A Learning Kind of Day

Starting our day is a little slow with Little Man around. We have to get him fed, changed and occupied before Miss Michelle can set up the environment with messy art or learning activities that they may need help with. Yet, once we get going, fun abounds (even for Little Man).

I took out the Kk for Kite puzzle I printed from Confessions of a Homeschooler. I have to say she has the most wonderful resources for early childhood education!! I love how everything is bright, colorful, and easy for the kids to understand. In the photo above, Princess is helping the Littles complete the puzzle. Little Miss M watched her do it twice, and then took the pieces to the light table and ....

Completed this. I never thought to put them on the light table, but I will put more of my printables on there, it looks cool.

The preschoolers also did this fun activity to reinforce the differences between Uppercase K and lowercase k. Again it I printed it from Confessions of a Homeschooler. This activity is usually done as a sorting activity, just placing the correct letters on the correct side, but I had the preschoolers practice gluing and problem solving today. They needed to fit all their K's on the paper, it was tough :)

Sprout and Little Miss M also wanted in on the "homework" as they call it... so I had these Kk sheets (from Confessions of a Homeschooler) that are usually used with magnets... but we like to use our Do A Dots, they fit perfectly in the little circles. We aren't sticklers for dotting in the appropriate circles though, it is more for fun and letting the little ones feel included.

I also had out some fun "puffy paint" I made using equal parts flour, salt and water. I then put it Colorations Liquid Water Colors. I will usually put them in squeeze bottles so the kids can make more precise pictures, but today I just set it out like finger paint. The weight and texture were a lot different than traditional finger paint, the kids noticed that it was gritty due to the salt, it was thicker, and it warmed in their hands. We didn't warm it up or cook it, but the kids felt like it was cold coming out of the bowl. After much discussion and me dropping some hints, Princess figured out that it warmed up because her HANDS were warm, "kinda like when the snow melts in our hands, right Shell."

Sprout loved spooning the paint onto the tray. She had no problems using her hands, but something about manipulating that spoon intrigued her.

The 2's really love helping with everything. It is the age of learning independence, slowly making that transition of being independent of the adults around you. Practicing these self-help skills is a daily occurrence here. We have little sweepers, cups with a water jug to get water when we are thirsty, cloths to clean up spills, and dress up clothing to practice putting cloths on and taking them off. It is a sight to see when a 2 yr old gets out the wash rag, gets it wet (ok, the drippy water isn't always easy to take, but I try) and then "cleans" the table. Usually this is followed by everyone getting wash rags, dripping water from the bathroom to the playroom, and washing everything in sight. Ahhhh, the patience of a Family Child Care Provider :)

Here Sprout is putting all that practice to work trying to get out of a dress up skirt. One of the kids wanted to help her, which was met with a resounding, "NO, I DO MYSELF!!" We all sat back and watched, then applauded a job well done.

Outside Swinging... this boy loves to fly!!

"Cheese"

(Now leave me alone!!)

I wasn't going to get another Cheese out of this one... She wanted to play, not look at my camera :)

My budding artists... they chalk painted everything insight... cars, chairs, train table... it was all I could do to make sure they didn't "paint" one another.

It was great to get back in the yard to run, jump, and play... even if it was a little muddy, that's what mud boots are for.

K is for Kangaroo and Imagination

Yes, we finally started to talk about the letter Kk today. It has been on the circle board for 2 weeks now, but we haven't gotten to it until today. We are very lucky that Sprout got a Mama Kangaroo with a baby Kangaroo in her pouch for Christmas. She brings it to sleep with and today we talked about it.

One thing that really spiked our interest was how hard Kangaroo's could kick. Not only are they hoppers, but they use their very strong feet to protect themselves. I found a YouTube video for them to actually see a kangaroo kicking... we then talked about getting to close to "wild" animals. Even when we go to special tourist parks. Sprout wanted me to know her kangaroo does kick. She kept shaking her head when the kids were talking about it and saying, "No kick"."

We then had to try some hopping like a kangaroo for ourselves. Some of us got pretty high. Thankfully no one wanted to try the kicking part.

Little Man thought this was all very funny!!

Sprout spent a lot of time in the water table making "ketchup pies," "kooky cakes," and "kangaroo food." The whisks were a big hit.

The girls spent a lot of time today playing "baby" & "house." Here these two decided to have a tea party with their babies. I decided to take the housekeeping corner out of the playroom for a little while. It seemed the kids were getting bored with it and not using the food and equipment well, so I thought a break would do us good. They haven't asked about it since they came back (it's been gone at least 2 weeks) and today they finally asked where it went. I told them it was resting and they would have to use their imaginations to come up with something for their tea party... a block and play dough plates did the trick.

We even had our very own dinosaur tea party... gotta love it!!

Taking babies for a walk.

I always feel like we should have the best of everything, an excess of everything, and something for every possible situation. Today reminds me that keeping it simple is good. The kids had no problem coming up with an alternative plan for their tea party. I am glad I gave the kitchen set and all those little pieces a time-out. I know they will enjoy playing with it when it comes back, but I won't keep it out for so long next time.

Just a Few Things Around the Room

After another 3 day weekend, due to MLK Day, we are back and ready to work. Actually eager. The kids were excited to see the environment set up in centers today. We have been so out of sorts due to the weather, school agers home, and sickness that we haven't really had a lot of planned learning going on, just the spontaneous stuff (which is also good).

The light table is a favorite activity, but the 2's have a tendency to walk away with anything they find on there. I have to keep a close eye on what is going on over there :)

I found this in the middle of the floor. We received some Melissa & Doug Magnetic numbers and I had this 100 poster that I had to take down because I moved a cabinet. So, someone (not sure who) matched numbers 1-9 and left it there for me to find. I just love that!! The enjoy using the pointers and counting to 100. It is a great exercise for my preschoolers, and the 2's enjoy being their "students" and will even try to count along.

The play dough table is always a hit. I love the exercise their little hands and fingers get by manipulating the play dough, but man, cleaning it up is always a task I don't look forward to. I try to only put out 2 containers each week, and if they let it dry out they have to wait until the next week to get more. But, I don't like to punish the preschoolers when it is usually the 2's that leave it out. I try to keep on top of that center too, but can't always "catch" the ones leaving the play dough out. It is amazing when you only have 4 kids who use the play dough, but not 1 of them played with it when I ask ;)

I don't know if you can make it out in the picture, but Princess is spelling her name with the "hair" she made with one of the play dough tools. I was very proud of her. She made me take a photo of her whole name when she was done. I will have to get it printed and give it to her.

Ahhh, the water table. Our sensory table has been out of commission of late due to a crack in the plastic container. I finally got another and today we put some water in it. First cold water, we then talked about how it felt on our hands and fingers. We talked about how we could make it warmer on our tippy fingers. There was guesses of heating the container (which Princess said would probably not work because it would melt) and then Princess said, "Shell, just get hot water from the sink. That would work you know." How smart is she.

Little Man wasn't feeling great today, but you wouldn't know it by looking at him. He was so excited to be on the floor checking out the light table. He banged his hands on it, moved around the colored blocks, and even laid his little head on it. The big kids spent a lot of time "showing" him all the things that could be done, and applauding him when he did something spectacular... Like finding toys, under the table...

Love this photo!! What a happy boy!!

We also went for our daily walk around the neighborhood. The snow is melting in the yard and we can use it as long as we wear our boots, but the mud was particularly slippery today, so we took a hike to the nature park and enjoyed the sights. We even got to meet up with Little Miss M's cousins and ran around their front yard yelling, throwing left over snow, and jumping into the snow. It is always fun to see cousins and friends!! It is also really fun to get outside and be able to run, jump and scream!!

A Short Week

We had such a short week this week... just 2 days, and those 2 days were running on a 2 hour delay. Most of my families work for the local school district and send their children in according to the school calendar, so not only were we off 3 days, but the last 2 they came in late. That being said, we didn't get much done.

I will extend our winter theme into next week, with a focus on winter animals, and extend our letter of the week into next week. It makes us a little behind, but hey, were flexible.

What we did do this week was play, a lot!! We used our words to share with our friends, some of the kids even learned that using their word could get them the toy they so desperately wanted. It was satisfying to watch. We went outside and inspected the ice (which we had a lot of), touching it, looking at it under our magnifying glasses, comparing it to the snow, watching the sun shine off of it and even tasting it. I even caught the D-Man just in time, he was about to test out the theory of tongue to pole... thankfully he didn't get to carry through with it :) Gotta love little boys.

We also helped a friend celebrate his 1st Birthday... Happy Birthday Big Man!! We had a lot of fun celebrating with you!!

It was a short week, but productive!!

Snow Days

It snowed in NC!! It seems like we have been getting a lot of snow lately (which is relative for those of you who live in Fargo, or Buffalo I guess). We received some snow on Christmas, which was beautiful, but left my family, who were visiting for the holiday, got stranded for a few extra days. Actually, they were traveling to NY and it was that end that had the delays.

The weather threw us some more snow this past weekend. It dropped about 3 inches of snow, which in NC can stop everything dead in it's tracks :) But it was the ice that stopped things for 3 days. The kids have been out of school for 3 days due to the ice on the roads. They are loving it!!!

I think I am missing my baby, I need some baby snuggles!! I also think I need some 2 yr old mischief to get me moving, and their hugs and smiles would be a wonderful addition to my day. I think I miss my 4yr old helpers too. Who else is going to remind me to make the muffins or take a walk!! Ok... so I am missing "my" kids a lot!! They are calling for school tomorrow and I can't wait to get them back.

A Great Ending to a Great Week

We had a great week getting back into the swing of things. We received some great musical instruments from The Princess and her family... this Melissa & Doug set. The xylophone is wooden and it has the most beautiful sound. I don't mind the kids banging on it all day. I wish all our instruments made such beautiful noise :) The kids have been having a grand time having musical parades, and when I am feeding Little Man we are lucky enough to have our very own "concert" to keep us entertained. I have to position the kids right in front of us so Little Man will pay attention to his bottle while he watches, but otherwise he absolutely loves it.

Today for Show-n-Tell we had some great items!! Little Miss M brought in her Hi Ho Cherrio game. I love that game!! Though I need to get out our Don't Break the Ice game, I was checking out Ms Debbie at Once Upon a Day in Preschool, and it seems her kids are loving it. I think we would love it too. I need to pull it out for next week. But... I think Hi Ho Cherrio is great for our Toddlers also. The fine motor skills it takes to get that spinner moving was a lesson for me too, the counting and one to one corresponding is a skill I like to use all the time, and during a fun game like this is great!! The turn taking was great for Sprout & Little Miss M, lessons in patience can always be practiced.

Little Man is getting so big!! He is moving and shaking... never one to miss out on what the kids are doing. So, he is crawling all over and getting into his fair share of mischief. You see that gate behind him... yeah, I tried to create a nice little baby friendly space just for him, and no, he won't stay in it without crying for more than 1 minute. Now, if I leave the gate open he will come and go no problem. He is going to give me a run for my money... in a good way, of course :)

BFF's

Walking to the park is always an adventure!! The "big" kids are very fast and the 2's love stopping to look at everything, smell everything, inspect everything, and just hold hands and meander down the sidewalk. But, it is all worth it to explore the great outdoors.

Little Man turned 7 mths old over break, he came back to me bigger, moving, and more beautiful than ever. We found that he loves the park, even in the cold. He also LOVES the slide. He must have gone down that slide 20 times... both on his bottom and on his belly.

Oh, and I did find a way to keep the mulch out of his mouth... I flipped the hand protector things on the snowsuit, so he can't get his hands out. It kept his little fingers warm, as well as tucked inside and out of the reach of mulch!! Yeah for me... I can still think I'm in control :)

Peek-A-Boo!!!


Have a GREAT weekend!!!

A New Year

Happy New Year to All!!!

Well, the story of my life... I can't find the wire to my camera!! I just can't seem to get a handle on those darn wires. We changed the living room around for the holidays, so hopefully they are in the couch somewhere.

Anytime we have a long break I like to take a week to review and readjust to our routines. So, we are exploring the theme Friendship. We read, The Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister. I love the way the kids "get" that the Rainbow Fish was very lonely when he didn't share his scales. Then when he finally did share, he was happy. A great lesson for us to learn here at Child Care.

We then made our very own Rainbow Fish, where we took scrap booking paper and tore off pieces and then passed (shared) it to our friends to have a turn with it. They had a great time gluing, tearing, & sharing. It was great for our little ones too, the fine motor skills were great for them to practice. Tearing is a hard skill for a 2 yr old to learn, but when they do... watch out :)

We also read The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein. We talked about how the tree loved the boy so much and how she loved giving him the things he needed. We then talked about how the boy was able to give back his love to the tree when she was sad. The kids liked this book.

Nature walks, trips to the park and running around the block were among our favorite outside activities this week. My yard has been a little muddy due to the weather, so we got our outside time other ways. The baby loved going down the slide with the kids, but trying to eat the mulch was another favorite activity of his.

So far our week is going great. Getting back into routines is always hard, but as the week goes by we are remembering the rules and routines.