Childcare Chronicles

I don’t know what it is but since Kramer has passed away, I feel like I enjoy childcare more than ever.   I sometime think that it’s the “normal” in my life so I cling to it.  That plus I have the best bunch of kiddos and families right now.  It’s hard not to be in love with my job.

Here are a few of highlights of late:

We found a toad!  Oh my, this was quite entertaining for them.

We got to see him up close and personal as I have this awesome jar with a magnified top to observe with.

He got to hang out with us for a couple hours and then we set him free.

Nature can really provide the best entertainment!

It’s been SUPER hot and humid here.  I was worried as we were but in Excessive Heat Warnings.  We’ve managed to eat breakfast early and then head outdoors right away.  The kiddos love the outdoors and everyone gets along so much better when we are outdoors so I hated to give up the time.  We’ve still managed to be outside for a almost two hours every day.

The water station is a huge hit.  Back in my previous days of childcare we had swimsuit days.  It was such a pain.  Nowadays we just go out and play in our clothes and play with water everyday.  If the kids come in wet, we pop an oversized shirt on them and I throw their clothes in the dryer.  MUCH easier…MUCH simpler.

I’ve been trying to use up some of the stuff in the freezer and make more of an effort to keep food waste to a minimum.  Here’s one of the things I came up with to help with all of that.

We had LOTS of leftover buns from the Celebration of Life for Kramer.  All of those buns went into the freezer.  I’ll be honest, we aren’t “bun people”.  If I make hamburgers, half of the people request no bun so it’s hard to use them up.  I started having the kids make Pizza Bread with them.

We make them like this….
-Everyone gets a piece of tin foil with their name on it.
-Then they get a bun.
-I put a  little left over spaghetti sauce on the bun and the kiddos take a spoon and spread it around.
-Then I get some toppings and the kids put on whatever they want.  On this day I had a little ham leftover, pepperoni and green olives.  The kids pick what they want on their pizza bread and make it.
-Then they get cheese.

I broil them in the oven for a couple minutes until the cheese melts.  This is a meal that there is NO FOOD WASTE with.  The kids eat it all.

To serve it I match the name on the tin foil to the kid.  This day we have watermelon, cauliflower and ranch with it.  It’s a simple meal and the kids adore it.

We have TWO potty training right now.  It’s actually been really successful so far but of course, there are hitches along the way.  First off, Carver stands and “pees like Daddy”.  He’s been trained for almost a year now.  The other boys who are training want to “pee like Carver who is peeing like Daddy”.  Happily before Kramer passed away he made this little wooden block so the boy can reach to “pee like Daddy”.  It’s been a GREAT help with the boys.
But my potty training story doesn’t end there.

On this day I was walking through the house to the kitchen and noticed a little “wet”on the floor.  Hmm.  One of the boys didn’t make it to the toilet.  UGH.  I found the culprit.  I got a towel (a hand towel) and had him clean up his own mess. Then I told him to go to the bathroom so we could “clean him up”.  Around here is that’s how we do it.  Messes that the kids make get cleaned up by them.  I always tell them that I’m not their maid.

Georgia was here this day and she started crying so I went to give her her pacifier.  Then I hurried to the bathroom where I assumed the little boy would be waiting.  As I walked in, he was flushing the toilet.  His underwear and shorts were still on.  AHH!!  That’s when I realized he flushed the towel down the toilet.  OH NO!!!  I asked him if he did and he said yes.

So far, so good.  No plugging…no backed up water.  I’m hoping it stays that way.  At least if it does clog, I know what did it.

While I was doing all of this, the other little boy I’m training pooped his pants.  I didn’t know it.  He’s been super independent and I’ve been able to tell him to go in and go and he handles it himself.  So I went and started on lunch and told him to go in and go potty.  He didn’t come out right away so I went to check on him.  You guessed it.  Poop everywhere….and a toilet filled with toilet paper.  AH!!  My poor toilet and plumbing system!!

I could have been mad or frustrated with it all but I wasn’t.  It’s kids…it’s the age they are at.  Happy, no, not happy, but not mad or frustrated.

This same day the girls asked if they could fix my hair.  I let them.  Here’s my hair do….
Then I told them that I was sure I was the prettiest childcare provider in Waucoma.  That’s when a five year old boy who was fixing my hair said, “You kind of have a bald spot back here”.  (I actually don’t but do have a silly cowlick that parts funny and makes it look like I have a bald spot).  I said, “I still think I’m the prettiest childcare provider in all of Waucoma.  I had a 12 year old helper here and she looked at my funny and then said, “Jo, you’re the only childcare provider in Waucoma, aren’t you??”  Ah.  She got me.

I was REALLY decorated.  One of my moms arrived with a little one about then and got a good giggle.  Then she said, “It looks like you need more clips.  I’ll keep my eye open for some.”  Oh my.

These guys really do bring so much joy to my life.

I’m not excited a bit for school to start.  I will be sending so many to preschool or kindergarten.  We had such a good summer… but rather than be sad that summer is over half way done, I’m working on being thankful for the time we’ve had.