We had a busy summer week again at daycare. We wound up having only one theme day because the kids have been playing incredibly well with each other and without much direction. They've done a great job sharing, using their words (and yes, this is still something I have to make sure the 7 year olds do), getting really creative with their games and pretending, coloring and practicing their writing and journaling every afternoon (without even being asked to do it!) and have been working together to build some impressive Lego towers and cities.
Our summer helper Silvia is the kid's favorite person at the moment. They love to have her here and I love having the help during the days! I can get much more accomplished and all of the kids can get attention on those super busy days.
I've been trying to remember to take pictures throughout our days, but it's hard to remember too when the kids have simply been playing. Here's a quick look at our week:
We made two kinds of brownies one day (chocolate chip and M & M). The kids ate some of the brownies and we saved some to use as toppings during their Ice Cream Day. Ice Cream Day 2015 was a hit and one of their favorite theme days thus far. Read more about Ice Cream Day here.
Playing beauty parlor (yes, even the boys).
We made a daycare hand print canvas that now hangs in my living room for the summer. Each summer, we make some kind of daycare remembrance. Last year was t-shirts decorated with Sharpie markers. This year we decided to do the canvas after the kids commented that they wanted to see their art work on the living room walls.
We had a pizza picnic lunch outside. We were suppose to do a Pizza Day last Friday, but several kids weren't going to be around and didn't want to miss out. Instead, earlier in the week, we ordered pizza. Suddenly the sad thoughts of no Pizza Day were gone.
The kids worked hard on their Father's Day presents. Thank you Pinterest for the cute idea!
One of their afternoon coloring projects: create-a-face and decorating boy and girl paper cut outs. I was impressed by the detail the kids colored while making their boys and girls.
We ended our week with a day jumping in the bounce house and trying out Chinese food for lunch. The kids informed me last week that they wanted to try new foods for lunches and snacks. We decided upon trying several new ethnic foods this summer. Our next ethnic food day will be Italian food. It's also a great geography and cultural/history lesson as the kids want to know where each country/continent is and all about the culture.
I've been pretty lucky this summer and feel like I'm having the easiest days because I have had to plan every few activities for them. While I love the new creativity and independence they've developed, I can't help but be a tad disappointed with our lack of planned activities and themed days. My favorite part of every busy summer is watching the kid's relationships with each other grow and change as they get older. That I'm not disappointed about in the least.