End of January update

silly photo summary of the month

January started out good but ended even better than it started. Daycare girl is a great fit. Sean and Maddy love having a playmate almost everyday. When she's not here, they ask me about her at least a few times a day. We started going to a weekly story time and the kids love it. It's also helping Sean tremendously with his independence. And speaking of independence, Sean is doing wonderful in dance! Just a couple weeks ago he wouldn't let me go to the other side of the room without him. Yesterday he did tap all by himself without me in the room!! sn:the class is half an hour of ballet followed by half an hour of tap. I could seriously jump for joy!

And Maddy..wow, where did my baby go? I would like to say I've only been potty training her for about 2 weeks but in all reality, I've been slowly doing it since she was born almost 22 months ago. BUT, about 2 weeks ago we said goodbye to diapers except for when we were not at home and for bedtime. A few days ago she told me she had to go for the first time and as the days go by, she tells me more and more. Most of her accidents are right after she tells me and we're not close enough to the potty. Accidents are now at about 2 a day. Yesterday we made the jump and said good bye to diapers except for bedtime. We were out of the house for 7 hours and it wasn't until an hour before we got home that she had an accident. She told me she had to go but we didn't get there fast enough. I'm very pleased with her progress and it's nice having no kids in diapers when I don't have the young daycare kids!

A look toward next month:
February will bring yet another playmate!! Our cousin Zach will is now enrolled in my daycare and starts Tuesday!

School Days

This week we took a break from our themed school weeks. I had spent some time in the beginning of the month doing a lot of lesson planning. I thought I had done a month's worth of planning only to realize Monday that I had nothing for the week. So, this week we just played it by ear which meant it was a lazy week. Wednesday we went to our weekly story time at the library and the kids pick out books. The rest of the week was just a bunch of playing, reading and painting. We ended the week with a new friend (new drop-in daycare kid) to play with.

Finger painting..messy but oh so much fun.


My little reader..I think he enjoys looking at the books and making his own stories as much as me reading to him.


Books the kids picked out:
Little Apple Goat- Caroline Church
Rain Dance- Kathi Appelt
Tarzanna- Babette Cole
The Dog Who Cried Woof- Nancy Coffelt
The White Seal- Rudyard Kipling

Project 52: Week 4

Two big milestones happened this week!

We started potty training Maddy! Potty, TV and super hero capes go together, right?


And Sean gained independence! He made major improvement at dance by spending a little bit of time in class without me. I think story time has helped him with that. Here's him (blue shirt) all the way in front at story time.

School Days: Martin Luther King Jr

Monday was Martin Luther King Jr day so that was our theme for the week. An activity we did was I wrapped 3 blocks; 1 in a plain white blanket and 2 in really pretty and exciting blankets. I then asked Sean and the daycare girl which one they would want. The pretty one was picked because of it's looks. The blocks were unwrapped and I pointed out how they were all the same despite the fact that one was very plain and boring on the outside. The conversation went into how not everyone looks the same (different skin, eye and hair color)but we're all pretty much the same inside and should be treated that way. Then we talked about who Martin Luther King was and how boys and girls of different skin color use to not be allowed to play together. I'm happy to say that they immediately knew that wasn't fair.

Our craft was paper doll chains put together with the poem "The Crayon Box That Talked"




Reading list:
My First Martin Luther Book- Dee Lillegard
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day- Robin Nelson

Project 52: Week 3

This past week we welcomed a couple new pets into our home...rats!! Or raps as Maddy calls them.


This is Templeton and he is about 5 months old.


This is Rizzo and he is about 2 1/2 months old.



Templeton is tamer than Rizzo but with daily handling, I'm sure Rizzo will become just as comfortable with us. He's very curious!

We started out with them in a cage that we housed a Guinea Pig in a few years back but soon realized that it was too small for them. I then found a really good deal on a big bird cage and that's now their new home.

School Days: Animals in Winter

Before I go into what we did this week, here's the craft from last week that we didn't get to..coffee creamer snowmen!








This week was kind of a continuation of last week. This week we talked about animals in winter: migration, hibernation and how it's harder for animals to find food in the winter. Our big project was to help feed the animals (birds and squirrels).

Toast, peanut butter and bird seed:




Orange peel, peanut butter and bird seed:


And fruit strung on pipe cleaners:


Maddy was more interested in moving seeds from one bowl to another with a spoon:


In our tree:


A couple of the toast cut outs broke:


Pipe cleaner feeders:


Then we threw the rest of the pieces of toast and some popcorn around the yard:


We had many more squirrels than birds and most of the birds we did have flew away when I tried to get pictures.








Reading list:
Bear Snores On -Karma Wilson
Sleepy Bear -Lydia Dabcovich
Honk! Honk! A Story of Migration -Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom
Don't Wake Up the Bear! -Marjorie Murray

Kids say

The things that come out of kids mouths...wow. I really need to start keeping track of everything the kids come up with.

Monday Sean and the girl I watch were talking about socks. I over heard Sean tell her "sissy has matching socks! Mama has matching...feet!". Nice to know! LOL

Today I hear Sean in the bathroom talking to himself. I peak in the cracked door to see him looking at himself in the mirror, arms up to show his muscles saying "I'm big. I'm a boy. I'm strong. I have tools. I build!!" I hope he never loses that self esteem!

And in case you were wondering, Sean and his muscles:

Project 52: Week 2

I've decided that since I post my homeschooling posts on weekends, my Project 52 posts will be on Wednesdays. Here's a look into our house the last week.

On Sunday, Maddy put herself to bed...just not in her bed..


Today, I learned that not only are my kids obsessed over oral hygiene but that winter jackets and hats are the appropriate attire.

Project 52: Week 1

Last year I attempted to do 365 days in pictures along with some friends on a mommy forum. I failed. One of the mommies did much better than I did but still didn't manage to get 365 pictures. She had the idea to change it to 52 weeks in pictures. 52 instead of 365 doesn't seem as daunting. So, that's what I'm going to do. I already do a post just about every week on our homeschooling lesson. Project 52 will be other pictures of our week. Some weeks will be one picture while other weeks will be more.

Week 1: Sean playing with his clothing closure caterpillar

School Days: Winter

After a bit of a break, we're back on track. This week we talked about winter: winter weather, winter clothing and a little bit about winter sports. The little girl I watch was not here on Friday so Friday's project has been pushed back to next week.

We decorated the front window with paper snowflakes.


And made snowmen from glue.


This week's reading list:
Katie Discovers Winter -Liesbet Slegers
It's Winter -Linda Glaser*
The Snowy Day -Ezra Keats
Snow is Falling -Franklyn Branley
The Mitten -Jan Brett*
Angelina Ice Skates -Katharine Holabird*

*=favorites

Back in the saddle again

In two different ways. We pretty much took a month off from homeschooling. We did a good amount of holiday themed crafts and activities but that was it. This week we got back on track. More on what we're doing at the end of the week. Today also marks the end of week one with a new daycare kid (4 year old girl). It's nice having another older child in the house. Sean thrives playing with someone older. This also adds another to my homeschooling. Crazy as it sounds, adding another child has made things run smoother. It's easier to stick to a routine. It's been five months since I've had a full timer in the house. It's great! The last five months have been a roller coaster. I lost count on how many no shows on interviews I had. Or the ones that came for an interview and I never heard from them again...even though the interview seemed to go great. I even had some sign up and then drop after two days of care. It's been crazy!! I started to have doubts about being in this business. It seemed like a headache. Then I saw a want ad right before Christmas. We seemed to hit it off over the phone. I was hopeful but didn't hold my breath. I relaxed a little after the interview b/c they wanted to enroll. Things have been going very well. Knock on wood that it continues. Even if it doesn't, I've regained my faith in this career choice. I really love being a childcare provider! It's the job searching and sometimes the parents that drive me crazy. But the day to day caring, teaching and watching the children grow is what I love. Sometime this month my cousin's son will be joining us too. He's also 4. I'm pretty darn excited! Some days I'll be at my ratio limit (first time since I've started 2 years ago!). On the other days, I will just have my two and the two 4 year olds. On those days, I plan to get out of the house more. Like today for example, we went for a playdate. Next week, we're going to check out the library's story time. 9:30am at Central for anyone that wants to join us!

Good bye 2010, Hello 2011!

Wow, another year gone. A pretty good year too. Let's start with a look back at 2010.

In 2010:
**We became first time homeowners by buying the house that not only I grew up in but is also the house my mom grew up in!
**Welcomed a new fur baby into our life.
**Maddy had her first birthday.
**Sean went through lots of testing to find out why he wasn't growing normal only to have a growth spurt after all the testing was done.
**We had a vacation to Maryland to visit with family. On the way up met an online friend and her family in person for the first time.
**Sean had his third birthday.
**We had a day trip down to Nags Head to meet two more online friends in person for the first time.
**I started homeschooling Sean.
**We celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary.
**I became an Avon representative.
**I had many ups and downs in my daycare business but ended the year better than I started it.

All I hope for is that 2011 be as good or better!

In 2011, I would like to:
**Make the pup a family dog...more training and exercise. She needs to learn not to jump on people, nip at my feet (herding dog!) and just be calmer! Then she'll be allowed in the livingroom with everyone else.
**Stop caring what some think of my attachment parenting/non-mainstream ways.
**Be more active...walking the dog will kill 2 birds w/1 stone
**More date nights w/hubby