Providers are only human

"Do you need a hug Shell??"

After yesterday's post, I thought I needed to provide a little more description.  As a Childcare Provider for children under 5 (3 and under at my house this year) some days can be more stressful than others.  Most providers (and teachers) I know use lots of de-stressing tools to keep themselves sane each day, but sometimes they don't always work.  The kids just get the better of you :)  (or I LET them get the better of me).

What does that mean exactly??  Well, for me, this week at least, it meant lots of noise.  Lots of mess.  Lots of crying.  Putting out one proverbial fire after another.  No one child was behaving worse than another, heck, they weren't even behaving out of their age appropriateness.  It just got to me more this week than most.  Could it be I didn't get much sleep (what, providers sleep?), could it be my teenager is testing his limits a lot more lately (what, providers have kid issues?), could it be that getting a family of 6 ready for Thanksgiving (turkey included) has been harder than I anticipated??  I'm thinking, YES!!!  And my little angels are just were feeding off my own anxieties.

I am VERY lucky that I have the BEST families!!  I have always had the most understanding, most accommodating, and the most fun families ever.  I just want them to know that I LOVE their little angels with everything I have in me.  Each day I grow to love them more.  Their smiles outweigh their cries, their hugs outweigh their tantrums, their laughs are literally the sound of angels.  So Parent's, please know I am only human and I sometimes have a bad day, bad hour, bad morning, or bad week... but I'm excited to open my door each morning, with a smile, ready for a new day, what ever that day may bring.

I just want to end with a poem that I absolutely LOVE from Patricia Dischler.  I found it in her book, From Babysitter to Business Owner.  A book I highly recommend to EVERYONE who is thinking of opening a Childcare Home or anyone who would like to take their Childcare Home to the next level.  Patricia Dischler is full of wonderful stories, great advice and lots of motivation to be the BEST provider you can be!!

Remember Why

Bridget screaming, her vocal substitute for "I'm hungry!"

Peter is crying because, "Sarah hugged me!"

Mikey's drooling and has soaked his shirt.

Bridget eating a shoe, covered with dirt.

Bret took Katie's doll and threw it out the door.

Sarah's in the bathroom wiping her poo poo on the floor.

Rachel is telling them each what to play.

The gate was left open and Bridget is on her way.

They're all screaming now, some for fun, some are sad.

Some scream 'cause they're hungry, some scream 'cause their mad.

They're leaking from everywhere, I wipe but there's more.

Brian's running naked, Peter's peed on the floor.

I wish I could go somewhere quiet and green.

The room is as messy as I've ever seen.

But I'll pick it up, wipe the noses and floor.

Give everyone hugs and catch Bridget at the door.

I'll give Katie her doll, tell Bret and Rachel to be nice,

Take the shoe out of Bridget's mouth, probably twice.

I'll feed them and hug them and tell them I care.

I'll chase after Bridget whether it's here or it's there.

I'll do what I can and if I'm real lucky,

When I serve them their lunch I won't hear, "That's yucky!"

And when I sit down to rest, and get attacked by the mob, 

Between hugs and kisses, I'll remember...

I Love My Job!!!

by Patricia Dischler

December 1996

So, you see, I know I'm not alone and it is nothing a hug, or kiss, or cuddle won't fix!!

300 posts... Wow!!

This is my 300th post... WOW!!! It seems like yesterday I got on this computer and even realized that there were "blogs" out there to follow. What an amazing concept... online journals that I get to take a peek at, whenever I want!! I have learned so much, from SO many people. It has brought a new level to my Child Care Home, to me as a Parent and Provider, and to my as a Person. Thank You to All the Bloggers out there that take the time to share with the rest of us what you do in your homes, preschools, day cares, and churches!! Thank you to ALL the people who visit and read my blog also!! I appreciate it!!! May God Bless Each and Every One of You!!

• What did we do today?? I brought out our Easter Tree, with all the little ornaments to put on it. It is so cute. The kids inspected all the little bunnies and eggs before putting them on the tree. As always, a hit!! I also make an Easter Sensory Box. It has these little time fluffy chicks that I usually find at the Dollar Tree or Big Lots. They come in 2 different sizes and the kids really enjoy stuffing them into plastic eggs, or filling up the little baskets with them. The Sensory Box also has different size plastic eggs, with some opening and others not. Plus, the little tongs that you get in some of the egg decorating kits... they love those!! They love those tongs so much, I can hardly keep them in the box. As of this minute they are missing :)

• I also added a window to the House/Boat Box, it has now become a Puppet Stand and a Store. The kids took all the fake produce and began selling it through the window... very cute. The puppets were the store keepers (ok, the store keepers wore the puppets to help move the produce, but if they want them to be the store keepers who am I to argue :) ) We also went outside today, it was a little muddy, but we managed to stay pretty clean today. I think because I didn't turn on our water source and the jugs of water were empty... need to get that fixed if the weather is going to stay warm. Water really is the best part of being outside. There are no real rules (besides drinking it). They can fill, transfer, scoop, move, pour, or mix anywhere in the yard. There are buckets, bottles, jugs, wheelbarrows, slides, cubbies, holes, and lots and lots of dirt, grass, twigs, and pine needles. What an oasis, huh :)

• So, hopefully tomorrow I will have our camera back. My boys all started Baseball Season this week so 1st games need to be photographed, right!! The camera has been in the car, I will remember to get it out tomorrow!!

• **Thanks to all those who commented yesterday, that poem is one of my favorites. It just seemed fitting for our day yesterday!! Thanks Again!!!**

Balancing Act

Today we had a visit from some of our friends. This guy had fun with our Hammer Work Tray. It's nice to see them spend time with the the fine motor toys, sometimes at this age they would much rather spend time with the gross motor activities.

Taking turns... a lesson that we all need to work on from time to time.

Doing Family Home Childcare is always a balancing act. We balance our Family Life with that of the Families we work with. My own Kids with the Daycare Kids... you get it. When my Sister started her Home Childcare business I was always like, "How do you do it? The kids always seem to leave around the age of 3 or 4" I felt like, here she is going through infancy, toddlerhood, the terrible twos, threes :)... potty training, and then the kids leave or graduate to a more preschool type daycare. One that costs sometimes 2 or 3 times the amount of money, has anywhere from 3 to 6 care givers a day, and sometimes a high turnover rate of employees. All in the name of Learning and Socialization.

So, when I started my own Family Childcare Home I wanted to figure out a way to keep my kids. To provide them the journey from infancy to kindergarten with the security of the same caregiver, environment, and love. I knew I could provide the "academic" part of the component, the crafts, the circle time, but I know a lot of Parent's are worried about Socialization. I only have spots for 5 kids. They have friends to play with, but I recognize that they need to learn to meet new friends, just the act of introducing themselves to new friends... joining in a new game... all skills they learn within a large group setting.

I explain to Parents that I can teach appropriate social skills within the small group setting, but I needed to come up with a way to get my kids with other kids also. So.... I hooked up with other Mom's and Providers that were willing to come over and have a craft time, or celebrate a Holiday with us, play in the yard, come for Story Time or meet us at the Playground... this way the kids get the best of both worlds. They have the security of one caregiver, who can give them the time they need to learn all those social skills to get through Toddlerhood... and eventually into Kindergarten.

I truly love my job and love that I can provide my families with the long term care they need. I am lucky that I have the space to invite friends over to have fun with us. That I am able to provide the mix of preschool with home.... a great combination for everyone!!!!

Holiday Program

Today we practiced for our Holiday Program. The kids have gotten the hang of singing in front of a group. I will worry about my 2 almost 3 yr old, but I know she will bail as soon as she sees her parents. I don't know if it is out of fear of all those people, or just habit. Since she has been doing it for every program I can remember. She walks into the room, sees her Mom & Dad and when they smile... that's it off she runs. We practice waving, saying "Ok...Now were just going to wave at our Mom's & Dad's right, we won't run to them. We have to sing, right!!" She nods her cute little head, sings her heart out during the practice, and I just know she won't stay for the actual program. That is why I try to get video of them during practice. This way their Parent's know that they did it, can do it, and actually enjoyed it :) I will keep you posted... our program is on Thursday night...

Finishing up all our ornaments, reading about Jesus' birth, and opening up our Advent Calendar's doors each day keep us pretty busy. We don't always get that practice in. But I have learned... it doesn't actually matter how the evening goes... Mom, Dad, Grandma & Grandpa will love it anyway. They will look cute in their outfits with their reindeer antlers, some will belt out the songs like they had to sing to the people in the back of an auditorium, and their will be a lot of oohhh's & aahhh's.

Which brings me to being nervous. I can sing, act silly, make funny faces and just about talk my heart out in front of a bunch of preschoolers. I can also talk to parents one-on-one. Yet, get all those parents in one room, at one time, looking at me... Forget About It!!! I clam up, stumble over words... why?? They are the same people I see everyday!! We have talked for countless hours over the last year. I want to tell them how much their children impact my life. How much I love them. I want to tell them that being apart of their lives has made me so happy and such a better person for knowing them. That when they tell me their child said a word with the same inflection as me, I beam inside. When your child puts her hands on her hips and says "You guys!!" just like I do when I am redirecting them... yes, I smile and my heart grows 3 times it's size. I won't be able to say it on Thursday Night... but I want them to know. Every time your child hugs me or tells me they love me... that's enough. That's why I do this, that is why I open my home to your children. The State rules and regulations, the locks on my cabinets, the silly paperwork... it is all worth it, because your children bring such joy to my life. And the Parent's aren't so bad either!!
So there I said it... I just hope they read it so I don't have to actually speak it :)

2 Steps Back... 4 Steps Forward

Just a few photos of the kids yesterday... it was a busy day, but we got through it and even had some cute moments to look back on!! I have figured out that my group is going through a growth spurt. It seems whenever they are ready to make some leaps or bounds in any area... social, emotional, physical, intellectual... we take 2 or 3 steps backwards first... then we take that huge 5 or 6 leaps forward. I know I learned about it in college the fancy reasons why, but as a Mom/Teacher I have seen it so many times. I am thankfully starting to see it and realize what is happening before I go crazy though. Then I can have the patience to help guide them through it.

I remember when my oldest boys were little I would be pulling my hair out because they would be behaving in a way that they knew was unacceptable, yet did it they did!! I would be disciplining them, redirecting them, and right when I thought I couldn't take it anymore it was over... not only over but they were learning new things and applying them to their daily life. Being considerate of each other (as much as twins can), being gentle with the little brothers, putting toys away, Oh, you know what I mean.

So, I have decided that this has to be what is going on with my Daycare Gang right now. We have been having some very simple, basic issues... ones that I thought we had gotten awhile back. We have been having to practice putting our toys away (in the right spots), using our words and not our hands, listening to each others words, etc... now I am patiently waiting for the day that I don't have to remind, redirect, and discipline on a minute by minute basis.... okay I exaggerate... but you know what I mean :)

I do know that the day will come though. So for now we will enjoy the process of growing up, taking from it all the wonderful bits and pieces that make us who we are. I am glad to be the one to help them, because as Kristin says over at Preschool Daze...Her "Greatest Passion Is Saving The Dignity of Each Child" (You can find it in her W is for Welcome on right hand side of her blog) Oh, how eloquently put. It puts goosebumps on my arms every time I read it or think it, for I know what she means. This period of time in my Gang's life can be such an enriching one or one that could cause pain, humility and/or sadness. It is not only my job, but my passion to make sure my Gang has an enriching, loving & secure experience.

Now that I got that off my chest :) I will show you a few of our moments yesterday...

Is this too cute or what... a Princess & Her Pig. LOVE IT!!!

She picked the spot to be "photographed"

Little Miss being helpful :)

My Princess making some cinnamon toast for breakfast... Another Great Helper!!

Star Ornament

Glue Ornament... opps, I mean another Star Ornament

I wish I had gotten a picture of it at the end, it had ALOT of glue

A Whatcha Macallit

Does any one know what this thing is called?? I went to TeriKidz Consignment sale on Sunday and found one of these on the table and thought... "Ah, for 2 bucks, the kids might like it in the Science Center" Well... Low and Behold they LOVED it. We have been using it every minute we get. We touch it, shake it, rub our hands on the pegs, push the pegs, put our faces in it, our hands, feet, knees... airplanes, Thomas the Train, you name it... we have probably tried to see what it looks like within the pegs. I thought it would be a good open-ended experiment for the kids, and even the school agers love it. The Before Schoolers come in and quietly go to the Math/Science Center and sit with it until more kids come and eventually a whole crowd is watching, calling out things that could be done and waiting for their turn. After school is the same, but they have to wait for the preschoolers to wake up... then they all watch to see if they can be the first one to get to it. It think it was a good purchase... even if it only lasts us this week before it breaks from the loving wear and tear of a popular daycare item... I know I got my money's worth already!!!

Peek-A-Boo

Week of 9/7/09

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We had a really great week. We are getting back into the swing of working as a group and really learning and not just free playing all day :)

Although we love the open ended concept of our classroom... the kids love being able to take out work of their choice, art materials as they feel the need, & sitting with their friends at the book nook when they want... it seemed like we didn't have enough work on the shelf for the kids to be occupied for the whole "work" period. Beth and I decided to put our heads together and get some of our creative juices flowing. So we spent about 5 hours cleaning out the toys and work we aren't using or don't seem to be very interesting and putting out work that will meet our needs better.

We added a lot of math trays this week. The kids seem to be really interested in the concept of More & Less. So we have decided to add mostly counting trays to see if they have mastered the skills needed to move on to the next step. We will do some simple More or Less activities as a whole group at circle time.

We are doing B & F this week. So we bought a Beta Fish and an African dwarf Frog for the classroom. I want a bunny rabbit very badly, but I'm just not sure I can take that responsibility on right now. So we thought a Fish and Frog would be perfect. So this week we will work out a name for our new friends and graph and vote on the names. I am excited to introduce this concept, as we haven't done it at school as a formal lesson yet. We "vote" lots of times at lunch, who wants juice or milk for lunch, most hands win. The kids will "vote" twice most of the time... they just love raising their hands still at this point.

We added the Toddler Sensory table this past week. We added shredded paper, just to get the Toddlers used to it. Vacuuming up the paper was a lot easier than having sand or water every where. We will gradually work up to that. I have been on-line looking for some interesting sensory table options for the 1yr old/2yr old crowd. I want to introduce them to some interesting tactile experiences, but don't want to always use food or the boring shredded paper. So, if anyone has some ideas... I'd love to hear them. We thought about a little water and fish for this week... or some flour. I think they both would be fun for them. We will continue to search for the perfect sensory experiences for them... I'll let you know when we find them :)

We are still working out our Art area. I have always had paint, playdoh, crayons, water colors, etc... available all the time. It seems it has been quite messy lately, like the kids won't put things away properly, or use quite right. We will be going over some rules and lesson's on handling the work and putting things away properly when done. I work in a Good Shepherd Catechist class on Sundays, and I watched as the teacher went over all the rules today. She pain stakingly went through getting out the rugs, mats/trays, interrupting, and putting material away. She talked about not taking work off the shelf that you didn't have a lesson on and how to respectfully watch another child or teacher do a work. It was nice to have the refresher, I guess because I have these kids all year, I forget that when we make that transition into our "School Year" I need to go over all those rules again. I hope it helps the kids. I know they want to do the right thing and get upset when they feel like they haven't.

Have a great week!!

Start of a New Year

We had a great first couple of weeks. I took some photos of everything we did, then I realize I can't put 129 photos on the blog. I want to because we do so many great things... we finished putting our Red Hearts together with a hand print that we took the middle and ring finger and put them down so it looks like the hands are saying "I Love You" in Sign Language. We read "The Kissing Hand" by Audrey Penn. We thought this would be a great bulletin board (which I must get a photo for here) and it was.
We also made our own pizza, a school bus, did some transfer activities, easel painting, and that is just a few things :)
We spent a lot of time learning about our centers, how to use equipment, pulling material out and putting it away, and most of all... how to be a great friend. We know this will be a great year and the kids will have lots of fun... not even realize they are learning as much as they will be.

Mylo loves the Montessori activities

What 14 month old wouldn't love the easel??

The new listening center is a popular place!!

We have added the computer center into the mix... we have begun letting the kids use educational software for a short time during work time.

I love that the School Agers love the little guys... they love to play with them and the little ones love waiting for the kids to come home from school!! It is great to see their faces when they see the kids round the corner after they get off the bus.

I will have some more photos as we go along... I came home from traveling this weekend and wasn't able to organize as I want to... I'll get there :)

Sand Box

The sand box is a important part of our daycare program... On this day, we decided to have a sand creation day... the kids had to make sure their creations had sand, 5 pieces of wood and 6 rocks in each of their creations. They worked so well together... letting the little ones have their say and letting them add whatever they wanted. I love to see them work together.

Celebration Week

We made it through the BIG week!! We had a lot of kids, we did a lot of stuff, and we SURVIVED!!! I think the kids had a great time... they all came back everyday!! :)

During our Celebration Week we celebrated while making crafts, going to the pool, making ice cream, building forts, and playing with the parachute...

Making our Cookies for Cookie Day!!

We also had Buster Bunny come and visit for the week!! He was Great Fun!!

The kids loved holding him and running after him!!

We put his cage in the middle of the room so we all could get a good look at him, but after reading more about bunnies, I realized that wasn't the best place for him. He likes being up against the wall so he could feel safe and no one could sneak up behind him.

We made homemade ice cream... YUMMY!!!

We made Friendship Bracelets for Friendship Day!!!

We enjoyed making spin art with the salad spinner... I looked for the post I got this idea from... I am sorry I can't give the proper credit to the right person because I can't find the blog. Sorry!!!

We always leave time for simple stuff, like playing in the sandbox together!!

We started our week with some Friendship Games and Cooperation Games... like this building a tall tower out of marshmallows and straws... then we tried a game called Waballoony... which was great fun. The kids had to keep a balloon up in the air... the twist was that there was a marble in the balloon throwing it off balance... The kids had to work together to keep it up. I wish I got some pictures of the bigger kids helping the preschoolers. Very cute!!

Outside Fun

We started out Water/Ocean/Lake Theme this week. We wanted to learn about Ocean Animals, fish, and frogs... we don't have access to the ocean here, but we live near the beautiful Lake Norman. So, we decided to kinda mix it all together and then take our 3rd Summer Field Trip to Lake Norman State Park... We can't wait. Our beach is like a huge clay pit... we want to take some home with us and see if we can make something out of it. The kids can't wait.

Any way, we read Rainbow Fish, talked about friendship, fantasy -vs- reality... do fish really talk and exchange scales??? :) We loved that one! We then made our own Rainbow Fish...

We also brought the sand in to the sensory table and made a "beach" We bought some really cute boats and such from the store, but they didn't FLOAT!! Can you believe it... we at first we disappointed, but then we laughed and laughed!!! We pretended they were subs :)

We then decided to try the Chalk/Body paint I found at preschool daze that I have been dying to make. We were going to make it for the 4th of July... we even made a shower to help wash it off, but I didn't have any cornstarch and we couldn't. I picked some up last night and we got to make it this morning and what a time we had... loved it!!

We tried painting our bodies... some loved it!!

I think mostly we just liked the mess and the way it dried on the ground.

We wrote our names, the name of our daycare, and drew funny pictures!!

FUNNY FACE!!

Chipping the "Chalk" off the table




Loved playing in the sand and mud... Soup anyone??

Tea??

What's this??

Whoa!! How Cool!!!

Outside Painting... the bubble wrap added a lot of texture and popping it was a lot of fun too!!

This guy thought he was quite cool with his "cut" on his head!! What a Jokester!!


Lastly, I found this on the inside table... Montessori at work and what fun it is to be able to paint whenever they want... just take out their tray, paper, get their water and paint... When they are done they put it away... This little girl wasn't finished and came back to it after we did our outside chalk/body painting... She told me her watercolor picture was of all the kids outside doing the body painting... I love my job!!!