I used a homemade playdough recipe that turned out pretty great. I can't remember the website where I got the recipe. But I just did a quick google search and I'm pretty sure the first recipe on this page is the same one that I used:
Homemade Playdough Recipes
I added brown food coloring and a bit of black. Well, my black looked a bit greenish. I found that the combination made my playdough look like the exact shade of dog poop. I was actually going for soil, so it was a bit off. Oh well. Also, I added an essential oil to give it a scent. I used clary sage as that was the best I had for giving the playdough somewhat of an outdoorsy smell. Unfortunately I don't have any dirt-scented essential oil. I really like the scent although I think I could've gotten away with using less essential oil. I used 15 drops. I probably could've used less as the scent of the playdough is pretty strong.
Anyways, we used the playdough to make a "bug landscape" and played around with plastic bugs on our landscape. We found that it was pretty fun to press the bugs into the playdough and look at the impression that it made.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Bugs and Butterflies
I've decided to introduce themes into my daycare program. I'm starting slowly with it, allowing two weeks for each theme. This way I can get my feet wet and get a feel for curriculum planning without overwhelming myself. The first two weeks is Bugs and Butterflies. I must say that we're having fun with it. I actually really enjoyed the curriculum planning part of this. I was a little bit suprised by that. It's nice to have a plan that's a bit more specific than our regular routine. However, I am not rigid with the theme either. We still go on our nature walk every morning and we still do outdoor play after snack.
We've never done a "circle time" per se. However, we have done everything that most providers do in a circle time. We do finger plays, books, poems, songs, etc...Well, with the start of themes I decided to try out circle time. I must say that I really like it. We do our circle time at 9:00am everyday. So basically the children have 1/2 hour of free play after breakfast before our circle time. It's a nice way to start the day and it makes me feel a bit centered and together. My oldest seems to get circle time the most. And even my own little one seems to enjoy the concept. Our newest member is not sold on it, but she is younger and she is still adjusting also! After circle time we do art before going outside. I'm making a conscious effort to add more art into my program. Honestly the art has been getting the short end of the stick as we're usually rushing to get outside. However, I would like to do art projects/crafts on a more consistent basis. I prefer open ended art to crafts as I feel they're more appropriate for young ages. We will do some crafts also though as I know parents like it when their children bring home a finished "product" and children like to show off their work! We will also do group activities that are based on the theme. So after circle time we will either do art, craft, or group activity. Then we will head outside as usual.
Today was really fun outside. I have a couple of children's sized garden shovels. The children and I had fun digging for bugs. I have a huge pile of dirt/sod left over from creating the garden. I don't have a wheelbarrow, so we are slowly removing the sod by hand! Anyways, there's quite a bit still there and it was a great opportunity to look for bugs. We saw an ants, flies, earwigs, and some tiny green bug that I'm struggling to identify. It was fun to see the kiddos get excited about identifying bugs.
Our walk was pretty eventful today as the squirrels were out in large number. They were chasing each other all over the place. One of my daycare kiddos told a squirrel "Get back here!" as the squirrel was running away! :)
Our next theme is flowers and gardening. I'm going to plant flowers by the side of the garage. Yes, in June. I realize I'm a little late on this one. Oh well! I'm going to let the kiddos help me put the plants in the ground. The only thing that's kind of a bummer is that the area is all weeded and sodded over right now. So I'll have to get my shovel back out and do more digging. Ugh - I just finished digging our big garden area. I'll be so glad when all of the digging is overwith for the year. We don't own a tiller - we're gardening on an eensy budget this year!
Anyways, I'm looking forward to continuing with the themes. I'm really having a great time with it so far!
We've never done a "circle time" per se. However, we have done everything that most providers do in a circle time. We do finger plays, books, poems, songs, etc...Well, with the start of themes I decided to try out circle time. I must say that I really like it. We do our circle time at 9:00am everyday. So basically the children have 1/2 hour of free play after breakfast before our circle time. It's a nice way to start the day and it makes me feel a bit centered and together. My oldest seems to get circle time the most. And even my own little one seems to enjoy the concept. Our newest member is not sold on it, but she is younger and she is still adjusting also! After circle time we do art before going outside. I'm making a conscious effort to add more art into my program. Honestly the art has been getting the short end of the stick as we're usually rushing to get outside. However, I would like to do art projects/crafts on a more consistent basis. I prefer open ended art to crafts as I feel they're more appropriate for young ages. We will do some crafts also though as I know parents like it when their children bring home a finished "product" and children like to show off their work! We will also do group activities that are based on the theme. So after circle time we will either do art, craft, or group activity. Then we will head outside as usual.
Today was really fun outside. I have a couple of children's sized garden shovels. The children and I had fun digging for bugs. I have a huge pile of dirt/sod left over from creating the garden. I don't have a wheelbarrow, so we are slowly removing the sod by hand! Anyways, there's quite a bit still there and it was a great opportunity to look for bugs. We saw an ants, flies, earwigs, and some tiny green bug that I'm struggling to identify. It was fun to see the kiddos get excited about identifying bugs.
Our walk was pretty eventful today as the squirrels were out in large number. They were chasing each other all over the place. One of my daycare kiddos told a squirrel "Get back here!" as the squirrel was running away! :)
Our next theme is flowers and gardening. I'm going to plant flowers by the side of the garage. Yes, in June. I realize I'm a little late on this one. Oh well! I'm going to let the kiddos help me put the plants in the ground. The only thing that's kind of a bummer is that the area is all weeded and sodded over right now. So I'll have to get my shovel back out and do more digging. Ugh - I just finished digging our big garden area. I'll be so glad when all of the digging is overwith for the year. We don't own a tiller - we're gardening on an eensy budget this year!
Anyways, I'm looking forward to continuing with the themes. I'm really having a great time with it so far!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
New Enrollee
I started a new kiddo yesterday. Yay! A full-time toddler. She's a cutey too. It was a rough day though. She's young and I'm sure it's all a bit overwhelming for her. But we'll get through this transition period.
I'm excited to have two full-time kiddos now though. I'm hoping this momentum will keep going and I'll get even more enrollment. I guess time will tell. I really want to see this daycare get into full swing though!
I'm excited to have two full-time kiddos now though. I'm hoping this momentum will keep going and I'll get even more enrollment. I guess time will tell. I really want to see this daycare get into full swing though!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Montessori-uninspired
Well, I'm officially Montessori-uninspired. No offense meant to those who are into the Montessori approach. However, as I've been reading more and learning more I've come to realize that I don't really believe Montessori is the best approach for me and my daycare. There are some aspects of it that just don't appeal to me.
That being said, I've been reading the book "Raising and Amazing Child the Montessori Way" and I will continue reading it. There are some great ideas in the book even though I'm not a fan of the whole Montessori approach.
What it comes down to is that Montessori feels too rigid to me. For example, a work is presented to a child. The child is shown how the work should be used (there is one way) and the child is only allowed to use the work in that one way, clean up the work, put it away, and then get a different work. So if a child wanted to combine a couple of works, that would not be allowed. For example, if a child had a cylinder work (it's a work that involves cylinders that vary in depth and circumference) and decided to stack it like a tower, that would be incorrect and a child would be instructed to use the work correctly. If a child wanted to use the cylinders with a dollhouse in order to create furniture, that would be considered inappropriate use of the work. Granted, I'm sure that is not everyone's experience of Montessori as even Montessori schools vary to the degree as to how they interpret Montessori method. However, that approach would be true to method.
Maria Montessori created her program to help children who were horribly disadvantaged, many being street children. It's easy to see why a highly structured approach did them a world of good. However, for me, it seems as though it would inhibit imagination.
Montessori also was not a fan of fantasy play. Pretend play that imitates real life is encouraged in the Montessori environment. But fantasy play that revolves around imaginary animals, characters, and places would be discouraged. Maria felt that children should be involved in real world activity and that time spent in fantasy play was actually damaging for children. I could not disagree with Maria Montessori more on this idea. Fantasy play is a wonderful part of childhood and it would make me incredibly sad to think of children not creating imaginary worlds, animals, and characters.
I'm actually relieved to be so uninspired. I think that I was feeling a lot of stress as a result of my previous decision to be Montessori-inspired. So much of Montessori revolves around having appropriate works for this or that sensory experience, practical life skill, and other tasks. I don't believe children need a special set of cylinders to learn depth perception. Children are sponges and learn so much from the natural world around them. It seems silly to me to put so much emphasis on works that have isolated single concepts.
So anyways, goodbye Montessori. I will continue with what I was doing already. I try to get the children outdoors as much as possible. I think that in our culture spending time outdoors is undervalued. There is a special sense of well-being that comes from being outdoors, feeling the warmth of a summer breeze, touching the grass, digging in dirt, and watching the birds fly here and there. It's peaceful, relaxing, and exhilarating. I try to get the children out for a nature walk once a day. Additionally we go out for playtime outside in the morning. And provided everyone wakes up from nap and gets through afternoon snack before parents pick up, we go back outside for the afternoon.
Another thing that I will continue with is quality literature. I have poetry collections for young children as well as plenty of board books. Children are captivated by the lilting rhymes in well-written poetry. I use a lot of books from the Barefoot Books collection. They have books that emphasize quality storytelling, multiculturalism, green concepts, as well as many other wonderful subjects. I adore these books and would encourage their use in any home daycare program. There's a link on the right for anyone looking for books to add to their library.
Music is also something that I incorporate into much of our day. I LOVE using music for transitions. It really is effective to put a music CD on while I try to clean the kitchen up after snack or lunch. I have some instruments that I've purchased for music time. I have a drum, tambourine, shakers, and coconut clave sticks. I got my instruments from Nova Naturals and I love them. I also have my piano and the children love to sing and dance to piano music.
Well, anyways, I guess this has been a long post. But it's been awhile since I've updated and I wanted to share my new approach to my daycare.
That being said, I've been reading the book "Raising and Amazing Child the Montessori Way" and I will continue reading it. There are some great ideas in the book even though I'm not a fan of the whole Montessori approach.
What it comes down to is that Montessori feels too rigid to me. For example, a work is presented to a child. The child is shown how the work should be used (there is one way) and the child is only allowed to use the work in that one way, clean up the work, put it away, and then get a different work. So if a child wanted to combine a couple of works, that would not be allowed. For example, if a child had a cylinder work (it's a work that involves cylinders that vary in depth and circumference) and decided to stack it like a tower, that would be incorrect and a child would be instructed to use the work correctly. If a child wanted to use the cylinders with a dollhouse in order to create furniture, that would be considered inappropriate use of the work. Granted, I'm sure that is not everyone's experience of Montessori as even Montessori schools vary to the degree as to how they interpret Montessori method. However, that approach would be true to method.
Maria Montessori created her program to help children who were horribly disadvantaged, many being street children. It's easy to see why a highly structured approach did them a world of good. However, for me, it seems as though it would inhibit imagination.
Montessori also was not a fan of fantasy play. Pretend play that imitates real life is encouraged in the Montessori environment. But fantasy play that revolves around imaginary animals, characters, and places would be discouraged. Maria felt that children should be involved in real world activity and that time spent in fantasy play was actually damaging for children. I could not disagree with Maria Montessori more on this idea. Fantasy play is a wonderful part of childhood and it would make me incredibly sad to think of children not creating imaginary worlds, animals, and characters.
I'm actually relieved to be so uninspired. I think that I was feeling a lot of stress as a result of my previous decision to be Montessori-inspired. So much of Montessori revolves around having appropriate works for this or that sensory experience, practical life skill, and other tasks. I don't believe children need a special set of cylinders to learn depth perception. Children are sponges and learn so much from the natural world around them. It seems silly to me to put so much emphasis on works that have isolated single concepts.
So anyways, goodbye Montessori. I will continue with what I was doing already. I try to get the children outdoors as much as possible. I think that in our culture spending time outdoors is undervalued. There is a special sense of well-being that comes from being outdoors, feeling the warmth of a summer breeze, touching the grass, digging in dirt, and watching the birds fly here and there. It's peaceful, relaxing, and exhilarating. I try to get the children out for a nature walk once a day. Additionally we go out for playtime outside in the morning. And provided everyone wakes up from nap and gets through afternoon snack before parents pick up, we go back outside for the afternoon.
Another thing that I will continue with is quality literature. I have poetry collections for young children as well as plenty of board books. Children are captivated by the lilting rhymes in well-written poetry. I use a lot of books from the Barefoot Books collection. They have books that emphasize quality storytelling, multiculturalism, green concepts, as well as many other wonderful subjects. I adore these books and would encourage their use in any home daycare program. There's a link on the right for anyone looking for books to add to their library.
Music is also something that I incorporate into much of our day. I LOVE using music for transitions. It really is effective to put a music CD on while I try to clean the kitchen up after snack or lunch. I have some instruments that I've purchased for music time. I have a drum, tambourine, shakers, and coconut clave sticks. I got my instruments from Nova Naturals and I love them. I also have my piano and the children love to sing and dance to piano music.
Well, anyways, I guess this has been a long post. But it's been awhile since I've updated and I wanted to share my new approach to my daycare.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
The Rest Mats Have Arrived!
After searching around I found a much cheaper alternative to cots. I found rest mats that several home daycare providers rated 5 stars. And they were only $10 a piece. Woo hoo! They came in the mail today. They're nice and fluffy looking. They fold up and take up less space than the cots did for storage - a big plus. I need something that easily stores since the sleeping area is right in the middle of my living room!
Friday, March 27, 2009
Excellent Daycare Books
I've found a line of books that is absolutely wonderful for daycare. The focus of their company is on providing quality storytelling with quality art. I can tell you firsthand that the books are amazing. I'm working on building up my own collection. They also carry some wonderful music CDs called Putamayo Kids. I use them on a daily basis in my daycare and LOVE them. The music CDs feature music from different cultures that appeal to children and they're nice because it's great music and not that jarring, abrasive sound sometimes found in children's music CDs. I've got some of their board books and love them. A paperback that I bought is "Magic Train Ride" - LOVE it, LOVE it, LOVE it. Kiddos loved it too. Boo, my little one, asked for it "agaim" and "agaim" and "agaim". I'm actually considering basing the theme of his second birthday party on it as there's lots of room with the book to work in crafts, activities, etc...
Anyways, I'll stop gushing now. They've got free shipping this weekend. There's a banner on the right you can click on if you'd like to browse and get free shipping this weekend. Enjoy!
Anyways, I'll stop gushing now. They've got free shipping this weekend. There's a banner on the right you can click on if you'd like to browse and get free shipping this weekend. Enjoy!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Water Play!
We did some water play the other day. Fun times. I put some water toys in a dish bin and added some dishsoap and food coloring. The kiddos had fun using whisks to make bubbles and playing with the water toys. Needless to say, they were soaked afterwards and needed changes of clothes. I would've stripped them down to diapers, but my house felt a bit cold that morning!
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