Cake!

Last week the children  made a cake.  First they mixed the ingredients together;


Then they decorated it


Then they moved it to the oven to bake — it was very heavy so they really had to work together to accomplish this;


After baking they put it in the back of the car to take it to the party;


It took more combined effort to…Hey – why are you dumping the cake on the slide?


I guess if it is not really an edible cake your best option is to smash through it;


What fun!

Now I think I’m going to use these pictures to make a set of sequence cards.

Program Planning

The weekend has arrived and the weather is fine. Sometimes that is a bad thing since it can distract me from doing necessary cleaning and paperwork.  Today however I had outdoor ‘work’ to do so good weather was a bonus.  I started the day by doing a few errands to pick up some gardening supplies and other items for next week.  A trip to Costco resulted in a couple of really cool new books – Survival Wisdom and Know How and the Saskatchewan and Manitoba Nature Guide.  Both look like they will be really useful.

Then my son and I went hiking.  Today was national trails day and to celebrate The Winnipeg Trails association held several special events.  There was free food (always a good thing) and plenty of great entertainment.

I often take the children on hiking adventures but it is important that I be at least somewhat familiar with the trail.  Exploring is fun but getting lost is not so my son and I scout the area to get familiar with the trail before I plan a hiking trip for the children.  This is my favourite part of program planning.

We have explored some parts of the Seine River Greenway in the past but we haven’t seen it all – there are so many great hiking trails in the city.  Today we checked out the Bois-des-Esprit section of the trail to see what it had to offer.

The wide gravel part of the main trail would be great if I had a very young group or if we needed to bring strollers or wagons.

There are also many smaller side trails and these are the ones that the boy and I were drawn to.  It is here on the lesser travelled trails that we find things like big rocks

Fallen trees

 

And cool bridges

 

There are places to practice going over

And under

Around

And through (which I’m certain will be a favourite).

This is one of many tree carvings of owls and wood spirits cleverly located along the trail

I wonder how many more we can find.  This promises to be one of many great summer adventures for us.

Conference

Last week I attended the Manitoba Child Care Association’s 34^th annual conference.  I eagerly anticipate this conference every year.  Originally I just went on Saturday but I soon added Friday and then Thursday as well.  I know many providers believe it is too expensive to pay for three days of conference and lose two days of income as well.  The cost adds up to nearly $600 and it cuts my weekend ‘down time’ in half but there are so many benefits as well.

Conference is an incredible learning opportunity with keynote speakers and workshop presenters from near and far.  This year I enjoyed a wide variety of workshops with topics including art, science, music, outdoor play, physical activity, fear and much more.  I got to paint pictures, play in dirt, engage in conversations, and use my imagination. I got to dance and I was introduced to my new favourite song – “Beep, Beep” – which is actually an old song but it is new to me and what a wonderful way to teach rhythm and tempo.

Certainly there was a lot of information that I already knew but conference offers more than just information. There is another very meaningful aspect; networking.  I believe that for family childcare providers in particular networking is an invaluable tool.  We work alone and even though some providers regularly connect with others in their area many still continue to work in isolation.  Family childcare providers don’t have a lot of opportunity to problem solve with or bounce ideas off coworkers the same way those who work in centres can.

Conference allows us to connect with not only others who work in similar positions but also with people who work in other areas of the childcare field.  Play and collaboration with peers is just as important for us as it is for the children that we care for.  It is how we learn, how we reach the elusive ‘Ah Hah’ moment.

In between presentations on the final day of conference I had the opportunity to reconnect with a colleague whom I hadn’t talked to in a long time.  We did some reminiscing and discussed how things had changed since we last met.  I told her how I was looking forward to some new adventures this summer since I will have on of the oldest groups I have ever had.  She shared some stories about the antics of one of her school–age children.

Our conversation progressed as we contemplated why the school-age children seem so different now.  We weren’t complaining but we have noticed a shift in the mood of most of the older children that have been attending our programs. They seem to really enjoy being a part of our mixed age groups.  They willingly participate in activities with the younger children instead of demanding separate more ‘grown-up’ activities.

We wondered if it was because we are seeing more ‘only children’ with little experience with young children.  Do they miss having younger siblings?  Then I asked if maybe it was because we let them play….There was a moment of silence as we let this fact sink in.  Yes, I think that is what it is.

We know that play is essential for learning to take place and it doesn’t matter how old you are.  Play is just as important for us as it is for the children we care for. Play and learning together – that is what conference is.

The Return

Last week was a short week here for the children and their parents. For me it was a diverse and very busy week.  It started with the May long weekend – still too cold to plant anything outside but that was ok because I still had a lot of work to do on the garden before it was ready for plants.

You may remember years back when we first started gardening that we used raised planter boxes.  These were very functional but I considered them somewhat boring – I’m definitely not a ‘square box’ type of person.  So, when we renovated the yard last year I added a real garden area because I think that being ‘in’ a garden is a magical experience.

Last year’s garden was certainly full of adventure but I have to admit that it was not without some design issues.  The raised sides of the old planter boxes had provided much needed support to young and old alike as we worked in the garden.  Without these raised borders there were many – usually accidental – tumbles off the pathway.  The garden plants were not impressed.

We also missed the arched trellis that had joined two of our old planter boxes together provided a ‘secret hiding place’ when it was covered in beans and cucumbers. (I try hard to say that correctly but the children’s “cucamumbers” name is such a cute word that sometimes I use it too).

So, with my husband willing to help me with the not-so-easy angle cuts we built a raised edge between the garden walkway and the outer planting beds.  I added three arched trellises over the little seating areas that had already been included in my original plan.  The centre planting section would have become too small if we had tried to make it into a raised bed so we just made a border using some log slices.

My husband refers to the border around the centre section as the ‘tomb stones’ for all the plants that don’t survive. The children and I are more optimistic.  Last week, the children were very excited about the changes that had been made.  They gravitated to the three arches, often sitting there for long periods and imagining what it will be like once they are covered with plants.  They carried on long conversations with the turtles and Old Man Tree.  We engaged in some exciting sensory activities with Coco Earth which starts out hard and impenetrable when it is dry;

But changes when we add water;

And it will be wonderful for the plants when now that we have mixed it with the soil in the garden.

The children were only here for two days last week before I was off to attend MCCA’s annual conference.  It was an enlightening and wondrous event.  I was thrilled to meet and attend workshops presented by Rae Pica and Bethe Almeras.  Now, refreshed and eager, I look forward to continue work on our garden project and many more exciting new adventures and experiences with the children.

The Paperwork

I remember one day – many, many years ago – when I was chatting with a group of family childcare providers.  We were discussing the recent departure of a couple of other providers.  They hadn’t left the field entirely but they had left family childcare.  They had originally worked in childcare centers and had opened their family childcare homes when they had their own children.  Now that their children were older they were returning to work in centers.  They claimed they missed working with others and they desperately wanted their homes back.

I couldn’t imagine ever leaving family childcare – I had finally found my niche.  This was a job that so perfectly suited me that it didn’t even feel like work.  As the discussion continued we began to reflect on what we would miss the most if we couldn’t be family childcare providers.  My answer then was ‘the paperwork’.  Seriously!  I said I would miss doing paperwork and if I ever went to work somewhere else.

That wouldn’t be my answer now – even then I don’t think that was what I really meant.  You see, back then the majority of the ‘required’ paperwork was still done on paper.  I was an avid computer user. I began using computers in the early 90’s – programs were very basic and using them required a significant amount of resourcefulness.  It was fun to design my own spreadsheets for recordkeeping and to create parent handbooks.  ‘Paperwork’ using computers provided a creative outlet and I thought it was exciting.  Back then even doing paperwork was really just play.

Now, everything is done on computers – it is automatic and boring.  There is little imagination required just fill in the blanks.  Someone else has already done the creative part and all that’s left is the work.  Sure, some things can be ‘personalized’ but even that requires little more than the click of a button and if you don’t like it just click ‘undo’. The thrill is gone.

There is also the ever increasing need for written policies and procedures and required revisions — there is a ‘correct’ way to do paperwork and when you do it differently you’re ‘wrong’.   Blah blah blah….’Paperwork’ – even on computers – has become ‘required work’ instead of play.

Maybe this is a good time to point out that one of the reasons that I’m self employed is because I don’t like to take orders.  I could be considered to be a ‘Compliant Rebel’ – I will not openly defy authority but that doesn’t mean that I like what I am required to do — sometimes I can be resentful and I hold a grudge. I am creative, and following instructions is the opposite of being creative so ultimately required paperwork makes me feel stifled.

As a family childcare provider I am considered self employed but there are still rules and regulations that I am required to follow in order to be licensed.  So, I have some freedom and some restraints.  As the amount of required paperwork steadily increases there are days when I just want throw my hands in the air and scream “No more paperwork, that’s it, I quit”.   I don’t because I am…well, naturally compliant…submissive.

So now, I want to mention something good.  For the first time in a long time, the Province is about to unveil something that I am truly excited about; the OnlineChildcareRegistry  actually promises to make my life easier.

My current waitlist is depressing, confusing, and I’ll admit that it doesn’t work very well. It is depressing because in the last year I have added roughly 150 children to my waitlist – and I’ve enrolled three of them. I’ve had people call when they first learn that they are expecting a baby and they call again two years later when their maternity leave is over and they should have already returned to work but haven’t because they still haven’t found childcare. I don’t like to answer the phone because it could be another young woman with a dream for her future which should begin next week when she’s expected to start university except that she has no one to care for her child so she won’t be going.

My wait list is confusing because of the timing of calls.  Many people call me from work on their lunch break when they have time.  Do you know what my house looks like at lunch time?  I work alone and I’m serving lunch to eight children and some need to leave for school soon and some are cranky because it is almost nap time.  I get calls other times of the day too – when we’re out in the yard, when we’re creating masterpieces with glue and paint, when I’m in the middle of changing a baby’s diaper or in the evening when my husband yells “Don’t answer it – the daycare is closed”. But I do anyway.  And when I have time I try to decipher what I scribbled on that napkin/scrap of paper/fencepost and add it to the official list.  The list that doesn’t really work very well because it’s just a chronological list of when people called but it does little to help me choose who to call for the one space that may be available.

Yep, I’m looking forward to the centralized online waiting list because finally it is something that doesn’t require me to do more work and in fact it will be useful – for all of us.

Our Grain Project

I figure it is time for a quick update on our project to grow other grains in our garden besides wheat — background info here. I had purchase some lentils, Rye seeds, Oats, Spelt, Triticate, Kamut, Barley, and Quinoa from the Scoop N’Weigh store.

We began by taking a few of each of the grain seeds to examine at circle time.  I shared some information that I had learned about the various grains, where they originated and what they were used for.

The children examined the grains and I wrote down some of their comments and observations.

• The Rye stinks – it smells like rye bread (apparently not a favourite bread)
• The oats look like the rye.
• It smells like horse poo. (it does remind me of the smell of a barn)
• I think it smells like carrots and celery.
• To me it smells like perfume and dinosaurs. (Can’t argue with this since I don’t know what a dinosaur smells like).
• The quinoa is so cute – it is tiny and cool – looks like a seashell.

Then we glued the seed samples on the paper with the information to keep for future reference.

The following day we planted some of the seeds as a test to see if they would actually sprout – I was still a little doubtful.  Everyone got a turn to put some seeds in the soil.

The quinoa is so small it takes great fine motor skills to plant these ones.

Then I put the tray under the grow light and we waited.  The quinoa was the first to sprout – took just two days! Only two of the six quinoa seed sprouted though so I’m not sure if it will be a successful crop.

All of the lentils, Rye, Kamut, and Triticate sprouted and grew magnificently as did half of the Spelt.  The barley and the oats failed to sprout at all.  I even planted a second batch of each and they didn’t sprout either.  Still, more than 50% of the seeds we planted actually did sprout so I can’t complain.

One of our grandmothers with a farm connection has promised to get us some oats and soybeans from the country.  Maybe we’ll have more success with those oats. Hopefully I’ll complete the work on the garden (that will be another post) and we can get the rest of our seeds in the ground outside next week.

A Flurry of Activity

For the last week the weather here has been marvellous. I spent almost all of last weekend outdoors working on the yard and garden.  I’m hoping that the forecasted rain will hold off long enough that I can get some soil to complete the project this weekend.

This week the preschoolers and I have been spending all morning outside.  I feel sorry for the older children and the parents who must spend a large portion of their day indoors at work or school.  Even when our schedule dictates that we must be inside I see the children gathered around the open window, feeling the warm breeze and longing to be outside again.

The mornings have been cool and while some of the children (and I) wear shorts and T-shirts others have continued to choose to don sweaters before heading out to play.  After only a few minutes of active play in my South facing yard the sweaters are abandoned.  I’ve even had to open the umbrella and put up the sun shade to provide some shelter from the heat – I’m not complaining.

The precision jumping and follow the leader games have continued to be popular.  We’ve rearranged the stumps to form two circles – one on each side of the hill platform.  This creates a figure eight obstacle course.  The spacing between the tree stumps has been expanded since all of the children had mastered the smaller spacing used last year. Jumping from the platform to the logs is a new challenge.
 

  

  

Some of the children are unsure about jumping the distance from one log to the next so they complete the circles by jumping off one stump to the gravel between logs and then step up on the next log.  I was interested to notice that after some success at traveling around the circle, a few of the children began pushing their physical limits and trying to jump the huge distance across the circle.

   

 

The distance covered is impressive – so much further than what could be accomplished last summer.  I’m excited to see what new skills this summer will bring.