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 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.

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!!!

Regardless of your political views, it is a great day to be an American.

As I listened to Aretha Franklin singing right before the oaths, I shed a tear as the significance of the moment truly hit me. Because as I gazed upon the face of the man who was about to become our president, a man that I did not vote for but hold out the utmost hope for...and then looked around the room at the faces of six happy, beautiful children playing, half of whom are black...the realization struck me that this is the man who is going to show each of these six children that they can be, do, achieve...ANYTHING!

Tonight, a lot more parents can look their children in the eyes, and truly mean it when they say "you can be anything, even President of the United States".

I had the kids pause from their playing to watch the swearing-in, even though they don't understand and won't remember. But for those of you with children in my daycare today, I want you to be able to tell them, someday down the road when this bit of history comes up, that they did experience and witness this moment.    

So, apparently today was a fun day. I know this because I heard kids saying "this is so much fun" all day. However, they don't tell me this...they tell it to each other. Oh well, as long as I know they are having a good time.

This week is all about things with wheels. So, I got out the never before seen vehicle foam stampers. I'd been saving them for just the right time. Huge hit! You will find lots of proof of this in this month's art bag.

The big boys, while the others were still napping, had a car wash in the water table. They had a blast, and we have clean toys! Win-win!!

The view out our playroom window:

Lots of wintry stuff this week! Which fits in perfectly with the winter we are having. And, it looks like it may get nice enough this week to get these kids outside! Yay!!!

We will be talking about winter, icicles, frost, snowflakes and mittens this week. We will also learn about 11, Circles, and Blue. We will also be trying out some new center ideas.

We will celebrate Jory's 8th birthday on Thursday.

Some day this week, I'm expecting Jennifer to stop by for my Right from the Start orientation. Of course, that all depends on the weather!

Well, these past few days sure flew by! I somehow thought I was going to have all this time and get all these things done...yeah, right!

No, I did not get the Christmas pages done yet. Sorry! But with Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, playing way too much Guitar Hero Aerosmith (I got it for Christmas!) and snowboarding with the boys (they got those for Christmas) on Friday, grocery shopping and a bit of cleaning on Saturday, and celebrating Christmas with my side of the family today (Sunday)....well, those five days were gone in no time!

Anyways...this week I really do not have much planned. You never know quite what to expect from the kids this week. They may be tired, they may be wound up...we are just going to play it by ear.

Our one definite plan is our New Year's Eve party on Wednesday. This will be from 3-3:30. I picked up the party box this weekend! We haven't had one of these for quite some time, so I'm pretty excited!!

And then daycare will be closed Thursday and Friday. Another lovely short week!

Seems odd to be doing this post on a Tuesday!

It was a short week, but it was a full week! Because of the Christmas excitement, we kept them very busy! And even though the last couple days were all about Christmas fun, we did learn about the Number 10.

The Christmas party, I believe, was a huge success! Nice simple activities that kept them entertained yet engaged. Peyton found the Rudolph Hokey Pokey particularly amusing. And Brooklyn thought "It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown" was hilarious.

By the way, my meeting this afternoon was again postponed due to weather (she had to travel from Bismarck).

I plan on getting the party pictures and gingerbread pictures posted this weekend. Now I'm off to enjoy Christmas with my family.

Merry Christmas!

This is what I fed your children for lunch today:

And after wiping out this entire plate of treats, they all very surprisingly took very long naps! Half of them actually slept until 3:30!!

By the way, did you notice that Aiden looks like he may be thinking he's doing something wrong?!?

I don't understand why so many people dislike paint and glitter? Look at what you can do with a bit of each and three popsicle sticks:

The unfortunate part of this project was that it was supposed to take a lot longer than it did. We had a group of loud, excited kids here today....and I was looking to occupy them! They are getting far too good at this whole painting thing, so this was good for all of 10 minutes.

The funny part was that I was not too crazy about Aiden and Colby's choice of paint colors (black and brown, respectively). However, once they added their choice of glitter color (red and blue, respectively), they turned out so pretty!

We have a very short week this week, but it should be a fun-filled one.

Monday we will be making one more tree ornament. It will involve paint and glitter (woohoo!).

Tuesday morning will be our Christmas party. Nothing fancy...just a few games and special activities. We will have a simple but special lunch, followed by dessert (woohoo again....we never get dessert at Bev's house!).

It is a tradition at Bev's house to watch the Charlie Brown Christmas DVD on party day. I have a meeting here at 2:30 or so with someone from Child Care Resource and Referral, so to keep the kids occupied, they will get to watch the DVD at that time.

Daycare will be closed Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday so that I may enjoy the holiday with my family. December 26 falls under my Tueday/Thursday holiday rule this year, but I normally take that day off anyway. I do it for my kids. If I don't, we have to start cleaning up the house on Christmas Day for daycare the next day. Plus, it gives them an extra day to have me and the house to themselves.

Have a very Merry Christmas!