I Can't Believe He's 2

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE MAN

Look how you have grown!!!

Making Birthday Cupcakes

"Mmmmmm"

Singing Happy Birthday to the Birthday Boy!!

I'm cute aren't I!!!

Being the Helper of the Day!!

It's Sunny Shell!!

I pick 2, because I'm 2!!!

1, 2

The Birthday Boy had to hear is favorite story/song of the moment!!!
We were happy to oblige!!

Singing twice!!!
You have to be special!!

What, who needs hands!!

Little Man you are such a special boy and I love you very, very much!!!

Another Year Older

Happy Birthday Lil Bit!!!!

How big you've grown!!

Anytime there is a birthday the birthday child gets to be the "helper" for the day.  Being the helper of the day includes not only being able to wash hands first, or getting to the table first, it also means that during Circle Time they get to complete all the tasks on our Circle Time Center... which is a coveted job on any day, but to be able to do ALL of them is really the icing on the cake, especially for our littlest friends!!

Here Lil Bit is singing our "Days of the Week" song...
We hold up 7 fingers to represent each day of the week and through repetition and routine even the youngest know what to do during the song :)

When we get to the part where we sing each day of the week, out comes the pointer and we point to each day as we say it.  Now, Lil Bit doesn't actually know the days of the week, but again through repetition she knows their sequence and one day it will all make sense to her.

Can't forget the weather!!!

Counting and making patterns is our new favorite thing to do at Circle Time.
Lil Bit didn't want to change the gumballs though, she just wanted to count and count and count!!!

Sitting in the Birthday Chair being sung "Happy Birthday to You" by all her friends!!

Trying to blow out the candle!!!

YUM!!!!

I thought this was the best photo... she is trying to blow the candle out again...
she huffed and puffed and was very proud of herself!!!

Happy 1st Birthday Scamp!!!

Scamp turns 1 today!!

We celebrated yesterday at the park with yummy cupcakes her Mom made for us!!

What a Blessing and Joy You are Scamp!!!

A Very Special Birthday

Happy Birthday Little Man!!!!

This year has gone by so fast... I remember the day I found out about you and the anticipation and joy I had about meeting you and getting to care for you. I took special Baby Classes at the NAFCC Conference to get ready for you, I got all the paper work ready for your arrival, and took a SIDS class so I would be armed with everything I needed to know to keep you happy and safe!! Oh, I remember seeing you for the first time... ALL THAT HAIR!!! I am so thankful to God that I was chosen to help care for you and guide you on this journey through babyhood.

With All My Heart, Little Man, I Love You!!!

Happy Birthday... and many, many more!!!

Happy Birthday, Babies & Messy Art

This post will be a little longer than most... I have been away (from the computer) for 3 days so there is a lot to cover. I have to say, the weather here has been gorgeous and we have been taking full advantage of it. So beautiful that I haven't stopped to sit down and post. What have we been doing, you ask??

Princess turned 5 this week!! How time really does fly. I remember the day she ran through my house and yard, like she owned the place. Her parents came for an interview and she fit right in!! It was like she had been here before and was just away for a while, because it feels like that little girl belongs here :)




Birthday Friends get to be my helper for the day... she got to run Circle Time.

Doing ALL the important tasks!!

What's the Weather, Princess??? SUNNY!!!

The Days of the Week!!

Princess pointed out the pattern she made with the color and shape cards. She is one smart cookie!!

She even helped her friends counting gumballs!!

Princess and D-Man will be going off to Kindergarten next school year and I can't believe it. It is amazing how they have grown and matured. It will be with GREAT sadness that I send them off.

BABY, BABY, BABY!!!

Ok, I am going to go off the beaten path a little here and talk about Babies in Child Care. It is hard having infants in Child Care. They beat to their own drum, they require a lot of attention, routines are non existent, and they never seem to sleep when you want them to. All that being said, the absolute joy they bring makes all that other stuff worth it!!

I am a Provider that believe in learning through play and lots of experiences. I am soooo lucky to have families that agree with me. Because I know many parents of an 8 month old infant would NOT take to kindly to me allowing their baby to do this...

This is just a shot of today... you should have seen him yesterday.

Little Man caught a glimpse of the kids playing... there was no holding him back!!

He stopped along the way to inspect anything that caught his attention. Looking at it, feeling it, and yes, even TRYING to taste it.

Almost there!!

Hey Guys!!!



I made it!! He stayed right there, in front of that door, for a good 20 minutes. "Talking" & Yelling at the kids. He would pull himself up to look through the window and laugh at the kids inside. He inspected the dirt, pine needles, sand, and anything the kids would give him to play with. When they realized he wasn't going anywhere, they started to include him in their pretend play... his most important character was being The King of the land... they made him "pies" to taste (thankfully I was there for that one) and stick salad (which he thought was out of this world!!).

Having a multi-aged group is really hard sometimes, but on days like today, when it all comes together, I can't help but stop and realize what an important job I'm doing. I have a lot more to say about Babies and how they explore... but I will save it for another day!!


3-D ART... OUTSIDE!!

I think I got this idea from Teacher Sheryl over at Teaching 2 and 3 year old's. I went over and can't seem to find the post, and I get A LOT of great art idea's from here, but I could be wrong. So, if I got this idea from another blog, please contact me and I will link to the correct one... and many sorry's !!! :)

Anyway, I thought a process over product craft was in order. We have been so busy practicing and reviewing our ABC's, 123's, shapes, concepts, etc... that with all this nice weather that being free to explore the paint and using large movements to cover these boxes would be a lot of fun. The kids had a blast... it was nice to just experiment, touch, smell, squish, and move the paint around.

It all started out innocent enough...

But that drive to experiment for some was to strong...

I love the paint in her hair!!! Working so close together was part of the fun... I thought they might start putting the paint on each other on purpose, but they didn't. Not to say it didn't happen, but it was all on accident.

Blending... "Look Shell, Thomas is BLUE!!! Always."

This is what they left. I didn't get a photo of the water tub after they were finished. It wasn't pretty. But, they had a grand time and begged me to leave it out so they could play some more after nap. They seem to think the school agers will want to experiment with it too. Which leads me to ask, "Why do the same children who, just last year, loved getting messy and experimenting, want nothing to do with messy art this year??" I wish schools allowed for more of that kind of experiences... but, that's why I must keep offering it here!!

We had a wonderful week, I hope you did too!!!

Play Day Thursday

We had a fun filled day today!! We had a birthday... Wow, our Buddy turned 4 today!!!

Happy Birthday Big Guy!!

We also made Grape Kool-Aid Play Dough to go with our Gg themed week... I used this recipe.

We could make textures...

We shared

(even if we didn't really want to)

We could put it into containers... even tiny ones



Then we even had a Tent today... we love tents!!

Tents make everything cozier

They MUST have a door

And lots of stuff to put in such a small space

And friends to enjoy it with...