Little Miss Button

The search for our new cat began online, looking through listings of adoptable pets.  Our first trip to the Winnipeg Humane Society was ‘just to look’ but there was one in particular – named ‘Button’ that I was hoping to see.  However, when we arrived at her kennel there was a ‘Hold’ sign – someone else liked her too.  We checked out all the kennels and played with many cats but as planned we were just looking.

Over the next week we visited a few satellite locations and I did more online searching.  I noticed that Button was still listed as adoptable so the following weekend we went back to the Humane Society. There was no longer a hold on Button.  It took a long time to coax her out of the back corner of her cage.  She was so timid – maybe too timid for a busy home like ours but eventually she snuggled her scrawny little body in my arms and purred. I put her back in her kennel and we looked at some other cats.  I also revisited Button and coaxed her out for another snuggle.

There were a couple of cats that we were interested in so we met with an adoption counselor to get some more information about them.  After learning more about their background we  decided they were not a good fit for us.  I asked about Button…they didn’t know much.  She was about nine months old.  She was found living under a porch in the freezing cold.  She had ear mites but had been treated and her ears were fine now.  She had been spayed before being put up for adoption.  She was very underweight and they were trying to get her to eat more.

So….we adopted her.

They had recommended that we should keep her in quarantine for at least a week – to adjust to us and hopefully gain some weight before meeting our other cats and the children.  We kept her upstairs in my son’s room.  She was so very happy all the time – purring and climbing all over us.  It was impossible to get a decent picture of her because she was always moving or wrapping herself around my neck.

At first I had to sit beside her food dish to get her to eat.  She would devour the food in her bowl but if I walked away before she finished eating then she would follow – pressing her little body against my leg like “Please don’t leave me”.  By the end of the week she was much more relaxed and putting on some weight – her spine and hip bones were not nearly as pronounced as they had been.

Over the weekend we introduced her to Mali and Malta – they do NOT love her but they haven’t been terribly mean.  It is interesting that it seems like Button thinks these other cats are in HER home.  Most of the disputes between them are started by Button.

I joke about her ‘angry’ face because in almost every picture I take she looks a little angry.

It doesn’t matter how happy, relaxed or content she is she still ends up making that face when I take the picture.

I guess she must have just been unhappy in the confines of her kennel at the Humane Society because here she is not a timid cat at all.  In fact she likes to be the centre of attention – as long as she doesn’t have to hold still for too long. (angry face)

She likes to be where the action is – and she loves people.  All people.  Any sized people – even babies.  No cats.

She helps when we get dressed to go outside; (angry face)

She watches the children through the playroom window because she hasn’t yet figured out how to get in there when the gate is shut;

Is there a cat in this picture?

Yes, she’s playing one of her favourite games – attack the toys the children put under the gate.

Welcome home Little Miss Button – we look forward to getting to know you.

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;

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

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

Sometimes they enjoy being the centre of attention;

And other times they prefer to keep their distance;

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... 

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;

Making a 'sidewalk'.

'Crinkles' when we walk on it;

Plenty of after nap fun with just the packaging;

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

What are these?

Let's sort them;

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

Is it easier or harder if they are upside down?

Maybe we should hold hands;

Even the baby wants to try;

Let's see if we can sit on them;

Or walk;

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

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.

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.

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

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;

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;

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

Decorating Gingerbread

Every year I look at the various gingerbread kits available in the stores and think 'That is a cute project but it is just way too much sugar'.  Once, probably a dozen years ago, I did buy a gingerbread house decorating kit for the school-age children to work on during the afternoons of Christmas break when there was no school and the little ones were sleeping.  Combining the little ones with that much sugar was something I was not prepared to do.

This year we did make whole wheat sugar cookies;

Sorry, I didn't manage to take any other pictures of the cookies - too busy assisting toddlers with dough stuck in cookie cutters.  They were very good cookies though - here is the recipe: 

Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies
 
Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 large egg
• 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

1. Mix sugar and butter in large bowl until fluffy.
2. Add milk, vanilla and egg; mix well.
3. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg; mix well.
4. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
5. Heat oven to 375°.
6. Mix the 2 Tbsp sugar with the cinnamon.
7. Shape dough into 1-inch balls.
8. Place 2-inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
9. Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until light brown.

We didn't decorate the sugar cookies but I still liked the idea of a decorating project so I thought about what would be a healthier option for gingerbread decoration.

I've never made gingerbread dough before and the store bought kind is so prevalent that it just seemed to be a better choice for the decorating base - besides, it was the decorating that I planned to be the main project.  As for my concerns about the excess sugar - I chose dried fruits, pretzels, and flaked coconut for decorations and some Wow Butter for glue.

We started with each child working independently on their own gingerbread man.  We began after morning snack - I hoped that having just finished eating snack they would be less inclined to nibble on decorations.

 

Of course many decorations were still eaten - in some cases devoured leaving few to use for decorating;

Even the Wow Butter got consumed by the handful - I'm really glad it wasn't candy and icing.  Phase one complete;

Phase two was more of a group project with many smaller steps over several days.  Five little houses were decorated and grouped to create a centerpiece for our table.  Often there were only one or two children working on the decorations and sometimes only for a minute or two.  It took nearly three weeks to complete and there was very little 'snacking' - maybe because this belonged to the whole group or maybe because the decorations were becoming less appealing over time.

Finished;

 

Art & Crafts

Many, many years ago I used to buy craft kits for my own children – often as Christmas gifts.  Sometimes they enjoyed creating the pictured product, sometimes they used the supplies to make something entirely different, and sometimes they did nothing.  I have also purchased the occasional craft kit for myself but I tend to use the instructions more like guidelines, changing things along the way much like the way I ‘tweak’ recipes when I am cooking.  It could be that I wanted to personalize it but probably also a little ‘don’t tell me what to do’ rebellion.

I’m not sure exactly when I went anti-craft but at some point I began to despise product crafts. Maybe it was the year I volunteered in my son’s Kindergarten class when I spent hours cutting out pieces for the children to assemble according to the prescribed pattern.  Maybe it was after I opened my childcare home and watched a steady procession of elementary school children bringing back exactly the same craft products year after year after year.

Over the past fifteen or so years I’ve rarely provided any sort of art/craft instruction and never insisted everyone had to participate.  I’ve taken a ‘loose parts’ approach to setting up the art area and the children are able to choose to use the art supplies freely throughout the  day to create whatever interests them.

I’ve watched some children create really amazing art work.  They have wonderful imaginations and problem solving skills.  If there is something missing from the art area that they think would benefit their projects they ask for it or bring it from home.  Some of these expert artists also enjoy assisting others and will lead spontaneous art classes.

I’ve also observed children who struggle with an open-ended art area.  Some don’t know how to start if there isn’t a leader showing the way.  Some are easily frustrated and give up mid project.  Some never set foot in the art area either because they are not interested or because they doubt their own ability.  There are even some for whom the ‘product’ is so important that they will send the ‘artists’ to make things for them but never attempt to create their own.

Sometimes there isn’t a lead artist in the group – there may be one or two that are very creative but they are ‘followers’.  Even though they can create imaginative artwork when working independently, if another child is present they just imitate each other.  Often there isn’t even any art, just play with the art materials – pencil swords, rolled paper trumpets, etc.  Groups like this rarely have any ‘products’ and the few they do have are exactly the same three pencil lines on a crumpled piece of paper day after day.

Some art tools, like scissors, are more like ‘weapons of mass destruction’.  Sure I think scissors skills are important but I’m not entirely certain scissors are a ‘creative’ tool that I want all preschoolers to have free independent access to.

I’ve tried to limit my ‘instruction’ to introducing new supplies – demonstrating methods and techniques – not products.  Invariably there will be at least one child who will simply copy everything I do and others who will follow along.  *sigh*  We have now created what looks like a product craft.

I think there has to be a middle ground – at least for preschoolers.  Not just ‘follow my instructions and make this’ product crafts.  Not just ‘here are some materials, play with them’ entirely child led process.   So, here are a few things we’ve done recently;

Tissue paper, paper plates & glue: ripping, crumpling, flattening, spreading, pouring, pressing and more – a lot of different ‘process’ yet the ‘products’ all looked pretty similar in the end.

 

Clay, water, tools, sand, glue – several steps on/off throughout a week long experience – many differences along the way yet very similar in the end.

 

 

 

Paper cones, paint, glitter, clay and sticks;

 

 

Yes, there were a lot of new experiences, a lot of process, some instruction, a lot of imitation – trying what someone else did and liking it, and even some ‘product’.  I think the important thing was there was no ‘correction’ – no, ‘that’s not what you are supposed to be making, fix it’.  If they wanted to make something different they could – and some did – briefly – then they scrapped it and copied what the others were doing because that is what they do.  That is what they like to do – most of them – at least in this group – but if they didn’t want to that would have been OK too.

Good Morning

It has been 10 months since I first joined the gym - here you can read more about why I joined.  Honestly, I may love going to the gym even more now that I originally did :-) Yes, I've lost some weight and lowered my BMI but that was never my main goal.  I've taken my second fitness test and I'm happy with the results.  My muscle strength improved from 'poor' to 'average', muscle endurance went from 'average' to 'excellent', and my flexibility is now 'superior' instead of 'poor' - I'm stoked about that!

I'll admit that in preparation for my second fitness test session I had spent some extra time working on the exercises that the trainer had had me do at the first session.  Then for the second session the trainer chose different exercises - sneaky trick.  When he asked if I do squats I replied 'No' because they are not part of my gym routine.  Yet, during the test I found them surprisingly easy to do.  In the days since the test I've realized that I do squats all day long - every time I pick up a toy off the floor while carrying a baby.  :-)

Over time I have made some changes to my gym routine.  I have different preferred gym locations than I used to hence my 'home' gym is different now.  Some of the machines or programs that used to be my favourites I now rarely use - in part because they are no longer challenging.  Some of the machines that I used to find intimidating - like this one;

are now exhilarating.  This makes me happy that I didn't choose to buy exercise equipment to use at home - I probably would have quickly lost interest.

However, probably the biggest change I've made is when I go to the gym.  Originally I chose Monday, Wednesday, & Friday evenings as well as Sunday mornings - this gave me four weekly workouts that were spaced roughly 36 - 48 hours apart.  It was during my summer vacation that I first made the change - going to the gym in the morning on weekdays too.  Wow, I've always been a morning person - morning workouts are soooo much better for me.

I thought the biggest problem was going to be that on weekdays I already get up at 5:00 am so to add a trip to the gym in before my day with the children would mean losing sleep and getting up at 4:00 am instead.  Interestingly I've discovered that I actually get MORE sleep at night now since the long wind-down period after an evening workout meant I was never able to get to bed at a decent time and my schedule was messed up.  A morning workout is a great way to greet the day!

Also interesting is that although there are fewer people at the gym at 4 am  than at 9 pm there are still a surprising number of us there.  Not surprising is how chipper they are - these are my peeps - cheerful and eager to meet the new day even without coffee.

Good Morning!  I'm ready to play, are you?