A daycare day without school. We haven't had one of these kind of days since August! It was a much needed play day for everyone, including me. I was reminded of why I do what I do each day. While each day is busy and filled with activities, we haven't do a ton of "super fun" activities. You know, those high value activities (literally, because I spend more money than I should on some of those things!) that are messy, may ruin a thing or two, and that the kids will talk about for weeks afterwards. I've been missing those things probably more than the kids!
On Sunday afternoon, the minis and I cleaned the daycare room and did a toy rotation. We decided to put away some of the smaller toys (Little People, figurines, building blocks, etc.) and bring up the Barbie's. The only problem with this is the dog, who will happily grab a Barbie or clothes and chew away. Plus, I didn't want to have to worry about any Barbie shoes being swallowed or misplaced. I had the minis pick out several dolls and changes of clothes, along with all of the furniture for the house. There's a lot less to keep track of this way.
The kids had a special morning snack of mug cakes. I have a few simple recipes to whip them up, but I decided on these for an extra special treat. No one disliked them.
The kids spent most of the day playing with Legos, Barbies, refreshed Cra Z Snow, building with the giant Waffle Blocks, and playing "house" in the tent. I separated stuffed animals into 10 groups. Stuffed animals are a no-no at the moment with Covid, but I after organizing, I have enough to wash and rotate in new stuffed animals twice a day for the next week. I'm not sure if I'm impressed we can do this or baffled by how many stuffed animals we actually have.
All kids are in this picture: in the blocks, in the tent, or in a box. No children were harmed in the taking of this photo, all adults were slightly alarmed just before this photo when she walked into the room from peeing only to NOT see any children. They thought they were hilarious.
The one thing the kids miss is doing our fun art projects. So, each kid got a canvas and free reign of the paint supplies. For an hour they mixed to get the paint color they wished, made designs, and perfected their pictures.
The big fun for the day was shaving cream ice skating. I had imagined them "skating" on rolled out paper, but the paper was quickly crumpled and instead they used the kitchen floor for their skating designs. It took a hot minute to clean, but it wasn't as big of a mess as I had imagined it to be!
Only one kid required a nap and proclaimed, "no, don't make me!" when it was suggested he sleep by himself. So, one sleeping kid in a room of kids using "quiet voices, " who don't really understand that meaning. I guess it was a win for all because the sleeper slept and the kids played.
More than anything, the kids were happy to just have a day together. I realized how mentally exhausting school at daycare is and was reminded how physically exhausting daycare is! I lucked out and didn't have to cook because the oldest mini made Moroccan couscous for dinner (backstory: the oldest is learning about Africa in social studies and had to do a research project on a country in Africa. He chose Morocco, so he wanted to make the national dish. It also fits in with his goal of eating more international foods this year).
