What do you want for Christmas?

Handprint Turkeys

This is probably my favorite craft of the whole year!!  I cheated this year, though - usually I use the child's foot for the turkey's body. This year, to save time, I pre-cut the bodies and shapes for the children.  There's so much to do and catch up on around here - we've all been so sick for the last few weeks and today it feels so good to be back to "normal" around here with everybody in attendance.  To be honest, I'm kind of sad that this is a really short week for the holiday - but that will just make our Monday back that much sweeter. :)  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Park

With over 14 days of DRY, cool fall weather, we have been spending lots of time outside.  It's so easy to skip lesson plans, crafts, structured learning time, and even snack once in a while when we get all caught up in an innocent game of freeze tag, or go on wild grasshopper hunts.  We LOVE the outdoors!

One of my favorite things to do is to go for a long walk to the park.  I like the park that is a little further away because there's a nice greenway path to walk on to get there.  We are so spoiled to live in such a pretty town with wonderful parks and playgrounds.

An added bonus: last week, our trip to the park included a meet and greet with Miss Toshia and her group! We love meeting friends at the park, and I love having another adult to laugh with, chat with, and share ideas with. Our recent trip the park was nothing short of AWESOME.  Enjoy some pictures!! :)

Happy Friday!

Painting with Water

With high temps only reaching the mid to upper 80's we are experiencing a COLD front around here!  The kids (and I) are enjoying this break in the uncomfortable humid heat wave we've had this summer.  Of course water play with toddler pools is always a fun way to celebrate the sunshine. And, simply running through the sprinklers is always a hit, too.  But on days like today when I can't seem to muster up the energy to help remove 6 adorable outfits to put on 6 tight swim suits and sunscreen 6 adorable kids just to reverse the process in an hour (only with dripping wet swimsuits and a laundry load pile of wet towels)- well, a little paint with water is a popular activity!  This one kept the kids busy (and quiet! my headache thanks them!) for almost a whole hour. :)  Enjoy the pictures!

Busy Busy Fun!

Sorry to have dropped off the blogging bandwagon! We've been very busy around here.  For Easter, we had a small egg hunt in the backyard - it was such a treat to find all the eggs in and around the playground. :)  For Mother's Day, we made a DVD with pictures and video.  Now it's the beginning of June already, and I'm trying to figure out where Spring went!?! Summer came HOT and QUICK.  But, we manage to stay cool.  Here are some pictures from today's water play fun. :)  It was Caleb's first time having water play at Maggie's house!

Monkeys doing Somersaults - Super cute!

A Showcase

What started out as a video of Paityn being a ballerina, turned into a wonderful showcase highlighting the multiple talents here under Maggie's roof.  Not sure if it's all considered "dancing," but these moves had me LOL'ing ... so glad I caught part of it on camera. :)

They did this for at least 5 minutes

Skid-a-marink!

With Valentine's Day approaching, we've been working on our love song. ;) I've also been asking the kids to practice WINKing because... let's face it - two and three year olds trying to wink? JUST TOO CUTE!
Enjoy. :)

Merry Christmas!

Personalities

Below, I've embedded a video that illustrates perfectly the mid-morning personalities that we have! Every morning sometime after breakfast but before snack, we always have our "circle time." This time is used for music & movement, songs, finger-plays, games, and the like. The point of circle time is to have large group time, where the children will practice taking turns, listening to each other, making decisions, and learning concepts (right now, our focus is on the CIRCLE and all the different colors). My absolute favorite part of circle time is the music - in case you couldn't tell that from the musical vlog posts I have submitted here already.

The following video is a wonderful window into what life can be like with four 2 year-olds to entertain during circle time!

Aaron is bursting with energy. He gets so excited and has so much enthusiasm he can hardly contain it! He has a hard time picking a song... in the video he bounces from "The Wheels on the Bus" to "Open, Shut Them" to "Slippery Fish" and "ABC's" all within this 55 second video. He loves to sing fast and be silly. Most of the time, I ask him to slow down and participate in large group with the rest of us - but on this particular day, I just had to capture his energy - because it's adorable and fun and exciting... his enthusiasm is completely contagious. And plus? All that energy is just a part of who he is. And I love him!

Noah is the follower in the group. Imitation is the greatest from of flattery - especially to a two-year-old, and Noah loves to flatter. When we're not singing or reading stories, Noah is bouncing from child to child trying to figure out which one he wants to focus on. In this video, you can see Noah thinking about mimicking Paityn. But since Paityn is not very busy this morning, Aaron quickly catches Noah's attention and Noah plays with Aaron. Later in the clip, Noah gets distracted by Aaron's feet - which is pretty funny to me. Noah will often be focused and playing intently with something or someone and if he has a new thought about what he's doing, you can tell. His focus changes and he pursues his new ideas steadfastly. Noah has always been very focused and easily amused. Which is a great quality - I love him!

Paityn was tired the morning we captured this part of circle time. She is calm in the clip, and might even seem a little bored by all the antics. This is because Paityn is our observer. Even on her most energetic and active days, I often find Paityn sitting back and observing the action before jumping in on it. Don't get me wrong - Paityn can muster her energy without much trouble - but she quietly observes and takes note before acting. Just watch the look on her face as I stop singing... she almost looks bothered by the change in the room. If she wasn't tired (and possibly not feeling well - the poor thing!) she probably would have mimicked the boys. And after that song, if we would have sang it again - I can almost guarantee you that Paityn would have been center-stage, showing them some of her new moves. But, what's the rush - why jump into the action when there is important observation and note-taking to be done, first. Paityn picks up on things very quickly with these moments of observation. I wish I was more like that! I love her!

Rebecca is the rule-follower. At the beginning of this clip, Rebecca is making sure that I can see that she is sitting "criss-cross-applesauce." She sings, "See mom!?" ....constantly seeking praise for being the good girl. The rule follower. She looks to Aaron for leadership (only because he's taken the lead on this particular morning... Rebeca will look to anybody for leadership, as long as she knows what she's supposed to be doing and how to do it). She keeps checking Aaron to see what is next, and though tempted to join in on the playful silliness that the boys have going on, she is careful to sit properly and wait for further directions. I love that about her, though I sometimes find myself wishing she would take a couple more risks. I see a lot of myself in her, which I suppose is perfectly appropriate! ;) I certainly love my little girl!

Okay okay, so without further ado: The video. Enjoy!!

Head Shoulders Knees and Toes!

Showing off :: Cute kids!

Here's a short clip from our daily circle time!


One more, just for fun...


These kids are just so stinking cute. And I can't believe that I get PAID to hang out with them everyday!

Trash Day!

Thursdays are special at Miss Maggie's house. Thursday is trash day! Usually one or more of the kiddos sees the trash containers out on the curb when they arrive on Thursday mornings, and so they come in excited saying "trash truck?! trash truck?!"

Occassionally, we'll miss the trash truck. It usually comes during our transition from circle time to morning snack - and when we're lucky, we'll catch it without trouble. But, when we do miss it, the rest of the morning is typically filled with toddlers' voices singing "oh noooo! missed trash truck! oh mannn!"

It's really cute.

And maybe I'm a dork, but Thursday mornings at about 9:30 are usually one of my favorite times of the whole week.

I wish I could still get excited about the simplest, most predictable things. Something as simple as the city trash truck coming to haul away our garbage is exciting and wonderful in itself.... the guys can lift lots of heavy trash, the trash goes into a really big, loud, interesting truck, and they drive off with all our trash to get rid of it for us.

I know the kiddos will grow out of finding joy in Thursday's trash haul. But, for now - I am enjoying it every week, as the kiddos run to the windows and wave at the trash guys who have learned to smile and wave back at us. It's a lot of fun to see the kids' faces light up!

Tiny Tim

Deanna Rose Farmstead

We've been talking a whole lot about farm animals around here! We're learning their sounds, what they look like, how they walk, and what they do for us.

So, isn't it befitting that we managed a trip to the Deanna Rose Farmstead today! To truly appreciate this field trip, you should know that trips do not happen without a wee little bit of planning. On field trip days like today, the following three ring circus must take place in the morning:

Pack snacks

fill water bottles/sippy cups

pack diapers/wipes/hand sanitizer/kleenex/change of clothes

check first aid kit

install extra car seat

take the wagon apart and stuff it in the trunk

change diapers/visit potty

apply sunscreen and bug spray

get camera, cell phone, emergency backpack that has children's important records

load STUFF into the car

load the kids into the car one at a time, while the kids who are left to wait their turn are crying and sad because they're not currently being loaded into the car nowrightnow

buckle everybody's seatbelts and crank the air conditioner, check fuel level, scan tires/car's condition and GO!

And then, once arriving at the destination - almost all of the previous is reversed in a specific order:

Unload the wagon, and assemble

Unload the STUFF (backpack, snacks, diaper bags, etc.)

Put camera and cell phone in easily accessible pockets.

Unload the kids one at a time, while the kids who are left to wait in the car for their turn are crying and sad because they're not currently out of the car and in the wagon.

Pass out ice waters because it's hot and humid out.

Load kleenexes into easily accessible pockets.

Check car for random contents (Rebecca's shoe, how did I get her from the car to the wagon without noticing that one of her shoes fell off?)

Lock the car, pull the wagon in and have fun!

It should go without saying that trips outside the home that involve someone else's kids are exponentially more stressful. Not necessarily as in hard-work-stress-me-out kind of stressful, but stressful in that I worry more about my performance. Am I driving carefully enough? Did I apply enough sunscreen? Will we have any major injuries? What if someone gets sick? It's hot and humid - did I pack enough water? Will we SURVIVE?

Our trip today to the farmstead was 150% worth the preparation, prayers, and sweat that went into planning it. We had a wonderful time! My favorite part was hearing the roosters crow. I think the kids enjoyed seeing the cows give milk. It was magical being at the farmstead with two toddlers and a preschooler. I love it when they are all experiencing the same things and I love seeing how each child is gaining something unique from the experience.

Julia made more of a connection between animals and humans. (We use the animals for food and shelter.)

Rebecca learned the "real" sounds that animals make. A cow doesn't actually SAY "moo" ... it kinda goes, "mrrraahhhhhhhh." (that's fun to type!)

Noah loved show off his vocabulary the whole time we were there - and we practiced saying the names of the baby animals (lamb is a baby sheep? kid is a baby goat? foal is a baby horse?) ... this is especially meaningful as Noah is going to have a baby brother in his house soon!

Ahh - it really was such a blessing of a trip. I absolutely loved today.

After the farmstead, everybody was wiped out. Julia loved being my assistant, and helping me keep the toddlers awake in the car so that we wouldn't spoil their naptime. She was naming stuff that she knew each child would like - pointing out trains and big trucks out Noah's window - and finding airplanes and birds out Rebecca's window. Things were going so well - I couldn't resist stopping for happy meals on the way home. I didn't have to cook, I barely had to clean up after lunch, and right now the kids are happy, safe, sound, and content from today's trip as they are sleeping at naptime. I really do love this job.

Check back soon for pictures of the trip - I will get them uploaded some time this weekend!

Cuteness Overload

The Hippo Song books (full of artwork and song lyrics) are almost finished! As soon as I get the ink cartridge for my printer that I ordered *forever* ago, I can put the finishing touches on the books and send them home! :) I can't wait for the parents to get them. I'll blog a presentation of the Hippo Books before letting them leave the house - it was definitely a project I want to do again and again in years to come!

Paityn's 2nd Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday Paityn! We started this morning's rhythm & rhyme time out with the song Happy Birthday! Today, we are going to decorate a crown for Paityn to call her very own. During lunch, we are going to wear some party hats, and after we eat, we'll sing again and have the cookie treats that Paityn brought to Maggie's house to share! I hope Paityn's birthday is equally as special as she is. When she first started coming here, she was just more than 1 year old and had that cute tipsy toddle as she tried to master walking. Now, she's got all the gross motor skills under her belt and is talking and singing, dancing and climbing everyday! They get big quickly, but each new age & stage is more exciting than the last. I'm so excited to get to share Paityn's birthday with her today!!

Check her out in this 5 minute video. She's quite the camera hog! :)

Dance off!

Need a giggle? Want to see each of the different personalities we have on a daily basis? You've GOT to watch this video! Gather your friends around, this is about as cute as it gets...