messy fun

i knew it was going to be a hot one today

so we headed out right after breakfast

around 8:30am

it was BEAUTIFUL!!

i really didn't want to take them back in for project time 

so...

i brought out the paint

a bucket of soapy water

paint brushes, tooth brushes 

and an old towel i cut up

and the kids were BUSY!

painting the house

(i added dish soap to the paint so i knew the paint would come off easily)

painted the big window

(it needs to be cleaned!!!!!)

the kids think this is the coolest thing that i let them paint the big window!

playing in a soapy bucket of water

oh, hello little friend!

today was not only childcare but puppycare 

we had a little visitor for a couple days and we will be so sad to see her go!

she was an excellent dog!!

these two boys were soaked!!  and loving every single minute of it!

i think as long as they have a car or a bucket of water they are content!

soapy bucket of water is a treat!

work in progress before the kids decided it was time to wash it all off!

more painting and brushing going on!

i would have never guessed that 

dish rags in soapy water+ toddlers = happy busy boys!

wringing out the rags was about the only thing this little man did for a good 30 minutes!

washing the house!

so friends get out some soapy paint, some soapy water and let the kids have fun making a mess and then cleaning that mess back up again!  i have a feeling this will become a weekly project at this daycare!

the dirty kid and some sidewalk chalk paint

That was a LONG title

(i apologize now this is a long post with a lot of pics!)

First off sidewalk chalk paint

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

add this to your 

"things i need to do this summer" list

your kids will thank you!

"my" kids said 

"this is the best day ever!"

(didn't think i would hear that pharse considering the morning we had!)

equal parts corn starch and water

add food coloring 

(i used LOTS!)

NEEDS to be stirred well!!!

I made a big batch and then poured into muffin trays and then added the food coloring!

You will need paint brushes as well!

Then set outside and let the kids paint the sidewalk!

This was a SERIOUS hit!!

we also dipped our chalk into bowls of water 

and wrote with it

gives a bright color

and draws smoother!

dip dip dip dip, oh forgot I was suppose to be painting

dip dip dip dip

what are we doing again...

we had multiple bowls of all different colors scattered over the driveway!

the kids were sooo busy painting, splattering!

(i did remind parents to send "junk clothes" so i didn't ruin anything nice!)

some of our creations

the color wasn't as bright as I had hoped

but there is another chalk paint recipe I hope to try out later this summer

when one child makes a square...they ALL make squares!

i love how they squat into their positions!

doesn't matter if it spills because its sooo easy to just make more!!

we had lots of spills because of a certain toddler!

busy busy busy!

 last night my husband commented that

I am giving my readers a bad impression of our son/or my parenting 

he is "the dirty kid"

You know what I am talking about

that kid that goes into a white room that is spotless 

but manages to come out covered in dirt and mud.

that is my son!

he is "the dirty kid"

he will hopefully be very proud of that title someday!

but for now

I apologize to his future teachers

this picture gives no justice to how dirty this kid was! 

he was the toddler spilling EVERYTHING

then sitting in it

but...

he was the happiest toddler EVER

and that is saying a lot considering we call him

grumpa lumpa

My husband will frown at this post and how dirty his son is 

but my thought is

HE IS HAPPY

LET HAPPY BE!!

he is not hurting anyone or anything 

(other than maybe a pair of pants and a couple shirts)

so go out get some cornstrach, paint brushes (i used wider brushes so kids could see results quicker)

and some food coloring and let your kids paint the sidewalk!

anyone else out there have "the dirty kid"?

Ice Treasures

"WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?"

this is what I heard as I set that blocks of ice out with toys frozen inside!

My reply was

"So you can have fun trying to get them out!"

50 minutes later the toys were unthawed, water EVERYWHERE, and smiling happy kids proud of their hard work!

Here are some pics of the kids working hard to free their icey treasures!

hammering with different utensils



 Pouring warm water to see what happens!

thinking oh he looks soooo cute and he is sooo busy!

then i turn my back and he dumps the bowl of water on himself :)

Happy Friday Friends

Hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend!!

Yarn Blocks

I am going to go off on small tangent

I went to school for 4 years, and complained for 4 years

about the fact that we could never do fun projects with the kids!

By "fun" I meant the cute ones that the teachers do most of the work!

fun??

well college was over and started my first preschool teaching job

(a place I will NEVER forgot and learned soooo much!)

20 kids, NO TIME for "fun" projects!

and then my college education kicked in saying 

kids aren't having fun when you do all the work!

Kids are having fun when they do all the work!

Then comes starting my own daycare!

we did a few things here and there but nothing much!

Then this summer it hit me!

I NEED to do more!  

I NEED to teach these kids!!

and that is when the blog started! and we have been super busy!!

having FUN!  and learning!!

Where am I going with this (i don't really know)

but,

During the months of November and December 

we were doing a LOT of  

"teacher made projects"

I do all the work, I cut the pieces, 

I glue things together

ME, ME, ME

it was cute! the parents loved it, but it wasn't as much fun

Don't get me wrong the kids love doing anything!

But it was becoming

"Hey come here I need to trace your hand!"

PROJECT OVER!

WHAT?!?

I was forgetting to let the kids do what they wanted

not because I found this cute idea on pinterest!

don't get me wrong we will still continue to do these cute projects every now and then

but I need to get back to letting the kids do the work, 

NOT ME!!!

all week I have just given the kids the materials and they got busy!

I love their little creations!

Sometimes I cringe and think...ahhhh that is NOT what I wanted you to do!!!

but that is what THEY  wanted to do!!

and its THEIR project so they get to control it!

Today was that day!

I took a few minutes to wrap blocks in yarn

In my mind the kids were going to stamp with the yarn blocks

and make pretty patterns!

YA RIGHT!

They smeared and mixed colors one paper after another

I even heard, 

"YOU ARE MAKING BROWN!!!!"

There was soooo much mixing and smearing going on brown was being created!!!

and then I took a step back sat on a chair and thought

this isn't what I had in mind but they are

happy, laughing, mixing, creating, counting (how many stamps before they needed more paint) smearing the paint in different directions, it was a mess!  but it wasn't about me it was about them!

Don't get me wrong!  I still love doing the cute crafts and plan on doing one tomorrow!

but remember to think of what the child wants!  Not what we want!

Linking up with Mingle with Us and TGIF Linky Party #11 and Toys in the Dryer

Also linking up with Sharing Saturday!

pLaYdOuGh

PLAYDOUGH...do you love it or do you hate it

Kids:

imagination

creativity

fun

messy

discovering

busy

Parents:

its a mess to clean up

it gets every where

it allows my child to use their imagination

my child is learning and doesn't even know it

my child is making the muscles in their hands stronger for all those other fine motor activities like WRITING

my child is happy

my child is busy

--yes playdough is messy and can be a pain but can we put that aside for all the positivies that come along with it?--

my lists are small, playdough is fun for all ages, and so much can be done with playdough!

From free play, to forming letters out of the playdough!

Again no pics...lazy lady! 

But I do want to share with you my FAVORITE playdough recipie!  Its the best for your basic playdough!

The Best Cooked Play Dough Recipe
This recipe makes long-lasting play dough.

1 cup flour
1 cup water
½ cup salt
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
1 tablespoon oil
Food coloring

Mix dry ingredients and mix wet ingredients(i add the food coloring to the oil this will keep from staining hands), then stir together. Stir constantly over medium heat until the ingredients change from a lumpy paste into more of a rubbery blob. The color will also change a bit, turning less pastel: If you use red dye it will become less pink and more red. Turn out onto a working surface and knead the dough. After making the dough store it in zipper-style bag!

I usually have to add a little more flour to it after I take it off the heat...I keep adding until its no longer sticky but just nice and soft!

--if you don't like food coloring you could add a packet of koolaid instead, it will make a great color and smell wonderful (be prepared the kids might try eat it because it smells so good!)

This playdough will last a long time and will get many uses out of it!!

Now go make some playdough so your child can learn!!!

playing IS learning

This may be a boring blog...sorry!  :)  don't you just want to keep reading!
I am having one of those weeks where I am just not in mood to get out all the paint, painting things, paper ect.  Have the kids create a giant mess and run off to go "play" while I am left with the clean up!  Today I started feeling guilty that it was Wednesday and we really hadnt done a whole lot this week!  I pulled out my camera and started thinking...NO we have been VERY busy...busy learning!!

I use this website alot when I make my plans for the day or update the blog. I am a firm believer in the importance of play!  Being told to sit still and memorize is fun for no one!  Being told to play is fun for everyone.  I am also a HUGE fan of her!  She is amazing and someday if it weren't for a fear of large crowds I would love to be like her!  Sharing all my ideas and beliefs of children with other people that care for children on a daily basis! (maybe someday) 

Like I said this week has been a blah week!  I know I am NOT out of ideas just not feeling it this week but then i say these pics and realized the kids have been plenty busy "playing" and I should NOT feel guilty for slacking off!
Here are a few photos of the kids playing and not even realizing they are learning!

these girls kept busy for almost an hour with dry earse boards!  Writing letters, and drawing people!

here are the kids busy playing playdough!  Again this activity ended after an hour of playing!  SO much learning going on here!  The conversations, the fine motor skills!  Its sooo fun to watch! 

I decided I need to be better about taking the kids during "play" time!  When the kids are building, racing cars, playing doctor, restaurant, or hair salon, pretending to be animals at the vet, or superheros, ect!  There is NEVER a dull moment here (well maybe naptime) but its there is so much going on each day!  Trust me, we have our days where yes there is a whole lot going on but its not very productive but I do my best to turn it around! 

do you ever have those days/weeks where you feel unproductive with your kids?

Just remember as long as they are busy playing they are doing something important!

Even when they are busy getting into trouble they are probally learning!  :)

Things you can do with .... Thursday

I am gonna try find "household" type items and then find things I can do with them with the kids throughout a week or two.  And I will be calling it "Things you can do with....Thursday.

Always up for ideas so please share them!!

Last week and this week we played a lot with Painters Tape!

 The first thing we did with painters tape was make and indoor hopscotch!

A week later it is still there and the kids are still hoping on it daily!

We then painted using painters tape!

I made the first letter of each kids name with tape, had the children paint their piece of paper and then I pulled the tape off so the kiddos could see their letter!  The kids had a blast seeing their letter appear!!

Working on painting our letters!

Taking our time, trying to stay "in the lines"  I never push for children to stay in the lines so its always so funny that with age they start to develop it on their own!

The kids leave and I am left wit this!  oh the joys!

Our final product! 

I discovered that the kids that took longer to paint the tape did not come off as easy.  So I recommend if you do this acitivty to pull the tape off right away!  Also the kiddos that used LOTS AND LOTS of paint their paper also tore a little bit but for the most part they turned out just as I had hoped!

We also made a road on the carpet to drive our car on! 

Busy driving the cars on the road!  I ran out of tape so our road isn't very big! :(

This little dude LOVES to make lines so lining his cars up on a line, he was in heaven!

I love how busy they get with new things!

Here comes TROUBLE!!

Don't mind the road block!  The boys would just "fly" their cars over the road block! 

 

Our last acitivy with painters tape was a target!

Look at the form on that kid!

The kids were given permission to throw objects at the wall!  We only threw the noodles we had cut up earlier in the week!  So far no large and hard objects have been thrown at the target!

Well that was our fun with painter's tape!  Would LOVE to hear what you do with painters tape as well!

Hasta Manana, Iguana!!