A Little of This, A Little of That

Okay, I know this is from last week, but....
How cute is he, cowboy boots and butterfly outfit!!
I could eat him up!!!

Another visit from Miss Crystal!!! 

We are the luckiest kids anywhere.  Having our very own Story Time, with a professional!!  She picks the best books, books I have never heard of or didn't even know existed.  I love her!!!

Miss Crystal always starts off her time with us giving the kids a chance to tell her all their important information.  She is so patient and kind, the kids feel very special!!

I have to say that this has got to be my new favorite book.
"What's the Magic Word?" by Kelly DiPucchio,
although "The Wide Mouthed Frog" by Keith Faulkner and Jonathan  Lambert is pretty good too!!

Working on Independent or Self Help skills with the little ones can be very timed consuming and result in a lot of mess or frustration, but in the long run it is SO worth it.  We have been working on washing our hands independently for a long time, and Scamp is finally beginning to get it.  She is careful to get ON and OFF the stool, getting the soap has become very popular, and of course the washing can't be beat.  We sing a song when we wash, that way we know we have washed long enough to get all those itty bitty germs, and Scamp wiggles her body when she is singing (or I'm singing) and now that she is doing it herself somewhat, she just wiggles and doesn't sing.  To Cute!!!  Putting the time and effort in to help the kids reach these milestones is really worth it in the end!!  Not only am I proud of them, but they are so proud of themselves.

Tape Resist Painting

Last night I was wandering around cyberspace looking for something special to end our BLUE week with.  I came across a wonderful blog, Make+Believe.  Megan Schiller is the author and she runs amazing art classes for young children.  If you live in or near Mill Valley, California and have young children, I would look her up and sign your child up for a class or two.  

Anyway, I came across her post, Tape Resist Painting, and knew this was it.  What a great way to end the week.  Not only getting messy, but we used the first letter in each persons name, so it was personal.  It was like magic.  We even got to use BLUE painters tape, regular blue paint and sparkly blue paint... the kids loved it!!!  Next time I would probably add a little blue sand to give it a little more texture, but I'm learning.

Starting off with the white paper made the letter really stand out...

Yet, when you added the blue paint it all blended together, you could forget all about that silly letter... 

and focus on the work at hand!!!

We started just with finger painting, but quickly added the tools we used earlier in the week, plus a few more.

It took Little Man a few minutes to get going, but he really got into it today.

I love this photo...
Sprout is making her race cars dance :)

Now they are "dancing" on her paper...
making special designs.  

Scamp enjoyed the tools a lot today.

Everything was like new to her...

She touched, swung around, pounded, pushed, smelled, and even tasted

When Scamp watched me take the tape off,
 she swung her head toward me, with raised brows...
It was like she was surprised by what was under all that paint.
Priceless!!!

Thank You Megan for the great idea!!!  We had so much fun!!!

We Love Blue!!

The kids are enjoying our color weeks.  They love Process art work (where there is no specific outcome or expected product) and could explore with the paint for long periods of time, whether it is on paper or just swooshing it around on the table top.  So, when I saw their Blue Pictures from yesterday all dry, I had to hang them up.  They talked about each one as I hung them, how some had butterfly prints and others where just finger paintings.  It didn't matter, at all, what they looked like to our adult eyes, in their eyes they all were masterpieces!!

 We did mitten art today.  It was basically a gluing project.  We let the kids "paint" on the glue and then go to town with the blue paper, tissue paper and pom-poms.  Of course the painting of the glue was the most fun!!

Lil Bit was a bit annoyed that the "paint" was sticky, but that didn't stop her from  finishing.
She spent a lot of time picking sticky tissue paper off her fingers, then squishing it between her fingers again and then prying it off again... it was funny to watch.

 One finished mitten.

Today, I wanted to talk about Winter as a season.  With little ones the concept of Seasons is pretty hard to grasp, but since we have talked about Summer & Fall, I thought it was important to talk about Winter too. I looked on line for a long time to try to come up with some concrete ideas to help them understand, but couldn't really find anything for such little ones.  So, I came up with my own idea.  I put a whole bunch of Summer Clothing and Winter Clothing in a sack.  I had 2 boxes, 1 for Summer and 1 for Winter, the kids picked out a piece of clothing and put it in the appropriate box.  We talked about how long sleeve shirts kept us warm and cozy when it was cold and it was (usually) cold in Winter, so we mostly wore long sleeve shirts in winter.  Then we talked about short sleeve shirts and shorts being more for when it is hot, which is typically during Summer.  You get the idea :)

Before we started, I had them try to guess what was inside the bag... I am trying to get them to be comfortable making inferences and guesses.  A skill that will hopefully be so natural to them when they begin school, that it will carry into not only their social interactions, but academic as well.  So, we looked at the bag, listened to the bag and felt the bag... making guesses each time as to what could be in it.  I heard pillow, (it was a pillowcase and I was impressed because she used what she knew to make that inference), toys (Santa's sack), and mittens (from our Magic Bag yesterday).  Each child used what information they already had to try and make an accurate guess, I was impressed.  As we continue, this skill will become easier, especially since their vocabulary will start to expand each time they find something new in the bag.

I used to have a girl and boy bear, but I am missing the boy one, so we used the girl for summer because she was bare pawed :) and in a sundress and then just put a winter jacket, with mittens, in the other box.  We talked about the differences between the 2 seasons, focusing on being warm and cold and how clothing helps us to stay warm, or cool us off.

Scamp enjoyed pulling the clothing out of the bag

She needed a little help, but we gave her words for each piece of clothing and where it went.
The more times she hears words, the larger her vocabulary will become.

Little Man could not contain himself during this game...
He was bouncing all over, and could NOT wait to get his hands in the bag!!

I left the Mitten Game from yesterday out today and the Season  Clothing Bag out and both were favorite games today.

See I did it!!
The little ones LOVED putting the mittens on and off, that was their game.
If I sat with them, they would help me find the match, but they enjoyed practicing the much more fun skill of  on and off!!

 We sometimes forget how important everyday life skills are to the little ones in our care.  I know we are teaching everyday, putting on coats, hats, shoes, etc... using the bathroom, wiping noses, washing hands... manners, putting dishes away, using our utensils... these are all skills that we don't even think about.  But, putting out real live things for them, to practice on their own with, can be beneficial also.  Having over-sized gloves, socks, jackets, etc... out for the kids to put on and off easily, will help them when the time comes for, "I do it!" because for 3 of my little ones and I, that time is right around the corner :)

Path to Independence

Little Man is growing so fast. His ability to gain independence is in overdrive. He has almost got this walking thing down pat, and I think walking will be a short lived period in his life. He is a Runner... I know it :)

As a baby grows into a toddler, he begins to start making connections with past experiences. He starts to really hone those "reading people" skills. For example... If Ms X puts me down and I cry and hold on to her leg (even though there is nothing wrong) will she pick me back up?? Lets test this hypothesis. Ok, doesn't work with Ms X, put it does with Mr X... so into the catalog in his brain it goes. To be brought out whenever he may need to make that connection again.


Being in Family Child Care, I get the unique opportunity to be a very important person in a child's early life. I know all to well the ins and outs of the way each of the kids in my care act around me and around Mom & Dad. That sometimes I can get a child to change a diaper without the wiggle, squirms and cries a parent might have to endure. It all goes back to the experiences and connections that a child makes with the people and things around them.

I bring this up because Little Man is experiencing so many things right now. I have seen so many emotions in his little face. It is both heartbreaking and exhilarating. To see him make connection that he will later use. Case in point...

(I can do this)

(What's going on, why isn't this working)

(I am not happy with this outcome!!)

(I cannot believe this happened to me!!)


You see, Little Man has been able to get up this slide many, many times with no problem. He doesn't understand why he can't get up this time. If you look close, you will notice he has on sandals. At Shell's house sandals are always optional, but with the fact that Little Man is really getting the hang of walking, we have been putting them on so he doesn't get hurt. This "experience" with the sandals and the slide are not in his catalog yet. He was not hurt or sad in these photos... He was MAD!!! He was frustrated, and annoyed that his feet just keep slipping. I promise, I offered assistance, hugs, kisses, and even a push or two, put he didn't really want my help. This is something he can do himself you see.

Little Man tried getting up that slide for 2 days before he was able to conquer it. You see, having a caring adult, that knows the ability of the children in their care, helps them to know what they are capable of. I knew Little Man was capable of figuring this out. I knew he wouldn't fall over the side, or throw himself backwards. I knew with lots of encouragement and a few examples of what he could do, he would succeed. So, when he got to the top (by bracing his little sandal clad feet against the sides) the smile was enormous. Cheers rang out from all the kids, as well as me. He must have went up and down for another 15 minutes before he moved on to something else. It was amazing. Watching a child figure things out... it was like I could see his little mind working (when he wasn't getting mad of course). When he made it a few steps up, he looked up at me with a look, like "look at me, I'm doing this." My job is really great!!

Now that he has had this experience he can draw upon it later, when he encounters another slide. He will then test out the hypothesis, that if he braces his feet to the edge he can get up.... or can he. Little Man will encounter slides without sides, and slides with slippery surfaces, he may be able to get up some and not others, but they will all be learning experiences he can draw from later on, feeling good about himself because he is able to problem solve and figure out the solutions, even at a year old. The path to independence is an amazing journey for a baby... I am glad I am on this journey with Little Man!!!

Oobleck

We finally read Bartholomew and the Oobleck... whoa, that was a long, but good book. Oobleck is such a fun medium to play with. The kids really had fun playing with it and talking about how it was not as sticky as the Oobleck in the book. Basically, Oobleck is just equal parts Cornstarch and Water, you can add food coloring if you want. During Circle Time we wrote all the things we thought Oobleck is, some of the things we came up with...

Soft (before we added the water to the cornstarch)

Slimy

mixy

Fun!!

Cool

Silly

Hard, but wet

After we were finished even our Little Miss M had fun cleaning it up off the floor. We always try to make it easy for even the littlest of our group to be able to clean up any spills or accidents they may have. They have a spot for all their clean-up supplies and can get them out whenever they need it. It gives them a foundation for independence, that they all crave and will eventually gain. So, it is important to give the kids material that they will experiment with and make messes with. That way the can learn how to fix their mistakes... another path to independence.