Our Garden Grows

The past two summers were very wet.  Plenty of rain meant we never needed to water our garden.  This year has been hot and sunny and the children are thrilled that we have had to water the garden every day. It is still very dry — we need some rain.

The prairie plants on the hill don’t seem to mind the heat and lack of water — being native to this climate they are resilient.  There is a stranger by the hill too;

 

Probably a weed or wildflower (same thing ?) but I like it so it stays.  Leave a comment if you know what it is.

In the garden, the spelt, triticale and wheat were planted close together and even though we have nametags in the ground we can’t really tell them apart;

 

The kamut was planted on the other side — I  think it is my favourite of the grains.  It is much larger than the other similar kinds.

 

The oats seem to be doing very well too but as one of our new type of plant we have nothing to compare it to;

The soybeans are new to us too and I wasn’t sure if they were healthy but they are just beginning to produce some ‘fruit’;

I think the swiss chard looks great! These were leftover seeds from last year when our swiss chard drowned and didn’t produce anything edible.

 

The broccoli has replaced the kale from past years and proves to be a favorite for the cabbage worms/butterflies;

 

There are many tomatoes hidden deep inside the dense foilage;

 

And two purple jalapeno peppers;

 

And even some Bolivian Rainbow peppers which we moved here from our indoor garden.  These plants were started way back in January and were the only survivors of the white fly infestation;

 

The corn is much shorter than last year — only about three feet tall so far — but we are hopeful;

 

We’ve even got some moonbeam squash starting to grow.  Last year it was late September before this happened and it was too cold to grow any more;

 

The cucumber plants are nearing the top of the trellis;

 

But the winner of the battle for garden space must go to the zucchini;

 

I keep cutting them back so they don’t overshadow everything else.  If all the flowers become actual zucchinis we will have hundreds of them.  Therefore I’ve been encouraging the children to eat zucchini flowers — which most of them are eager to do;

Revision and Adaptation

I’ve written before about making changes and modifications to the program and learning environment.  Usually these alterations are made to address an issue or a need and will provide some benefit to the children in my care.

However, sometimes it is not me, or even the children that initiate the change.  Such was the case for the fire pit.  I don’t oooh and awww over fire pits — but my husband does.  We’ve had several different models over the years.  I’ll admit that I do occasionally go out and sit by the fire with him briefly but he can sit there for hours.

Now, the thing about fire pits is that they need a good location.  Here, the best location is in the gravel area of the yard.  Sure, the side yard has some gravel too but it is too close to the house so our fire pit gets put in the children’s play area.

I’ve made sure there is always an open space in the gravel area where he can put the fire pit when he wants to use it.  But he complains.  You see, it is a lot of work to get the fire pit out of the storage area, unwrap it, and set it up.  Then, after the fire he has to wait for it to cool down enough that he can wrap it up and put it away again.  He wanted a place to put it permanently.

He’s been mentioning it for years and sometimes I pretend not to hear.  He understands that I don’t want the children playing around a soot covered fire pit – he said he can put a cover on it.  I have to resist the urge to have a tantrum like a two-year-old.  Flailing arms and stomping feet “It’s my yard, mine, mine MINE!”  Maybe I need to learn to share, or cooperate.

So I ask, “What kind of cover?”

“A box” he replies excitedly.

“A box, what kind of a box?”

“A wooden one, with rounded corners so they don’t hurt themselves.”

“They’ll climb on it”

“I’ll make it strong.  They can climb on it or jump on it or put stuff on it – whatever they want.  And it will be heavy too so they won’t be able to move it.”

Sigh, “OK”.  So last weekend he put the little fire pit in the gravel area, built the box, painted it and put it over the pit.  “Stand on it” he says.  I did. “Jump” Ok, I get it, it is very strong. But there is a box in the middle of the play area.  It is surrounded by tree stumps, rocks and plants and it looks…unnatural.

I rearrange a few of the things in the yard to improve the ‘flow’.  Then I sit and stare, trying to come up with a plan.  He walks by, stops, and says. “You could decorate it.  Or better yet, let them decorate it.  Paint some flowers and butterflies on it.”

“Maybe, we’ll see” I decided to see what the children thought.  Monday morning they ran outside and within seconds they were up on the box – dancing.  I watched.  “Oh Cheryl” they said, “We love the new stage!”

Stage?  I never thought of it as a stage.

My husband came outside.  “Do they like it?” he asked.

“They think it is a stage” I reply

“Hey, what is under here?” one of the children asks.

“It’s a dragon, a fire breathing dragon” my husband says.  The children laugh and continue dancing and singing too.

We haven’t decorated the box – yet – they’ve been too busy putting on shows.

Bugs

I think most children are fascinated by insects, worms, spiders and the like.  In my experience, those who are fearful or disgusted by these creatures have been taught to do so.

Having walking stick insects in our science area has given us the opportunity to study these insects up close on a regular basis.  We have experienced their entire life cycle from egg to adult.  We’ve watched them hatch and seen them grow each time they moult.

They have provided a chance for even the most timid amongst us to view  insect life.  These are not a species that is native to our part of the world so we keep them safely contained.

I will admit that I do not like all creepy crawlies – centipedes for example will have me moving very quickly in the opposite direction.  If I do stay put I realize that they are moving quickly away from me too.

I make it a goal to ensure that I learn something about each new creature I meet and I encourage the children to do the same. Bugguide.net has been a tremendous resource for us when we find something new.

Even if we are fearful or disturbed by them we try not harm them.  Instead, we discover their purpose and if we don’t like them we learn how to avoid them or discourage them from being in our part of the environment.

There are a few insects and spiders that I like to handle but mostly I prefer to just observe them.  However, some of the children seek out these critters and enjoy all contact with them.

Others prefer to keep their distance and choose to simply watch the others interact.  Eventually even these apprehensive children may attempt to overcome their fear and willingly venture forward.

Together we determine which ones are the ‘good bugs’ – the ones we want to have near by.  We learn ways to dissuade those that are harmful and attract those that are beneficial.  This year the addition of several native prairie plants has provided an enticing habitat for many bees and butterflies that we welcome in our garden.

No matter how small we learn to understand differences, acknowledge values, and work together and find ways to co-exist peacefully in the world we share.

An Extraordinary Summer

According to my WordPress stats this is my 100th post – Yippee!  It has been just over a year since I started this blog too – I missed the actual anniversary since there was no reminder for that and I need reminders.  So I thought an exceptional event deserved a post about something special or unique and this has been an extraordinary summer.

After the soggy late spring this hot dry summer has definitely been unusual – mosquito free too!  Enrolment has been atypical as well.  With several of our regular children away for the summer I was able to accommodate many school-age ‘summer care only’ children.  Nap time is still needed for some of the younger children but with no infants or toddlers here it is not as crucial and it is OK if we skip nap time occasionally.  Hence, we’ve been able to schedule full day field trips – an extremely rare occurrence.

Last week we spent a day at Fort Whyte Alive.  I started the morning by packing a picnic lunch for all;



We loaded up the van and set off for our adventure.  Once we arrived our first stop was at the Interpretive Centre where we got to get really close to some indigenous animals;



Much closer than would be possible if they were alive;



Then we visited the Aquarium of the Prairies which captivated the children for a very long time.



I was amazed by how interested the children were in watching the fish.  It made me wonder if I should invest in an aquarium for our own but I think it may have been the size of the fish that intrigued the children so much.  Unfortunately none of the pictures I took were able to capture the detail of this exhibit.

After we left the Interpretive Centre we strolled along the floating boardwalks – my favourite area;



The slight movement of the boardwalk made some a little nervous so we didn’t get too close to the edge even when we stopped to watch the topsy-turvy ducks;



And the green algae covered water which we almost mistook for a grassy meadow;



After lunch we visited the sod house and then took another hike.  No one could resist a side trip to do this;



We ended our adventure with a visit to the Fort Whyte farm where the chickens seemed eager for some company and ran over to greet us but stayed just out of reach.



As for skipping nap time – this day everyone napped on the way home, except the driver who wishes the van had auto pilot so she could have napped too.

The Long Weekend Project

This past weekend we put in the new flooring in the sunroom and kitchen.  This is the final piece of the two year project to have a cohesive decorating scheme between the sunroom, kitchen and dining room.

This phase started with picking out the flooring – deciding between the tiles or the laminate.  We have put in both types before.  There has been laminate in the hall and kitchen for the last ten years – I have mixed emotions about it – it has endured a fair amount of damage over that time.  The tiles we have in the front and rear entrances – they’ve been there for about three years and show no signs of wear.  I decided to use the tiles.

First, I should explain that these are just peel and stick tiles not ceramic or stone tiles that would require a skill set greater than mine. These are thick tiles that can be installed with or without grout.  I did not use grout in my entranceway installations but this time I wanted to use grout because I felt it would make in easier to clean the cracks between the tiles.  As we stood in the grout aisle with our cart full of tiles contemplating which color grout to use the sales associate came by and redirected us to the type of grout needed for out particular tiles.  This changed my plan since I didn’t like any of the color options available here so I decided to go with the ‘no grout’ option.

Back at home, the work begins.  First step, clear the room and put down the new sub floor.

My husband accused me of ‘staging’ this picture because I had the tree in the corner – really I just put it there to get it out of our way when we were working on the other side of the room.
Putting in the sub floor gave me the opportunity to use the new ‘multi tool’ we recently bought.  Cool, add this one to the list of power tools I like.

There is a long list of power tools that scare me – table saw, circular saw etc – I will not use these tools.  There are some power tools like the chop saw and the drill that I will use on some occasions.  Then there are tools that I think are cool – like the air nailer/stapler and now the multi tool.  I briefly got distracted from the project because I wandered away looking for other things I could use the multi tool on.  My husband insisted I stop playing and get back to work.

End of day one and we had the new sub floor in and primed – by 2:00 am.

Day two began at 7:00 am with me arranging the tiles in various ways to plan the best layout.  It took a little longer than I expected but I finally decided on the herringbone pattern. Installation began and I started sticking down the tiles as tightly together as possible.  My husband doesn’t enjoy the tedious parts of the projects so he leaves them to me – just like I let him use the scary tools.

It wasn’t long before I noticed that there were some spaces between the tiles because tile edges were uneven and impossible to keep completely flush together.  I began to think the installation directions should have read ‘must’ be grouted instead if ‘may’ be grouted. Some of the gaps were nearly 1/8 inch but even the smaller ones were noticeable.

As I sat there contemplating how to fix this issue my husband walked by and began to flip out.  This is one of the differences in our work habits that sometimes makes these projects difficult.  Faced with a problem I like to step back, take some time and think through all the options.  My husband on the other hand rants — loudly. He demanded I fix it now!  Sigh, I know, the bright white primer visible between the brown tiles is very noticeable but I’m going to wait until all the tiles are all in before I address that issue.  He stomps off muttering something about needing to close the daycare for a week while I decide what to do.

My husband felt the work was progressing too slowly so he began installing tiles too. There were so many intricate cuts.  We finally finished installing all the tiles by 10:30 pm. I like them – except for the white spaces.  The sunroom looks huge without anything in it and I got to paint the walls that were hidden before – and will be again.

Day three and my plan is to paint all the white spots between the tiles.  I may decide to grout the tiles in the future if the gaps become a problem but for now this will work.  Tiny little paint brush and two colors of paint and I’m set for a couple hours. I actually really enjoyed this intricate job.  Every once in a while I took a break to talk to the fairy that was flying around the room.  No, I wasn’t hallucinating – I think it may have actually been some kind of a moth but it reminded me of a fairy so that is what I called it.

I took a brief break when I noticed that the fairy had landed in the paint can and got stuck. Luckily it didn’t die. I managed to get it out of the paint, took it outside and released it safely where it belonged.  As it fluttered away I waved good-bye and tried not to think about any of the other dangers my little friend might face.

A few more touch-ups and the room was finally ready for all the ‘stuff’ to move back in.  Malta seems to like the new floor – maybe she thinks I chose it because it matches her.  Hmmm could be a lesson about camouflage…

Towers

We have many different types of blocks.  I can not have them all out at the same time — there simply isn’t enough room.  I rotate the various block sets so we have a chance to try them all.  The wooden blocks are the most popular.

‘Towers’ are the favorite thing to build.  Sometimes it is all about the height;

 

Sometimes there is more detail;

 

Often, once we master a new feature we like to include it in all our buildings;

 

And combine features together;

 

Until they become more than just a tower — this one is a ‘camera’

 

This ‘tower’ eventually became a ‘wall’;

 

And this one is an amazing caslte;

But the towers don’t just get built in the block area.  There are some in the housekeeping area too.

 

 

And outside where there are exciting new elements available;

 

 

But my favourite thing about towers is that they are magnetic.  No matter who starts building a tower it will ultimately become a group project.  From “Can I help you?” to “Can you pass me that piece?” to “Hey, maybe we can use this.” towers build collaboration and cooperation.

The History of Our Yard

Fourteen years ago when I first opened my childcare home this was what the backyard play area looked like;

There was also a ‘deck’ area – old pallets covered in plywood – that is not visible in the above photo.  You may also notice the lack of soft surface under the play structure but the cribbing is there because adding pea gravel under the play structure was something I had to do for licensing.
Back then my view of outdoor play was essentially unstructured, high energy, physical activity.  My own children had played here – two of them are in this picture.  They usually played outside by themselves for hours.  I rarely ventured out with them until ‘supervised outdoor play’ became part of my childcare program.  Then I regularly watched the children play – and I was afraid.
Seven years ago my yard looked like this;

There was a large deck area with riding toys and space to play organized games.  There were no toys in the gravel area – just the climbers. After all, someone might trip over a toy if it was buried in the gravel.  It was here in this playground that we had the only injury that required medical attention.  I pondered over the question on the incident report “Was there anything you could have done to prevent this injury?”   I had been three feet from the child that fell from a two foot high platform onto twelve inches of pea gravel.  Maybe I shouldn’t let them play outside.

Actually, the children probably wouldn’t have argued if I had decided to ban outdoor play from the program.  They didn’t like to play out here for long.  Often it took only about 15 minutes before someone asked if it was time to go inside yet.  I took a long look at the outdoor play space and started to see everything that was ‘missing’.  All the things they liked to do inside that they couldn’t do outside – and I’m not talking about TV and video games.

This is my yard today;

Places to climb and crawl;

Places to balance, jump and explore;

Places for science experiments and imagination;

Places for art, music, and sharing stories with friends;

And so much more.  It is a lot like indoors – only better.  Now we can’t wait to go outside.