Tin Foil Snowflakes...

We were sad this morning, when we saw the rain had melted most of the snow :(. We decided to switch projects and make tin foil snowflakes...if we can't have snow outside, lets make things to decorate the inside with snow.  The little ones used it more as a sensory activity playing with the glue and tin foil. We practiced placing items on a line with "E."

Early Writing Skills Activity

Today, one of activities for out 2 1/2 year old was working on drawing lines to get her practicing her early writing skills. This was her first time doing this and she did an awesome job tracing the up and down lines. She had a little more difficulty with diagonal lines, she made polka dots instead. To give her more incentive, we used washable markers since she only gets to use them once in a while so it made this a special activity!

 I let her hold the marker, the way that is comfortable for her. I am not worried about proper grip just yet. To be honest, is their such a thing as a proper grip as long as the child is writing and is legible.

Examining her own work!

This week lunch menu

This week has be busy, I forgot to post this weeks lunch menu...opps!

Tuesday: B- eggs and toast with oranges
                L- Quinoa meatloaf with kale
                S- whole wheat crackers and strong cheese

Wednesday: B- Oatmeal with apples
                     L- Grilled Cheese with tomato and avocado
                     S- Cottage Cheese and peaches

Thursday: B- English Muffins and pineapples
                 L- Panzella White Bean Salad
                 S- Turkey and Guacamole rolls

Friday: B- Toast and bananas
             L- Peanut butter and Banana sandwiches and carrots
             S- Baked apples with Oats!

The Letter E

Nap time yesterday was very busy with me making new play/learning materials for the kiddos. Be on the lookout for when I reveal these toys to the children in the next month.

This week we started working on the letter E. My little "E" was excited to learn her name started with an E (I will be working on name tags with pictures to post on the wall for the kids to work on recognizing their name today). Today we made blue  "E" (one of the color of the months) and glued on elbow macaroni on it. To spread the glue, I had the children use a paint brush. Then they had to use the pincher grip to grasp the macaroni out the container and place it on the "E".

We worked on the following skills in one project: fine motor, color identification, letter identification and having fun! 

Another way to do marshmallow snowmen!

Snowmen and Marshmallows go so well together. E wanted to go out so bad yesterday and make a snowman but due to the severe cold temps, we couldn't go outside so I remember seeing this project idea on Pinterest and hoped it would be an OK substitute. I had been putting glue on the projects for the kids but today I allowed them to dip the marshmallows in the glue to work on some fine motor skills.

Of course we got to eat some Marshmallows too!

New Parent Resource Page!

We have put up a parent resource page to give parents websites for everything from living eco-healthy to learning activities to do with your child. When ever I find a cool site that I use in the child care, I will share it here for parents.

With it being so cold today, I was try to find cool things to do with the kids and found the READING IS FUNDAMENTAL SITE. We were able to watch stories being read aloud. The kids loved it. the site also has great information for parents.

Research shows that children that have early exposure to literacy has a better success in future schooling. Make sure you read with your children everyday!

Here is the link to the site. It is also under parent resources for future visits!
http://rif.org/

Here is a calender they put out each month with daily literacy/learning activities to do with your children!
http://www.rif.org/documents/us/Feb13_LtR_calendar.pdf

Here is the kid's part if the site:

http://rif.org/us/kids.htm

They loved watching the stories...we did this for 45 minutes! I had to stop them for lunch!

We have joined the food program!

Pettengill Academy has joined the USDA child care food program! What does this mean? It helps us ensure that we are serving healthy and balanced meals to the children without having to pass to much of the cost to parents.

What this entails for each meal:
Breakfast: Milk
                 Fruit/Vegetable
                 Grain/Bread

Lunch:Milk
           Protein
           Grain/Bread
           Two different servings of fruit/vegetable

Snack: (2 of the 4)
            Milk
            Protein
            Grain/Bread
            Fruit/Vegetable

It will also give us resources to pass on to you, to help families eat healthy at home too!

Letter d "dog"

Today we make lower case d's. We stamped with recycled k-cups to make the spots. After the were dry we glued a nose, floppy ear and eyes on!

How to Choose Quality Childcare...

I received my license this week so I am officially open for business! Instead of only having two spots, I now have 12 a day I can fill...this is so exciting! While looking for child care, you want to find something that works for your family. Sit down and make a list of the things you are looking for in a childcare and what you want in a provider. Make sure you visit the center and meet with the director and providers. The biggest thing is use you instinct, if you don't get a good feeling about it, don't use that provider. Also ask the provider for a reference from a current parent.

When we were first looking for childcare, I called a bunch of different places but I did it all wrong, I called around for price and who would not make me pay during school vacations...biggest mistake of my life. I thought I had a good one but ended up pulling "E" out before I finished teaching for the year for various things I was not impressed with. At that point I realized that we would do what we had to with our budget to get what we want for care. When I had to go back in the fall, we ended up going to a center that I trust whole heartily but it wasn't exactly what I wanted for my children.

That's when Zack and I sat down and made a list of qualities we wanted in the center. This is what I list looked like:

1. Caring and empathic
2. Quality staff with an education background with Early Childhood
3. Learning based play with the different aspects of Montessori and Reggio Emilia
4. Served healthy and fresh food (with the possibility of teaching how to grow food)
5. Community involvement
6. Cleaning with less exposure to chemicals
7. Small Group Settings
8. A "Green" Center

We did not think our list was outrageous but it was very hard to find childcare that covered our childcare needs and wants. This is how we created Pettengill Academy!

Zack and I wanted to offer a childcare option for parents who wanted more than just care for their child. Pettengill Academy follows a learning play curriculum, we make our own baby food, buy our fruits and vegetables from the farmers market when in season or grow our own in our garden. We are certified Eco-Healthy. I am a certified Maine teacher and is in the process to go back to get my Masters in Early Childhood Education. I have also joined the YPLAA Betterment committee, which works to try to change things in Lerwiston/Auburn to make it a better place to open a business, make the community your home and to work here.

Happy Child Care searching!

ABC Activity

E has been becoming more interested in her letters and numbers. To help her I have trying to find activities to help her learn to identify her letters which is more important than saying her ABC. Today I brought out a cookie sheet with the letters printed on a sheet so she could match her letters. While she was playing, I was next to her asking what the letters were. She would get some if not most mixed up but I would correct her in a positive manner and we would move on to the next one she picked out of the box. When she would get a letter correct we celebrated her accomplishment! (E is 2 1/2 years old to help give an idea of age level of activity).

The sheets I printed were from www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com

More on baby led weaning...

I was finding some resources for a friend on baby led weaning so I figured I would also share thel inks here for anyone else interested! These are ones I have found when parents ask for more about it.

http://www.babyledweaning.com/
http://nourishedkitchen.com/baby-led-weaning/
http://www.babyledweaningblog.com/ - This one gives good examples of what one family did with baby led weaning.

Being "Super" Parent...

          Before Evelyn was born, I was going to be that mom that did everything the "right" way that the parenting trend at the moment says you should do it. Then Evelyn came...I was lucky that I got a shower every day. 9 short months later, I was pregnant with my son...I was going to be a mom of Two under 2.  All hopes of "Mom of the Year" went out the window! However, the one thing I did learn with having two young children is you do what you can.

            I am a huge fan of Pinterest and use it on a daily basis for both business and pleasure. I menu plan with it, I plan daycare activities using ideas from it and build a fake wardrobe that I will never be able to afford. There are times I look at pinterest and feel inadequate since I am not one of these moms on the blogs that have planned activities for their children for every single minute of their days, or a mom that sews her children's clothes or make cute toys for them.

          Instead, I am a working mom, actually I am a business owner mom. I am building a business to help provide for my family both now and in the future. I work 24/7 raising my children into productive citizens, creating a childcare center that is different and creative and being a loving supportive wife/mom. I have learned to do what is right for my family. We are slowly taking steps to become greener and eco-healthy but I am not going to lie cloth diapers wasn't the right thing for my family so we recycle everything that we can instead to make up for it. I use vinegar to clean but due to the flu I have had to use Lysol Spray to make sure the germs get killed. I plan daily activities for both my own children and for the daycare but there are days that are just too chaotic to get into the mess. I do what I can and parents everywhere need to realize the same. My daughter is 2 1/2 and is compassionate, has empathy and uses her manners on a daily basis. My son is a year and is active and loving. I must be doing something OK even if it is not the current parenting trend. Raising your kids and making decisions that are right for your family makes you a "Super" parent!


         

Lunch Menu 1/14-1/18

This weeks lunches:

Monday- Open Faced turkey and guacamole melts
Tuesday-  Homemade Pizza
Wednesday- Pasta and Peas
Thursday- Turkey Caesar Wraps
Friday- Mozzarella Tomato Slice

Marshmallow Snowmen

You are lucky today with two blog post! Today we painted snowmen but why use paint brushes when you can use marshmallows! Check out our projects:

 

Our little one was able to have fun with the project!

 



Lead Exposure leads to lower test scores...interesting article!

As part of being Eco-Healthy Certified, I get news and articles from the Children Environmental Health Network. Today, they sent me an article that I found interested about how students who were exposed to lead even in small amounts can effect how they students later does in school. The study was done by the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Wisconsin department of health services.

Part of being eco-healthy, I have to check and see if the toys we have in the daycare are lead free. It was surprising to find some of the toys I bought thinking would be safe actually had a high lead count. It is always better to check before you buy.

This link brings you to the article about the lead findings:
http://host.madison.com/news/local/education/lead-leads-to-lower-test-scores-uw-study-finds/article_a53d639c-59bc-11e2-b94c-001a4bcf887a.html

This link is a place where you can check you children's toys to see if they are low, medium or high in lead count:
www.healthytoys.org

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

The letter "D"

This month we are focusing on the letters "D" and "E", the colors blue and white and the number 2. Today we made "D" ducks! Check them out!

 Our Completed "D" duck

 The keep with the theme of the month we used blue rubber duckies to paint with!

 All ages participate even at 1!

 Interacting with the bigger kids!

 Painting away!

The older kiddos help with clean up!

This Weeks Lunch Menu! 1/7-1/11

Monday- Turkey Wraps
Tuesday- Chicken Tenders
Wednesday- Gobble Gauc Sandwiches
Thursday- Chicken Salad
Friday- Parmesan Pasta and Peas

* Menu is subject to change

Friday Reflection

A couple of the kids were looking out the window this morning...so I took advantage of the perfect photo opportunity!

 

 

I love these kiddos so much...their exploration of the world around me awes me everyday! Leaving middle school teaching to teach Early Childhood was the best decision I made! It has open my eyes so much more to the compassion and the excitement new discoveries hold everyday!

Baby Led Weaning

When my daughter was getting ready to do solids (4 months), we had got a whole bunch of commercialized baby food so I used it. However, the more I researched the less I liked what was in them so I decided to make my own baby food. I had made so much and had to throw much of it away since after a month of eating puree, she was ready to start eating "regular" food. With my son, I did start him on some purees (I took what we were having for veggies and mash it) but he was very determined to feed himself so I decided to give him larger pieces of soft food for him to pick up and feed himself (around 6 months). He did awesome with it and we did away with purees.

At Pettengill Academy, we do baby lead weaning as long as the parents are ok with and so far the babies have loved having the independence to feed themselves and the exposure to new foods and textures. As with all beginning feeding, we try to stick with the same food for a couple of days just to make sure we do not get reactions.

Some foods that we use quite frequently at Pettengill Academy:
yogurt
apple sauce
bananas
toast/English muffins
variety of fresh fruit
hard boiled eggs/egg whites
cottage cheese
raisins
pancakes/waffles
cheese
cracker type foods
Steamed Veggies
Raw veggies
pastas
Dried fruit

As the children getting better with feeding, they usually eat what we are eating just cuts up in to smaller pieces to help them not stuff to much food in their mouths and to help them chew easier. There are foods NOT to give your child:
Honey
Salt
Runny Eggs
Raw meat
Also try to stay away from sugary processed foods.

The biggest thing is allow your child to explore with their food. It is ok for them to mush it up and play with it, they are learning while they are doing this!

I found this resource from http://www.letyourbabiesfeedthemselves.com/ that you can print and bring with you to your child's childcare of this is something you want to try or do at home already!
http://www.letyourbabiesfeedthemselves.com/daycare.pdf.

Happy New Year!

2013 is going to be a very exciting year for Pettengill Academy! We are waiting for the final approval from the State Fire Marshall and we will be licensed! We will be able to have 12 children at the center. We are also very busy planning curriculum activities to help the children grow and be prepared for future schooling.

Things to look for in our blog:
* Daycare updates and happenings
* Lunch menus
* Interesting articles about child development
* Tips on living eco-healthy
* and much more!