Feels like a good luck day.

It's a great day today for child care providers and other state employees in California because the legislature and governor finally passed a state budget, 100 days late. Devastating cuts for early child care but the welfare to work program, which has benefitted so many of my parents is fully funded. Everyone can take a deep relaxing breath now. I think.

This morning the children ran outside ahead of me and started screaming about a BUG!!!! I hurried out and to my delight they were watching a Praying Mantis more than two inches long. It's been years since we've had any of these in our yard. This one looked particularly intelligent. I am intrigued by the expression on that tiny face. Of course I had to run grab my camera. As I leaned the camera as close as possible to get a macro shot, the Praying Mantis reached up to the lens. I took the shot then let it climb on the camera and moved it to the flowering bush nearby. Then took more pictures. I am fascinated by these creatures that look like space aliens or something. The children decided it was a girl mantis and watched "her" for a long time. Seemed like it watched us as much as we watched it, turning its head as we moved. But our newest child, who hasn't yet learned to be gentle, pulled off all the flowers and the mantis disappeared. Nellie and I searched all over and couldn't find it. Hopefully it flew to another place of freedom.

One never knows what will turn a child on. Today as I cooked lunch our new little girl pulled all the little chairs away from the table and lined them up and decorated them. Then she went into the napping room and brought out the extra two chairs and lined them up too. She has a fertile imagination.

After lunch as I clean up the girls go choose books for me to read to them. I get such a kick out of how they read to each other. They have so many of the stories memorized. I love it that they love books. Once I asked a mentor (Bev Boz) how much we should read to children and she said to read to them until our lips fell off then read three more. So we do, ha.

Every Day a Photo Op

You know, every day provides photo opportunities. Today was no exception.

#1. Nellie reminded me of the value to children's imagination that free play time provides. She came running out of the play room, excited to the gills, "Look, Paully! Look what I can do!" She laid four little cardboard"Noddy" books on the floor then proceeded to lay one hand and one foot on each, sort of like an upside down Twister position. I clapped and asked if she could do that again as I reached for the camera.

You would be disappointed if you expected to see the alphabet letters taped to the wall for children to learn or art work that required a lot of prep time on my part, instead of original paintings and collages done by the children that reflected their individuality. The important thing for very young children is PLAY. That is their work. If I had the children engaged in activities all day that were directed my myself I would miss out on precious moments like this.

You can do a google search for "The importance of play for young children" so this is all I'm going to say on the subject. Just know that I am a strong advocate for letting children be children while they're children. We all need play in our lives. We all need children in our lives, ha. Every day I think how lucky I am. Many women my age are bored and lonely...I have these delightful beings grace my life five days a week. The best entertainment the world can offer comes right to my door every day and I love every minute of it.

#2. Cody woke first from her nap. She didn't come out of the nap room right away so when I went in to get her this is what I saw. She had thrown all the stuffed animals, even her beloved Teddy, on top of Nellie. Probably in hopes of waking her, but short of a bomb blast that won't happen until she's good and ready to wake up.

#3. The girls played with magnets after we came in from outside, while I fixed lunch. I was surprised at how long this held their interest. See the tray? These come in so handy for bead work or any of the small manipulative toys they love. The trays keep the materials from rolling off the table (my kitchen seems to slant) as well as giving each child a defined space for her own work. The table is sturdy and low for the children. Adult guests never complain about sitting there in the little blue chairs. I'm so used to it after all these years.

Don't Do This!!

Recently I saw a blog where a parent set up her young daughters with mixing bowls, measuring cups and spoons and beans to "cook." I'd never used beans for this purpose so immediately bought a ten pound sack of pinto beans and set up the activity for my children. I try to have a rich sensory activity for them every day and this seemed like a good one. The girls loved it and measured, poured and stirred most of the morning. I took pictures and we laughed a lot. The activity also provided opportunities for conversation and for planning what to do next with the beans. When they finished, the beans swept right up, unlike play dough which sometimes sticks to the floor.

About an hour later, Nellie's nose started running and she said she didn't feel well. It looked like she was catching a cold and it was coming on fast. I thought about calling her mother at work to come get her but it was so close to nap time that I decided to go ahead and lay her down and see how she felt when she got up. But after her long nap Nellie didn't feel any better. Her cheeks were flushed and by now her snot had turned milky and she looked like she was getting a fever. Her mother would arrive soon so I gave them a snack, which she ate, and put on a movie for them so Nellie could lie down. She seemed fine, wasn't crying or anything. She just looked flushed and I had to keep wiping her nose.

As soon as Nellie's mom arrived, about three thirty, Nellie burst into tears. Her mother expressed amazement because Nellie was fine in the morning when she dropped her off. I've seen colds come on this fast so didn't think that much of it.

But the next morning Nellie's mom told me they had spent hours in the emergency room during the night. Nellie had pushed a bean up her nose and it took five people to hold her down in order to get it out. The bean had turned mushy so getting it out wasn't an easy task. The doctor told her that beans have something in them that irritates, one of the worst possible things to put up her nose. Even a rock would have been better and easier to get out.

I felt so bad. In all the years I've watched over children I've never had anything like this happen. I'd never heard that about beans. Who would have imagined such a thing?

So, I hope others will read this and take heed. No more playing with beans for my children. They still love to "cook" and they make individual portions of play dough and like that activity just as much. So I will include the recipe for the play dough.

No-Cook Clay Dough (Individual Portion)

1 cups flour
1/2 cup salt
1/4 c. water
1 tablespoons alum or cream of tartar (optional)
A few drops of food coloring

The child measures and pours into a medium bowl, all the ingredients.
Child stirs with a large spoon until the ingredients become easier to mix and the food coloring is well-mixed with the other ingredients. S/he may need help the child adding more water or flour, a tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is firm, not too wet, and sticks together.

3. Have child knead and squeeze the mixture until a smooth dough is made. At first, you might need to spread a small amount of flour on the table to keep it from sticking.

An Early Spring Morning

Early this last spring. I write these observations of our mornings for the parents of the children in my care. I also send home lots of pictures. It means a lot to the parents to see what their children do here everyday.

To the left is a fort that took a half hour for the children to put together and they played with it all afternoon. The girls are inside.

Here's how the morning went:

“I’m gonna take a GOOD NAP today!” Four year old Evie tells me as she follows me around the yard. I am gathering the morning’s dog poop before somebody steps in it.
“Yes, didn’t that feel good last week?” She surprised herself and fell asleep last Thursday for the first time since October. She never naps.
“Don’t you just love this beautiful day?” She asks. I do, I really truly do love it.
“Everybody got up an hour earlier today because now we’re on Daylight Saving time,” I tell her. “So maybe you’ll be tired enough to take a nap.”
“I already slept for such a long time. I slept for SIX MILES!” she exclaims into the sunny sky.
I smile all the way to the lilac bush and beyond to lean the poop shovel against the fence.


I’ve arranged a new set of sturdy child sized lawn chairs in a semi-circle under the tree. There is a pink one, a bright blue, a white and a green chair. I didn’t buy two of the same color because I could hear one of the older girls saying as she hangs onto the two of the same color, “you can’ t sit in that one; it’s for my best friend and you’re not my best friend.” So I only bought four, not five, because there were four different colors. That’s the way one starts to think after forty years in this business, sort of like a four year old. But sometimes it’s easier to control the environment than the child.
“Look at these chairs! We can relax!” Evie tells the others. They each sit in a chair, Carrie, the baby, swinging her feet because they don’t reach the ground.
“Take a deep breath.” Evie tells them. “If only we could just talk together.” And they do for several minutes.

Evie tags Kenna then jumps up and runs across the yard yelling, “you can’t catch me!” Then they all run to me, “we want ‘ready-set-go!” So I do the chant: “One for the money, two for the show.....” Kenna’s miles ahead of the others, even though she has shoes that are both for the left foot, both ‘Dora the Explorer’ shoes, one pink and one blue with fur inside. Carrie’s pink ones don’t stay on so I’ve taken them off and now she can get some negative ions from the still wet grass. They ask to do the race again....and again....and again.

“Hey, it’s cold over here.”
“That’s because you are in the shade. Come back in the sun and see if you can feel the difference.”
“Look, we can see our shadow today!”

Carrie and Cody giggle behind me as they pull the mesh cover off the sandbox. I bring out a container of plastic dishes, a round table and their combo sink and stove set. So now they are all ‘cooking’ with sand. When they finish I’ll bring out warm sudsy water for them to wash the dishes.

Everybody’s happy. What a glorious day!

My mind wanders. Where’s Nellie? She’s missed too many days lately. And I’m half expecting a visit from the woman who checks up on us from the food program that reimburses us for food expenses.

Oh, oh, the first tussle of the day. Cody has taken a cup from Kenna’s hand and run away. Kenna chases her but I see she needs help or Cody will soon be flat on the ground.

Evie brings me a sand birthday cake and tells me, “Take it from my hand. Blow out the candles first and make your wish come true.” I obey. You never know....

Now Evie has pushed Cody down. I give her a dirty look so she says, “I did it because I didn’t want her to crash our sand castle.” She and Kenna are now making a sand castle on top of the table and don’t want the other girls to come near. They carry the table closer to the sand box. “Careful, careful,” Evie tells Kenna.
They’re giggling now. Evie tells Kenna, “I’m the server and you are the spanker.” Giggle giggle. “We’re both the spanker.” Giggle glggle, as they both spank the pile of sand on the table.

It’s ten thirty and now they’re all peeling off their shoes. I instruct them to put their shoes on the stairs so we’ll remember to take them up when we go in. Evie barely makes it to the stairs before she’s crying, “Oh! My feet are really really cold! Can you put my shoes back on?” So I do.

Now they’re playing T-ball with a bucket of balls. Tennis balls, white plastic baseballs, colored plastic balls, small rubber balls. It’s still kind of chilly. Carrie has a tennis ball that Maggie, the dog, wants. Maggie jumps and gets it. Carrie looks at me with a shocked expression like she might cry but then she laughs. I’m relieved. It’s a full time job keeping Carrie out of the line of fire. Evie hits the ball over the fence and into the Daisy bush. “Hey, that’s a cool one!” she yells.

Kenna brings me a hula hoop to hold as she jumps through it but before she can begin, Evie grabs it away and runs across the yard with it. Kenna cries, “what’s his doing?” Then she starts crying. It takes a minute to convince Evie that she needs to wait for a turn, then Kenna starts doing her somersaults through the hula hoop. Evie dances in the background singing, “I pooped, I pooped, I pooped.” She’s really into bathroom talk these days. That is developmentally on target for a four year old.
Nellie finally arrives. She lies down on the grass away from the other children so I lay down next to her. There is something so calming about this act. She points to a cloud that looks like a star. Evie joins us and finds a cloud that looks like hair. "Look, there's an 'E'." she exclaims as she points it out to me. It does looks like the “E” that she makes for her name, except the “E” she makes has six points instead of four like this one.

Carrie’s pooped. It’s time to go in to change diapers and fix lunch. Kenna has already gone in to go potty and Evie peed her pants so is inside changing. Good time to make the move inside.

Artist at Work

I absolutely LOVE children's art and watching each child's developmental progression as she journeys from scribbling to representational drawing. Even the same child fascinates me as her styles change in respect to the orientation of the paper and the materials used. For instance, if I hang paper on the easel to paint, her style is completely different from when I lay the paper on a table to paint. Her (I have only had girls for months now, so please forgive the feminine gender bias. This will change when I again have little boys.) paintings differ dramatically from drawings with color pens as well as the watercolor pens from work with crayons. When I give a Sharpie pen the children add more details and draw images that are recognizable to me as an adult.

The children hate drawing with crayons. They are used to the easy slide of watercolor pens, that take no effort at all to make scribbles. I regret this because using crayons works the hand muscles and get them ready for other skills such as writing and cutting. Besides, I have fond, meditative memories of coloring on rainy days with my own children. Crayons are wonderful for creating different shades of the same color. The red crayon creates shades from pink to dark red. I remember outlining images first before coloring them. One can get lost in the act of coloring a picture. No thoughts, just the movement of the crayon, adding just the perfect amount of pressure to attain the desired shade. The only decisions one need make is choosing the color and shade for each image.

The orange picture is an example of a number of skills children learn by the time kindergarten rolls around for them. Skills they learn through play, by having free access to materials and choosing their project, not by being "taught." Kenna did this. The paper was already cut into this shape but Kenna drew inside and was able to imitate the shape exactly. Then she drew the figure inside. When she finished the drawing she chose her favorite scissors and cut all the way around the outside of the line she drew. You can see that she had control over the lines she wanted to draw as well as the scissors. This is pre-writing in action. She worked on this project for more than a half hour, planning what she would do then going for it. When she told me the story about her picture, that it was her new puppy, Little Man, inside his cage ~ his crate ~ she reviewed what she had done. This too is a valuable skill. Planning, executing and reviewing.

A Typical Morning

All of the children's names have been changed, of course.

Nellie arrives first, still half asleep and in her sleepers. Her mom tells me she was up late last night so is probably tired. I sit with her for a minute and Nellie says, "I so tired." I tell her we'll have an early nap today.

Cody arrives as I sit Nellie in the big overstuffed chair. Nellie says, "I want my Cody." Cody's mom tells her to say hello so Cody says in her baby voice, "hello der."

We go to the kitchen where I start pancakes. Nellie sits at the table and sings a song she knows only one line to: "...and shine down on me." Cody sings something less intelligible. I sing, "I didn't know the gun was loaded, and I'm so sorry my friend...." They giggle. Just as I put the first pancake on the stove, Kenna arrives. Her mom tells me Kenna didn't go to sleep until after midnight. Great, I think. Two out of three. By Friday they're all tired anyway.

Kenna says she doesn't want to eat anything. I make a plate for her anyway but leave it on the counter. The other two dig in. They barely start eating when they demand, "I want milk!" I pour milk for them and by that time Cody is asking for more pancake. She hasn't touched her egg. I give her half of one. Kenna wanders into the kitchen and says she wants her pancake and egg. I hand her her plate.

Cody starts crying because her hands are sticky from the maple syrup so I wash her and she heads for the back door, ready to go outside I ask her to wait so I can clean up. So they get scissors and color pens out and sit at the table coloring. Kenna is using a stencil to make me a frog like the one she saw that my grand daughter made.

Dishes done, I peel Nellie out of her sleepers and find her a pair of shorts and a shirt to put on. We go outside. They all three jump in the trampoline, a fully enclosed eight footer, while I make the rounds, picking up dog poop so somebody doesn't step in it. Once that chore is finished I bring out the ten foot long roller coaster, four colorful little lawn chairs and set them up around the low round table. Then I bring out two large purple containers full of foam tubes and connectors for them to build with. Just then here come Evie and Cari and Evie begins directing the foam construction. She's a bossy four year old. Evie yells, "get out of here!" Nellie runs crying to me. I remind Evie to talk more gently to her friends. She continues to direct the play but less bossy now.

It's so sunny and warm already. They build for fifteen or twenty minutes then crawl inside the construction they've built. Evie makes the rule that only three girls can go inside so Cody and Nellie start crying. I tell her she is number four so if she wants to go inside then four can go in. Cody cries when Evie tells her again that she can't go in. I sigh and give Evie the "LOOK." She comes to where I sit and tells me about their construction, "this is a quakalo ginalo."

Cari sits next to me on the picnic table bench and she has pulled her arms out of her shirt so it is down around her waist. Now Evie and Kenna have taken their shirts off. Cody asks for help but Evie beats me to it. She pulls so hard that she lifts Cody off her feet and she falls, crying again. I think more than two of them are tired today. I intervene and help Cody, Evie apologizes and says it was an accident. She hugs Cody and Cody hugs her back.

Cari stinks. I have to change her.

When Cari and I come back outside the girls have taken all their clothes off (spread around the yard) and are busy ripping out the Naked Lady Lily plant leaves. They know better and all holler, "Evie did it." Evie acts like she's on another planet, not looking at me and busily picking grass to put in a cup she carries. She stands and runs, grabbing onto the Maple tree branch that is not even an inch thick yet. She likes to swing on them and I scold her every day about this. If she breaks that branch off I'll be mad. I planted the tree two years ago and eighteen others over the last ten years for more shade. I read somewhere that if every person in Sacramento planted three trees the temperature in that city would drop ten degrees. So I'm doing my part ninety miles north of there.

Cody and Cari run to the basketball hoop and throw a ball at it. The hoop is only inches higher than Cody's head. She makes a basket. Since I've brought my camera outside, I try to get a picture. I ask her to do it again so I can get a better picture. She picks up the ball and my dog, Maggie, makes a run for it so Cody drops the ball. I chase Maggie away and tell Cody, "it's all right, Maggie won't bother you." So she picks up the ball again and drops it when she sees Maggie come toward her again. Maggie obsesses over balls so the girls can't play unless they play ball with her or if I send her inside. Sad.

As I pour the water I've brought outside into pink cups, Evie brings a watering can and asks me to fill it. I know what this entails...that I fill it over and over and over as well as those the other girls bring once they see me fill it. Evie and I make a deal so I pour water into her container. Kenna sees me do this and cries that she wants one. I knew it. But it's okay, that's what I'm here for.

I bring out a table cloth to cover the table...napkins, graham crackers, cheese and apples, cut into narrow sections, as well as a pitcher so they can pour their own water this time. We can't have juice outside because it attracts the meat bees. Kenna and Evie pour perfectly but Nellie and Cody don't have the concept of 'conservation' yet so overfill theirs so their legs get wet. We only have four of the little lawn chairs so Kenna sits on one of the purple containers since she was the last one to the table after watering her plant. I join them in my big chair.

A man arrives just then to give me an estimate on weed-eating my place. His daughter laughs at all the naked little girls and says she thinks she recognizes Nellie. While I show the man what the weed-eating job entails, Evie hands out more crackers so each girl has half a dozen in her hands. I can't turn my back on that girl. If it weren't for her bossiness, she could ably run my program.

The man leaves and I bring the tray inside. Only inside for ten seconds and when I come out there are two buckets of sand dumped on the table. So much for making it pretty for them.

The four older girls are all back in the trampoline with all the big hopping balls that have handles. Maggie wants in, so circles the trampoline, barking. Kenna unzips the enclosure and brings her inside but her barking drives me nuts so I take the big balls (no toys allowed in there) and Maggie back out and throw a ball for her. Maggie is an active Chihuahua/Jack Russell mix, a perfect dog to keep up with the girls all day. Kenna plays with her the most.

Cari is trying to ride the teeter totter that is pulled next to the fence since the last rain. I pull it out on the lawn for her and as she gets on her shoe falls off and she tries to put it back on. I snap a picture then pull her other shoe off and put both of them on the porch.

The older girls are in the sandbox now. I'm tempted to give them the hose but would rather water the garden first. So we go out to the garden we've planted. A friend built new garden boxes this spring and the new soil is so rich that the plants grew FAST! New seedlings of bush beans, zucchini, Marigolds and Zinnias were up within three days of planting. We're already picking eggplant, green peppers and tomatoes after only three weeks. The girls love coming out here. They climb on the huge circle of boulders at the edge of the garden, the shady side, pick plums and eat them from the tree the rocks support. My old dog is buried under smaller boulders on the east side but the girls don't notice. Only Kenna and Nellie remember my dog, Sophie, who died two years ago.

Once everything is watered and Kenna has built "rivers" in the sandbox with the hose, and they've all splashed in it, I see that it's time for lunch. Lunch, stories, then, yay, nap!

New Yard of Sand: Introduction

This life time has been spent in the blessed company of young children. It has crossed my mind that I must not have been able to have much wanted children in my last life, so am making up for it this time around. I've been at it for nearly five decades so have a few things to say.

I raised six children of my own and half their friends, retired from my positions as special education preschool teacher and infant development specialist, and now have a busy family day care home. The last semester of college, while earning my three teaching credentials and early childhood specialist certificate, I was required to participate in the child development laboratory for four year olds. I put it off until my last semester because I kept hoping I could simply challenge the class. I went to see Dr. Barbara Mahler, the department head, and told her why I shouldn't have to take the class. She asked, "how long have you worked with four year olds?" I thought of all the children I had worked with over the years. I was presently employed as a co-director of a local infant program and I also worked as a classroom assistant in the open structure elementary school. Hmmmmm, well, no, I haven't worked with four year olds. So I not only spent two semesters in the lab but I loved it. Not only that, but for the next thirty years I worked specifically with infants and with four year olds. Goes to show, you never know what the future holds.

Some, if not most, of the postings here will be running observations of my mornings with the children, which will give an idea of what the life of a family child care provider is like. At times, advice about raising resilient children will emerge and I hope this will find fertile ground and be helpful.

One thing I need to state up front: I am a strong advocate for young children being allowed to play and not be subjected to "lessons" about the alphabet, numbers, etc. before they start kindergarten. My walls are covered with children's art but you will never see the letters of the alphabet posted for them to "learn." These skills are embedded in our daily activites and every child in my care is more than ready for kindergarten when that time arrives. The best book written to put parents' minds at ease on this topic is: "What to Say When the Wolves Come Knocking," by Lisa Murphy, also known as The Ooey Gooey Lady.

http://www.ooeygooey.com/

If you ever have the opportunity to participate in one of her workshops, you will love it.

Another mentor over the years for me has been Bev Bos, founder of Roseville Community School and author of "Don't Move the Muffin Tins" and "Together We're Better," and other wonderful books of activities and stories about her school. See this short video for her thoughts on early reading experiences for young children.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzijMViZUfY

That's it for today. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it.