We Played Outside Today!!!

I didn't get to take to many photo's outside today as it started to rain and I didn't want to go in, but I also didn't want my camera to get ruined.  Thus, I brought the camera in and we stayed outside.  What fun it was.  It was a little loud today after breakfast, it seemed my friends had a little to much pent up energy to expend so I rounded them up and out we went... that was at 9:10 this morning.  We were out for the rest of the morning.  We even got to eat our snack outside, that is always a favorite thing to do.  

When it began to sprinkle I was hoping it wouldn't pour, but we got to talk about he Wind, Clouds, Rain Clouds, and Sunshine.  You can't ask for anything better than hands on learning.  We got to experience first hand how strong the wind can be because at one point the wind brought down a block tower Roo made, and then Roo came to tell me that the wind was not soft because it only moved her hair a little bit and not a lot like before.  Then while playing we started to see dark clouds replace to light gray ones we have been watching all morning.  Then low and behold... it started to rain.  Not to bad, but enough for the kids to look surprised and make the connection that the clouds changed to make rain.  Real Life Learning!!!  How I love it!!!

Puddles, Puddles Everywhere!!!

What is it with puddles and little kids??  They love them!!  I don't know about all you other grown-ups out there, but I hate my feet being wet.  I don't like cold, wet socks or cold, wet sneakers over my socks. Yet,  Little Ones love puddles.  They really don't seem to mind cold, wet socks, shoes or clothes.  They actually enjoy it, at least today they did anyway :)  

The first puddle we found right at the end of my driveway... Yeah Shell!!!

Although these two didn't get out and actually jump in the puddles... they were splashed and had fun giggling at the other kids as they romped and splashed around.

Running from one puddle to another...

Peek-a-Boo!!!

Jumping, laughing, and being silly

These puddles are everywhere!!

Look another one... Let's Go!!!

Okay... maybe Scamp was a little upset not being able to get out and run through those puddles

Beside splashing, there are things to look at and treasures to find at the bottom of those puddles.
If anyone will find them... it will be Sprout!!

Little Man just kept running back and forth through the water.  He was soaked!!!

Just watching and listening to the joy in the kids voices and actions tells me that we will be doing this activity again.  We'll just make sure we add some hot chocolate to the end of it next time :)

It's a Jammie Day!!!!

It is raining out and we thought it would be a great day for a jammie day!!! And it has been!!! We took out our rainy day box and used hoops that we can jump into, through, or crawl in or through ;) The tunnel also came out and there was a lot of crawling through, pushing the ball through, and just plain getting in there and staying, no matter who else wants to get through. There was snuggles, hugs, and books too. It was a beautiful, rainy day!!!

Look at my yogurt face!!!

Scamp is becoming a pro at standing, walking, and pushing... soon it will be running, Oh No!!

Scamp does slow down for a snuggle and hug every once in awhile...

Awwww... a snuggly baby, what more could anyone want!!!

(Thanks Mom & Dad for sharing her with me!!!)

Playing "Stinky Toes"

Sprout loved getting all her animals and toys and playing in the Toddler Garden


Ya like my jammies Shell??
I sure do Little Man!!!

Saying Grace before lunch... is that to precious!!!


I never dread rainy days. There is always a schedule, things to be done, and weather to be taken advantage of before winter comes, that sometimes it is nice to have an excuse to just be. Get on the floor, hug and snuggle the little ones and enjoy the home environment and flexibility of home childcare.

Singing in the Rain...

Ok, so it wasn't really rain and we didn't quite sing, but we did a lot of yelling, squealing and jumping!! The little sea of Umbrellas was a sight to see out there on our new concrete pad. It really was great for them to be able to go under the sprinkler and not be standing in the mud up to their shins.

I love this shot... Sprout was standing off to the side at one point, just mesmerized by the sound of the "rain" hitting the top of her Umbrella. To cute.

This is what happened afterwards. I knew the mud would be to much of a draw to stay under the Umbrellas for to long. They just can't help themselves when the puddles start to grow and the water gets murky. It is just calling out to them to make some "Dinosaur Ice Cream."

Yes, that's muddy water coming out of those watering cans

Yes, I "tried" some "Dinosaur Ice Cream"
What's a teacher to do??

Inside we were able to have a semi-regular circle time. The kids were excited to do calendar and counting, but I think the new ABC I SPY bags were the favorite today. I purchased these from Lake Shore Learning and I couldn't wait to get them out. The kids loved them. They loved being able to Spy the objects, but it really helped to build vocabulary for the Toddlers, as well as the preschoolers. In the Tt bag there was a tennis racket, some knew what it was, but it looked a little different than a real one, so they had a hard time being confident in their answer. So, we talked about real-vs-pretend, we talked about same-vs-different, and we found each object and named it. This way when they go to play with the bags on their own or with a friend, they have the vocabulary to use with it. They are excited to find them on the shelf.

Here are the Tye Dye t-shirts we made. I think they came out really great!! Some of the kids wore them today and they looked pretty snazzy, if I do say so myself!! My boys want to make some this weekend, I hope it is nice enough out to do it.

P is for Puddle!!

Can You Guess What We Did Today???

Do You Think We Had Fun??

Rainy Days

Some days you just have to put down what your doing and succumb to the call of the rain.