Tuesday, January 24, 2017

People & Pets

Throughout my life I have almost always had some type of a pet - some fish, a couple birds, a few dogs and many cats.  I believe that pets are a wonderful addition to almost any family including a childcare home family.

Here, even children who cannot have pets of their own can reap the benefits of having pets.  They get to play together;

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The children often include the animals in their dramatic play activities - ensuring everyone has a role to play;

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When playtime is over and it is time to relax - the pets often like to be there too;

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Sometimes they enjoy being the centre of attention;

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And other times they prefer to keep their distance;

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Our number one rule about pets is that if they come to you then you can play with them but when they want to leave you cannot restrain them or chase them. 

Respect their space. 

I have found that many children who struggle with social interactions with other children have a much easier time understanding 'gentle', 'calm' and 'respectful' when interacting with animals.  Pets are also wonderful at comforting children who are withdrawn, anxious or distraught.

Back in 2014 when we lost our nearly 15 year old dog Mindy there was some discussion about whether or not we should get another dog.  A new pet is a big commit so it is very important to take everything into consideration and I felt the requirements for another dog were too much.  Although Mindy had been a wonderful dog I am admittedly much more of a cat person.

Last month, out of the blue, my husband commented 'We should get another cat'.

!?!?!!! :-)

The seed was planted....

The search began....

Last Sunday our new family member came home...

She's still in quarantine but soon the introductions will begin.  It will be a slow process, there are many new family members for her to meet and we don't want to overwhelm her.

Soon though, it will be time to say hello... 

Friday, January 13, 2017

Delivery

I ordered something and knew it would be arriving soon.  I told the children something new was coming - they were very excited.  "What is it?"  "I'm not telling, it is a surprise."

It arrived on Monday - at nap time as usual - I'm fairly certain that all couriers are required to make daycare deliveries at nap time and they get a bonus if they kick the door at the same time as they ring the doorbell... *sigh*

I decided to wait to introduce the new items - but the packaging was fun for day one;

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Making a 'sidewalk'.

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'Crinkles' when we walk on it;

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Plenty of after nap fun with just the packaging;

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Day two - let's open the little boxes that came in the big box;

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What are these?

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Let's sort them;

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They're called 'Balance Pods' - Can you stand on them?

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Is it easier or harder if they are upside down?

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Maybe we should hold hands;

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Even the baby wants to try;

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Let's see if we can sit on them;

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Or walk;

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So many new things to try - this is only the beginning;

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Saturday, January 7, 2017

Warm in Winter

The weather recently has been a bit of a deterrent to long periods of outdoor play.  Even when bundled up in warm clothing the littlest ones can get chilly crawling around in the snow.  The heavy clothing and deep snow can cause a lot of frustration yet we have still managed to be outside for at least some time every day.  After all, long periods of being stuck indoors is very frustrating too.

One perk to having my husband home from work during winter break means I have an extra set of hands.  So, for an extra special treat we had an outdoor fun day complete with lunch cooked on the fire. I did most of the food prep before the children arrived and hubby had the fire good and hot before the children and I headed outside. 

The foil baked potatoes had been cooked first - I thought I had a taken a picture of them cooking but I guess not - it was funny because the fire nearly melted the metal colander I stored them in ;-)  The bannock went on second - I chose to make them biscuit style instead of cooking on sticks because few in this group would have the attention span to stand still long enough to cook them.

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The children were much more interested in mostly playing on the hills and just occasionally stopping by to check on the food and warm up by the fire.

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Of course the tipi on the far side of the yard is another favourite place too;

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The wieners were the last thing left to cook.  Some of the children helped briefly but were a little too far away to get much heat.  It probably would have been better if we had more flames like we did at the beginning but the low fire worked eventually;

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It was a learning experience for all of us - not our first fire but our first entire meal cooked on the fire in the winter. Oh so yummy;

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Everyone just devoured their lunch - and two fell asleep at the table - after all, it was a long morning full of outdoor play.