Busy Day!!!

We had a pretty busy day today.  Sometimes I can't believe how much we fit in.  I will say right now that I have lots of photos.  I wanted to include a few from all our fun stuff today, since there was so much to do and fun to be had!!

Lil Bit's Mom brought us some neat stuff called Flarp.  You can usually get it in the dollar bin at Micheal's Craft Store and it is great fun.  It feels squishy, wet, and slimy but you don't get all yucky while playing with it.  It reminds me a little of Silly Putty, but it feels slimy and wet, but it isn't really wet.  It a cool experience!!

Everyday at Circle Time we do music and movement... I have found this helps our littlest guys and girls keep the wiggles down to a minimum.  We LOVE Jim Gill.  Jim Gill was a presenter at the NAFCC Conference in Las Vegas this past summer and I bought as many CD's as I could while I was there.  We are hooked on his The Sneezing Song and other Contagious Tunes CD right now, particularly the Hands Are For Clapping song.  It gets up, moving, clapping, snapping, tapping, and brushing our teeth... it's great fun!!  

Scamp trying to snap... to cute!!

Slapping our knees...
we could do it hard, soft, fast, slow, and even while we jumped up and down!!!

We have also been learning about the color Pink!!  We love Pink!!  

Today we did some golf ball painting with red and white paint... what do you think happened??

Yup, it turned pink!!!  How fun!!

Yup, you thought that was it didn't you... nope.  We even got to take a quick walk around the block today.  The weather was unbelievably warm.  Out we went for an adventure!!!

Lil Bit bringing up the caboose ;)

"You still with me Shell??"

Finding treasures in our pockets

Little Man collected "Pokey Plants"
(some sort of pod with pokey points sticking out all over)

"Hmmm"

"Got one too!!"

"Yeah!!"

We had a very busy morning and enjoyed it totally!!  It went by so quick, I couldn't believe how late it was when we got back to start lunch.  We all worked up an appetite and eat our fill, hopefully our nap will be restful and complete ;)

Painting Outside

Today was a beautiful day to be outside.  The sun was shining and even gave off some warmth.  I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and get outside as soon as possible, which meant we took the paint outside with us.  I enjoy reading other blogs and have been intrigued with all the outdoor happenings going on out there, even in the rain.  If we are dressed right being outdoors is the highlight of our day.  So we put on our mud boots and out we went!!

Little Man spent a lot of time playing with this basketball...
kicking, throwing and chasing it !!!

Foil Hearts

I visit the blog Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds daily and Miss Sheryl has a wealth of information and ideas for Art Projects to do with little ones.  I love open-ended art projects, but what I love even more is an open-ended project that looks like something when your done.  When I saw her post about Foil Hearts, I just knew I had to try it.  The kids loved it!!!

I have a few more steps before the finished product is ready, but I think they are beautiful already!!!

Paint, Park and the Big, Big Kids

Although we got off to a late start this morning we packed as much as we could into the time we had!!!  

We are exploring the color Pink this week, so what better way to begin that exploration than to get out LOTS of paint and just dive in!!!

SQUEEZE!!!!

Look at me!!!

Working to make those little fingers strong!!

I love this photo showing them all working with the same things...
gaining something different or maybe the same??

What??

I'm not so sure about this...
It's everywhere

Watching & Learning

Watch Sissy.... I can give you more!!!

 After a busy morning getting dirty, messy, slimy and very, very pink... off we went to the PARK!!!

Up & Down
We are even learning at the park ;)

The big kids using the swings...
Little Man wants in on this too!!!

Aren't I just the cutest, Shell!!!

Practicing going UP the slide...

Laughing when she came DOWN the slide!!!

My Kozy Kids!!!

The big, big kids had the day off from school today.  It was really great to have them play with us today.  Having siblings around and showing off is always fun and having all those big, big kids laugh at everything the little ones do and say, has got to be the best part of their day!!! 

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 ;)