Vacation is Over

We had a great vacation! Time to relax, time with family and friends, sleeping in (as much as Michael would let us), shopping, eating out, catching up on a few projects here around the house.

And now it's over.

But that's okay.

Today two of our kids were back. It was a slow easy start back into the routine. I got a text earlier this evening from another family saying their daughter was excited about coming back tomorrow. That's always good to hear and makes me happy to be back at work.

Doug is glad to be going back to work as well and anxious to see if the new machine they've been expecting at work has come in yet.

I guess we're lucky to have work we love and are excited about.

Establishing Learning Centers

There are two points to consider when planning a learning environment that includes learning centers.

1. How will it be customized to include the learning styles of each participant?

2. How will the planned activities and the child's environment compliment one another?

Typical learning centers to consider are blocks, housekeeping, art/writing, table toys (manipulatives), sensory table, library, music, science and computers. Life skills, social skills, risk taking, and responsibility with freedom are important lessons children are learning while using centers and interacting with each other. Children should feel that this is a place where they can trust and feel safe.

There are a number of points to consider when setting up learning centers.

1. Separate noisy areas from quiet areas.

2. Each area should be clearly defined. Children need to know where the boundaries are for the toys that belong in each learning center. Traffic patterns should naturally flow in a way that keeps children from interrupting each other and also discourage running.

3. There should be enough space in/at each learning center for more than one child to play comfortably.

4. Resources near each play area should be relevant to that area.

5. Ensure that caregivers can clearly see into each area.

6. Each learning center should be accessible to each child regardless of handicaps or disabilities.

7. There should be plenty of storage for the supplies needed in each learning center so that the children are able to keep things reasonably neat without too much difficulty.

When setting up learning centers remember that this does have to be expensive. Dividers can be created by hanging a curtain, or by putting up and office cubicle divider. Art shelves can be made from inexpensive materials or purchased second hand. Just remember to make sure surfaces are washable.

An organized and properly arranged environment makes it easier for children to choose constructive activities. An organized environment also makes it easier for the children to play in an orderly way and to keep their surroundings neater. Some things to remember are to makes sure all toys and materials have their own storage space. Make sure items are within easy reach of the children and are easy to put away again. Ensure that the learning centers are easy to get in and out of.

Pay attention to what children play with a lot and what they seem to be losing interest in. Often even minor changes to the learning center, such a slight rearranging, or a few inexpensive new toys or supplies can spark new interest.

Learning centers are a fun and creative way to give children a learning experience customized to their needs and interests. I hope this article has given you some inspiration in creating learning centers for the children in your care.

Tent City

Nearly every afternoon when the younger kids go down for naps, the older kids pull out all the big blankets and sheets they can find and turn my living room into a tent city. 

Here is today's construction. And Holly brought dress up clothes so the fun is even better.

Daily Adventures at Rose's House June 1, 2010

We again started our day off with some fun in the kitchen. This time we made Pineapple Raisin Bread (recipe here) for snacks today.

Here it is being rapidly consumed at evening snack time. We also ate some for morning snack but I didn't get any pictures.

I taped large sheets of paper to the table on the front porch and let the kids have fun coloring.

We had fun taking care of the flowers. There were a lot of dead flowers and leaves that needed to be taken off and of course we had to see how they smelled.

What shape is this?

More playdough fun

We made the Heart Owl Paper Craft. Link to printable template here.

Later we colored pictures of woodpeckers. (Printable pictures found here.)

Austin spent a lot of time hanging out with baby Kaleb.

And the kids had a great time playing outside.

Daily Adventures at Rose's House

We started our morning off with some cooking. Michael and Hunter helped me mix up some snack crackers (recipe here) that I've been wanting to make for a long time. I just never remembered when I was making the menu or in the store. It had been a long time since I had eaten them and they were every bit as good as I remembered.

After we got the crackers in the oven Michael and Hunter tore up the bread pieces for Overnight Sausage Egg Casserole (recipe here).

Austin mixed up the liquid ingredients for the casserole.

Earlier this morning I had mixed up some of this wonderful playdough using a recipe I found over at Counting Coconuts. The recipe is found here. This is such a simple and fun recipe. The texture is great and adding a little vanilla too the dough gives it a wonderful smell. The kids just loved it.

Bug Hunting

Austin and Gabe playing Go Fish with a set of I Spy Go Fish cards.

I'm not sure what the dramatic conversation here was about but it looked interesting.

Our letter of the week is Bb. Here some of the kids are coloring their Bb books. I printed these books from DLTK Kids using these templates.

It had been awhile since I had taken the kids for a walk and they were asking to go this evening so we did.

Tackle Amanda!

I forget sometimes how much good it does us just to get out and walk and have a change of scenery. We're fortunate to have a nice place to do this.

And those were some of the day's adventures at Rose's House. More fun coming up tomorrow.