Planting some Veggies

This week along with our spring theme, we did some planting. First we planted some vegetable seeds which required planting indoors prior to planting outside. I put all my seeds in front of the kids that required early planting, and let the kids pick. We ended up planting Green Peppers, Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Watermelon. The kids were pretty excited to choose their own pot, scoop in the dirt, poke the holes and put in the seeds. I have them on the front porch in hopes of some decent sunlight until they are ready for the garden in the back. I am very excited that we are able to plant a full garden with the kids this year now that we have a full back yard. Its exciting. Later in the week we planted "sensitivity" plants. the branches and leaves contract when they are touched either with a finger, a bug, and I believe its direct sunlight... or maybe its dark, lol I forget off hand. Either way the kids had a great time.... unfortunately they take about 16 days to germinate, so hopefully their excitement will last that long. So here are some pictures of us planting our vegetables.

P.D. Day

Last Friday the older kids had a PD Day (or is it PA day?) anyhow so we had S, M and J join us for the day making it much busier than usual. When a day such as that comes, we like to try to find something fun and different to do so there is less chaos with the extra bodies. So this time we decided that my assistant L would take the older kids to the park down the street to fly kites and I would take the younger kids to the same park, but we would spend our time at the playground. Unfortunately although the sun co-operated, the wind did not. But the kids had a great time, spending the morning out doors. The older girls love helping with the younger kids and always tell me I can take a break, they will be the provider. LOL its fun for me too. So here are some pictures of us enjoying the park. I must say I quite enjoy having a park and playground so close.

Butterflies!

Last week we had a great time driving up to Cambridge to see the butterflies and other animals in the conservatory. I will admit that I didn't find it as nice as the one in Niagara falls, but I still had fun and so did the kids which is the important part.
Here are some pictures of the kids enjoying the butterflies and other creatures like turtles, fish, and birds.

Sun & Sand

Today was a very exciting day for the kids. When we first purchased our home, in the back yard was a nice canopy with stones under it and was perfect for lawn chairs or whatever to relax outside. But during our winter the canopy collapsed and was ruined. So we decided we would convert the already dug out space into a sand box. So today, my mom can with her truck and 6 loads of sand we filled it. The kids had a blast helping empty the sand out of the truck, playing digging and exploring in the sand and just plain having fun outside. Its supposed to be gorgeous outside all week, I am very excited, especially now with the sand box filled. Here are some pictures of the fun we were having

The things kids say

I have already told most of the parents, but I just thought I would share this with any of the "other" viewers this blog might have. And if I do have any other followers, please feel free to leave a comment. Anyhow, during our 5 senses week last week, I thought the kids would enjoy hearing their own voices so I dug out a small tape recorder (yes you read right, tape, as in cassette tape :P) and brought it down and had the kids talk and then we listened. They thought it was hilarious! The part that I enjoyed was when I brought it out and the awe in the kids faces over this strange contraption. Funnier still was their questions, "what is that" is it a movie?! their total confusion just made me laugh, but also feel old. Wonder what they would do if I pulled out a record player. HAHA its moments like that, that remind me why I do this job :) Hope you are all having a great day

I don't really have a picture to post for today, so I thought I would just throw in an adorable picture we caught of the puppies (for those of you that don't know, our jug had puppies 16 days ago and yes they are for sale haha) this is not a posed picture either!

More fun and simple

Every day after nap time, when the kids start waking up, we try to give them an activity to do that is quiet, fun, and simple. The end of the day is not a great time to make a big mess. One day this week, I decided to just grab all the stickers I have (which is waaaay more than I thought) gave each child a blank piece of paper, and away they went. Its kind of crazy how that activity could keep them busy for hours! The little ones are even having practice in fine motor skills trying to peal the backs off, and the older kids used letter stickers to spell their names! Sometimes simple is the easiest way to go! Here are some shots of our sticker fun!

Simple yet fun activity

This week we have been working on learning about the 5 senses. Each day I try to implement one of the sense into our craft or activity. Today we talked about the sense of sight, and all the things we can see with our eyes; colours, shapes, people, places etc.
Then we took empty water bottles and put beads, sequences confetti etc inside. Then each child chose a water colour and we added water and some hair gel. the hair gel is supposed to make the items inside move more gracefully and slowly through the water. Then after seeing the toddlers are able to remove the caps, we glued them on. The kids had a blast shaking the bottles to form bubbles, and exploring with their eyes what they could see inside. We discovered that if we hold it up to the light, it looks different, that they roll, shake, squeeze and as one friend commented, they don't smell :) I wish I had put a tad more water in each bottle, but the kids could care less! Simple, cheap craft and we did some learning along the way. What could be better?!

GOTTA LOVE THE SPRING WEATHER!!

I know that winter seemed like it was never ending this year. The kids loved the snow, and constantly told me they didn't want the snow to melt, but now that it is, I don't think anyone is complaining! We have been going outside for the majority of the afternoon so far every day this week, and was even able to sneak out this morning as well. The kids love the fresh air, as do I. I know its supposed to get rainy towards the end of the week so we are making the most of it. Here are some pictures of the kids enjoying the weather. And yes even though its spring, they are playing in the piles of leaves I took all day raking up last Saturday!! I was trying to play photographer lol how did I do?