A Partial Floor & Other Stuff

I didn't put up a photo of the whole room, I want to save the before and after until it is complete, but if you look you can see a strip of carpet under the shelves. That is where the wood is missing. I have to say, today went much better than expected. I set up the other side, our messy area, with some toys on the shelf, books, and the old sensory table. Then I put all of Little Man's toys in our Family Room and we just used those rooms instead. We didn't get to have our regular circle time, but we did have one in the Family Room and the novelty of having it in there made it seem like an adventure. Little Man actually sat with us and listened to some of our story. We read, The Night Before St. Patrick's Day, by Natasha Wing. We love all her books and this one was no exception. We have decided that tomorrow we will make a couple of Leprechaun traps and see if we can trap one of those pesky leprechauns. We are all excited about that. So, as much as I am annoyed that my floor isn't finished, my kids and I made the best of it and had an adventure anyway!!!

Little Man loves his freedom (as all mobile babies do). He loves to move around and explore the environment thoroughly, so I try to strategically place toys, equipment or boxes, I think might interest him, or rather KEEP his interest for more than a millisecond. We have this little froggy table that seems to be the PERFECT height for him when he stands up. It is sturdy enough that he can pull himself up on, and then play with whatever I have put up there for him. Of course, most everything gets swiped off the table quickly, but thankfully I have enough little helpers that find this game, of swipe & pick up, to be fun. Lately though, Little Man has been very interested in this lock puzzle from Melissa & Doug. He hasn't figured any of the locks out yet, and he even has a hard time opening the little doors, but that doesn't stop him from trying!! He concentrates for a long time, looking at the locks, touching them, and closing the doors (that one of us has opened for him). I am excited to watch this process of learning, and can't wait until he succeeds.

(Don't You Just Love the Haircut)

I put out the easel today with a shamrock penciled on it. The kids enjoyed painting it. The shamrock led to a discussion on shamrocks and where they come from and why they are significant for St. Patrick's Day. We took out our trusty laptop and Googled "St. Patrick's Day Shamrock" and read about the history of the shamrock. It was a fun learning experience, I just wish I had a nice big screen, because even with just 3 little ones plus me crowded around this laptop was to much. Oh well, that will be on my wish list for some day :)

Change Is Coming

Had some workers here today. It didn't go as I had planned. I am getting rid of the carpet in my playroom and installing wood, and they came to install it today. The installers were doing a great job and then... The store didn't order enough wood!!! The installers, who were great, were short 1 box!!! I am pretty annoyed!! Now they have to order another box, get it delivered, because it was a special order, then it has to sit in the house for 3 days to acclimate to the house, then the men have to come back and install it!! Which means, getting my new equipment up and ready for tomorrow won't be happening. ARGH!!!!

Thankfully I am pretty flexible and can usually run with whatever is thrown my way (most child care providers are, right??) and I will just make it work until it can be totally done. We will modify our day, spending most of it outside when we can. What else are we gonna do, right? :)

It was weird not having the kids here. I kept wanting to call them to watch something the workers were doing. I think they will enjoy the new set-up and changes when they are complete.

Hats & A New Sink!!

Well Dr. Seuss we have had a wonderful week celebrating you and your books!! We got to learn about silly rhymes, wacky Wednesdays, and a silly & pesky Cat in the Hat!! We loved all the books we read (over and over again), but we especially loved the themed days!! Princess is asking me what themed days we have planned for next week. She enjoyed the week a lot.

Believe it or not D-Man was having a good time, I just think he didn't want to stop jumping around like Thing 1 to take our picture :) Even Little Man got in the photo, though he won't keep a hat on unless it is Velcroed to his head!!

I am making some changes to the Child Care room in our house. Since we opened almost 4 yrs ago, I have been dreaming of a sink in the Child Care room!! It would help with so many aspects of our daily routines... washing hands before & after playing in sensory table and play dough is a huge ordeal for us. We use those two centers all the time, and the kids keep having to be reminded to go to the bathroom and wash hands, and then reminded to come right back and not get side tracked. Don't get me wrong, I am lucky, they do a great job, but this will be such a help to us everyday!!! It will be up and running on Monday!! I can't wait!! We have more changes coming, stay tuned to see how we evolve :)

Our February Box

Our February box came out today. We love to take out our monthly boxes, as we never remember what we put in there last year. We found lots of neat Valentine's Day things. Old stickers, doilies, cards and envelopes for sending notes to friends and yummy smelly stamps. Our noses looked like Rudolph's with all the smelling of markers and stamps today.

Here is Sprout being a Dinosaur, like the one she found on one of the Valentine's Day Cards. She had a lot of fun "writing" special notes to her friends and putting them in the Foamy Mailbox we also found in the box.

Miss M peeling stickers for her notes. What fine motor practice for these little ones. Holding pencils, markers, crayons, peeling, sticking, and cutting. They had a ball.

We put suds in the mini water table today. Some of them had suds up there arms and on their chins... Thankfully we use tear free baby shampoo for our suds :)

A Quick Trip Around the Room

Just some views of our new set up... I try not to move things around to much with the little ones, as they can never remember where to put things. I can't help it though. I love to change it up now and then.

I decided that our two spaces (Our Formal Living Room & Formal Dining Room) that we use for child care should be partitioned off from each other, that way Little Man can't get into the messy stuff.

Little Man's Corner

We were having so much fun with our new February things that we didn't even get to Circle Time... I guess we will have lots to keep us busy tomorrow too!!!

Changing it Up a Bit

A new week is upon us and we are all geared up for some fun explorations. I have gone and done it again... changed the room around!!! That baby is getting real mobile and I needed to make some changes so he could play down on the floor without having to be moved or told "No" constantly.





These photos were supposed to be at the bottom, but I posted my photos backwards, so here they are at the top. The preschoolers love to serve themselves and our Family Style eating really lends itself to letting them. The 2's are eager to join in this independent activity and watching their peers is having the effect I wanted, they are watching and learning :)

Little Miss M brings her lunch from home, so she doesn't get to serve herself from the family style meals we have. Yet, with a little planning and extra time, she and I get her lunch and snacks out together and she can arrange it on her plate. I also add a jug of water to the table and she and Sprout love to pour. This way even those children who have special diets can feel included and independent.

Yes, Family Style does lend itself to messes, but after they get the hang of it it really is such a time saver for me. When I would prepare everything and leave it on the counter, it was a constant barrage of, "Can I Have More of..." As soon as I would sit down they would start asking for more. It is great for me and them.

Little Man loves the new set up. He loved having access to EVERYTHING on the shelves. I don't even think he minded being gated out of the "messy" side of the room.

I tried to get a picture of the girls shooing away Little Man. One drawback is when they are working (intently) on a puzzle or another brain buster type of activity, Little Man always seems to be there :) I kept distracting him, and the girls finally got their puzzle finished.

New play dough station... I'm not sure the smaller table will work in the long run. They like to have space to move around. I also think I want to make a lip for the table, so maybe not as much play dough will make it to the floor. We'll see.

A little practical life work going on. Little Miss M was showing Sprout some work today... very cute.


I set up this independent little water table in the "messy" area of the room. It was a big hit. I saw something like this set up in a daycare classroom I had visited last year and have always wanted to set one up. I just never had the right space for it. Now that I have moved things around, I think this will work out pretty good. I can also change things up in it as needed because it is so small, you don't need to much to make it work.

A bigger view of the "messy" area where the kids are working so nicely.

I think I may like this set up, at least for now. I am hoping it will make it easier for the kids to better be able to access their Montessori work, art stuff, and play dough without Little Man being put at risk. We still do a lot of sweeping and vacuuming to make sure everything is safe, but if you have watched a crawler or have one yourself, you know they find even the most minuscule particle to put in their mouth. Ahhhh, always on my toes :)

What a Great Day!!

What have we done today? How was our new space utilized? Did we accomplish what we set out to do today... Have Fun?? Yes, I think we did.

Building... Friendships :)

A Budding Artist... You never know what the future may hold!

Look... "Sticky"

Language Development

Cooperation, Problem Solving, Communication

These 3 boys played at the Sensory Table for 30 minutes today... not one disagreement!!

Spring Has Sprung!!!

Fine Motor Skills, Concentration, Language

"Tiny" "Help" "Egg" "Bunny"

All while getting those little ornaments on that tree... I was amazed, but not surprised by it!!

Some More Messy Hands.... I love when the kids get engaged in an art project beyond the actual intended project... some of them loved the slimy feel of the paint on their hands :)

Shaking/Rolling Eggs to make "Marbled Easter Eggs"

Some Free Art this morning... the kids love to just have the art materials at their fingertips... this project was actually started yesterday and she wanted to finish it today... I think she really just liked the way the glue felt going on the paper, because we used a lot of glue and not a lot of anything else :) No worries... we have more glue


There was a lot of activity in the playroom today. All the centers were used, and I allowed for extra time to let the kids explore today. We saved our Circle Time for the end of the morning, instead of the beginning so they could really get the feel for the "new land." I noticed that they spent more time in one area today, I think because the block area was more "protected" they were able to build without the worry that someone was going to knock it down. Thanks to Bev for the advice on making that area a little more insulated!!!

The Writing Center was a Hot Spot today!! I set out some markers, stamps, and different types of paper... I don't think that center has ever seen so much traffic!! I loved it. They even found the letters stamps for their names and stamped it on a piece of paper. It was exciting to watch all the connections being made. Of course, Little Miss M decided to use her whole hand to stamp with, but it worked :) Who am I to tell her that her hands aren't for stamping :) (Thankfully her Mom & Dad appreciate the curiosity of a Toddler!!)

It was one of those days that brings such joy to me... I can't really explain that excited feeling I have right now writing it down... it's just so amazing to see the happiness and excitement that these kids have everyday for learning.

Rearrangement

Are you one of those teachers that has to change your room around every month?? Or are you a teacher that keeps the same set up from year to year?? Do you fall somewhere in between?? I am one of those teachers that has got to do an over haul of my room every 3 to 6 months. It all depends on how the kids are behaving. If they are engaged with what I have out, then I leave it... if not, I change it. I like that the look of surprise when the kids come in on Monday morning (I tend to do these things on a weekend or vacation) and can't believe things are moved around. "Where are my toys?" Is usually the first question I get... then we go and explore until we find the special toys we were looking for (usually dress up clothes, the beloved Kitty's, or popular monster trucks).

Today the kids came in and loved what they saw. I made some more nooks and cranny's for them. More intimate centers where only 1 or 2 kids can fit and explore... I tried to cut down on the open "running" space that we had, and I think I did. We will see how the next few days go to really know if it was a success.

This is a photo of the art area before the move. I thought I has some recent photos of the playroom space... but I can't seem to find them. I found this one in some random file... I don't even remember taking it... it was probably one of my kids :)

I went to IKEA and bought these really cute magazine holders for some of my resource magazines, children's work, and various paper work I tend to lose :) I was also excited about the mesh ball bag purchase... we lose so many balls due to leaving them outside (and the dogs eating them) and forgetting to bring them in... this way, I dump them out, the kids play with them, then when it's time to go in we race to see who can get the balls in the bag fastest. We will save so many balls from sure destruction this way.

Here is a view from the doorway of the house... where all my families come in each morning. In the back left corner is the Science Center area... I put my son's old work bench (which I plan to hang magnifying glasses, goggles, etc...) back there to work on, today I put out Magneato's to explore. I also situated the Sand Studio under the window, this will help with the sand not getting on my carpet, and be close to the equipment they use to explore in it with.

Right on the bottom of the picture is the writing/manipulative center... I put out some language games, stamps (letters, numbers, pictures), their workbooks, and a few different kinds of writing utensils. Back behind the pole, is the Art center... not much different there, I just replenished supplies, added some do a dot markers, and added a collage bin.

Here is our Circle Time area... The kids are used to having the whole carpet and spent the first 2 minutes of circle talking about how much smaller their sitting space was. Mind you, I have 5 kids :) there was plenty of room!! On the opposite side of the circle time area is our Housekeeping space. I still have a little more work to do there. I want to move in a table and hang the dress up clothing up somewhere... still brainstorming :)

This is the view from the Circle Time area into the new block area... I put blocks, cars, monster trucks, mega blocks, trains, and some My Little Pony's in this area. The new rug is a race track theme and the kids loved it. My own 8 yr old son spent a lot of time there last night :)

I didn't get any photos of us using the space today because I was busy helping the kids re-learn where everything belongs, how to keep our Art area in working order, and going outside. So, hopefully tomorrow I will catch some kids in action.

I think that they were so excited they had to try everything, go to every center, and touch the materials to make sure it was still the same toys they have been using. They also, spent some time in the family room playing Ladies, Kitty's and making and setting the bed (the couch) with the blankets. It was a busy morning and went by pretty fast.

Getting Ready

I emptied out the playroom for our Holiday Program and it stood empty for the last 2 weeks. Well, not really empty, but I took out all the shelves and material to make room for the chairs and "stage" for the program. Over the last few days I started bringing everything back in and took the time to change things up. I am one of those teachers that need to move everything around every few weeks to every few months. I love the change and the kids like to come in after the long break or even a weekend and explore. It gives us a chance to relearn the rules and practice using our materials again after a break.

I took some pictures, but of course I can't get my upload to work. I got a new camera for Christmas and I guess the software wasn't installed correctly. Oh well... I will get my husband to look at it and hopefully he will get it to work. If not, I will go back to my old camera. Which works fine with the computer.

I am sorry to see this quiet week end, but I am looking forward to getting back into our routine. We are starting our Animal Theme this month, with Pond Life starting this week. Can you say Tadpoles, Frogs, Fish, Lily Pads, and Algae... because that is what we will immerse ourselves in this week. We have some cute activities to reinforce our colors, numbers, and alphabet. I would love to recreate a pond here in the house... still looking on-line for some doable ideas. I have to make sure everything is safe... so standing water in the house... well, I don't thing my registrar would like that or find it very safe... no matter how I enclosed it :)

We will have a great week pond or not... just getting back together, reading, playing, & learning... that's what it's all about. The other stuff is just icing on the cake :) Have a great week!!! Look forward to reading about how everyone else is doing!!!

Getting ready for the summer

I have decided to dedicate this Blog to my Family Home Daycare Business!!

Kozy Kids Family Daycare

A little about me... I am a 39 yr old Mom, Wife, Daycare Provider!! I love what I do!! I started out in the Fall of 2007 with 1 child. I quickly added another... but thought that was enough. I added some toys to the front room, a few crafts and "preschool" songs and lessons... and the rest is history. One parent told another, who told another and I am now the proud Provider to 8 full time and 2 part time children. I have hired a co-teacher to help me out with the Preschool part of our day and with our little one... who will be 1 next week... How time flies!!!

I can't believe that I went from this little... "I'll watch some kids to play with Ry" to this full fledged Preschool/Daycare Business. I am loving it.

I would love to share our photo's from this past year, but I have not asked permission from some of the Parents to show their children on the blog. So hopefully when most of them come back for the fall we will get that permission and be off and running.

We decided the Playroom needed to be painted and overhauled for the summer... so that is what we did below... we had a Great time doing it and I think the kids will be very excited. We are still working on our "messy" room in the sunroom, and I will post photos as soon as I get that done. I am excited to make the space more kid friendly, and they can have more independence in getting their material and doing their work. I found the web/blog from Annie Look over at Annie's Alphabet Home Childcare.... and WOW!!! If you want inspiration as a Childcare Provider or anyone who works with small children... That is where you should go!! I got so pumped just looking at her space and what "her kids" do all day!! They are learning, entertained, busy, happy, messy, quiet, moving, & safe!! You can just see how much pride she takes in her business and she has the passion not all childcare providers have. A passion for nurturing the child in children... letting kids be kids and have fun. So, if you want some inspiration jump over there and take a look. You can find the shortcut under my blog list.








Here is a picture of us trying to get everything picked up, after the last day for my kids who's parents are teachers. So those kids won't be here to much for the summer. I will miss them. I wrote about that at my other blog... A Boys Life 4 Me. If you'd like to read about that.




Here is Beth... my co-teacher... trying to keep things organized. She is the organized one and I am the one who makes her absolutely CRAZY!!! I take things out to use them and forget to put them back... I am a spur of the moment kind of teacher and if the kids look like they may want to take a lesson another way than I had planned... I run with it. I quickly get things out for them to use and in the process make a mess. Beth is there is keep me on track and make sure I pick up things at the end of the day. We balance each other out I think... I bring out her inner child and she brings out my inner Mom :)




Here is our messy computer area. I am not a huge computer advocate for the 1 to 5 yr old range so it kinda collects dust unless an after-schooler asks to play a game on it. Then we dust it off and hope it will work. We store a lot of our Montessori Manipulative's under there in those boxes. I also put our paint, new curtains, and curtain rods under there until we found time to get this overhaul under way.

Here is the wood floor part of the playroom under "construction." We usually do a lot of our messy work there during the school year. We are rethinking that for the summer. Maybe moving the messy stuff to the sunroom... we'll see.

Here Ry is helping with the painting of the room. Ry is my 4 yr old... the reason I started this adventure in the first place :) He really loved helping us, it made the room more of his own I think.

Here Em (Beth's 4 yr old) is also helping. As you can see we picked a yellow for the walls. I was a little afraid at first, but when it was all done it wasn't a big Banana like I thought it would be. I was really worried at first though. I am glad it came out as nice as it did.

Here is a picture of it after we finished and put the summer furniture in.. We added the Kangaroo Climber, the trampoline, and a car table. We have always had the swing and we put the Baby Play area in on the little rug off to the side.

Here is a shot of our entryway... we have some cubbies I made off to the side when you walk in and I downsized the computer table so it won't take up so much room. Hopefully I won't let it get so cluttered now :)

Here some of the kids are playing in the new room. They really love the swing and slide. Although they did play with the car table quite a bit too...

Behind T on the swing you can see the brown shelf and white cabinets... we plan on putting our bulletin board back up there. We want to add another cabinet on top of the ones you see (there is another on the right hand side also) and put the bulletin board in between.

Here is C in front of the car table... It's not a huge room, but it seems to fit us all nicely.

Here is the Baby Play Area... always a hit... we use Beanie Baby Kitty's a lot instead of babies though.

So, I think that is it so far except for the stuff on the walls... we need to put up our shelves and organizational stuff. We also need to get some of our Art Work back up there. I am excited to get going on the sunroom. T can't wait to help too, she loves crafts and painting so she want to get it done as soon as possible so she can begin.

We spend a lot of our time at our community pool in the sub-division during the summer. Though we have begun the overhaul of the backyard sometimes it is just to hot here in NC to play out there in the afternoon. We try to play out there in the early mornings so avoid the hottest part of the day. But in preparation for our time out there, we added mulch under the climbing structure & swings, added a pretty neat sandbox, and some stumps to climb on. Annie gave me some great summer fun ideas to try with the kids and we will soon be adding some 2 x 4's cut up, and some nice planks of wood to build with. I think they will be great additions to the yard. And provide hours of fun for all the kids!!