Holiday week!

We're now at that weird week between Christmas and New Years - where
everybody's still basking in the glow of family time and rest time...
not ready for Monday morning quite yet. But, it's another short week -
as New Years is on Thursday of this week. We're working on
re-establishing routines, yet celebrating the season... remembering the
toys we've always had, yet finding a few new things around the house
that we've never seen before. We're excited about setting new goals for
2009, yet beginning the New Year just the same as we begin a new week.
Very subtle changes. Very big excitement. I am sad that 2008 has come
to an end, and yet I'm excited to see what 2009 has in store for us!
God is so very good to us.

We are still looking for a preschooler to join us each day! If you know
of anybody that would love to play with us, please refer them to this
blog. Thanks! Merry New Year.

Recent Pictures

Some days, I'm just better about having the camera handy. Today? Happened to be be one of those days!

Passions

Working with kids is a passion of mine. It's something I love and look forward to doing every day of my life! Everybody has a passion - if you don't know what yours is, perhaps you will find inspiration in the passions of my friends:

Savannah: Savannah is passionate about baby dolls and doctor's toys.... together. She loves to play doctor! She is always checking a "heart beep" and taking a temperature. She also is passionate about cutting and gluing. One day, she spent a whole hour at the art table just cutting pictures from a magazine and gluing them into a blank piece of paper.

Julia: Julia is also passionate about baby dolls. She loves to take them for walks and read them books. Especially now that she is developing phonic skills, she just loves to pretend to read. She also likes to have her babies on her lap while she writes up a "grocery list" with a pen and pad of paper. "Mom? What does broccoli start with?" I respond with "a 'B' honey" and she will then spell broccoli on her little pad, telling her baby doll "you make a B by first drawing a straight line down, then two bumps on this side, okay baby?"

Paityn: Paityn is passionate about jewelry, princess crowns, dressup clothes, and music. She's quite the dancer. Paityn is a "girly girl" ...and I mean that in the most loving way. She's cuddly and sweet - always offering kisses and hugs. She loves to dance and parade about with her fun beaded necklaces and dress up shoes!

Noah: Noah is passionate about eating. Hah! Okay, and care routines. He loves to demonstrate how to do things. Wiping tables, wiping faces, washing windows... cleaning floors those are all right up Noah's alley. He absolutely LOVES brushing his teeth. And, he loves anything related to trains, fish, balls, music, swinging, slides, and more. Come to think of it, Noah's a pretty passionate person. When I find something he's interested in, he's obsessed about it for weeks!

Rebecca: Rebecca is passionate about talking. yak yak yak yak she'll gab on and on for days on end. She talks about anything and everything there is to talk about. She makes a short story long. She sings and talks and discusses and conversates. She just loves to talk. Wonder where she gets that from?

And there you have it - our passions. Check back soon, these things change as quickly as the weather does around here!

Sad news, and a new opening!

Unfortunately, I just found out that Savannah's last day will be December 19th. I'm having a hard time dealing with this, I've never been good at goodbyes. Fortunately, her family goes/works at our church - so we will still get to see Savannah on a regular basis. But, life here in the playroom just won't be the same without her!

Instead of focusing on the sad, imminent goodbye, we shall rejoice and celebrate that Savannah has grown and matured so much in the little-more-than-a-year that she has been here. She has grown to become an independant, creative, compassionate young preschooler.

On that note, I'm advertising an open spot. I'm looking for a 3-4 year old to care for, either full time or part time. I do have the space for a pair of siblings, if your preschooler has a baby brother/sister.

Please email me at maggietruitt (at) gmail *dot* com. I will be happy to e-mail the handbook, forms, and rates sheet to any serious inquiries!

Savannah

Savannah was Childcare by Maggie's first enrollment back in November of 2007! I can't believe how much I've seen her grow up in the last year. This truly is a testament to how quickly they change!

When I first met Savannah, she was barely toddling. Now, she is an avid runner, jumper, and has started skipping everywhere. She is potty trained, weaned from her "binkie" and drinks from a big girl cup. More importantly, she is cuddly and loving - at least once a day she will randomly tell me that she loves me. And she'll do that for the other kiddos in care, too. She's extremely affectionate and caring. She loves loves loves books and right now, will spend an hour or two at a time cutting and pasting at the art table! She also loves dress-up, swinging, cooking projects (especially baking!) and play-doh.

Because of my technical difficulties, I only have a few photos to share. Savannah's story could take a whole series of posts, just because I've known her so long and have so many milestones to share! Alas, this eye candy will have to do. Enjoy!

Savannah and Julia often dress up and put on a fashion show of sorts...

If she was able to, I think Savannah would swing all day and night every day of her life!

Savannah is painting with cars! She loves art projects now, but she never cares to get her hands very messy.

Play-doh is another all-time favorite. Here, she's working it into a pancake. We spent many hours of the summer on the back patio making play-doh pancakes!

Water play is never boring with Savannah around!

Lookie! My hands are green!

I just had to include this picture - see how enamored Savannah is? She's like that with all the babies! Poor Julia looks left out in the background here.... but I'm sure that Savannah turned around and gave Julia a big hug after this shot was taken!

Sadly, the kids grow up so fast. Savannah is such a blessing to have here! Being the oldest daycare kiddo we have, she sets a great example! We love her!

Technical Difficulties

I can't wait to share Savannah's story here! It's frustrating that I'm experiencing technical difficulties, and will not be able to share her pictures and story until I get my new toys all squared away.

Soon after Paityn's post, I got a new computer. For some reason, I can't seem to get the camera to attach to this computer... it's going to require Mr. Rich's expertise - and he's been working a ton of hours each week, leaving little time for this problem.

As soon as it all gets squared away, Savannah's story will be published. :) Thanks for being patient!

Paityn

FINALLY!  Well, it took me more than a week, but I'm still good on my word :)  I compose these things 2 seconds at a time, darting in the office when I can escape for a quick second. ...I knew you'd understand.  Without further ado:

Paityn is the newest member of our childcare family! She first came in August, and is a part-timer. We LOVE the days when Paityn is here! She helps the mornings go by really fast... she's an early one, and is always in a fairly agreeable (if not very joyful and silly!) mood. I've never been much of a morning person, but I really do look forward to the mornings when Paityn helps me start the day.

Here's shot of her on her very first day... she was so very tired :)


After a while, she started to warm up to the idea of playing with me and all the other kiddos...


Paityn is a very quick learner. She watches the other kiddos complete a challenge, and knows just what to do when it's her turn.


I wish I had some video of her talking... Paityn will chat up a storm when she's in the mood! Her babbling is probably one of the things that makes me smile most on the days when she's here. She's going to have quite the vocabulary when all those sounds and noises start to make sense!


Paityn enjoys participating in everything we do. She's really quite a serious painter!

From sept08

As I've already said, she catches on quick. I bet she'll be potty trained before her next birthday!

From sept08

...as soon as she figures out how to properly use the toilet, of course


Without a doubt, Paityn's smile can cheer anybody up...