air the bubbles got before they popped.

In large group, we read a Henry and Mudge story. After the story was done, we talked about specific things in a story that we can look for, such as characters and setting. I accessed children’s background knowledge of these topics by asking, “Can anyone tell me what the setting of the story means?” A few friends shared the answers and helped our younger friends in the group to understand what these terms mean.

Then, we translated our understanding of these words to the story that we just read! Many friends raised their hands to talk about the characters and setting of ‘Henry and Mudge’. Finally, I asked if there was a ‘problem’ in the story. Sloane raised her hand and said, “Mudge ran away and got lost!” We had an open discussion as to what the solution was. The solution ended up being that Henry went and searched for Mudge and eventually he was found! We all love happy endings .

Breakfast– Whole wheat bagel with butter and grapes.

Lunch– Whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce and shredded cheese, pears, and green beans.

PM snack– Yogurt with PPC strawberries.

Wee Sprouts– Broccoli.

Have a terrific night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=A58B8C61670EC2D4!92582&authkey=!AORCA-s_BmsWdC0&ithint=folder%2cJPG

Enjoy the photos!

Breakfast was whole wheat toast with butter and apples. Lunch consisted of whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce, pears, and corn. Afternoon snack was organic whole milk yogurt and crackers.

Have a great night!

Amanda

Link to photos: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=A58B8C61670EC2D4!92515&authkey=!AF0zQq2o4Irwi44&ithint=folder%2cJPG

Happy Friday!

We want to send a BIG Happy Birthday shout out to Miss Melinda! She celebrates her birthday tomorrow! We were quite busy today making her goodies to take home! We participated in a fun round of guess how old Miss Melinda is . She gave the clue, “It’s between 60 and 70.” Elliott hit it on the first guess!

In Kindergarten:

We read a book about trains which lead into a discussion about how we travel around our community. After learning about different places in our community this week, we talked about how we travel today.

The word ‘tally’ was brought into a discussion and Elliott explained to his peers what we do when we get to the fifth tally! “We swipe across the other tally’s guys. That’s the fifth tally mark.” As a group, we counted each group of tally marks and figured out that the car is used the most!

Here are a few more pictures from our day!

Breakfast– Oatmeal cakes and raspberries/blueberries.

Lunch– Refried bean and shredded cheese tortillas, oranges/bananas, and green beans.

PM snack– Colby Jack cheese and red grapes.

Wee Sprouts– Carrots.

Have a terrific weekend!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: WF 6/3

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