I'm trying really hard to remember to take pictures as much as I can, but I'm failing hard. We've been very busy learning to share and taking turns (literally about 70% of our days) while playing. I've found setting a timer for things works very well with this set of kiddos. If a child is playing with a toy and another child wants it, I first have the wantee ask the playee if they can have a turn when they're done. I then suggest to the playee to give the other child a turn and when they agree, I say, "okay, you have _____ amount of time with _____ toy and when the timer goes off, you give it to them." This has worked very well and has greatly reduced the amount of cries and fights over toys. I have to say, I'm pretty lucky because this group of kids are not fighters. If someone is upset there's tears, but no slaps to the face or pushes to the ground (once you've been a parent to boys or dealt with numerous children at once, you realize this is a "lucky break").
Other than that, we've been trying to fit in quite a few Thanksgiving activities and projects. We've been singing "10 Little Turkeys," practicing our gobbling (also called "what does the turkey say?"), reading our Thanksgiving books, and doing Thanksgiving arts and crafts. From what I remembered to take, here's some pictures of the past two weeks at daycare:
Thankful leaves on our Thankful wall. I love doing these each year; it's by far my favorite project of the year. We've been doing this the last few years and hearing what the kids are thankful for never gets old! Here's a post I wrote about our Thankful Wall.
She's a walking Gap ad. I have a lot of little girls in daycare at the moment and nearly every morning, they carefully watch Elizabeth get dressed. If she's wearing a dress, there's squeals from the one year olds who reach out and touch her dress (there was even a "pretty" one morning).
The kids got to enjoy Election Day in their own special way. We've been "voting" for things for a couple of weeks, but this day we had an "official" voting box and they could even fill out a voting sheet. This is a great and easily understood concept by ages two and up (although I did have a couple of 18 month olds who happily partook in the voting).
I love my coffee and the kids know this. As soon as my cup is done brewing, I hear "it's done Ash!" They then get their play coffee cups and "drink" right along with me! I'm very excited for our upcoming Hot Chocolate Bar because I think the kiddos will be thrilled to have a real special drink like mine.
Sometimes you have to keep lunchtime entertaining so they'll stop talking/playing long enough to eat. On this day, I kept them entertained for over a half hour (lunch was long done by the end) by blowing in an empty Coke bottle. I love hearing their laughter in the video above!
My favorite: we read a book about going to Grandma's Thanksgiving Day. After reading, they used towels and blankets to create their own car "to go to Thanksgiving vacation." I love seeing how they take something we've read and create it into play!
Hand print flags for Veteran's Day. We talked about Veteran's Day and what it is/means, but I don't think a single kid got it. They did however ask for fireworks when they saw their completed flags.
Rest time and PBS. I usually allow quiet activities for the kids that no longer require a nap, however if they can't be quiet during those activities, they have to lay down and "rest" too (usually with a PBS cartoon or a movie occasionally). On this day they decided on having a "slumber party" during rest time.
This picture says it all for me. Harrison got upset when I told him he couldn't do something and started crying (aka- threw a massive, unnecessary fit). All of the kids came up to him to check on him, make note of his tears, pat his back, and let me know he was "being naughty" (I tend to ignore tantrums like that and tell the kids I'll speak to them when they can speak to me without crying or whining). I love that not only are they concerned about their friend and that even the youngest kids know the rules, but there's always someone there in this house. This house is full of chaos, laughter, love, friends, tears, and "being naughty."
Chocolate cake for a little's birthday was obviously a hit.
They decorated fall leaves with Roll On Painters and did their little scraps of paper leaves. Things got a tad messy with the glue, but they turned out well. Bonus that no one got any glue or pieces of paper caught in their hair (it's been known to happen).
Big controversy of a morning: A cat. In the doll bed! Oh the playing dilemmas it caused!
The boys went out to play one late afternoon/early evening and spotted an owl in the tree. Read more about that here.
Again, things got a bit messy with the glue (therefore they took extra long to dry) but the turkeys turned out adorable.
This one decided she needed to paint her nails one day after school (with safe, kid polish) and had an impressed little audience.
The kids asked if they could use my storage containers to "make a chocolate cake." They filled them with water and left them on my kitchen floor to bake. I'm completely used to random things being on the floor at all hours of the day, but imagine my surprise when I bumped into a bowl (full of water, which I apparently neglected to notice) and water splashed all over me. I then had to deal with a wet leg and tears from the kids who claimed I ruined their chocolate cake.
Ring Around The Rosie. They have been playing this a lot lately!
We did our yearly Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and things got interesting. We read the book and sat down to eat outside because it was a 75 degree day. As soon as the kids took their first bites, a squirrel ran near (damn well up to the table!). I didn't realize the cat came out with us and the cat chased the squirrel. This resulted in all of the kids screaming, a few tears, and then begging to come inside. So they ate their Charlie Brown Thanksgiving in the living room instead. For more details on our Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, check here.
My paint order arrived. Hoping this is enough paint to last for all of our holiday projects!
The kids went on A Turkey Hunt! Read more about this incredibly fun activity here.
We added pumpkin "sand" to the water table. The kids have loved playing in it daily. It's actually much easier to clean up when played with on the carpet because it vacuums up quickly (sweeping on the tile can take awhile).
This upcoming week will be a short, three day week, but FILLED with activities!