This week in care - 17-21 October 2011

Hi everyone

Hope you all had a great weekend …. ours was jam packed …. We attended Mitchell’s school fete on Saturday, it was a great day but very exhausting. We left just in time before the hail storm hit Bald Hills. The weather has been crazy of late. Please remember to dress your child according to the weather and feel free to pack spare clothes in case the weather changes.

ROUTINE OUTINGS
Monday
Tuesday morning tea with Ma and Poppy
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday

CARER LEAVE
Just a friendly reminder that there is no care available Wednesday, 26th October 2011. Care will resume as per normal on Thursday, 27th October 2011.

STUDENT FREE DAY
Monday, 17th October is a student free day. Mitchell will be home with us on this day as well as Anika’s big sister, Ella.

OUR GOALS THIS WEEK
Colour Matching
Alphabet match
Balancing games

Enjoy

Bec xoxox

Possum Puppet Show

Last Thursday the children and I went and watched the most spectacular puppet show we have ever seen. it was run by Cathy Possum in conjuction with our scheme.


we weren't quite sure what to expect but the children were blown away by cathy possum. we were introduced to a wide variety of australian animals (a possum, a wombat, and a kangaroo) along the way to find a playpus. the children laughed and screamed and bounced and had so much fun. it was a great morning and a huge thank you to the scheme for organising it.

This week in care - 5 sept - 9 sept 2011

Hi everyone

We don’t get sick too often …. But, when we do it hits us hard.

PLEASE NOTE THAT CARE IS AVAILABLE TUESDAY, 6TH SEPTEMBER 2011 – However if you feel a little uncomfortable with sending your child tomorrow … no fees will be charged for this day. Please advise your attendance ASAP.

Well hopefully we have seen the last of the illness’ in the WILD household for a very long time. I do apologise for having to cancel care over the past few days but our germs were just too powerful. I really appreciate your patience and concern.

Mitchell is all but 100% better …. I think one more day off from school won’t hurt him. 99% of his blisters have dried and have now scabbed over. He looks very spotty.

Emma’s chest infection is clear and her eyes are on the mend.

What’s happening in care this week:

Weekly Outings
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Morning Tea with Ma and Poppy

Thursday, 8 September 2011
Playgroup at POM office

CARER LEAVE
Just a friendly reminder that there is no care available on Wednesday, 7th September.

OUR GOALS THIS WEEK
To stay healthy and germ free JJJ
Make Playdough
Do some cooking

Hope everyone has had an enjoyable and relaxing weekend. Looking forward to seeing you all soon.

We have had germs ......

I had to close our doors on Thursday, Friday and today due to both Mitchell and Emma coming down ill. Poor little Emma came down with a nasty chest infection last Monday, then Mitchell woke up with the chicken pox on Thursday and then on Saturday Emma woke conjunctivitis in her left eye which has since moved into her right eye.

I am not one to cancel care as it is a huge inconvenience to my parents .... But the germs were everywhere in my house. I am looking forward to re-opening on Tuesday with healthy children and an extremely clean and fresh house. I have spent the last day or two cleaning and disinfecting toys and resources to ensure that there are no nasty germs hanging around.

I want to thank all my parents for their understanding and patience and we will see you all soon.

Take care and stay healthy.

Bec xoxox

Happiness is ......

knowing that my Family Day Care Parents are happy with the care that is being provided to their children on a daily basis....

I opened my email this afternoon to find a message from my Co-ordinator with some kind words from my parents attached .......

"I am happy with the care provided, the enviroment is clean, welcoming and child friendly. Rebecca is great with the kids and does a lot of developmental work with them. I am aware of the places Rebecca visits and don't have any concerns. I feel that our relationship is very comfortable".

"I am happy with the care provided, the environment is lovely. Rebecca is so well organised, provides great activities and helps the kids settle quickly with an activity in the morning which makes that transition easier. I don't see any areas for improvement and I don't have any concerns".

"Rebecca is enthaustic, thoughtful and creative. I am happy with our care and her home is lovely and child friendly. I can discuss anything with Rebecca and I don't have any concerns".

These kind comments made my afternoon and reminded me why I do what I do.

Thank you everyone for placing your trust in me to help you raise happy, healthy children.

Bec xoxoxox

This week in care - 29 Sept - 2 Sept 2011

What’s happening in care this week:

WEEKLY OUTINGS
Monday, 29 August 2011
Story Time at Kallangur Library (Fingers crossed)
Peace of Mind Office to hand in paperwork

Tuesday, 23 August 2011
Morning Tea with Ma and Poppy

OUR GOALS THIS WEEK
Fathers Day Crafts
Colour Bear Match
Sticks in a Hole
Animal Match Dominos

UPCOMING CARER HOLIDAYS
Just a friendly reminder that care will not be available on the following dates in September.

Wednesday, 7 September 2011
Monday, 26 – Friday, 30 September 2011

2012 CARE REQUIREMENTS
If you haven’t yet advised me of your 2012 care requirements, could you please do so as soon as possible.

Hope everyone has had an enjoyable and relaxing weekend. We are now heading off to Suncorp Stadium to watch the Broncos play.

Looking forward to seeing you all soon.

Bec xoxoxo

i got sidetracked ......

and forgot to update the blog ...... sorry :(

last week was a very quiet week with the Ekka public holiday on Wednesday and NM and GM away on holidays. It was a nice treat to have Friday to myself to catch up on some overdue paperwork.

It looks like the rain is pretty much set in so our outings this week may have to be cancelled.

This week we are going to be practicing our fire evacuation drill ..... we will be doing this everyday to ensure all children are aware of what we need to do and where we need to meet. I have also copies of Fire Engines for the children to paint.

we will also be focusing on the letter F this week ... maybe you could reinforce this letter at home.

hope you all have a great week ... take care on the roads in the wet weather.

Bec xoxoxox

Fathers Day Craft Idea #4

All about my dad ....... is a worksheet that can be printed and completed by your children. If they are too little to write, maybe you can fill in the blanks for them. There is also a section where they can draw a picture of themselves with their dad.


Click on the link to view and print the document:


https://acrobat.com/app.html#d=0tERwQS16bKkGUmrJuhWqA

Fathers Day Craft Idea #3

Dress up Dad's favourite drink.

I found this idea from The Idea Room - http://www.theidearoom.net/.

The idea room has a template available for downloading or make one yourself using scrapbooking paper. We decided to make our shirts and ties ourselves.

Pop on over to the idea room for more details on this craft idea.

Fathers Day Craft idea #2

Today we are going to be making a simple magnetic Shirt and Tie bookmark for Dad using the Martha Stewart template.



I love this printout as it is a quick and simple craft.





To find the templates for the bookmarks, please click the link to head over to the Martha Stewart website.


Once you have printed out your templates onto cardstock, cut out and have the children glue magnets onto insides of both the front and back of the shirt.


http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/web/pdfs/pdf3/clipart_magnet_ties.pdf


have fun creating .......


Bec xoxoxox

Monthly Newsletter - August 2011

Please find the below the link for this months newsletter.

https://acrobat.com/app.html#d=3Gw*WA3v4zadrvWLmUjydA

Enjoy

Bec xoxox

Fathers Day craft idea #1

i love you .................................. this much

daddys will be so happy when thy receive this simple fathers day card on their special day. the hands open up to reveal an accodian folded piece of paper with the words ........... this much.

why not create this card with your children today.

A simple tuorial .....

take a piece of coloured cardboard of your choice and fold in half. trace around the childs hand.

with the paper still folded in half, cut around your hand so you have two identical hands

if the child is old enough have them write i love you on the front of one of the hands, otherwise you can write it for them.

then take a piece of white cardboard measuring 4cm high and 28cm wide. measure and draw a line at 2cm, 5cm, 8cm, 11cm, 14cm, 17cm, 20cm, 23cm and 26cm. fold cardboard along these lines. glue the ends to each hands.

in the remaining 8 spaces write the words 'this much'.

and there you have it .... a simple fathers day card.

Our week in care .....

Monday, 25 July 2011

The weather is just so yummy at the moment so we headed outdoors for a little bit of water play. i provided the girls with some play boats, cups, watering cans, funnels and various sea animals. the girls enjoyed exploring the water with the various toys supplied.

Tuesday, 26 July 2011

today we enjoyed a lovely morning tea with Ma and Poppy. Ma had the cars out for us to play with when we got there. Poppy showed us Bird the Bird and he squawked at us. It was very funny. we had a lovely time.

Wednesday, 27 July 2011

we headed outside for some fun in the sun today. it was such a beautiful day. we explored the sandpit with the trucks and differs, played with the water table, the blocks, stepping stomes and lots, lots more. a great day.

Thursday, 28 July 2011

this morning we went to playgroup for some interaction with some other children and adults. it was a lovely session wth not too many children in attendance. the office has recently purchased some new play equipment which the children loved exploring.

Friday, 29 July 2011

we spent most of our day exploring the sandpit, building castles, knocking them down and then rebuilding them.

Our week in care .... 18-22 July 2011

Monday, 18 July 2011
A beautiful day for exploring outdoors. I had several activity mats set up for the children to investigate and choose which one was of interest to them. All the girls really enjoyed the outdoor home corner that I had set up complete with washing line and lots of clothes and pegs to hang.

Tuesday, 19 July 2011
This morning we went had visited Ma and Poppy for morning tea. They were babysitting baby Emilee (Bec's neice). The children were very excited to play with a little baby again.

Thursday, 21 July 2011
Bubbles, bubbles and more bubbles today by request. It was a beautiful sunny day so we made the most of the fresh air and sunshine and headed outdoors for some bubble fun. I had misplaced the bubble blowers so I used my creative imagination and made some out of zip ties. They worked a treat.

Friday, 22 July 2011
We played outdoors this morning then came inside to create out wonderful wobbly jellyfish.

Bringing the ocean home

working in conjuction with our ocean theme .... i am posting this activity for my parents so they can continue working on our theme at home ....

Making an ocean aquarium ...

You will need:
handrawn or printed animals that live in the ocean
Box with the front cut out (to make a window)
blue paper


How to:
Glue the blue paper to the back and the sides of the box to make the water
Have the child colour in the sea animal pictures
Glue or stickytape the sea animal pictures to the back of the box.

Sit back and enjoy your ocean aquarium.

xoxoxox

Colour Matching Activity ....

This is one of my favourties for introducing Colour Matching to the children .....

MATCHING COLOUR SHADES

Materials:
Paint sample cards - Select 2 identical sheets for each color you want to use.
Wooden Pegs.
Container to hold the pegs.

Procedure:

Separate the paint sample cards into 2 identical piles.

Using only the first pile, cut small rectangles of each shade from the paint sample cards.

Glue each rectangle onto a separate clothespin.

Choose one paint strip and separate out the colored clothespins that match it.

Present your tot with the selected paint strip and matching clothespins.

Choose one of the clothespins and hold it next to color at the top of the paint strip.

Model your thinking by saying, “Do these shades match?” and then (depending on if it matches or not, “No, the shades don’t match. I think this one is darker…” or “Yes, these match!”

If the shades don’t match, move the clothespin down to the next darker color and ponder over whether they match or not.

Invite your child to give you an opinion.

Keep going until you reach the matching shade.

When you reach the matching shade, say, “These shades match!” and deliberately show your tot how to press the ends of the clothespin to open it, slide it onto the card, and release the clothespin to make it close.

Select a new clothespin and repeat the process.

Hand the work over to your tot once they understand the activity.

Enjoy !!!!

A New Direction

Hi all

Thanks for visiting our little blog spot. Whilst i was on my break and recharging my batteries, a light-bulb went off in my little head.


i was trying to find some high-quality toys / resources for the children but couldn't seem to find what i was looking for anywhere and when i did, they ended up being quite expensive. i therefore decided to create my own toys / resources and make these available to parents and other family day care educators at an affordable price.

over the coming weeks i will be creating various items such as dolls, flash cards, quiet bags, quiet books and lots, lots more.

for regular updates, pop over to our facebook page and become a 'liker' to be kept updated.


in the meantime take a look at some of the dolls we have for sale.

these dolls are from the Ruby and friends collection and sell for $15.00 each. they are made from high-quality frabic and calico.

facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Rebeccas-Family-Day-Care/123920251028390

take care,

rebecca xoxoxox

July Newsletter

https://acrobat.com/app.html#d=FzWvn8*e4p4H3MLo4r3KVg

I have been busy creating .....

.... your child's OCEAN lapbook and activities for when they return to care week beginning 11 July 2011.


I am really looking forward to this theme and have had so much fun putting it together.

I am also looking forward to my week off to relax and recharge my batteries so I can continue to provide high quality care to your children when I return.


Check back later as I will be uploading July's newsletter.


Take care


Bec xoxoxox

Use your Noodle ....

Have you been looking for threading beads for your children and found them to be expensive ... well how about you use your NOODLE .....




Whilst I was browsing my local toy shop on the weekend, i came across a pool noodle with a hole all the way down the middle. All of a sudden I had an idea (much to brendans delight) ... what if we were to make threading beads out of the pool noodle ... whilst explaining my idea to brendan, he kept looking at me like i was a crazy lady.




I paid $5.00 for the noodle, bought it home and marked out how big i wanted each noodle bead to be (i got 40 beads out of one noodle) ... then it was over to brendan. Using a stanley knife, he cut along the lines and we now have noodle beads. using some thin rope the children can now enjoy some beading ..... a great fine motor skills activity.

Enjoy xoxox

A QUOTE ....

While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about - Angela Schwindt

Week 13-17 June 2011

Monday, 13 June 2011

Public Holiday - hope you all enjoyed your day off with your loved ones.

Tuesday, 14 June 2011

Today the children created with the cardboard blocks. They played with the blocks for most of the morning creating wonderful masterpieces. It was great to see them use their imaginations.

Wednesday, 15 June 2011

It was all about bubbles today. It was a beautiful dau for playing outdoors. NE and VA explored various activities but both settled on blowing bubbles. The simple things are often the most fun :)

Thursday, 16 June 2011

Mitchell had his sports day today. The children and I went along to watch him participate.

Friday, 17 June 2011

We were busy little bees today. We stayed home today and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine. I had to do some shredding today which the children thought was very interesting. I placed some of the shredded paper into a large bucket and hid various objects in there for the children to find. It was very messy but we had lots of fun.

Have a great weekend

Bec xoxox

Fine Motor Skills Activity ....

Sticks in a hole is a great fine motor skills activity for young ones. It develops their pincer grip as they are to pick up small sticks and insert into tiny holes.


I picked up these cheese shakers from my local junk shop for around $2.00 a few months back. And the coloured sticks can also be found in the craft isle, and don't cost that much.


Present the activity to your child in an appealing manner when they are feeling fresh and alert.


I place our learning activities on a coloured tray to attract their attention. Show your child how to pick up the stick and insert it into one of the holes. You may need to show them a few times.


Once they understand how do it, sit back and enjoy watching them learn from this fun yet simple activity.

Enjoy

Bec xoxox

This week in care ....

Wow, what a cold week this week, winter is surely upon us.

Monday, 6 June 2011

The sun was shining today so we headed outside into the fresh air. The children rode the bikes, played with some blocks, played in the sandpit and ran around in the bubbles. A great day. We also had to head over to the office to drop off some paperwork.

Tuesday, 7 June 2011

A little chilly today so most of our play was undertaken indoors. We headed over to Ma and Poppy's for morning tea and some car and lego play. When we came home we had a quick run around outside to get all of our silly's out. We read a beautiful story before bed time which the children enjoyed.

Wednesday, 8 June 2011

A little chilly again today. We headed outside for a quick play on the bikes, scooters and in the cubby house. There was lots of block play, train making and playing with the dolls today. Everyone was in a good mood and played nicely together.

Thursday, 9 June 2011

Another cold day today. We stayed indoors today as the sun didn't come out to greet us at all. We made the most of the indoors playing with the horses, dolls, in the inside cubby house, singing sings, danced and had lots of fun.

Friday, 10 June 2011

We rugged up and headed outside for a play in the fresh air today. We also made som beautiful paper dolls and laminated them so they stayed strong and we could keep them for a long time.

Multicultural Dolls - a DIY tutorial

Last week i advised that i would be back with a DIY tutorial on how to make cute little multicultural dolls as below. Guess what .... i have finally finished it ....


If you want to make your own cute little multicultural dolls, click the link to be taken to the tutorial.

https://acrobat.com/app.html#d=1tjrtdFY5uzACdwwfSXypA

you may notice that my dolls are expressionless .... i left them like this so the children can choose whether the dolls are happy, sad, cranky, excited, boy or girl etc.

have fun and enjoy

Bec xoxoxo

June Newsletter

good morning everyone

today is out girly day, lots of playing in the home corner, drawing and reading books.

please find attached the link for the June newsletter.

https://acrobat.com/#d=4FofnB1BIQi9PdDtRDKvbQ

i will be back a little later with some photos and a tutorial of some little multicultural dolls i am working on.

hope you are all having a fun day

enjoy

bec

Monday, 23 May 2011

It was a funny day today .... not sure if it was going to rain or not. We set up a few outdoor play activities, mainly the sand tray, the stepping stomes and the bikes. The children had a great day, undertaking a craft activity where we made a sheep.


Tuesday, 24 May 2011

Lots and lots of outside play today. We had lots of fun activities set up ... there was a farm mat with lots of animals, we had the trucks and the blocks out, playdough table outside, stepping stones and so much more. It was a lovely day. We also put a tail and a mane onto a horse.


Wednesday, 25 May 2011

It was a little fresh outside today but we braved the cold, rugged up and headed out for a little play. We played on the bikes and the scooters and with the trucks and the blocks. Most of our play day was spent inside creating some more farm animals. The children were very excited when the plumber turned up with his really big ladder to get onto the roof to fix the hot water. We also had a surprise visit from the lovely lady from the office.



Thursday, 26 May 2011

The girls were a little tired and sad this morning when they arrived as they both had a very late night. We started off the morning with a little bit of sesame street to settle the girls in. GM helped Brendaa create out new pencil holder, which she enjoyed. After morning tea we headed outside into the fresh air. We had lots of visitors today, the lady across the road came over to give us a present and Bec's sister popped in for a cup of tea.




Friday, 27 May 2011
A very busy day today. We took Mitch to school as Brendan was helping the electrician put in some ceiling fans. When we came home the children wanted to play outside with the magic paint. We painted the fence in beautiful colours. That kept us busy for most of the morning. We also pretended that the fort was a boat and the blanket was an island and the grass was the ocean full of sharks and crocodiles. A very big imagination day.

Have a great weekend

Bec xoxoxox

Childrens sites I enjoy browsing

Hi all


half way through the week already and the children and i have been busy, busy, busy. We are working on creating lots of different farm animals and most of the children have already made a wooly sheep and a horse. I like to make our activities interactive and fun.


When i have five minutes to myself i enjoy taking a look at the following children's educational sites. i find lots of creative ideas for the children, our environment and there is always something interesting to read.


When you have a spare moment, grab a cuppa and sit down at take a look around .....


* http://childhood101.com/

* http://www.sparklebox.co.uk/australia/ love this one, lots of free printable activities

* http://www.theimaginationtree.com/

* http://www.playbasedlearning.com.au/

* http://theactivitymom.blogspot.com/

* http://planningwithkids.com/

If you have any interesting sites that you like to look at, please share them with me.

enjoy the rest of your week, i know we will.

Bec xoxoxox

Our week in care

What a busy and exciting week we have had ....

The children were very excitied to see that the playroom had been given a rearrange whilst they were away .... the home corner is alot more user friendly, with lots more space for all children to play in there together. I am in the process of organising some more hand made felt food for them ... this is still a work in progress :)

Monday: 16 May 2011

The children and I had a great day. It was our girly day today. Lots of playing in the home corner and the outside cubby house.

Tuesday: 17 May 2011

A lovely day today ... we spent the morning with Ma and Poppy enjoying some morning tea in the fresh air. When we came home the children were very happy ti play freely with their chosen toys. Emma needed lots of cuddles today as she is getting her top teeth.

Wednesday: 18 May 2011

An eventful day today. There was lots of playing with dolls and cars, playdough, gluing, outside play and lots more. NE had a great day playing with out new doctor's kit and giving lots of medicine to the dolls. He especially enjoyed wearing the doctor glasses. GT has a great day riding on the bikes with VA. VA enjoyed pushing a doll around in a car for most of the morning.

Thursday: 19 May 2011

We stayed home from Playgroup this morning as Bec wasn't feeling very well. We had a fun day at home playing in the sandpit, home corner, doctors and had a play picnic in the outside cubby house. We watched and danced to a little bit of Hi-5 before having a rest.

Friday, 20 May 2011

A nice quiet day at home today whilst we waited for the grocery man to come. There was lots of outside play in the sandpit, on the bikes and plenty of home play.

Photos will hopefully be up next week.

Take care

Bec

making playdough ....

the children love playing with playdough ... it is a great sensory activity. i spent some of my afternoon replacing our old playdough with a fresh batch. i like to make my own playdough and follow this have a great recipe.

* 1/2 cup salt

* 1 cup plain flour

* 2 tablespoons cream of tartar

* 1 cup water

* 1 tablespoon oil

* food colouring of your choice

mix all ingredients in a saucepan over high heat. mixture will come together, remove from heat and knead. sit until cool, then enjoy creating.

lots of fun new colours for the children to enjoy creating little masterpieces with this week. i wonder what creations will be made:- cupcakes, sausages, people, the possibilities are endless.

enjoy bec

Happy Easter

Wishing you all a safe and Happy Easter. Take care and I will see you all next week when care starts again.

I have some exciting new posts coming up within the next few weeks. Stayed tuned for these.

Bec xoxox

i {heart} where i work

i love where i work .... i love my job ....

i love the fact that i can still be here for mitchell and emma and help pay the never ending bills ....

this is where i work ....