Outside play!

When it's 50 degrees outside just 4 days before Christmas, you gotta take advantage!! The girls ran off a ton of energy while Rebecca slept and I got to enjoy Noah's company in the Snugli infant carrier. It was a blast. ...I had to play with the camera timer so you could see cute Noah in on the fun. Enjoy!

Not my gumdrop buttons!

All I could think of was poor little Gingy from Shrek while we did our crafty project today!

Thank you Noah! Thank you for our early Christmas present - a Gingerbread House Making Kit. What a perfect present! We enjoyed creating today, as we sang lots of Christmas songs - most of which were completely made up on the fly. Julia loves to make up songs that don't make a lot of sense, and Savannah loves to repeat everything Julia says, and I love to play along with both the girls' singing - because, well... that's what I do! Noah and Rebecca slept through all the fun.

The project was awesome in so many ways... not only do we have an adorable house to adorn the playroom now, but it was chock full of learning opportunities:

• Almost all of the candy decorations are circle shaped.. our shape for this month!
• Lots of color recognition and size descrimination
  
• Following two and three step directions (such as, "First, put on the blue ones, then we will add some gumdrops.")
• Taking turns (one gingerbread house and two learners)
• Patience (We let the walls and roof dry before adding the decorations - it was hard for all of us to wait!)
• Fine motor (tiny little caandies for big toddler hands)
• Concentration (finish one area before the "glue"/icing dries THEN move to another part)
• Imagination and creativity

I'm quite proud of the girls! They were not tempted to eat any of it, and instead enjoyed creating their masterpiece. After we were done, I gave everyone (including me!!) a smidgeon of icing on their fingers to lick and enjoy.

Check out the gorgeous, yummy looking house!!!

Here's a "Before" shot. They were so excited to get started!

Left: Julia

Right: Savannah

Concentrating!!

The finished product!

New Pictures!

In the order the pictures were taken, I share with you some wonderful pictures!

This is my favorite picture! This was taken November 28th.

December 4 (She's going to put that large dollie shirt onto that small little soccer boy doll.)

December 5 (This photo went on a keepsake ornament for the Bard Christmas tree!)

Busy Busy Busy!

Sorry for my lack of posts! I have some new pictures to share, which will be uploaded soon. We have been very busy bees around here making Christmas crafts and singing Christmas songs and watching the weather, etc.

The kiddos took home some cute crafts on Friday. We made reindeer by printing their feet and hands. That was turned into a magnet! And, they made cute tree ornaments with their pictures ... a keepsake to remember - for sure!

During the month of December, I'm focusing my crafts and stories and songs around Christmas and on the CIRCLE shape. My hope is that Noah will get used to the word "circle" and will be able to sign it in a few months, that Savannah will be able to pick circles out of pictures and books, and that Julia will be able to draw and/or cut a circle shape! I'm having so much fun with these kids!!

Right now is a very rare occasion, as I have nap time to myself. All four children are sleeping soundly, and that gives me a chance to update the blog. ... Now, if I can just remember where I set the camera, then I could give you pictures to oogle at as well!

Picture of the day 11/30

The dress up shoes are so popular around here!

Picture of the day 11/28 and 11/29

This was from yesterday - I got a shot of all four kiddos. Rebecca is in the background being completely ignored. :)



This shot was from today - we were making snowmen as we talked about CIRCLES!

Picture of the day 11/27

Savannah brought yogurt to share this morning for breakfast. It was YUMMY!

Picture of the day from Yesterday 11/26

Welcome to Miss Maggie's, Noah!

The tallest tower

Last week, just before Thanksgiving, we had some extra friends come play with us! My niece (Majesta), my nephew(Braxton), and Savannah's big sister (Samantha)were all here with me, Julia, Rebecca, and Savannah! It was really fun having the older kiddos here, as they each had great imaginative ideas that lead into some wonderful pretend play that I couldn't have created without them. They enjoyed each other's company, and gave all of us a break from the daily grind.
While Julia and Savannah were napping, the other three kiddos set out on a mission to build a tower with the mega blocks that would reach the ceiling. They were determined, and I was impressed with their persistence. Their towers took many forms - first they tried it as a square building, then as a flat wall, and finally, they decided to try building it against a wall for support. After about an hours work, they finally attained the goal! And here is a picture of the tall tower - one that goes from floor to ceiling.

Coloring with Chalk

Yesterday, the girls colored the "tree house" outside with chalk. They said they were "Working hard!" They had a blast, and didn't want to clean up to go inside for lunch. Today, that's the first thing they ran to... forget the swings anymore - let's "Work!" Very cute...

S - Picture taken Nov. 19

From top to bottom we have:
Purple Cowboy Hat
Full Body Popeye Apron
Men's Dress Shirt, rolled at the sleeves
Grass Skirt
Her regular clothes for today
Princess shoes

S - Picture taken Nov. 13th

The History

I started my business in Colorado in June of 2005. I knew I wanted to e a home childcare provider since June of 2003, but I never had the confidence to open - and I wanted to wait until we had a house that was suitable for care. So, I spent a few years gaining experience at different childcare centers around the region, and in 2004, I got a job as a State Childcare Licensing Representative in Colorado.

I saw a lot of yucky things. Things that will forever be in my memory, no matter how hard I try to forget. It was a tough job, but I'm glad I did it. Working as a licensing specialist taught me things about myself that have helped mold me into who I am today.

I had my first daughter in September 2004, she immediately taught me all about the love that a mother shares with her baby. I wanted to stay home with her, and felt that this was the right time to open for business.

Business was great in Colorado. I was caring for 10 different children, only 6 were full time. I was sad to let those families go when we were called by God to move out here to Kansas.

We moved here in November 2005, and I held jobs at two different childcare centers in the area until our home would be suitable for childcare. We bought this house knowing that someday I would be able to open childcare again.

We had our second daughter in September 2007. As soon as I was pregnant with her, I knew that it was time to get serious about business again. It took a while, but two years after buying our house, I was finally able to open again.

This is the last job I want to have - I'd love to retire as a childcare director. Someday I may move out of my home and into a public facility - but I'm perfectly content doing business out of the house as I am now.

I'm registered with the state of Kansas, and can legally watch up to six children at a time. I'm extremely blessed to have a wonderful church family - and I now have a waiting list for children to care for.

My biggest hope is that I can bless the children in my care as much as God has blessed me with the opportunity to fulfill my dreams.