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

Enjoy the pictures!

Breakfast was toast with butter and cinnamon and blueberries. Lunch consisted of whole grain brown rice with turkey, grapes, and peas. Afternoon snack was pretzels and grapes.

Have a great night!

Amanda

Link to photos: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=A58B8C61670EC2D4!91482&authkey=!AEoPp7_f3CqQDHA&ithint=folder%2cJPG

Please note: Wee Friends is closed May 30th for Memorial Day

Today we mixed a little liquid watercolor in with bowls of shaving cream and handed our friends paint brushes. Their trays turned into fluffy art!

Sensory play encourages children to manipulate and mould materials, building up their fine motor skills and coordination. They process information through their senses and learn though exploring them.

Breakfast was Chex and blueberries. Lunch consisted of hummus on tortilla, bananas, and cucumbers. Afternoon snack was rice cakes with hummus.

Have a good night!

Amanda

Link to photos: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=A58B8C61670EC2D4!91432&authkey=!ADHPXOo9rkw05WY&ithint=folder%2cJPG

Hello!

*Just a reminder: Group A is going to the farmers market tomorrow morning. The Weehicle will be leaving around 10:00. A couple friends have asked if they could bring money to buy something. We’re asking that you DO NOT send money with your child. Thank you!

Here at Wee Friends, it was definitely a morning that was spent outside! After the older group left for the farm, everyone that was back here decided to go on a walk.

Children were observant on their walk. They saw the railroad track, noticed many flags hanging, and the numbers on every house. They even got to go by Miss Rebekah’s house!

When they arrived back at Wee Friends, the group invested the new birds nest that was discovered in the tree back by the garage. We researched it and it turns out its a cardinals nest!

It turned out to be a lovely morning at the farm! There was a local elementary school there so there were a ton of activities that were made available. Arleigh (a previous Wee Friender) was at the farm with her mom, Janae, as well as her school! Their school had heard of Prairie Winds Farm from their family and ended up taking an end of the year field trip there!

For the first time this season, pony rides were given!

Addi was quite excited as it was her first ever pony ride!

There were a couple animal stations that were set up by the barn. One of the stations was a cage of chickens. Eren, Clara, and Addi headed into the cage and eventually ended up getting to hold the chickens! We were so gentle with all of the animals that we saw.

We started to head towards the shade to get a little relief from the sun.

Elliott was our resident toad finder. He found two toads this morning! They were a little jumpy but eventually calmed down so that we could hold them. 

One of the toads got a little too excited when Tami was holding it.. .

There was a station farther back in the woods where a salamander was out for children to observe. Eren was the first to hold it and he said something along the lines of, “Wow. That’s awesome.”

We noticed a big tree that had fallen and so we decided to go explore it.

Children were given a spot to which they could climb. I’m pretty sure they could’ve stayed here all morning!

Our final stop was by the pond where toads and a turtle were put out for children to look at. We found out that the turtle was a female and Miss Tami expressed that it had sharp toenails! Apparently, male turtles have even bigger and sharper toenails.

We always leave Prairie Winds farm thankful for the nature around us and the fact that we got to explore it all morning long.

 Breakfast– Oatmeal with strawberries.

Lunch– Hummus on tortillas, pepper/cucumbers, and green grapes.

PM snack– Popcorn and fresh peaches.

Wee Sprouts– Cherry tomatoes.

Have a terrific night!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: 5/25

Good Afternoon!

*Just a reminder, that Wee Friends will be closed Monday, May 30th in observance of Memorial Day.

*Weather permitting, Group A will go to the farm tomorrow morning (Wednesday, May 25th).

*Weather permitting, Group A will also be heading to the farmer’s market Thursday, May 26th. Please have you child here by 9:45 as we are going to leave at 10:00.

Just a reminder: Group A is Jackson, Eren, Elliott, Elizabeth, Clara, Addi, Riley, and Emerson.

_________________________________________________________________

We continued with our Kindergarten fab this morning as we talked about different states that we’re familiar with. After reading, “I am Planet Earth”, we had an open discussion about terms related to the topic ‘Earth’.

First, the term country was brought up. Clara spoke up and said, “We live in the United States!” We got out a map and referenced where the United States is. Elizabeth pointed out, “This is the Pacific Ocean and this is the Atlantic Ocean!”

Referencing our sign in board this morning, the term state was brought into the discussion. Everyone started speaking up with, “We live in Indiana!” A couple friends said, “Can you show me where it is on the map?”

Finally, the word city was discussed. However, with this term we had different answers such as South Bend AND Mishawaka!

We shared with the group where we were born! I joined them on the floor where we put the map in the middle of the circle to see how far away some of us were born! Since I was born in Michigan, I showed them how to represent that state: by putting your hand up!

Elizabeth and Emerson teamed up today and created the same journal. After finishing each journal, they wrote the words ‘me’ and ‘you’ without assistance!

Clara asked, “Take a picture of my journal. I drew a sleigh with a reindeer!”

We noticed this morning that we have some cocoons forming in our habitat. Miss Melinda made a chart for friends to reference because we know that it takes 21 days for the cocoons to hatch.

Children participated in many different activities this morning such as cars and housekeeping.

But when the option to help prepare a snack for this afternoon was given, friends rushed to wash their hands and head to the island!

We found a yummy recipe for ‘Oatmeal Banana Bars’. Using the written recipe we combined all of the ingredients into a bowl.

Each friend that was around the island pitched in! It was challenging to mash three whole bananas but we did a great job forging ahead and completing the recipe.

Once the ingredients were combined, we poured it into the glass baking dish.

This is the before.

This is the after. As you can see, it was quite a hit.

Max was super strong guy as he tried to carry a lot of buckets up the sand hill!

Breakfast– Kashi’s Blueberry Clusters and raspberries.

Lunch– Whole wheat english muffins with cream cheese and turkey, apples/oranges, and cauliflower/cucumber.

PM snack– Homemade oatmeal banana bars and cheddar block cheese.

Wee Sprouts– Cauliflower.

Have a lovely evening!

-Mindy

Link to pictures: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=A58B8C61670EC2D4!91148&authkey=!ABT5hwcRjOjr9e8&ithint=folder%2cJPG

Ruby and Sophia had a fun morning being active on the habitrail! They chased each other to the slide, slid down with big smiles, and then did it all over again!

While we were playing with blocks we noticed some of our older friends peeking through the side door. We all ran over to say hi!

The big kids were out helping with watering plants. Our friends were excited to see them on the bridge and were interested in what they were doing.

Breakfast was Whole Grain Cheerios and strawberries. Wee sprouts was corn. Lunch consisted of whole wheat tortilla with turkey and cheese, bananas, and corn. Afternoon snack was toasted whole wheat bagels with cream cheese.

Have a great night!

Amanda

Link to photos: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=A58B8C61670EC2D4!91066&authkey=!ACvetDn7wz5OzCU&ithint=folder%2cJPG