Happy Monday!

We started off our morning by welcoming our new friend, Zoey! She is three months old and had a great first day! Our friends were so welcoming to Zoey and loved having her here.

P.K. welcomed Clara back from vacation by dancing with her! They both smiled at each other when they saw one another. They did an excellent job today sharing their toys!

We headed outside where children played with the water table. They splashed themselves as well as their friends!

P.K. laughed as he splashed as hard as he could. He got his face wet and realized how cold it was! He took his hand and rubbed his face with the cold water.

Ellie watched as Elizabeth poured water into the water table. Elizabeth let Ellie know, “It’s cold!”

Marina and Elizabeth joined our Wee Friends on the homemade slip and slide! They were hesitant as first but did a great job at trying something new.

P.K joined his brother Nate by the water table. They worked together to move boats around along with different animals.

After indulging in the water table, P.K. headed to the house where he laughed hysterically at Miss Mindy and Nate. He was so full of joy and happiness that he just laughed to laugh!

 

Elizabeth carefully took the boat and guided it around the water table channels. She said, “The boats floating on the water!”

Ellie played at the water table and made sure she was very careful so she didn’t get her clothes wet! While watching her friends go down the slip and slide, Ellie turned and yawned and said, “I’m tired.”

 

Our friends played in the water table with one another. They splashed the water and ran their fingers through the water channels.

Ellie worked with different animals and helped them swim in the water. She said, “This is a turtle!”

 

P.K. squirted water from the frogs mouth! Marina found that the sponge soaked up the water and she rang it out on her arms and into the water table.

Clara worked with different foods while her friends were sleeping. She put food onto the plate and took it to the table.

Breakfast was Chex and banana. AM snack was snap peas. Lunch consisted of rice with red beans, mixed fruit (apple and pineapple), and broccoli. PM snack was cheese and whole wheat crackers.

Have a great evening!

-Mindy

Today Baboo took us to Italy!

Using a food map/work of art (it could have been Giuseppe Arcimboldo!) he taught us many things about Italy. “First,” he said, “in Italy, people eat slowly. People make pizza slowly.” He counted to ten in Italian (a few friends followed him in Spanish). He showed us olives and explained what olive oil is.

He brought in a pictorial book of Italy, a cookbook and Marta’s baby book. Marta’s book had audio recordings of Baboo, Nona and her Aunt in Italy. We talked about how Baboo’s voice sounded differently then our voices.

Baboo explained to us that Italians like to use their hands to speak. He taught us several hand gestures to express words: hello/goodbye, hungry, ‘I’m thinking’ and ‘after’.

He showed us where Italy is on our globe and we compared that shape to the one on the food map.

And then…..he served us pistachio gelato!

Thank you, Baboo for a great trip! We will be spending our whole week there!

And after our first day in Italy—–we ran outside to play in the water sprinkler!!

Oh Happy Day! We said goodbye to Miss Jennifer and the Blue Bus this morning and will see her again after Labor Day.

Wee Sprouts: carrots and pea pods, Breakfast: Cheerios and pear slices, Lunch: Whole grain rice and red beans, fruit salad and broccoli.

Have a great day!

Happy Friday!

Chloe was all smiles today! She rocked in the chair while listening to her favorite music as of late!

P.K. looked at the different animals on the board. He saw a dog and said, “Roof!”

Music was played throughout the morning. Chloe and P.K. danced together and clapped their hands! Chloe spun in circles around the room while P.K. enjoyed jumping up and down.

They lounged around reading different books and also incorporated a few yoga poses into their morning.

Marina and Chloe played dress up. They both asked very nicely, “Please, help.”

Chloe loved rocking on the teeter totter. As she was riding it, she was saying, “Teeter, totter.” Marina enjoyed being in the sandbox where she used cups to fill with sand. She said, “Coffee.”

P.K. worked with bouncy balls outside. His green ball went under the sensory table. He looked and said, “Uh-Oh.” He crawled underneath and table and was finally able to get it out. Again, P.K. worked on his downward facing dog pose.

Our vegetables and flowers are coming in very nicely in the back area of the backyard. Children used their noses to smell the flowers.

Ellie tried throwing the ball up in the tree. She also worked on kicking the ball with her foot.

P.K. looked up the tree and said, “Whoa!” He realized how tall the tree really is!

Children sat in the boxes that hold the balls. Marina looked out of the hole and said, “Hello!”

For breakfast, we enjoyed rice krispies along with strawberries. AM snack was carrots. Lunch consisted of barbeque chicken sandwiches, strawberries, and salad. PM snack was raisins and string cheese.

Hope everyone has a fun and safe Father’s Day weekend!

-Mindy

 

Parent Reminder:

• Monday is the first time we will be changing friends into swim suits for water play. Please make sure your Wee Friend has a swim suit for Monday! Thank you!

 

Yesterday Lisa guided our Wee Friends in Beginning the Basics- Wee Friends’ afternoon life skills work. Right now the focus is working with kind but definitive words to express our feelings.

“We were practicing telling our words when someone does mean stuff to us like hitting and calling us names and pushing. Well, we, ummm, we were telling them NO when they hit us. We acted it out. It was pretty fun. We say NO! and please don’t do that and I don’t like that. and that’s all I know.”-Kai

The Child Is Father To the Man- Gerard Manley Hopkins (1918)

“The child is father to the man.”
How can he be? The words are wild.
Suck any sense from that who can:
“The child is father to the man.”
No; what the poet did write ran,
“The man is father to the child.”
“The child is father to the man!”
How can he be? The words are wild!

Wee Sprouts: carrots, Breakfast: whole wheat toast with peanut butter, Lunch: BBQ chicken on whole wheat bread, salad greens and fruit salad.

Have a fabulous time celebrating fathers and grandfathers this weekend!

 

Good Afternoon!

Marina started off her morning with multiple activities. First, she worked on patterns along with shapes and colors. She requested the pattern boards right when she walked in the door. We talked about different colors and where to put it on the pattern board. She then moved to foam puzzles where she decided if the animal or object belonged in the ocean or the farm.

Marina joined P.K. in the kitchen where they worked with green play-dough. P.K. also brought a book into the kitchen where he looked at the pictures while Marina used tools to hammer the play-dough.

Many of our friends worked with bouncy balls outside this morning. Different actions took place including throwing and kicking the ball.

Ellie asked Miss Mindy if she would throw the ball high up in the tree and touch the branches. We watched as the ball went into the tree and came back down.

Chloe and Ellie enjoyed going down the slide. Since the sun was shining down on the slide, they noticed that the slide was hot if you touched it!

Elizabeth made a special birthday cake in a cup. She went to go get a pail and the handle was stuck! She asked for help and once it was fixed, she very politely said, “Thank you Mindy.”

To find some shade, friends went under a small tree to play together.

      

P.K. went into the play house where he opened the door and window really fast to say ‘”hi!”

Miss Laurie brought out a special friend: Miss Piggy! We talked to her about various things.. We all talked about giving Miss Piggy soft touches instead of hard touches. Children gave her kisses on her nose and soft, gentle touches.

P.K. rode the teeter totter. He started gently falling off on purpose! He would laugh, stand up, and dust himself off. He hopped right back on!

For breakfast, our friends enjoyed Chex and bananas. AM snack was carrots. Lunch consisted of tortilla bread sandwiches with melted cheese, mixed fruit, and broccoli. PM snack was rice cakes with cream cheese, apples, and a strawberry banana smoothie.

Have a super evening!

-Mindy

There was a visitor in the house today! Friends closed their eyes and SURPRISE!…..

…..34 year old Miss Piggy came to Wee Friends to sing, laugh, tell a few stories, blow kisses, shake hands and get her nose squeezed….a lot. Miss Piggy talked a lot about sharing and gentle touches and ‘please don’t stick your finger down my throat because it hurts and then kfkslfkslkfjsdfjlskjIcan’tkfsldfjlksdjfoiwtoiewjrlejff talksopjfdlkdnforbrea…. when you do that….. Whew…..ok….breathe.

 

 

After introductions, Miss Piggy sang “A Spoonful of Sugar” and we danced together.

Miss Piggy offered to be a Still Life model for Wee Friends. We moved to the art table and Miss Piggy was very still. Melinda asked friends “What shapes do you see when you look at Miss Piggy?” When they called out a shape, she demonstrated how to draw it.

Friends continued talking to Miss Piggy and asking her questions. They studied her and enjoyed their time together.

Finn invited Miss Piggy to co-pilot a trip and brought her another pilot hat to wear. And then like every proper gentleman, he kissed her hand.

Simon drew Miss Piggy’s ear and showed her what he had created.

Our still life exploration morphed into a shape study and stencil work.

Wee Sprouts: cucumber slices, Breakfast: Raisin Bran and bananas, Lunch: whole wheat tortillas with melted cheese, bananas and roasted green beans.

Happy piggy day.

Happy Wednesday!

Everyone was all smiles today at Wee Wee Friends! Our four friends that joined us today bonded throughout the morning while involved in play. Marina looked at the camera and said, “I say cheese!”

Ellie was tired this morning so she let us know that she was going to get a pillow and lay down. It was great that she knew that she needed to rest her body!

We saw a kitty in the neighbors yard. Our friends scooted over so everyone could see the gray cat that was outside our window. Chloe said, “Kitty cat!”

While outside, P.K. took rakes and raked up the sand that was on the cement. He balanced the two rakes very well and managed to use both at the same time.

Marina joined P.K. in the sandbox where they worked together to fill up different containers using sand. They used shovels and rakes to scoop up the sand. P.K. shared his shovel and Marina and she did the same!

Ellie walked past Miss Mindy and said, “Take a picture of me, please” and she turned and smiled for the camera as she was walking away.

Marina worked on her gross motor skills as she stepped along the tree stumps. She challenged herself by putting her hands in the air and to her side to help keep her balance.

Chloe worked on her pouring skills as she poured sand from one container to the other. Marina and Sloane soon joined in on the fun! They worked together sharing their containers. At the end of their play, they were pouring all of the sand into the big blue container. They eventually got the sand to the top and dumped it all out!

Breakfast consisted of corn bran and bananas. AM snack was carrots and cucumbers. Lunch included ham roll-ups filled with cream cheese, mixed fruit, and corn. PM snack was apple muffins and fresh pears.

Have a great evening!

-Mindy

 

Grandpas and Daddies Guessing Game

• My Dad is wonderful. He is loving. He makes me happy.
• My Dad writes stuff with me.
• I like to go to the gym with him.
• I like Papa because he always plays with me.
• My Dad takes me swimming in the pool!
  
• We go play baseball.
• I like when my Dad takes me places.
• I go to the supermarket with Grandpa.
• I love my Daddy! He plays basketball with me.
• On Monday, I go with Daddy to Martin’s.
• I love him and he brings us Star Wars toys. He tickles me!
• I like to go to Nate’s house with my Dad.
• Baboo gives me toys and dogs.

Hello. This morning we thought about our Grandpas and Daddies. Using what Tiffany taught us about abstract art, we used paper shapes and glue to create….a Father’s Day surprise!

We thought long and hard about our creations, and worked until we were satisfied.

We danced to a Jim Gill medley and it filled us with happiness just to move our bodies with freedom. When the lyrics of the song said to close your eyes tight, tight, tighter…..we did it!

  

When Melinda played her accordion, we were captivated and sang along with her.

She invited us to choose our own instrument so that we could accompany her.

We worked with scissors and found our home away from home.

We worked with patterning shapes and patterned machines that spit out jelly beans.

We read aloud to friends and discussed the details of the book we read.

And with Simon as our guide, set out on a bug hunt with a bug box and magnifying glass.

Our Wee Sprouts are pea pods and cucumber slices. For breakfast we had whole wheat toast with cinnamon and apple slices. For lunch, Lisa prepared ham rolls with cream cheese, mandarin orange/cranberry fruit salad and corn.

Enjoy your day.

Good Afternoon!

Today, our Wee Wee Friends took a trip to the zoo! We hopped into our strollers and wagons and walked to the Potawatomi Zoo.

We waited outside until the Zoo opened. Once inside, our friends were extremely patient as we wait to be joined by our guests, Aiden and Olivia along with their Mommy! Our friends sure do miss Aiden and Olivia.

Up first, we saw tigers! Chloe let us know this by saying, “Roarrr!” The tiger came up close to the window so that we could get a good look. He was sure big!

Next, we saw flamingos. Miss Marty asked, “What color are the flamingos?” Ellie responded with, “Pink!” We saw a flamingo that was sleeping.

The monkeys came next. As we’re arriving up to the monkey cage, Marina says, “OooOoo Aaahh” She talked with the monkeys and friends followed along.

We saw two lions that were very tired. Both were sleeping when we visited them. The lion that was closest to us was sleeping while sitting up!

P.K. and Chloe were very interested in the different animals. They talked with them and pointed when they saw something new. It was very enjoyable for both of them.

We walked right up to the fence to see the kangaroos. They were in the shade getting a break from the sun. We did get to see them hop though and P.K. pointed and laughed when he saw this.

At the end of our trip, we saw the prairie dogs. As we’re looking at them, we see two baby prairie dogs! They were very little. However, when we were there they didn’t make much noise. We did see multiple prairie dogs sticking their head out of their hole.

Breakfast consisted of cheerios and pears. After leaving the zoo, we came back to Wee Wee Friends to have lunch. We were very hungry after our exciting morning! Lunch was hummus on whole wheat bread, strawberries, and cucumbers. It sure did fill us up! PM snack was animal crackers and raisins.

Have a great evening!

-Mindy

 

We began our day with a bowl of potatoes. Inspired by Tiffany’s portrait presentation, Mel bought a sack of potatoes to see what possibilities the kids might produce. Using googly eyes, pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks and toothpick styles sticks, fuzzy balls, foam and ribbon, Wee Friends set out to create potato sculptures.

Max and Finn belted out (singing), at the top of their voices “Teamwork! Teamwork! What does it take? Teamwork!” as they worked together to put blocks away.

A front end loader working down the street drew lots of attention so friends poured out onto the porch to check it out.

Lisa worked with a group of friends on coin rubbings. Friends placed a coin inside a page of their passport, felt it with their fingertips and then, using crayons to rub over it, watched it appear on the page! We also searched for portraits on the many multi-cultural coins.

Today’s Wee Sprouts are pea pods and broccoli. Breakfast was Lisa’s amazing Applesauce Malt-O-Meal. For lunch, Tami is preparing whole wheat sandwiches with hummus, fresh strawberries and cucumber slices.

Have a great day!