Showing posts with label aaron. Show all posts
Showing posts with label aaron. Show all posts
Thursday, June 3, 2010
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!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
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. :)
Thursday, January 14, 2010
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. :)
Enjoy. :)
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
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!!
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!!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
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!
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!
Friday, August 21, 2009
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!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Germies!!!!!
We just survived a week of the icky sicky germies. Well, the week isn't over yet, but the germs are gone! It was an ugly doozy of a germ-fest here on Monday. Seems that all the kiddos contracted the same virus late last week, let the virus grow and fester over the weekend, and then came to play on Monday morning only to be sent home an hour or so later with fevers!
Since opening with an official registration two years ago, this past Monday was my worst day ever, by FAR! I had to call three parents and have them come pick up their sick kiddos, and one kiddo didn't even make it, as his fever hit over the weekend. On top of all that? Monday was our buddy Aaron's very first day here as a full time attendee!
Luckily, Aaron and Julia managed to stay healthy - this little virus bug musta been one that only likes the little tots. And thankfully, it was a quick virus - today is Thursday and everybody is back and playing like nothing was wrong!
I do a lot around here to try and keep the germs at bay. We have a "soapy bucket" that we keep right on the other side of the baby gate. This soapy bucket is handy for tossing in toys that get mouthed or dirty. Most of the kiddos know that if I see them (Or if Julia sees them, for that matter) put a toy in their mouth or something, that the toy will go right into the soapy bucket as soon as they are done with it. At the end of each day, I wash the soapy bucket toys and spray them with Lysol cleaner, and let them dry overnight so that I can return them to their homes the next morning.
We are also good about sanitizing groups of toys regularly... We bring out different things to play with during our Shaving Cream fun times - because the shaving cream helps the toys get clean, and then of course, it's always fun to wash the cream off the toys at the end of play time! Or, we'll take toys outside and really wash them, with warm soapy water and wash rags. We've taken our tables and chairs outside a few times for sudsy rinses as well.
Likewise, I'm pretty good about throwing the dress up clothes and stuffed animals in the wash at the end of the week. It's easy to just add them to our weekend laundry of blankets/pillow cases, etc.
We also are pretty quick to cover our mouths with sneezing and coughing. The kids have been learning "The Batman!!!" which is something that I say quickly if I see they are going to sneeze - and they've learned that "the batman" is just a fun way to cover your mouth - you put your face into the nook of your arm, sneezing/coughing into the shoulder.
Ahh, I guess what I'm trying to say here is that we really do keep the germs down! But, I guess no matter what we do, no matter how much we clean, sanitize, wipe, scrub, suds the toys, the furniture, the things in the house... no matter how careful we are to share everything except the germs, getting sick is bound to happen. When you have five toddlers and a preschooler in the same room - germ sharing is bound to happen!
Hopefully our next virus won't wipe out the entire enrollment... Hopefully it will come and go without us adults noticing anything much out of the ordinary at all!
Because healthy kids? Kids that are happy and joyful, playful, excited, eager and ready to learne? Those are the kinds of kids that we want in the house all the time!
Oh, and by the way - Aaron? He fits in perfectly here! He's already brought so much joy into our family. He has the best sense of humor, cracking me up every minute of every day! I can't wait to share more pictures and videos of both him and Matthew (a new'ish part timer!) ...they're both already a part of our little family here!
Since opening with an official registration two years ago, this past Monday was my worst day ever, by FAR! I had to call three parents and have them come pick up their sick kiddos, and one kiddo didn't even make it, as his fever hit over the weekend. On top of all that? Monday was our buddy Aaron's very first day here as a full time attendee!
Luckily, Aaron and Julia managed to stay healthy - this little virus bug musta been one that only likes the little tots. And thankfully, it was a quick virus - today is Thursday and everybody is back and playing like nothing was wrong!
I do a lot around here to try and keep the germs at bay. We have a "soapy bucket" that we keep right on the other side of the baby gate. This soapy bucket is handy for tossing in toys that get mouthed or dirty. Most of the kiddos know that if I see them (Or if Julia sees them, for that matter) put a toy in their mouth or something, that the toy will go right into the soapy bucket as soon as they are done with it. At the end of each day, I wash the soapy bucket toys and spray them with Lysol cleaner, and let them dry overnight so that I can return them to their homes the next morning.
We are also good about sanitizing groups of toys regularly... We bring out different things to play with during our Shaving Cream fun times - because the shaving cream helps the toys get clean, and then of course, it's always fun to wash the cream off the toys at the end of play time! Or, we'll take toys outside and really wash them, with warm soapy water and wash rags. We've taken our tables and chairs outside a few times for sudsy rinses as well.
Likewise, I'm pretty good about throwing the dress up clothes and stuffed animals in the wash at the end of the week. It's easy to just add them to our weekend laundry of blankets/pillow cases, etc.
We also are pretty quick to cover our mouths with sneezing and coughing. The kids have been learning "The Batman!!!" which is something that I say quickly if I see they are going to sneeze - and they've learned that "the batman" is just a fun way to cover your mouth - you put your face into the nook of your arm, sneezing/coughing into the shoulder.
Ahh, I guess what I'm trying to say here is that we really do keep the germs down! But, I guess no matter what we do, no matter how much we clean, sanitize, wipe, scrub, suds the toys, the furniture, the things in the house... no matter how careful we are to share everything except the germs, getting sick is bound to happen. When you have five toddlers and a preschooler in the same room - germ sharing is bound to happen!
Hopefully our next virus won't wipe out the entire enrollment... Hopefully it will come and go without us adults noticing anything much out of the ordinary at all!
Because healthy kids? Kids that are happy and joyful, playful, excited, eager and ready to learne? Those are the kinds of kids that we want in the house all the time!
Oh, and by the way - Aaron? He fits in perfectly here! He's already brought so much joy into our family. He has the best sense of humor, cracking me up every minute of every day! I can't wait to share more pictures and videos of both him and Matthew (a new'ish part timer!) ...they're both already a part of our little family here!
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