Two Things I Love

With Back To School time here again, I have been overrun with catalogs, magazines, and emails depicting the next best thing for Child Care Providers. Well, if money was no object I would buy and buy and buy, but since it is... here are 2 things I just absolutely love!!!



I purchased this Color Changing Touch Board from the Lake Shore Learning Store!! I love it. The kids love it. The babies love it!!! The "magic" of it turning colors (it is like a mood ring, when it warms up it changes colors) is amazing to ALL the kids. Doesn't matter the age!! I also love the fact that it brings the big kids together with the little ones. They compare the size of their hands, the different colors that appear with each hand and what happens when they leave their hand on for a long time. It is fun to use and fun to watch them use it together.

This little "boom box" from Discovery Kids is another favorite of mine. I bought it about a year ago after visiting my sister and seeing her children totally enjoying it, but I never opened it. Just so you know, I bought it at The Christmas Tree Shoppe for about $12 or $15... I didn't pay to much for it. So, last week I opened it up for Roo and I can't believe I waited so long. I remember why I loved it in the first place. It has about 15 or so songs programed into its memory and all the kids have to do is hold the green button down to get it going and then push the little arrows to switch songs. It even has a memory disc slot that I can download more songs on if I want, though we are enjoying the ones it already has. Our favorite song is a Folky type one called "Bit by Bit" by Buttered Rum & Orange Sherbet (I think that's it). We play it over and over!! I need to find the CD and buy it, I think we'd like it.

I have lots of other things I couldn't live without, but this week these happen to be my favorite. We'll see what next week holds in store :)

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