A Little November Nostalgia

Photo of the playroom in November 2011. Looking back to my post last November, I am filled with pride at how the daycare has grown! A year ago, I was just getting started on this amazing adventure and I am so pleased and grateful to have met so many wonderful families along the way. :D Last November I had 5 children enrolled, this November I have 12 who come at various times through out the week. It is so positive to look at the past and see how far we have come! When I think about some of the little ones that I met a year ago, it is so fun to remember and celebrate all of their successes! I feel so fortunate to be able to celebrate new beginnings all year round. The children have taught me how to see each new day as a new beginning and that life really is a celebration everyday! Take a moment and really watch a child play or dance. You are watching joy unfold in it's purest form. There is no holding back, or waiting for a better time. Today is always the right time to celebrate living! This month our themes have been: Helping People, Feelings, Our Country, Our World, Our Solar System. We focused on the letters: G, H, I, J and numbers 5,6, 7,and 8. In our beyond ABC book we have learned ai, ea, ee. We are working on blending letter sounds together to make words. In fact, we are reading!! I've seen everyone with their nose in a book and I love it! I absolutely love the pic I took of one toddler this month....the look of concentration and interest in the book is fabulous. You are never too young to get wrapped up in a story. :D We added a new way to do our alphabet sign language this month, saying each letter sound rhythmically as we make the sign with our hand. All of the kids really enjoy the ABC wall in the playroom. We sing as we point to the letters and play seek and find games with it. We have been doing so many puzzles and table toy games this month!! The kids especially like the counting bears. They use them to count and to sort colours. Making playdough, scones, muffins, star sandwiches and seeing what happens when we put apples in the dehydrator are some fun and yummy activities we shared. Some business to finish off with: Please make sure your child has weather-appropriate clothing at daycare. I highly recommend that children bring rain pants and suits (super suits or muddy buddies!) Our yard gets super muddy in the rainy season and the pants and suits really save children from getting wet and cold!

Happy Halloween!

October has been a really fun and yummy month at Judy's Little Gems. We celebrated Family and Thanksgiving. We made our own family portraits and menus. It was fun to paint our own pumpkins and make jackolanterns. The pumpkin muffins were delicious and the group game, "tape the stem on the pumpkin" was challenging! Our art was filled with bats, cats and spiders. Our stories taught us a little more about these amazing creatures! The kids really enjoyed the dress-up costumes and it was super fun to see which ones the kids chose to wear. Time really flew by this month!! Happy Halloween everybody!

September at Judy's Little Gems

September has been such a busy and fun month! We have been so lucky to have such beautiful warm weather to enjoy. We've collected rocks and leaves on nature walks and experienced the sounds of birds and water flowing in the creek. Last night we noticed some geese flocking together and I hope our little ones get a chance to see this too! The themes we have been discussing have been: Fall, Leaves, Apples, Changing Weather, Sharing, and Safety Rules. Some skills we have focused on are learning to hold a pencil, using scissors, writing names, pre-math skills(counting in french and english to 30, counting backwards from 10-0, addition and subtraction concepts, counting by 10's)We are learning the days of the week, months of the year in french and english, alphabet in sign language, and discovering the importance of the written word by making story pictures. When we make story pictures, the children color a picture and then dictate to me the story behind it. I write the words down as they tell me. These are wonderful keepsakes for your child, since they give us insight into what is important to them at this time in their lives. :)

Really Important!! To avoid the spread of illness in the daycare it is best to keep your child at home if they: have a fever, unexplained rash, diarrhea, vomiting and if your child is too unwell to participate in all of the activities. If your child experiences any of these symptoms while in my care I will contact you so you can take care of your little one at home.

A real highlight for me this month was to watch two of our babies become toddlers. :D To see the new freedom, excitement and pride that they experience is just awesome! I love watching the children experience new things and have so much fun introducing new activities. Bingo dabbers were new this month and they are fun! This is something that children of all ages enjoy....we put the plastic table cloth on the table, put on our huge paint shirts and go for it! (With babies I hold the dabber with them so it doesn't go in their mouths) We sing and dab, make lots of noise and mess and we love it! Something else I really enjoyed this month was buying new toys. I literally couldn't wait to see how the kids played with them(Since I bought them on the weekend, Kaiya and I tested them out first) :) Just another reminder(disregard this if you are one of the majority of my amazingly organized families) Please make sure your child comes to daycare with: a few changes of clothes that are ok to get messy, since mess happens in many ways at daycare!! The kids will also need weather appropriate wear such as boots, raincoats and pants,warm coats, running shoes, hats and mittens as the weather gets cooler. It's really important that we get outside for fresh air each day. :) Thank you so much for this kind of support. I really appreciate it! I would like to welcome the new families that have joined us this month. :D It is so great to have you here! Already I see new friendships starting and it was amazing and inspiring for me to see how open, friendly, and loving your children are. Thank you so much for bringing your little ones to me. They brighten my days and are such a gift. Judy.

August Udate

We have been having an amazing summer at the daycare. Last month we introduced musical theatre, ballet, soccer and yoga to the kids and I was witness to some really imaginative games that the children came up with on their own. :) The bubbles and sprinkler are still super fun! Themes this month will be Jungle adventure, Space, Ocean, and All Around the World. We will continue our nature walks, trips to the playground and the petting zoo at the Filberg Park. We will continue to work on writing and recognizing our names in print, phone numbers, Sign language alphabet and introductory words, introductory french, counting to 20. The kids are doing a great job with the calendar. They know the days of the week song and we are working on the months of the year. We are regularly counting to 30 and will continue counting by 10s. We have added activity sheets for math and writing skills and the kids really enjoy working on them. :) August 27 and 31 we will have Kindermusik with Carol Anne. I am really excited to introduce her to our group! She will be here between 10 and 11 am, all parents are welcome to join us. :) Thanks so much for continuing to slap on the sunscreen in the mornings and provide hats, bathing suits and changes of clothes. It's great to get outside and be free to get a little messy! A child's play is often messy work......and so much fun. :) I am looking for a few more preschoolers (3-5) to join us for our preschool mornings. We are full Tuesday, but have space every other day. The program is progressing really nicely and my aim is to give children a solid foundation for Kindergarten. Wishing you a fabulous long weekend and a fun and exciting August! Judy.

Summer weather is finally here!!

The weather has been amazing, and we are loving it!! I am super excited to say it's bathing suit weather....and we will be doing lots of water play. :D  Make sure to send your child with a swim suit, towel and a hat! Thanks everyone for putting sunscreen on your child in the mornings so that we can head out to the backyard first thing in the morning. :)

Some fun themes we are enjoying this month are: Fairy tales and Nursery Rhymes, Dinosaurs, Pets,and Prince and Princesses.   We have also been enjoying some fun classes.  Last week Katarina came by to do some Musical Theatre with our kids and I did some ballet classes as well.  This week we have been having fun with soccer.  I am in the process of organizing some music classes for August. :)  New this month in our learning themes is the introduction of some french words.  We have been counting to ten, singing our clean up song and learning a few meaningful words in french.  So far in our Letterland book we have done the sounds: ch ph, sh, th, wh, aw, ew, ow, wr, and ar..  We have been working on recognizing our written names and have started writing them this month.  We will be adding our phone numbers to the back of our name cards this month.
             Big news:  Our bean plants that we grew from tiny seeds have beans!!

Happy Birthday to K who turned 3 last month and to E who just turned 1.  :)

Welcome to the new families that have joined us this summer, it is so great to have the pleasure of getting to know you and your little ones.  Thank you so much to all of  my daycare families for being such a bright and happy part of my life.   You are my sunshine!!

Wow, it's June already!

This Father Son moment makes me laugh every time I see it! 

There is so much to celebrate this month: Father's Day, Birthdays, Summer, and School is Out for the big kids!
Some other themes this month will be: Bubbles, Balls, Bicycles, Lady Bugs, Butterflies and Moths, Frogs, Turtles, Goldfish, Birds, Picnics, Fishing and Sailboats.

 Our Learning Themes: Alphabet Jive Aa-Zz, Review of sh, ch, ph, th, wh, and new this month: aw, ew, ow, ow.  Also new will be the introduction of Actress Annie, Dr. Ollie Ostrich, and Daisy Dragon each with their own song.  Numbers: 1-30, Focus 0-9 with poems.  The alphabet sign language and name recognition cards will continue.  Science: now that our plants are outside and our new little seeds are starting to sprout we will continue to monitor their progress by measuring, comparing photos, and watering.  Our little watering team is a tireless group.  They are really enjoying filling up their watering cans and running back and forth between gardens.  Thank you so much for all of the help!
 Thank you for bringing in the sunscreen and hats, we will be needing them more and more these days. :)

               As the months go by I become increasingly grateful that I work with children.  Your kids are amazing little miracles and I am so lucky to be a part of their early childhood years. 

Here is a link to the photos taken in May at Judy's Little Gems.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.373923462664525.95809.234946879895518&type=1

Marvelous May!

This Magical, Marvelous Month of May we have so Many Magnificent and Meaningful activities planned. :D  We will celebrate Mothers and the Monarchy(Victoria day) and learn some new Math concepts.  Our little Monkeys will also get an opportunity to bring in their teddy bears the week of the 21-25 for a very special Teddy Bear's Picnic......Mmmmmm!!

My husband took this photo of my kids and put it on a t-shirt for me many a Mother's Day ago!!

Outdoor Play:
I have really loved getting outside with the kids. :)  Last month we bought sand for our sand boxes( I am opening up the bigger tug boat sandbox this week) and the kids are really enjoying using the shovels!  It was so fun to watch the babies and toddler's expressions as they felt the sand run through their fingers. :)
It has been exciting to think up Outside Activities for May.  I would like to spend some time developing a children's garden, working on decorations for it in Art and learning about vegetables and insects at Circle Time.  We have really enjoyed watching our little beans turn into plants over the last couple of weeks and transferring them outside to our new garden will be great!  It will also be fun to introduce some new outdoor games to help build gross motor skills.  We will be taking some of our indoor activities outside, such as easel painting, chalk, circle time and snack.

Sun Hats, Sunscreen, Sunglasses........
May usually brings sunny weather, so it is important that your child comes equipped with the appropriate gear!
 Your child will need:
sunhat, sunscreen(labeled with your child's name), sunglasses, foot wear that doesn't fall off easily and is appropriate for climbing and running, clothing appropriate for both warm and cooler weather(it may be warm and sunny in the morning but get cool later..you never know!)
 We are really lucky to have part shade and part sun in our yard all day long and our little gems nap during the hottest part of the day.  I am required to have parents sign a permission form for sunscreen and these will go home this week.

Learning Themes this month:  Alphabet poems(S, P, H, T)  Sounds: Ch, Sh, Ph,Th,Wh, Sign Language Alphabet, Full names on Name Recognition Cards. Math Concepts: Smallest to Largest, More and Less, Number recognition to 10, counting to 30, Tracing numbers 1-5, Tracing first names.
Circle Time Themes:  Garden, Insects, Mother's Day, Colours and Rainbows, Teddy Bears and Farm Animals

One of our Little Gems is celebrating a birthday this month. :)  Happy Birthday to A!!!

I have posted some photos taken in April on our Facebook page:
 http://www.facebook.com/pages/Judys-Little-Gems-In-Home-Multi-Age-ChildCare/234946879895518
What a fun month April was. =D

Take care everybody, and thank you for bringing your little gems to me. :)

April Newsletter: Happy Easter!

April brings Rain, Plants, Spring and Easter.  This month we will talk about Earth changes, and how Plants, Animals and People change in the spring.  We will learn our last 2 letters in our Alphabet Jive: Y and Z and we will continue on with learning the alphabet in sign language. This month we will be learning new songs to go with our Alphabet letters.  I will also be introducing ABC formation poems which help children learn how to write the letters.  We have recently started learning how to use scissors(children over 3)  These are super Tricky!!! We will practice snipping scrap paper for awhile before we graduate to straight lines. :)  Last month we began our Name recognition program and the kids are doing a great job learning to sight read both their own names and those of their friends.  Later in April I will add surnames.  We have now learned the numbers 0-9 in our number formation poems and have been practicing counting to 30 on our Calendar.  We will continue to practice the months of the year with our birthday game at circle time. 
  Circle time has been amazing.......your kids have incredible minds and I have been absolutely astonished at how they remember all the songs, letter sounds and number poems! I am so happy that they are so tuned in and are enjoying learning.  I am super excited to find out how the babies and toddlers receive this program.  They are obviously enjoying circle time.........one little one definitely knows the sound of Aa!! As time goes by and they begin speaking more and more I am sure they will let me know!
   Easter is coming up really quickly!  I will be open Good Friday(April 6) and will be Closed April 9th for Easter Monday.  If you are wanting to bring goodies to share with the children, we have 9 Children enrolled as of the beginning of April.  Monday or Tuesday April 2, 3 would be the best days to drop them off, making it possible for me to distribute them on each child's last day before Easter.  There is absolutely no obligation!

    Thank you so much for sharing your little gems with me and I hope you all have a fun Easter!

Spring is Coming!!

March is here and I am so excited about spring coming! I am really looking forward to the weather warming up and spending more time outside in the back yard!  We got our new swing set and climber set up last weekend and it has been really fun watching the kids play on it this week :)  Many thanks to one of my daycare families for bringing this to us!!  I know that the kids at Judy's Little Gems will enjoy this for years to come!!! 

Our Themes this month are Spring and St. Patrick's Day.  We will discuss seasonal changes and growth in plants, animals and ourselves.  Our Preschool learning themes will be Alphabet letters A thru X in our Alphabet Jive, Numbers 0-9 in number poems, and Counting: 0-20.  This month we are starting name recognition.  The children will learn to sight read their own names and the names of the others in our group.  Later I will add Last names, Addresses and Phone Numbers.  Last month we started the birthday song, a fun way to learn the months of the year.

It has been really lovely to watch friendships blossom over the last couple of months.  I think the children are really enjoying the routine and each other!  With spring approaching quickly, I am so thankful to witness the new growth of beautiful spring flowers and the amazing growth and changes in your beautiful children!!
Many thanks and best wishes for a wonderful spring!

Wild, Wonderful Winter

January has brought with it snow, wind, rain and everything in between!  Our winter theme has been fun.  We have been making Marble Paintings to brighten up our play room, and Fuzzy Snow People and Creative Mittens.  We've been talking about winter clothes and practicing our self-help skills.  I'm thinking that our kids are now experts on hand washing since we practice this one alot!! I think we are also pretty good at the virtue of enthusiasm!!  This month we have also been discussing penguins and polar bears.  I am looking forward to painting like a polar bear this week.....and making ice sculptures in the sensory table. :)  At circle time we have continued with our Alphabet Jive Program. This month we will have learned up to the letter Pp.  The kids really enjoy this activity, since we get to jump up and act out movements and ideas that go along with the letter.  I am really impressed at how many the kids remember now!  We have also been practicing the numbers 0-9 with number poems.  We write the number in the air with our finger as we say the poem. :)  Last Friday I witnessed a very cute scene:  Children conducting their own circle time during free play.  I love it!! Every time I write a post on this blog I feel so thankful and lucky.  Your kids are amazing and I appreciate every moment!