We are having a blast building with egg cartons this morning. And knocking them down is even more fun! It has been such a great opportunity for teamwork, negotiating, problem solving, structure/engineering experience, vocabulary building, and more!
|
We decided to start our pumpkin harvest this week, but we had a problem... "How are we going to get the pumpkins way up on the top of our tunnel?" Hmmmm...not a problem for long with this group of problem solvers! :)   The kids spent a lot of time this past week creating an obstacle course in the yard! The planning, trial & error, teamwork, and of course, large motor work were amazing to watch! #looseparts    We had tons of fun experimenting with our brand new pendulum today. This fantastic idea from Play Counts was an awesome lesson in physics, structure and stability, cooperation, teamwork, vocabulary, and so much more!
 One of my favorite things about having family childcare in my own home is that we are completely free to follow the interests of the kids. Today, one of our friends asked if we could bake something for our snack...so of course, we did! We decided on these Double Chocolate (black bean!) muffins. It was a fun culinary experiment, we had a great time making them together, and they gobbled them up at snack time! The recipe we used can be found here: http://veggieandthebeastfeast.com/2014/11/13/double-chocolate-black-bean-muffins/   We made our own window clings today! One of the kids brought some little window clings for everyone in their Valentine's a couple weeks ago and they were a big hit, so I knew the kids would love making some of our own. We actually started the project yesterday and waited until today to cut them out and play with them. They turned out great and my favorite part is that they are completely edible, so even the littlest ones could come and check them out safely! I found the instructions for this great project at The Science Kiddo. We only made half of the recipe listed there because that's all the gelatin I had, and I think we got plenty out of it. I made sure to pour them pretty thin though (1/8 - 1/4 inch) so they wouldn't be too heavy to stick, as she mentioned some people had trouble with that. We measured, poured, mixed, dropped colors into the gelatin mixture, and waited for it to set. Then today, we cut out lots of fun shapes and had a great time sticking them up on the big window! This was a fun sensory activity, science lesson, and provided lots of opportunity for new vocabulary and teamwork! We will definitely be trying this one again sometime!  Now a full week into 2015, I have so enjoyed looking back on what an amazing year 2014 was! I was blessed enough to spend MANY special moments with some super special kids, and thankful that some of those moments were even preserved on camera. I have chosen my very favorite photos from the past year, and I hope you all will enjoy getting a glimpse of the joy, learning, friendships, and excitement that we have experienced together. As with all photos, what makes them great is the story behind them, so I've added descriptions to some that explain why they are my favorites. Just click the post link to see all the photos!
 We started working on our Water Wall today! If you remember, we did a water wall last summer too and had a lot of fun with it. With as much rain as we have had around our area lately, rarely has learning about water flow been a more relevant activity! Since the kids were familiar with the concept from last time and since we have a couple of older kids with us now, this time I just set out the materials and let the kids work on building it.  I think it will be a work in progress for most of the summer so feel free to send along any fun plastic bottles as you empty them!   SO much great learning going on in just this photo! :) A couple of the kids asked this morning if they could make a giant spider web with yarn (something we have done here before). Well, they got to work and as I watched and listened, I was once again amazed at all the learning that was going on in their PLAY!
Large motor control and agility practice as they figured out how to maneuver over, under, and through the web... fine motor work too, as they carefully wrapped up little toy bugs in the web for the spider to eat. And the greatest little science lesson as they discussed why they were wrapping up those bugs: Child 1: "We are wrapping them up so the spider can eat them. Actually, they just drink their blood." Child 2: "Gross!" Child 1: "Yeah, but it's healthy for them. And if we drink blood it just goes into our tummy." Me: "Do people drink blood?" Child 2: "No! But we have blood inside us!" This is the way learning is supposed to be...THEY chose the subject, and THEY chose how to go about their learning, which makes what they learn relevant and meaningful! Facebook has made it way too easy for me to NOT post here! If you are on FB and haven't found us there yet, be sure to check out Hilary's Home Daycare there, too! It is so much easier for me to add a quick photo there so I do it a bit more often. Anyway, today is our very last day before school starts here and we lose our school-aged friends! We are going to miss them SO MUCH!!! But, for today, we are just focusing on having one more fun day together!  We got out some paint and various painting tools: stamps, rollers, brushes, etc. and made a big group painting. I also had some sheets of paper available for those who wanted to make something to take home. They painted, and painted, and painted some more so I think it was a successful morning! :)  |
More ways to join the fun!:
Welcome!Welcome to Hilary's Home Daycare & Preschool! Take a look through these pages to get a glimpse of what our days are like! If your child is currently enrolled in Hilary's Home Daycare, be sure to check out the "Look what we did today!" section often to join in our fun! Childcare Openings:Currently, Hilary's Home Daycare has no childcare positions available. If you would like to be added to our waiting list, please submit a message under the "Contact Me" tab. Be sure to include the words "waiting list," your child(ren)'s age(s), and the best way to contact you for an interview, should a spot become available. Thank you! Archives
July 2017
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
