A Quiet Week

This week, along with next week, will be pretty quiet.  It is Spring Break around these parts. 

Today, to keep my 2 little kiddo's busy we used some oil crayons to complete a project we started last week for an art show for the SMART START in our area.  We made "Stained Glass" Windows.  I will take a photo of the finished project tomorrow.  We also read some great Easter stories, danced, sang, and even had a tea party!!  Fun, Fun!!

Lil Bit practiced carrying her tea cup, without letting it fall.

It looks easier than it is!!

Every time she would look up, the tea cup would fall off...
but she didn't get discouraged, she picked it up, put it back on the plate and on she went!!
She's such a trooper!!

Is this not the most precious photo!!

I am hoping the weather is nice tomorrow, scattered showers today.  We would like to go to the park and enjoy this time together, doing things we can't always do with the whole group!!  We shall see in the morning!!

Toddlers

While Numbers, Letters, and Shapes are an important part of a childcare program, they sure aren't the most important.   While some people incorporate these things into their programs, you should be able to see, right off the bat, that they are not the crux of the program.  They are just a starting off point to teach the important things, like socialization, patience, love, friendship, problem-solving, self-help skills... you see, these are the hidden skills that are taught on a daily basis at a quality childcare program.  

So, when you come to my house and this is what you see...

It is because we are learning and learning can be very hard sometimes,

 especially when your motto is this...

The Toddler Creed

If I want it,
IT'S MINE!

If I give it to you and change my mind later,
IT'S MINE!

If I can take it away from you,
IT'S MINE!

If it's mine it will never belong to anybody else,
No matter what.

If we are building something together,
All the pieces are mine!

If it looks just like mine,
IT'S MINE!

If it breaks or needs putting away,
IT'S YOURS!

     I understand that The Toddler Creed was composed by T. Berry Brazelton and I think he hit the nail right on the head!!  As I am navigating my way through each day with 3 toddlers, (and 2 just out of the toddler years) I look upon this poem and remember how hard it must be for these 3 small beings and that my patience, understanding, and teaching is part of the reason they will come out the other side as confident, independent, capable preschoolers that we, their parents and I, can send off on their next adventure... Going to school!! I know it seems so far away, but I know from experience that this time is fleeting and they grow way to fast.  

So, while no one wants to see their child cry, or know they are unhappy... part of the growing process is to be able to learn through these experiences and come out stronger and wiser.  Something we do everyday ;)

Toddler Concentration

I walked into the playroom on Wednesday and it was so quiet. We have had a quiet week, with children out on and off all week. I knew Sprout was in the playroom playing but she usually isn't so quiet, she is always singing, talking, counting, or making noises. So, when I peeked around the corner of the shelf and saw her playing with the little pegs and board, I had to get a photo. I ran around frantically (and as quiet as possible) looking for that darn camera... I can NEVER find it when I need it :) As you see though, I did find it and quickly snapped a photo, and Oh how I was rewarded when I saw it... that expression on her face is worth a thousand words. She is concentrating so hard. The tower must have fell 10 times before she started putting her hand up to hold it, and she soooo wanted to make a tall tower.

I really feel that if all the kids had been at school that day, she wouldn't have had the quiet and time to follow through on this endeavor. She was able to put the time in for trial and error and get to the end product. With no one bothering her, trying to do it with her or for her, and no one there to take the pieces away. Having that space sometimes is truly magical.

She looked up after I snapped the photo and had the biggest grin on her face, and said to me, "Look Michelle." (I love the way she says my whole name). I sat next to her and she showed me how she did it, completing the tower several more times, and then got up and tried to walk away, but we gathered the pegs up together and put it away. I noticed she took the pegs down at least once everyday after that, practicing and enjoying the taste of success. She is growing and learning so much, so fast.

Silliness

Did you ever see a Toddler wearing a basket on their head. Look how cute that it is. Little Miss M has been so silly lately. Giggling is high on her list of things to do each day. She has been doing a pretty good job at it too.

Hump Day is a Good Day

Happy Birthday

Birthday Girl!!!!!

Today we had Calendar, letter & number review and read our Penguin story... Yesterday and Today we read Tacky & the Winter Games, by Helen Lester (we also touched on what Winter Games might mean, since the Olympics are coming up and we want to be ready for them). We like Tacky the Penguin and find that he is definitely a funny bird!

We read this poem from Jackie at Pocketful of Posies... which the kids loved since we were learning how the Daddy Penguin keeps his baby warm on his feet. We then circled all the P's we could find and then The Princess said, "look there's an A... can we circle all the A's too??" So, we circled and counted 13 A's and 3 P's... then figured out which letter had more!!

We started this book yesterday. It is a silly book that talks about silly penguins of different colors and designs... Like, A Purple Penguin?? or A Plaid Penguin?? and the kids color and design the penguin... and the last page is A Perfect Penguin!! (because they colored him black, white & orange) We then read it and they can now take it home to read to Mom, Dad, Siblings, etc...

We also figured our that the first "word" A is a letter we know... so now we know an actual WORD by sight :) They were pretty intrigued by that :)

I got this idea & templates from Tired Need Sleep. I was so excited when I saw how she adjusted the idea from Handwriting Without Tears. I wanted to buy the wooden letter makers for a long time, just never had the money. Now I have a great version of it and can always make new ones if these get lost or destroyed. I can also make them in different colors for the little ones.

I know I am showing a B, but we practiced with the P today... I will start adding all the templates for the letters we have learned so far. I am just going slow to make sure we use the material properly.

We ended our morning with our Outside Time!! It has been beautiful... in the 60's this week and we have been taking advantage of the great weather!!! I told you about the ice that we found last week (in this post) well, we found that it melted yesterday. The kids were in to playing other things and didn't really care about it. Today though they decided it would be a GREAT day to get muddy!!! I always tell the Parents... we get muddy & dirty inside and out here at Kozy Kids... so send messy clothes!!! We needed it today :)

I don't know if you can tell they have dumped the water and are fascinated by the "river" it made going down the hill.



I love the way the sun bounces off the water... they were mesmerized by the trickling of the water going down.

MUD!!!

Ah... the wonders of mud!! We spent a lot of time dumping dirt into the "ice mix" to see what color we could get it.

We of course then had to transport the water to any other vessel that would hold it.

Working together takes a lot of work... who's the boss, who is doing what and where and when. They navigate the situation so well when they all have the same goal in mind.

We as Parent's sometimes forget the learning aspect of play. The problem solving that goes into an undertaking of this magnitude. The different tasks that need to be done, the mishaps, the self correcting, the negotiations, the whole social aspect of finding an interest and building upon it. These are the skills our kids need most to go to Kindergarten... these are the skills that all the math, reading, music, social studies, and science build off of.

What... can't I play too??

Little Miss M is practicing brushing her hands off... oblivious to the kids getting and taking water to other area's of the yard, she just looks at the water, touches it, looks at me and smiles, then brushes her hands off. Over & over again... what she is processing I'm not sure... she is a smart one, so is it "Can I get away with playing in this mess?" or "What exactly is this brown yucky stuff anyway?" or "I like this"

I wonder.

I love that these kids can play, get dirty and figure out the wonders of their environment. As a Provider I always want the new toys that "teach" something, trying to keep up with the big centers and all their glitzy, shiny equipment... but I am glad I still remember that a touch of water, a fistful of dirt, and some adventurous minds is all it takes to learn and have fun while learning a lot in the process.

Alphabet to Birthdays

Yesterday I went to the Mailbox Teachers Store... oh what fun!! I bought a lot of great things that really inspired me. Last night I took that inspiration and put together some new work for the kids. I set up the Baby Washing area, some Transferring Activities for the littler kids, and set out a File Folder game I thought they would enjoy. I also set up a popcorn kernel mystery bowl, where the kids can find numbers and match it to the numbers on a paper in front of it. (I think they really enjoyed the sensory experience more than the activity itself)



We had a great morning, but having toddlers in the playroom is always an experience. They loved the transferring activities... but we spent a lot of time picking up beans, popcorn kernels, and flour (from the sensory table). A nice fine motor activity I hadn't planned on :)

This is a Upper Case/Lower Case Alphabet Matching Game... the boys were the only ones to try it and it took them a while to match all the pairs. (Note to self: I think I will only put maybe 10 pairs out tomorrow)

The Flour Sensory Table was still a hit today. I had to dump last weeks, as the dog got into it and ate most of it over the weekend... YUCK!! Why do dogs eat such awful things???

We learned about Penguins at Circle Time and the kids pretended the flour was snow and ice today. I think we will put a larger piece of ice in there towards the end of the week, so they can see what happens and have real ice for their Penguins and Polar Bears (Thursday's Activity) to play on.

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

Setting up a Birthday Celebration for Sydney!! We bought the Melissa & Doug Birthday Cake Set a while back and it came in handy today. Birthday's are ALWAYS a hot topic at daycare, so when one actually roles around the kids get pretty excited!!

We made Confetti Cupcakes and will frost and decorate them when Shell's kids get home from school. Picture tomorrow of that :)

Reading...

Okay, we know it is upside down, but she doesn't seem to care :) We all have to start somewhere!!

Look at me... there is so much flour on the ground we feel like we are ice skating on the hardwood.

Toddlers

Toddlers... What a wonderful age!! This post is for my toddlers!!

When I started my Family Home Daycare I didn't really give a lot of thought to the age groups I would have. How they would interact. How one age would influence another. How any age would influence our day. Well... I do now. I have had infants through preschoolers in my care and they all add something to our program. We have had to adjust our days to accommodate naps or feedings. We have had to keep prized toys out of reach or precious art work up on the shelf. People think I started my "preschool" program because of all the preschoolers I have at the time, but really it is just for the structure to our day. We want to be busy and engaged all day, so this was the best way for ME to achieve that.

Now, why toddlers today?? My toddlers have given me such joy this week. They have been interacting, playing with the "big" kids, getting ooey gooey, and learning to "sit" in circle time. Now, I only have 1 full-time early toddler, and then a friend comes periodically to have a play date or have a celebration, and this week we began our Advent Celebration and working on Christmas Crafts... so they have been here off and on.

To watch them is so wonderful, it reinforces why I do what I do. I love giving them the opportunities and experiences they crave. I love working with a multi-age group. The little ones learn from the big ones, the big ones learn empathy for their little counterparts, the big kids get to be the "teacher" and yet they love giving the toddlers a turn at being the teacher. The big kids have learned to share their environment and have made adjustments to make their "babies" part of their daycare family. Having just a few toddlers together is a blessing. They can learn without having to be on the look out for another toddler doing or wanting the same things as them. They can still be the "baby" of the family here, because the preschoolers are learning they had their turn and now it is time for them to be the "teachers" for the toddlers. It all seems to be working... well, most days :)

I remember working in the toddler room at a daycare center... having 7 to 10 toddlers together at one time... it was a long, hard day. Now we had a wonderful center, we did wonderful, engaging learning experiences... but the sheer number of toddlers together was overwhelming... mostly for the toddlers. We only had usually 2 people... which meant 4 arms and if your lucky you could get 3 children on you lap and in your arms for a hug... unless of course someone wasn't pushing another off :) I just couldn't do it all and they could not understand why not. I always felt I was falling short in that classroom.

With my group now, I feel like I can give all the hugs, kiss away the tears, wash up a boo boo, or just hold a sad/happy child... when I need to, as many times as I need to. We still have our days of stubborn tantrums, teething, and learning to share... but with only 1 and sometimes 2 it seems like I am having an impact on their lives. That they are learning here... about being a toddler and striving to be like those big preschoolers they see everyday.

I know multi-age groups are not always the ideal for every child, yet for us it seems to work. I love watching them blossom from the infant that comes first to the "big" preschooler that leaves to go to kindergarten. It is an amazing process and I am so glad to be involved in it.

Here are just a few out takes from our week...

reading with friends

green paint... loving the ooey gooey feeling in her hands

Look at this!!



smellin the candles from our scent tray




play-doh time

Thirsty??

What do you think??

I can cook it for you...

Watercolors

Toddlers amaze me... they are such sponges and have such personalities. They are becoming little people so fast and trying to get as many experiences under their belt as they can. I learn so much from them everyday!! The most important their ability to Love!! Again... I love my job.