Thanks, Shandah, for bringing this fabulous snack that fit perfectly into our St. Patrick Rainbow theme. I am so impressed...I do not the patience for that sort of thing.
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Thanks, Shandah, for bringing this fabulous snack that fit perfectly into our St. Patrick Rainbow theme. I am so impressed...I do not the patience for that sort of thing.
In case you didn't get to meet her in person (or should I say "in chinchilla"), here is Misty...the latest critter to enter our lives. Shaila brought her home on March 3. The kids love her. Aiden did express some concern, however, and warned Shaila to not "let the dogs get Misty!"
So my computer problems have now been taken care of, and it's just a matter of me getting caught up again. I have added a bunch of pictures to the Photo Albums, and I have some fairly new ones to add to the Photo Gallery. I have started to work on the Tour Our Daycare pages, but don't expect too much there for the next couple weeks. I'm not going to devote too much time there until the new room arrangement is completed.
I'll let you know here when I have added new things. Also, there's a few pictures and things that I want to comment about on the blog from earlier in the month. So things may seem a bit out of order for awhile.
Aiden: Where are you going, Shaila?
Shaila (home on lunch break): I have to go back to work now.
Aiden: But you'll miss all the fun we are having here!
We are spending the week celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday.
Today we all wore a silly hat while we read "The Cat in the Hat", and then we made the Cat's hat. We also tried to see what sort of things we could balance on our heads, like the Cat did in the story.
By the way, awhile back I hit the wrong button at the right time....and deleted the Tour Our Daycare section. I'm slowly getting it back, but because of changes that are being made in our setup, it will be a "work in progress" over the next few months.
Friday was Realiti and Lyrik's last day with us, as they are moving out of state and the commute to Bev's house would be a bit impractical. We are really going to miss them.
Our last Circle Time with them:
I chose fingerpainting for our group activity, as Lyrik had never done that before, and Realiti really enjoys it.
The bestest buddies:
Goodbye boys. We wish you and your family the best of luck on your new adventure!
This week was all about bears. We talked about how teddy bears got their name and a lot of things about real bears. We also made several bear crafts.
Next week we will be continuing the teddy bear theme.
Setting: Circle Time. We are doing "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear" for the third time.
Bev: Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, climb the stairs,
Aiden: (standing perfectly still) I'm taking the elevator!
Do you see what's missing? Could it be the P?
One day, we noticed that the P was missing, but no one could find it. The other day, Jory found it behind the calendar. I was sure I had looked there! It was the perfect timing to find it, too, as we learned about Pp this week.
We are all very happy that P is back in its proper place!
Brooklyn was VERY insistent on cleaning up her lunch mess. I first tried to tell her not to worry about it and just sit down, but then it occurred to me....why am I trying to stop her from cleaning? So, I handed her the little broom and dustpan and let her go!
Realiti: Brooklyn, help me pick up the blocks, please?
Bev: Brooklyn, Realiti nicely asked you to help pick up the blocks, please. Good job asking nicely, Realiti!
Colby: Wow, Bev! Sounds like Realiti has finally learned some responsibility!
(Bev promptly exits right to avoid laughing hysterically in front of the kids).
No daycare Monday! The boys don't have school and Tracy is off, so I'm taking advantage of getting to spend an extra day with my boys! Unfortunately, Shaila has to work.
This week's theme is Teddy Bear Games. I'm very excited, as I love bears! And last weekend, Tracy surprised me with a copy of the 40th anniversary edition of "Corduroy", one of my very favorite books! I've loved this story ever since it was read on the "Captain Kangaroo Show". (Ok, guys, let's have some comments here! How many of you have seen Captain Kangaroo? How many of you have no clue what I am talking about??)
We'll also be introducing the Number 14, and P and Q (I somehow overlooked P last week!).
Have a great week! Hopefully, we won't get too much snow!!
I may have done this in the past, but I honestly can not remember having done so. Usually, when I put paint at the easel, they get some paint and paper and I just let them go at it. Painting at the easel is completely 100% free expression!
But, since we were having a Valentine's celebration, and every other activity I had set up had hearts incorporated into it, I decided to see what would happen if I drew a quick heart on the paper. I had to share this one in particular. It was quite unexpected!:
I love these 4-year-old imaginations!!!
I had put out red, white, and hot pink paint. I was hoping for a bit of a learning experience and Colby came through for me! (Colby: Hey, look! Brooklyn made pink!).
It was a very fun, very messy day!
So I felt a little mean. I could've rushed right over and fixed the situation. Because they are 1-year-olds, who haven't figured out sharing themselves yet, and aren't going to fix this on their own. Or are they?
So while a felt like I was being a bit mean, I couldn't help but grab the camera. Peyton is a very much into the idea of sharing - you have it and I expect you to share it with me! He had just taken the phone away from Lyrik, who very loudly let all of us, and all the neighbors in a two-block radius, that he was NOT impressed. Peyton, in a rare moment of compassion, decided to make his buddy feel better and tried shoving the phone attenna into Lyrik's mouth. When Lyrik put his hand in his mouth, Peyton pulled it back out so he could get the attenna back in! I wish I could have gotten pics of those moments.
So eventually Lyrik had enough and came looking for me. Are we any closer to learning how to share? Man, do I hope so!
Our first change/improvement, or whatever you want to call it:
The end result, with some framing by Bev:
Ok, so I realize that I had just said that the little ones start doing art when they show an interest. Did they show an interest? No. But according to RFS, they should start doing art, even if it's just scribbling, at 12 months. It did occur to me that before this latest bunch of little ones, I had started doing art sooner than I had with these guys. But then it was pointed out to me today that this is probably because when there is only one being left out, they show an interest a lot sooner. Peyton and Lyrik have always had each other to keep them occupied; therefore, no interest yet.
But, those three one year olds had a good ol' time, and it was really no big deal to accomplish. Oh, and of course, Peyton and Lyrik did have to get a little competitive about the whole thing!
Here are some examples of how I consider our play to be child-directed. What I mean by that is that no child is ever required to participate in any activity. No child is ever required to complete an activity. While we do have some group activities throughout the day, I try to keep the majority of the time for free play, where they can choose what they want to do from a variety of materials and centers.
Today's craft was a sort of groundhog puppet with an outdoor scene. The oldest two kids chose to complete the entire craft, and were able to add their own personal touches. The two younger ones made the puppet, then wanted to go play. The youngest three had no interest whatsoever, and were happily playing elsewhere.
Later, I set up a groundhog's burrow, as Groundhog's Day was our topic today. The oldest four had a good time in there, and even chose to take some dolls and blankets under there with them. Here, I caught a couple little groundhogs peeking out.
I also set up the easel for painting. Each child that wanted to paint was allowed to work on their painting for as long as they wanted; however, if they wanted to do a second one, they had to give the next person a turn first.
Late in the morning, I put on some music, as this seems to cheer up and calm down the two youngest ones when they start getting tired and hungry before lunch. Realiti asked for the instruments, and even had a couple bandmembers join in!
NOTE: Sorry, don't know why the pictures and text are all over the place. I've tried to fix it several times and it is just not cooperating!
Busy week, this week!!!
Our theme is Teeth Tips. We will be talking about teeth and dentists and all that good stuff. Except for Monday....that's Groundhog Day!
We will also be introducing the Number 13, the color Pink. and the Heart shape.
We are very excited to be welcoming our new friend, Hadyn. Even the boys said we need more girls! Jennifer, from Right from the Start, will be here for awhile Tuesday morning.
Have a great week!
These are the Coloroto crayons that the beginning artists use here. I mentioned them in the February newsletter.
We had a lot of fun finishing up our fairy tales this week, even though we did get off to a slow start. The kids particularly liked "The Three Little Pigs", particularly the "not by the hair on my chinny chin chin"!
The 4-year-olds and I had a great time on our field trip. We listened to a lot of good stories and did some neat activties. Even though Bev had to help make snack, while Grandma was home making the daycare snack.
And we were thrilled to get to play outside on Friday morning, even though there were some wet clothes to deal with, and afterschool Cody had to rescue Colby's boot from the snowbank!
Happy Birthday to Realiti!!!