Warm Fall Weather and Party

We enjoyed the warm weather and played outside most of the morning and went to the park for an hour. The older kids rode the big wheels to the park and enjoyed riding them down the hill by the park equipment. They love going fast down the hill and riding into the grass to slow down. It was fantastic to go outside in the afternoon with no jacket on.

We had our party today. Everyone enjoyed getting dressed up in their costumes and playing games. We played pass the pumpkin, pin the nose on the pumpkin and taking "pumpkin pictures." We had a wonderful zoo and action figure collection with a couple princesses mixed in.

Pumpkins... Done!

The kids had a blast carving their pumpkins!

The pumpkins (and kids) are adorable!

Pumpkin Exploration

Holly kept asking for a pumpkin while we were carving them. She is a bit too little to carve one herself but we had an extra one with a cracked bottom and so I gave it to her to "explore." It was amazing and funny to watch. She spent 10 minutes taking to top off and putting it back on. Big brother was a little worried when she decided to taste the pumpkin but I explained to everyone that pumpkins can be eaten, raw is not that tasty but pumpkin pie is delicious.

I just had to share the photos, I thought she was adorable.

Pumpkins- making progress!

All the pumpkins are gutted! The kids are really excited, we will be able to carve them tomorrow! It is quite a process when there are eight pumpkins to do! We tasted roasted pumpkin seeds today and the kids loved them!

"Chicken Little" is going home today. Have the kids "read" it to you!

guts, guts & more guts... Pumpkin Guts!

We started carving pumpkins today with the big kids. There was no school today, so they started during nap time and the early risers joined us. The kids were making up songs about guts and making silly noises the whole time. They thought pumpkin guts were disgusting but they love to play with worms. I don't understand why worms are not disgusting. Kids are funny that way!

We really like using the "Pumpkin Masters" carving kits, they have nice safety blades so the kids can't cut themselves and the patterns are really cool. You can find the kits anywhere, if you want to try them at home. Target has them for under $5. Sorry, didn't mean to be an advertisement but I do get excited about "kid safe knives." We will work on the rest of the pumpkins this week. I would like to have a picture of them all together and then I will send them home at the end of the week. I am storing the carved ones in the cool garage so hopefully they will still look nice on Halloween. Lots of work but the kids are so excited!

New Music Teacher!

We have added a new music teacher to our curriculum. Kristin will be joining us every other Thursday at 10:30 for a daycare music program. She came today for the first time and the kids really enjoyed having class with her. I really liked that structure she provides and the high expectations for their behavior. She expects them to follow directions very carefully and listen attentively but they still have a lot of fun. She has a Master's degree in music and has wonderful group activities for the kids. We are really excited to add her to our program!

Thursday is a Messy Day

We had messy meals today, oatmeal for breakfast and spaghetti for lunch. So tonight might be a good bath night. The kids loved it!

Wednesday was really quiet with Myles and Laura gone. The kids had a hard time figuring out what to do. Mason was singing songs all day, I have never heard him sing so much or make up so many new songs! I think he was trying to make up for Myles' absence.

The kids are really doing well memorizing this Month's book: "Chicken Little." Even little Hannah has been "reading" along with us. I will be sending the book home next week. Please have them "read" it to you.

Leaves, leaves, leaves

Here are some pictures of Jenni and the kids enjoying the leaves on Tuesday. I'm glad we were able to play in them before they got rained on and Myles was able to play in them before he got hurt.

Today- yikes!

Well, today was not as fun other days. Please pray for quick healing for Myles- he fell off the top of the slide and fractured his clavicle (collar bone). He was trying to throw leaves at his friend and lost his balance. I have wondered if the slide is the best toy for a daycare. I have considered removing it but at the same time injuries could happen on anything. There are days I am tempted to put the kids in bubble wrap and helmets. Hopefully this will be the last injury for a long, long time.

I think we may have had a case of pink eye today so keep watch for that. I have bleached and scrubbed the house so hopefully it will be contained.

But we did have a fun time playing in the leaves today before things went awry. The kids raked together several large piles of leaves and enjoyed jumping into them. Jenni stopped by to say hi to the kids. She even let them bury her in leaves. Everyone got into jumping in the piles. I will post pictures of the kids in the leaves tomorrow.

Overall, not really my favorite type of day. Tomorrow will be better!

Everything is exciting...

A new box of chalk: even the smallest things are extremely exciting to children. Children have a really cool outlook on life, even the smallest things excite them. I gave them a new box of chalk and they were ecstatic. I love the enthusiasm and joy children have. Children have such a unique view of life and I love the reminder to rejoice in the small things.



Laura decided the "pink" chalk was the best. It was funny to watch her try and carry all the pink/red chalk at once. Holly is in love with the wagon but she can't decide which seat is the best. She loves moving from one the back of the wagon to the front. She could probably play in the wagon by herself for twenty minutes without getting bored.

Quote of the day: As we are putting together a Ballerina puzzle Myles said "Look at the Ballerina, she is ballerin-a-ing" I told him "She is dancing."

Cookies, Cookies, Cookies

The kids had a blast last week making and decorating cookies. They each get their own rolling pin and get to make their own cookies. Most of the time they play with the dough like play-dough so I make lots of extra cookies so we have enough to decorate. They use paint brushes to "paint" the frosting on the cookies. It is a great art project and they get to eat the result. It is worth the mess!

Fall/Halloween Party- on Thursday the 30th

If the kids want to come dressed up on Thursday the 30th, they can. We will have a fun Fall Party that day. We are going to play games like pin the nose on the pumpkin, monster hunt, and maybe bobbing for apples (if I get brave). I will post a reminder sign during the week before hand, I do not like to mention it to the kids to far in advance or they get too excited. It will be nice way for them to enjoy their costumes for another day! Thanks in advance!

Inspection Wednesday

So I had my unscheduled, drop-in re-licensing inspection visit today from my county case worker. She was actually very complimentary and said many nice things about my program. It can be very frustrating for me though- they inspect every room, every drawer, every cabinet, every everything. They inspect for fire codes, health, and food as well as all the daycare paperwork. No problems were found in the three hour visit. The kids really put on a nice show for her, very energetic and excitable. She did find them amusing. So my license will be good for two more years- yippee.

The kids were just very energetic today, we went running in the morning and played hard outside. We had fun baking cookies in the afternoon. Tomorrow- decorating those cookies & I will post pictures!
Today's Letter was the letter "L" and we were brainstorming what starts with "L" and I mentioned Licorice, one of the kids (for once, not Myles) mentioned "Liquor store" starts with "L" and we moved on the Lollipop and Lake. I found it quite amusing and they didn't say they go there often or anything so I think we're fine : )

Terrific Tuesday

We played outside this morning, sun was shining and it was nice, cool but nice. So Laura would not keep her jacket on outside, it was too cool to be without one. I put it back on her three times. So we go inside at 10 for snack and project time. She would not take her jacket off. She had it on until nap time. I love irony. Children make sense in their own little world.

I do wonder how many more nice days we will have until the snow flies. We will enjoy each and every one of them!







Pictures today: We made mini trick or treat bags today. The kids loved pretending to treat or treat with each other. It took them a little while to realize the only candy they were going to get was "pretend candy." Please note Laura with her jacket on :)