WWF, Clara Rose Gillin, 8/16/2013

Happy Friday!

Today was Clara’s last day here at Wee Wee Friends. On Monday, she’ll transition over to Wee Friends. She’s been saying all week, “I’m a big girl. I go to Wee Friends.” While we are so over the moon happy for her, we’re ALL going to miss her terribly. Her conversations, gorgeous blue eyes, and overall spunky personality will surely be missed. She sure has grown a whole lot since she started here and we can’t wait to watch her continue to grow at Wee Friends! We love you Clara!

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On Monday, we’re getting a new friend! Smile –Stay tuned to meet this handsome little fella!

For breakfast, children had cheesy eggs and banana. Lunch consisted of soy butter on bread, mixed vegetables, and watermelon. PM snack was pretzels with hummus.

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Have a great weekend!

WF Friday 8/16/2013 Ada Elizabeth Bidler

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Ada Bee finishes her WF kindergarten year today. In one week, she will begin 1st grade at Prairie Vista Elementary School. We conducted a secret survey asking the question: “How would you describe Ada?”. Here’s what we heard:

“Creative”

“Intriguing”

“Fascinating”

“She likes bugs.”

“She plays games.”

“She likes to look for bugs.”

“She is funny.”

“She likes bugs.”

“She likes strawberries.”

“She likes to find bugs.”

“She likes bugs.”

“Bugs.”

“She likes to play with Elizabeth.”

Ada, we love you! We have loved our time together at Wee Friends. Your insatiable curiosity and love for learning has inspired us day after day! Thank you Chris and Tiffany for your tremendous support and friendship! Ada, amongst your many passions and interests, you are leaving a legacy at Wee Friends that we promise to nurture and pass on: Your love and knowledge…of bugs.

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Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Corn Chex and grapes. Lunch: Peanut butter sandwiches, watermelon and mixed veggies. Snack: Apple slices and cheese sticks.

WWF, 8/15/2013

Good Afternoon!

This morning, friends read a book with Miss Marty about animals. We had a question though. What’s the difference between a dolphin and a whale? Miss Marty looked up pictures of both so that children could see the physical differences between the two. We also talked about how dolphins are mostly friendly animals but whales are not so nice. Children loved looking at the pictures throughout the book of the different animals.

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As we headed outside, Clara hopped on the bike and yelled, “Look I’m pedaling all by myself!” That ‘proud’ factor is always high at this age Smile.

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A few of our friends headed to the garden with Miss Laurie to pick some tomatoes that were ready to be picked!

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The Wee Wee Friends band was in full effect this afternoon Smile.

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For breakfast, children had cheerios and pears. Lunch consisted of tuna salad, whole wheat bread, pears, and mixed vegetables. PM snack was crackers and string cheese.

Have a great night!

WF Thursday 8/15

Looking ahead to the fall, here are the start dates for our off-site activities:

Monday, August 26 – Blue Bus

Tuesday, September 3 – Swimming

Farm – TBA!

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We picked a crop of wee Wee plums this morning. After a teacher taste test and some research on the variety, we invited friends to take a nibble and report if they found the plums sweet or tart. Everyone found the plums delicious. Help yourself! We’ll set a basket above the cubbies. They are delish!

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A small group of friends began creating butterfly piñatas this week. Today, other friends made baby butterflies to play with them.

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Have a great day.

Wee Sprouts: Elliott’s garden tomatoes. Breakfast: Applesauce and Malt-O-Meal. Lunch: Tuna salad, tomatoes and cantaloupe. Snack: Orange slices and rice cakes.

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WF Thursday 8/15

Looking ahead to the fall, here are the start dates for our off-site activities:

Monday, August 26 – Blue Bus

Tuesday, September 3 – Swimming

Farm – TBA!

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We picked a crop of wee Wee plums this morning. After a teacher taste test and some research on the variety, we invited friends to take a nibble and report if they found the plums sweet or tart. Everyone found the plums delicious. Help yourself! We’ll set a basket above the cubbies. They are delish!

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A small group of friends began creating butterfly piñatas this week. Today, other friends made baby butterflies to play with them.

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Have a great day.

Wee Sprouts: Elliott’s garden tomatoes. Breakfast: Applesauce and Malt-O-Meal. Lunch: Tuna salad, tomatoes and cantaloupe. Snack: Orange slices and rice cakes.

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WWF, 8/14/2013

Happy Wednesday!

Our day was filled with sunshine and books. Not a bad day right? Smile

Our friends have been enjoying the sandbox a whole lot lately. The sensorial feeling on their fingers and hands is wonderful and has children keep coming back for more!

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Between reading by ourselves as well as with other friends and teachers, our literacy was in high gear today.

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For breakfast, children had whole grain toast with soy butter and banana. Lunch consisted of turkey rollups with cream cheese, pears, and fresh tomatoes. PM snack was hard boiled eggs and cucumbers.

Have a lovely night!

WF Wednesday 8/14 What Happens When We Say ‘yes’?

The teaching of young children is complex. We must balance the scaffolding we [teachers/parents] provide with opportunities for children to scaffold each others’ learning. Providing engaging materials is only a part of our job—we must also provide a supportive environment in which those materials can be used. It is important to be curious along with the children on a daily basis. What happens when we say ‘yes’ to children?”

www.naeyc.org, volume 5 no.3

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Our butterfly died this morning. Melinda noticed that it had fallen to the bottom of the habitat. We had a lengthy conversation about the butterfly’s life cycle. When Ada checked on it, it seemed to be breathing still, so she asked if she could take it out and hold it. We said yes. As she held it in her hand, other friends visited it, touched it and studied it. Elliott found a tub to carry it in, and then used a clipboard to record his ideas about the butterfly.

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Later, Lisa led a large group discussion about what happens at bigger kids schools, particularly Arleigh and Ada’s new schools. Everyone was captivated. No naps at big kids school? Hot lunches on trays? A principal? No way.

It’s a morphing season at Wee Friends: Hellos/goodbyes, hot weather and cold, life/death , no …and yes. And together, we keep it all moving.

ps: this is an excellent time to take your Wee Friend to the SB Zoo Butterfly exhibit. There through October, I’ve heard.

pps: only a few pix today!

Wee Sprouts: WF garden carrots. Breakfast: Applesauce Cream-of-Wheat. Lunch: Ham rolls with cream cheese, WF garden tomatoes and pear slices. Snack: Orange slices and pretzels.

Have a good day.

WWF, 8/13/2013

Hello!

Three little monkeys jumping on the bed. One fell off and bumped her head. Momma called the doctor and the doctor said…”No more monkeys jumping on the bed!”

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For breakfast, children had cheesy eggs with oranges. Lunch consisted of pasta salad with cucumber and tomato with banana as our fruit. PM snack was crackers and hard boiled eggs. Friends also got to try fresh cut peaches!

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Have a great night.

WF Tuesday 8/13

“The young of all creatures cannot keep their bodies still or their tongues quiet: they are always wanting to move and cry out; some are leaping and skipping and overflowing with playfulness and pleasure, and others uttering all sorts of cries. Enforced learning [in young children] will not stay in the mind. So avoid compulsion and let your children’s lessons take the form of play.” –Plato

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Wee Sprouts: WF Garden grown carrots. Breakfast: Cheerios and bananas. Lunch: Whole wheat pasta salad with WF tomatoes and cucumbers, bananas and WF garden kale and Ranch. Snack: Peaches and string cheese.

WWF, 8/12/2013

Good Afternoon!

Since we are almost half way through August (whoa!), just wanted to mention that WWF is closed for Labor Day which is September 2nd. We’ll be back in action Tuesday, September 3rd Smile.

We spent most of our morning outside with our Wee friends! It was a lovely morning. We saw our friends that we missed over the weekend!

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Various activities went on while we were outside. Clara worked on taking the big blue ball and bumping it with her head while Emma rocked back and forth on the teeter totter!

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The chalk was put out for friends to draw with. We loved it!

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For breakfast, children had raisin bran and banana. Lunch consisted of whole grain rice with chicken, fresh mixed fruit, and mixed vegetables. PM snack was string cheese and pretzels.

Have a great night!