Today we had the most delicious applesauce for lunch! Made yesterday afternoon by Wee Friends!

 

This morning, in the classroom, WF listened to “Never Talk to Strangers”: one of the many new life skill books Tami added to our library. They had a discussion about what to do if someone they don’t know comes up to them and starts talking to them.

Many friends worked their fine motor muscles and practiced coordination by threading pipe cleaners through colanders. Others worked the new jewel box shape matching game.

The new older group of Wee Friends had a terrific first trip to the farm! We started the journey reminding friends of four farm safety rules:

• Keep your feet on the ground.
• Stay with a teacher at all times.
• Pet anything but the dog.
• Check with a teacher before you pick something up.

Here are some photos Tami shot of the morning:

 

Breakfast: Oatmeal Squares. Lunch: Farm fresh egg casserole, mixed veggies and homemade applesauce. Snack: Banana chips and cheese slices.

Have a great day.

Happy Wednesday!

Our art activity for the day involved using different color paper which consisted of purple, green, and blue. Children picked out the color that they would like to use. We used metallic water colors which were pearl, silver, and gold.

When painting, children like to have the opportunity to use different mediums such as tempera paint verse water color. Our friends love to be in control of their work such as picking out the color of their paper or saying, “All done” and getting a clean paper.

Friends take their time and use careful strokes that are put onto the paper. P.K. took his brush and pushed it down making the shape of the bristles at the end of the brush.

Daniel smiled as he said, “Done” after painting his second picture.

After the rain passed, we headed outside before lunch time. Our Wee Friends had the trampoline out so we joined in. Marina, P.K., and Daniel all waited patiently for their turn.

Some friends look down at their feet at they’re jumping to make sure they don’t fall. While jumping, we told friends that it’s important to hold onto the handle bar to stay balanced on the trampoline.

Emma enjoyed working on her gross motor skills during nap time. She climbed up on the jungle gym and slid down the slide. She practiced walking from a book self to Miss Mindy. She is doing great at staying up on her feet and walking toward a friend or teacher.

This afternoon, Zoey grabbed different toys to play with. Her friends brought her multiple toys to choose from. She’s becoming more stable when she reaches for toys. Instead of falling over or losing her balance, she sits right back up.

Friends enjoyed each others company on the jungle gym.

After we were done with afternoon snack, we listened to toddler music. The song ‘If You’re Happy and You Know’ came on. Marina played peek-a-boo and tickled her ears as the music instructed. Our friends like music where it directs you to follow certain steps.

For breakfast, children had eggs and pineapple. AM snack was green peas. Lunch consisted of whole wheat macaroni and cheese with cream cheese and peas, mixed fruit (banana, oranges, pineapple), and mixed vegetables (corn, carrots, green peas). PM snack was goldfish and apples.

Have a terrific evening.

-Mindy

 Just a reminder that Tami will be leaving at 9:30 for the farm, tomorrow morning. Here are the kids that will be making the trip: Ada, Jane, Macy, Arleigh, Finn, Nate and Max.

This morning, we re-introduced the morning sign-in sheets. We invited any friend, who is interested, to practice tracing their name according to their own developmental ability.

This morning, as usual, we headed outside for our morning play. Melinda noticed dark gray clouds coming swiftly our way. We gathered together and studied the sky, felt the wind and smelled the air. And waited.

The rain passed us right by so we kept playing.

 

Wee Sprouts: Pea pods. Breakfast: Cheerios and bananas. Lunch: Whole wheat macaroni and cheese with tuna and peas, mixed veggies and mandarin oranges. Snack: Dried apples and cheese sticks.

Happy Tuesday! Hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend.

Our Wee Wee Friends received some new toys! We loved playing and investing these new toys that showed up in the classroom! They tested out the new mini pianos by using their hands and fingers.

Children jumped and climbed on the jungle gym this morning. This was a great way to use our gross motor skills early in the morning. It sure helped us wake up!

Our friends are showing the signs of being caring and helpful. When a friend doesn’t have a toy, they offer their toy to that friend. They also share their toys when one of their friends asks for a turn.

We dump, pour, gather, and scoop the sand.

P.K. found a long strand of grass very interesting. He waved it around and used his fingers to feel how the grass felt. He used his sense of touch to feel a new piece of grass that he had never felt.

Clara and Marina used their gross motor skills by running around throughout the backyard. They chased one another and then friends soon joined in.

`

Daniel served up food for his friends. Marina waited at the window while Daniel cooked her up some eggs.

Climbing is an important aspect of our play time outside. Clara and Marina used their leg and arm muscles as they climbed the wooden house. It’s also a great self regulation tool. Clara knew she could only go so high and then she started coming back down.

Clara tilted her head back and relaxed as she looked up at the sky as the sun was starting to peak out of the clouds.

Zoey Marie is really getting ready to take the first steps in crawling. She is up on all fours and starting to put her hands in front of her. She had a ball this morning playing with our new mini piano. She used her fingers to make music!

For breakfast, children had Chex and apples. AM snack was corn. Lunch consisted of whole wheat English muffin with ham and melted cheese, banana, and cucumbers. PM snack was string cheese and whole wheat crackers.

Have a terrific evening!

-Mindy

 

A quick reminder that this Thursday Tami will be taking the older Wee Friends to the farm. That group includes: Ada, Jane, Macy, Arleigh, Finn, Nate and Max.

There was lots of excitement today as the WF Fall swimmers assembled, hopped into the Weehicle and made their way to the Y. Tami expressed that everyone transitioned well into the water-no tears!

 

Back in the classroom, Wee Friends enjoyed the many new materials Tami brought in over the weekend. Nate and Elizabeth helped the teachers fold laundry.

Wee Sprouts: Carrots. Breakfast: Cheerios and bananas. Lunch: Whole wheat English muffins with ham and melted cheese, bananas and cucumbers. Snack: Yogurt and pineapple.

Have a great day.

Happy Friday!

**Just as a reminder, Wee Wee Friends is closed Monday, September 3rd in observance of Labor Day. We’ll see everyone Tuesday!

Here are a few pictures that were taken throughout the day.

For breakfast, children had whole wheat toast and apples. AM snack was cucumbers. Lunch consisted of whole wheat pita bread sandwiches with hummus, pears, and cucumbers. PM snack was rice pudding.

Hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday weekend!

-Mindy

Just a reminder that WF is closed on Monday.

Between the Mystery Grab Bag game, the cornstarch exploration and creative music, Wee Friend’s 5 senses were fed and filled, over and over again.

First friends were blindfolded (if they chose to be) with a soft silky scarf.

Next, they grabbed an item out of Lisa’s mystery grab box. Using their sense of touch, they determined what they were holding.

Corn starch.

Music.

Wee Sprouts: Cucumbers. Breakfast: Chex and pear slices. Lunch: Hummus on whole wheat tortillas, carrots and pear slices. Snack: Pretzels and cheese.

Have a great weekend. See you Tuesday.

Happy Thursday!

It was a wonderful day at Wee Wee Friends. Warm smiles filled the air and children had a fantastic day interacting with their friends.

Our morning started out with painting using circular sponges on a stick.

There are different ways to use the brush. Some friends dotted their paper with their sponge. Others chose to take the sponge and brush it across the paper which made a straight line.

When friends started feeling the sponge, they noticed that if they were to squeeze the sponge, paint would come out! They enjoyed squeezing the sponge with their hand and then using their hands to paint.

Our friends are getting good at letting teachers know when they want a clean piece of artwork. Some children want to use every color available while others just use one or two colors and then want to start on a new piece of artwork.

When we stepped outside this morning, we noticed that the two baby morning doves that had been up in the tree were now on the ground! One of our teachers used soft and gentle touches to move the birds to the corner of the yard. We’re observing the birds and watching them grow. We told our friends that it is important that the birds are given enough space to allow them to grow and flourish.

Children enjoyed using the slide with their friends.

The wooden house was also a popular attraction for our friends.

Miss Emma took many consecutive steps this afternoon! She is taking huge strides when it comes to walking! She was extremely proud of herself and we know that she’s going to be walking all the time soon enough!

Zoey’s friends are loving that Zoey can sit up. They are much more interactive with her and she loves getting the attention of her friends. Her attention towards voices and movement throughout the classroom is at a heightened level. She is extremely observant of what’s going on around her.

For breakfast, children had raisin bran and pears. AM snack was cucumbers. Lunch consisted of whole wheat tortillas with melted shredded cheese, fresh mango, and snap peas. Our afternoon snack was delicious frozen bananas covered with a mixture of soy butter and yogurt. They were a smashing hit!

Have a great evening!

-Mindy

A great and helpful article from one of our favorite on-line early childhood newsletters: www.childcareexchange.com. Food for thought re: conflict/conflict resolution.

In the Beginnings Workshop Book — Behavior, Nancy Carlsson-Paige and Diane Levin outlined the developmental factors that influence how young children think about conflict and conflict resolution:

• Young children tend to focus on one thing at a time. The one thing they think about is often their own point of view.  This can lead to their being unable to think about what they want and what someone else wants at the same time.  And, when they are caught up in thinking about what they want, it is hard to think about a possible positive solution at the same time…
• Young children usually focus on the concrete and visible aspects of a conflict rather than on internal, less visible factors.  The conflicts they have and the ways they think of to resolve them are usually based on concrete actions, materials, and physical features.
• It is hard for young children to figure out the effects of their actions on others in a logical way, especially when it comes to thinking about the consequences of their behavior in advance.
• Young children have a hard time working out how to get from one state of affairs to another — making the transformation from a conflict to a positive solution.  To do this requires such skills as thinking about more than one thing at a time, planning actions in advance, and taking two points of view into account.

When Lisa walked out this morning, she noticed the mama Morning Dove and one of her babies on the fence post. After some exploration, friends found the baby and chased it to the corner of the yard that it could protect itself.

Everybody checked each other out.

Even the mama.

Nate spotted the baby bird’s sibling! Now friends studied two baby birds who lost their mama.

Mama bird let us know she was near and looking for her babes.

Our friends have been wonderful stewards of our garden.

Nate kept watch, alerting friends to be mindful of the trapped baby bird.

 

Mama and Daddy bird eventually rescued one of their babes. When we realized the other babe would not be found, the WF Matriarch came to the rescue.

With heavy winter gloves, Melinda carefully returned the baby bird to its family.

 

And omygosh, when those baby birds were reunited, they nuzzled together and pecked at each other. We also saw the Mama and Daddy bird nuzzling each other. Beautiful. Very happy Wee Friends.

When we came inside, everyone settled into their work.

We’ve discovered how much Elizabeth loves ballet. We experimented with several different genres of music to find the right ballet music for her and her friends to dance to.

She did like Tchaikovsky’s “Sleeping Beauty” and John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads”, but did not like the chant-like Faure Requiem: V. Finn did everything he could to get “Dynamite” spinning, but it just didn’t happen this morning. Melinda’s creative music time had them stretching their bodies and identifying body parts.

Wee Sprouts: Fresh garden tomatoes. Breakfast: Chex and pear slices. Lunch: Melted cheddar cheese on whole wheat tortillas, apple slices and pea pods. Snack: Hard boiled eggs and a frozen treat: a banana on a stick, dipped in a yogurt/pb spread.

Have a great day.

Happy Wednesday!

Marina and Clara had a sensory filled morning!

First, they started off with the water sensory tub. Yesterday, food coloring and water were added to ice cube trays to make special colored ice cubes! Those were added to the sensory tub today. Marina and Clara quickly found out that the ice cubes turned the water different colors.

Marina took all of the ice cubes and placed them into her measuring cup. When all of the ice cubes were gone, she dumped them back into the water.

Clara enjoyed taking her hands and splashing the water. She pointed at the different colors that she saw. She grabbed a cup that had holes in the bottom of it. When she lifted the water up, it fell out of the bottom!

When the ice cubes were dissolved and the water turned from clear to a dark blue color, Marina and Clara decided they wanted to paint.

We used sparkly water colors. They picked their paint colors from an assortment of green, blue, yellow, and red. Our friends enjoy getting to pick certain aspects of their sensorial experiences such as paint color! It gives them ownership of their artwork.

Marina pointed and said, “Rainbow!”

Clara informed Miss Mindy that she was “all done” after she had painted several pictures.

P.K. and Clara love using the new cups that are outside for our friends to enjoy. Children fill the cup up with sand and they use their fine motor skills to put the top on. They also take the top off when they’re ready to play with the sand again.

Our Wee Friends brought out a special tunnel for children to crawl through. Everyone had a great time crawling on all fours through the bright tunnel. We all did a wonderful job waiting so that the tunnel was clear before we entered.

Zoey has mostly mastered the art of sitting up. She holds her arms out to the side to balance herself. Her balancing has improved to the point where she can reach for a toy beside her and then resume her sitting up position. She is enjoying being able to look around at her friends and her surrounding here at Wee Wee Friends!

For breakfast, children had whole wheat pancakes and banana. AM snack was string cheese. Lunch consisted of whole wheat couscous with ham and cheddar cheese, fresh garden tomatoes, and delicious cantaloupe! PM snack was rice cakes with cream cheese and mango banana smoothie.

Have a wonderful night!

-Mindy