Friday, May 29, 2009

Happy Friday!

Whew...we made it to Friday! What a beautiful week we have had! We have also had a fabulous month learning about caterpillars and butterflies. The highlight was definitely watching our very own caterpillars change into beautiful Painted Lady butterflies. I thought the children might be sad when we let them go but they were excited to see them fly.

I made some name tracers for the children and they will be bringing them home today. Using a dry erase marker they connect the dots and then it wipes right off with a paper towel. I had planned to purchase a dry erase marker for them to take home as well but I didn't get a chance - hope you have some (the thin line ones work best for the older kids)! I will be making more of these word cards to go with our current themes each month. As I introduce the words I will place them in a box with markers (our mini centers) and they can work on them as they wish (self-directed). This is purely just an introduction to letters and words and how letters "make" words.......words go left to right, etc.


Next month our themes will be Bees, Ladybugs, Strawberries, colors yellow, red and black. We will start off with bees - if you happen to have any books with bees, please share with us. I don't think I have a single one so I'll be searching this weekend.

Thank you, everyone for the positive feedback regarding this blog. I'm so glad that you are enjoying it and it gives me a chance to share a little of what your kiddos are doing during the day. I wish I had done this much sooner!

One little picture today.....just had to take one of that hat! :-) Would have taken more but they were convinced it was fun to chase "Julia" today. Wow...I can tell you that 1...I'm out of shape and 2....I'm OLD! :-) Have a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Thursday, May 28

We are finishing up with our themes for May - caterpillars, butterflies, flowers, purple, yellow. The children are practicing their cutting and small motor skills -- they cut out a simple butterfly shape and then decorated it.
Lots of fun outside! Please don't notice the tall grass...it's a jungle out there!


And this is what keeps me in this job....Ali and Nolan laughing hysterically because they are swinging backwards. They just thought that was the funniest thing ever, LOL!

Closed dates - revised

Just a quick note to let you know that Sarah will be able to sub for me on Monday, June 8. I will still be closed June 4 and 5.

Wednesday, May 27

Future architect!

Scarlett taking a picture of me taking a picture of her!

Ali in deep negotiation with Kiley regarding the red hat:-)

Kiley playing the part of her Dad's fire boss (yep, that' s what she said) and the boys doing what the boys love doing....trying to keep everyone out of the way of their cars zinging (is that a word?) against the wall.

Jocey and Addie all dressed up. Jocey trying to convince Addie that it would work better if she turned the smock around, LOL.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Tuesday happenings....

It was launch day for the butterflies! The children were so excited to see them fly.....we opened the top and....we.....waited......and waited......and waited......and waited! They were sunning themselves and were in no hurry to leave their cozy house. Finally, one took flight and they all cheered! We were hoping to see them when we went outside to play but they must have been busy looking for flowers:-)
Addie and Nolan painting (yellow and purple paint)..
No books in the bookcase but Taylor thinks it makes a great chair, LOL.


Thursday, May 21, 2009

Checking my settings...

Really just checking to see if you get notified when I make an update. Still trying to work out all the bugs...

Here is a picture of number/counting cards I made and laminated to go along with our butterfly theme. The children count the number of butterflies then place a clothespin on the correct number...

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

A butterfly has landed....

Today the children arrived and we noticed that one chrysalid was a very dark color...darker than the others which means it's ready to emerge. We made predictions and each child made a guess as to when the butterfly would come out. Some thought today, some tomorrow, Saturday and "soon." We were getting ready for lunch and they all took a look as they sat at the table. A few minutes later they all start screaming that the butterfly was out! Using Den's fancy dancy camera here is an up close look at our first butterfly......


Pictures from yesterday....

The children are working on their butterfly wings. They colored coffee filters with markers and then we sprayed them with water so the colors would blend together. Jocey is giving me the "look" as I had a hard time getting the picture...this was take four or five, LOLOLOL!!!!

Taylor and Scarlett looking their cutest. Scarlett is eyeing Taylor's new hat!

Ali drawing with the animal blackboards - notice the intense concentration and the tongue! LOL The children have enjoyed the boards but I think they get a kick out of "erasing" much more than the drawing or writing:-)

At group time the children all shared their paper plates for our caterpillar. We discussed what they chose, how they used the glue and then everyone got a turn touching and said what each one felt like...soft, hard, bumpy, prickly, scribbley (new word for me, LOL), smooth, puffy.


The finished product...our Very Hungry Caterpillar!

Monday, May 18, 2009

Fun in the sun....

What a beautiful weekend and today the nice weather continues. Just a few things to think about....please make sure your child has appropriate clothing to go outside to play, run and climb. I know the children LOVE to wear their sandals and I won't say they can't, but just please be aware that the chips in the playground are sharp. Also, with the snow we had this winter the playground is full of sticks (from heavy snow in the trees). I spent a lot of time trying to clear it this weekend but I'm still finding sticks that can poke through the holes in sandals. Also....if you could please put sunscreen on your children before they arrive in the morning that would be great.

We are still on "butterfly watch!" Hopefully, the next few days we will see them emerge! Today the children each made their own caterpillar and tomorrow they will turn into a beautiful butterfly!



Also, I added a song on the sidebar that the kiddos are learning during circle. The children can show you the movements that go along with it:-)

Friday, May 15, 2009

Welcome family and friends....

As you know I've tried many ways of keeping you informed of "happenings," etc. and as you can see...I'm still searching for something that works best. I have put restrictions on this blog so only those that are invited may view and right now that includes you parents and a few of my child care provider friends. Please feel free to email me any email accounts (like home or office) that you would like me to include. If you have any others you would like included (like grandparents, etc.) please check with me.

TGIF and Pancake Friday

What a beautiful day! The children started asking when we were going to go outside the second they walked in the door. I can certainly understand because I was ready to get some fresh air and sunshine too. After snack (and the 100th "when are we going outside") we headed out. The children ran, and ran, and ran, and rolled, and chased, and pulled grass and then................."Can we go inside...it's too HOT!" Too funny!

Here are the kiddos eating pancakes. I started pancake Friday when Sydney was here. She LOVED pancakes and would ask for them each day so I finally declared Friday as pancake day.

And here are the littles....just too precious!

Have a wonderful weekend...the weather is going to be gorgeous!

Beginning the caterpillar project

Jocey, Kiley and Addison painting their paper plates for the group tactile caterpillar.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

New fun coming soon....

Den and I have discussed my need for new materials and I want to share a few items that will be arriving in the next few weeks.



Dramatic play activities enhance development in many areas...really all areas, social, emotional, cognitive as well as physical. I have wanted a new kitchen set for quite awhile - I can't wait for this to arrive. I did not, however, buy the little microwave sitting on the corner counter as it alone was like $70.....thinking my crafty husband can make one for us. Sorry the picture is so tiny but I couldn't find one bigger or figure out how to enlarge it without making it fuzzy.


I'm excited to have a new sensory tub. I had one years ago but it was a bit bulky and I ended up taking it out. This tub will also have a lid so it can double as a table for puzzles, legos, etc. Items I've used in the past...rice, cornmeal, shredded paper and water. I have started collecting shredded paper (thank you Gretchen) and could use some that is colored. If you have a resource please let me know. I know the children will enjoy this!

Picture of my grandson...cute little luv bug


Just checking my settings....