We're Back

Spring Break is Over. I had a wonderful time in NY visiting with my husbands family. We celebrated all 4 of my boys birthday's, went to the beach, hiked at the park, and spent a lot of time relaxing with family. It was wonderful... sometimes I wonder why we ever moved. Then I remember the small, very small, house we used to live in with 4 growing boys and a very large dog :)

We had some shy kids at drop off this morning, but once we got some hugs and kisses going things got back to normal. One of my friends brought some special things back from his trip to the beach and Ryan brought some new blocks back from NY to share with his friends... then there was a lot of free play to help get us all reacquainted with each other (and the rules).

We spent a small amount of time inside, then after all the old art and bulletin boards came down from the walls... out the door we went!!!

We brought out our Princess Tent... lots of fun fantasy play was enjoyed!!

Cheese!! The big kids welcomed Little Miss M into their play this morning with gusto!! She followed them around like she was 4, just like them.

I love this photo. We made a hopscotch game with the chalk, and this picture just captured them having a ball.

I think that this was their favorite part of the morning though.... Rolling down the little hill we have in the yard. They laughed and giggled every time they went down.

All the kids tried rolling down, but these 2 got the most kick out of it. I wish I had taken a video so you could really get a sense of the joy that rolling down a hill can bring about :)

Little Miss M was enjoying the tent with the kids, when she stumbled upon the mud creation the boys made this morning. I watched her as she maneuvered herself into the turtle, she was so engrossed in what she was doing she didn't notice anything going on around her. When she succeeded, she did a little jig, then looked up and giggled. The sheer delight of getting in that mud, by herself, was worth the feeling of wet socks and feet.

The joys of being a child.

Friends + Water + Dirt = MUD!!!

I had planned on writing about all we did this morning... our trip to the local partnership for a Family Child Care Playgroup (lots of fun!!), our planned morning work (which we never got to) and some new routines we've implemented... but instead, I'm going to talk about MUD!!! Such a simple subject, in which, most adults hate it, most kids love it.

We played this morning, had our breakfast, made our way to our new playgroup, and came home. We quickly HAD to have snack, since a morning playing in a different place, with different kids, made us famished!!! Then we started to have some quiet play inside... I was going to introduce a new Chick Game I recently found from the blog, Tired, Need Sleep. Have some open ended art activities out, and finish some of our letter Ee work... but... the sun was shining, their was a slight breeze in the air and the kids were looking out the family room window talking about who knows what, but feverishly talking they were!!! Ok, I get it... lets go out!!

I wanted to grab some equipment to make up some quick stations outside, an idea I got from Linda over at Toddler Tale Daze (Thanks Linda!!), but the kids had their coats, socks and boots on before I could get my own shoes on. So, I decided that they would be fine with what is outside... :) They were fine alright, more than fine!!!

They didn't need arts & crafts, paints, balls, swings, or anything planned or thought out, especially by me!! They ran straight to a bucket that had filled with water over night, and went to town making mud... mud pies, mud puddles, mud bubbles, mud huts, mud shampoo (we had to stop that one), and just plain mud!!! The more mud the better... they painted the slide, the swings, the timbers, the boat, I could go on, but I know you understand. Their play revolved around this cheap, abundant, wonderful material for over an hour. I only wish we had a nice little creek to take them to, like the folks at Let The Children Play, to wash off. That would take our play to the next level, I tell ya!! But, we don't... so, we had to be satisfied with stripping our muddy boots and socks off and laying them in sun to dry, swapping our muddy pants out with dry, clean ones... and yes, washing one of our friends hair with real shampoo :) It's all in a days work. Mine and theirs :)

The talk at lunch was one of contentment, laughter, and silliness about their mud experiments. They relished in that sweet moment of childhood, that I know I remember, where everything was right in their world... and it revolved around some good friends, water, dirt and a safe place to explore it!!

Did you know Little Tykes has out this year a little outdoor Mud Kitchen?? They are making a little kitchen with accessories to make mud pies, mud hot dogs, etc... Toys made especially for mud. I saw it at the store the other day, and just shook my head. I wasn't sure if I should be excited to purchase a toy just for mud, or be sad that our imaginations and resourcefulness has gotten so lax, that a bunch of men and women in a boardroom have decided we need to be provided with a toy to get our children back to the basics of playing in the mud. I mean, what happen to having out old pots, pans, cups, spoons, Tupperware (mom's best was always a treat), and an endless supply of water and dirt??

I am happy with how our morning has turned out... it was a good day.

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 :)

Concentration

I am a process over product girl mostly, but Holiday Time really brings out my Memory Making Mode... We all want those cute little crafts to hang on the Christmas Tree, so we can look back years later and say "Oh Jack, look you made this in preschool... do you remember?" and the kids get all excited, finding their special ornaments and wreaths for the wall.

How do I reconcile this?? Well, look at these little faces...

The look of concentration as they fine tune those fine motor skills are... Priceless. The little white paper is hard to peel back, but they kept at it. Asking for help when they got frustrated, but eventually everyone (well almost everyone, my Little is 18 mths, she couldn't quite get it, but she tried) figured out how to peel that paper back by themselves. They were so proud of themselves!!!

I DID IT SHELL!!!!

For $1 we used our fine motor skills, we experienced sticky-vs-smooth, we cooperated, shared materials, waited our turn, and most important we socialized, talked, and just had "together" time, all of us. It was a moment that to me, their "teacher," was absolutely... Priceless!!

Rant

It has been a few weeks since I have written. I have been spending my time wondering... Being a Family Home Child Care Provider is one of the most rewarding jobs in the world. I get goosebumps when one of the kids climb the ladder and look back at me with that huge smile... saying "Look at Me!! I DID IT!!!" I live for the moment when the littlest of the kids snuggles in my shoulder and tucks her arms under her and rests her head with a little sigh. How about the security that one of them feels every morning knowing that her transfer will be the same hug that she has received almost everyday since she started. Or what about the time a child comes in for the first time without crying and never cries again... that is a moment. The smile from a parent who know that their child will be okay as soon as they leave, or I will give the same seriousness to a hurt boo boo or story that they will. This is why I became a Family Home Child Care Provider. The passion I feel towards giving families a place to feel secure with, trusting, content... that is my business. It is personal, it is feeling, it is growing... it isn't get up, go to work, do my work and go home. All the paperwork, all the hoops we jump through, all the regulations... it can seem like a business, but I won't let it be. It is my job. I will help make these little people into the big people they will become. Even if they forget ME as a person as they grow, my hugs, my structure, my love will always be there. It may come out in a way they pronounce a word or a few gestures they make... it will be from the time they were here, in my home, with me. I Love My Job!! It Is Worth It!!! All Of It!!!