Snoodle

What It's All About

    
Thanks for the photo, Abby!

    I spent the (dreary) day in Montpelier for Early Childhood Day at the Legislature.  It's always a good opportunity to represent early educators as the professionals they are.  Since 70% of the brain is wired by age three, teachers lay the foundation for all future growth and learning.  It's an important job.  We carry the burden of being thought of as the servers of milk and cookies or "babysitters."  However, we are responsible for creating a curriculum for young children, observing, documenting, along with maintaining health and safety.

    Considering that 70% of children under five years old spend at least some of their day outside the care of their parents, it seems that monitoring the supervision of these children as well as ensuring they are in a safe environment would be of extreme value to the present and future of our state.  However, the startling reality is that, for the 1,600 early childcare programs in Vermont, there are seven licensors.  Yes, seven.  That's a caseload of 229 programs for each licensor.  The recommended caseload is 50. 

    As was stated in a work session that I attended, the need for more licensors is not a "sexy" topic.  In fact, it's kind of dull.  However, I hope that our legislators have truly heard how very important this regulation is to our profession.  It would be great if we could have enough oversight that we eventually build a relationship with licensors enabling us to work together to ensure quality.  While it's clear that we need at least 20 more licensors, it amuses me that we are merely recommending the addition of two.  I suppose we must be satisfied with "baby steps." 

    While I will keep in contact with my legislators, tomorrow is another work-day.  Back with the toddlers, I will set aside politics and go back to the stacking blocks and digging for worms.  After all there's learning to be done.  That's what it's all about.

    Wait a minute.  Maybe it's not!  Thanks to my niece for sending this along.  A blending of two of my personalities:  A little dramatic.  A little childish.

The Hokey Pokey Shakespearean Style

O proud left foot, that ventures quick within
Then soon upon a backward journey lithe.
Anon, once more the gesture, then begin:
Command sinistral pedestal to writhe.
Commence thou then the fervid Hokey-Poke,
A mad gyration, hips in wanton swirl.
To spin! A wilde release from Heavens yoke.
Blessed dervish! Surely canst go, girl.
The Hoke, the poke -- banish now thy doubt
Verily, I say, 'tis what it's all about.
        -- by "William Shakespeare"

 

Big Truck Day 2011

I'm ever amazed at what a group of parents can do when they work together.  In today's case, it was a spectacular event to benefit the children's center where I work.  Of course, there were many children and staff from the center but also my nephew, one of Nora's classmates, families from the community... and happily the sun made an appearance, too!

Shirt designed by Kristen Neilson, fantastic artist and mother!

 

 

 

What pretty cement mixer!

 
After looking inside and outside of every truck, my coworker, an amazing dancer, led us in ZUMBA! 

 

Toddler Tuesday: Pie!

One of my goals for this year to learn how to make a delicious pie.  Not being much of a chef or baker, I thought I'd start with what I know.  So, instead of preheating the oven, I headed to my sewing machine to make a few for the Toddlers.  Nora got one, too.  They were super simple to make.  I used the little pans from the dollar store as a size guide.  The lattice is actually woven with a separate crust on the edge.  The heart was cut with an x-acto knife.  All edges were sewn down really well - especially the lattices.  I put some rice in the center to give it some dimension and weight to keep them in the pans.   A machine blanket stitch attaching the top to the bottom crust looks like they were crimped with a fork! I also made some simple aprons.  We opened our bakery adding some tart pans, handled trays, pot holders, and a basket of play breads from around the world.  The dolls are quite happy to be eating copious amount of baked goods in the dramatic play area, and I almost feel ready to attempt mom's tourtiere.

An apple pie without some cheese

Is like a kiss without a the squeeze.

 

 

Toddler Tuesday: Yumm, Autumn!

Applesauce

Here in Vermont, apple picking season is over.  All of those apples have made their way into bushels and baskets, pies and crisps.  Applesauce is my favorite cooking project with Toddlers.  It has few steps, you don't need to worry about measuring, it's fun, tactile, smells great, and is perfect to share even with our infants.

I picked up a few of these peeler, corer, slicers at a yard sale.  It's one of my favorite tools!  It uses motor skills, helps with following directions (you have to turn it continually in one direction), and yields some really fun results...

Oooo, a spiral!  It's also fun to check out the long ribbon of peel.  We measure to see if it is longer than we are tall.  It provides a good opportunity to compare and use measurement vocabulary:  longer, shorter, 2 tables long, etc.

Plastic knives are used to cut the spirals into smaller pieces.  Some children like tiny dices, some like big chunks, some break them into bits with their hands.  It's applesauce.  It doesn't matter!  

Everyone gets a turn to add cinnamon!  Add some cider or apple juice and stick it in the crock pot until it is soft.  Lift the lid to stir every once in a while to remind everyone around what's cooking!

Grape Juice

One of the Toddlers in our group has grape vines at her house.  She helped to pick them and brought them in so that we could make grape juice.  Her mother warned that they got very purply in the process so we decided to wear smocks while preparing the juice.

First, the Toddlers picked the grapes off the stems - a great fine motor task.  They also worked on sorting the picked grapes from the unpicked grapes and put the stems in another bowl.  Tricky!

There was talk about letting them squish the grapes with their feet, but the potato mashers were a good alternative!  From the juice splatters on the side of the bowl, you can see they really got into it!  The grapes needed just a little more squishing which I did by pressing them in a strainer.  With a shopping bag of grapes, we had enough juice for everyone to have a cup or two (dixie cup not cup cup!) plus we had about a pint left over.  It was quite a treat!  

Toddler Tuesday: Leaves are Falling

Red and Yellow

Green and Brown

All the leaves are tumbling down

Days are nippy.

Nights are clear.

Summer's over.

Fall is here.

 

Crumbled leaves make great sprinkles.

 

Leaves are Falling

(Frere Jacques)

Leaves are falling, Leaves are falling,

Falling down. Falling down.

Now they are all sleeping, Now they are all sleeping,

On the ground.  On the ground.

 

A piece of construction paper taped to the bottom of a bin helps the Toddlers sort leaves, Chinese lanterns, and even some playground toys!

They're going fast!

Toddler Tuesday: Dramatic Play Area

While Nora was having a great first day at Kindergarten, I was busy having my first day in my own classroom.  Because we're a multi-age group, I have some of the same children and some sweet new faces.  Chatting with the parents, I think this is going to be a great year with a strong family community.  Our center is open all Summer to meet the needs of working families.  So, it was really exciting that we closed on Friday so that all of the teachers could work on their classrooms.  I spent 11 hours resulting in some achy muscles, but I'm so happy with the results of my efforts.  I thought I would offer a gradual tour of my (fortunately, large) classroom. I love peeking in on classrooms in other centers.  If you are a teacher, I would be honored if you found some ideas for your own room.   

This is what you see when you enter the Toddler classroom.  Let's start at the top, shall we?  We have our lovely tin ceilings that leave lots of room for hanging artwork.  The radiators are cool (but not in Winter, get it?) and hang from the ceiling.  They make that great clanking sound when they're going.  For some weird reason, I kind of like it - a Vermont thing, I guess.  I sewed up the canopy over the house area.  It slides onto the copper pipes with a curtain casing and the tabs have velcro to go over the pipe.  The valance over the shelf is one of four that changes each season.  Oh, by the way, thanks for coming into my classroom, please, wash your hands.  Lots of mirrors are at face level to babies on their bellies to a standing toddler.  The steps are gradual and composed of landings to meet the needs of children new to climbing.  They can only fall down one stair and do not tumble down a flight.  One of my parents primed two shelves, and I'm so thankful to my co-worker, Jackie, who painted them.  Her husband built the climber that I was just talking about years before my time.  I set up a fire-fighter dramatic play area with the hats and trucks.  It has the potential to grow in interest in which case I'll add to it.  If not, I'll replace it with some other materials which will probably be Autumn-related.

Behind the shelf is our house area.  The step next to the kitchen works very well as a table.  The area is small but just the right size for two or three toddlers to cook and take care of dolls.  The dolls were playing outside when I snapped this picture.  The food is in a basket.  Dishes are in the cupboards.  There are aprons hanging on the hooks on the backside of the shelf.  The white blob on the front left is our waterbed!  Newly filled thanks, once again, to Jackie.  Its' great for babies to lie on and toddlers to jump on.  

I really like my classroom. I'm so glad that all of the shelves are finally painted the same blue.  The blue broadcloth that I used for the canopy and curtains matches really well, too.  It's very calm, and allows the  learning materials and artwork to be the focal points.

Toddler Tuesday: Piggies!

Pigs are clean, smart animals.  They grunt, oink, and roll in mud to stay cool. They are also the favorite animal of many of the Toddlers.  So, pigs were a good animal to start learning about during our farm unit.  Just starting with the word, "pig", provides opportunities to talk about letters:  

"Whose name starts with the "puh" sound like pig?"

"Pony, pink, pull, and pear all start with 'P'.  Can you think of others?'

Vocabulary including piglet, sow, snout, and hoof can be introduced while working on projects and while at the sensory table.   Hmmm, do you dare have a muddy sensory table?  You could put in toy pigs to roll around in the mud along with the usual spoons, cups, and measuring tools.  For this unit, I stuck with the Oats, Peas, Beans, and Barley.

Oh, and the literature potential:  Charlotte's Web is one of my favorite books.  The toddlers enjoyed the picture book versions like this and this.  It helped to connect them with the Preschoolers who were reading the 'chapter book.'  The Three Little Pigs is a great story in many forms: books, tell-alouds, felt boards, puppets, and of course, acting!  Last year, we painted three large boxes to be the house of straw, sticks, and bricks.  I added in details with my box cutter and trusty Sharpie.  The kids had fun squashing into the brick house together at the end of their play.  Sometimes there would be 3 wolves and 1 pig, and the chain of events changed each time they played - a true folktale!

For a project, we painted mud on pigs.  I started with an outline.  I'm forever looking for good black and white outlines.  So, I provided a PDF of the pig that we used for this project.  I cut it out on pink paper.  We use the large construction paper that is 11x17.  You can resize as you wish.  

Download Pig Outline

Then, I provided the brown paint and a paint brush.

This little one was just barely one year when he painted this pig.  I especially like to do this project with the younger toddlers and older infants.  The end result looks like the pig was going 'hog wild.' (sorry, couldn't resist!)

When the paint dried, I punched a hole on the pig's bottom [just had an interesting pork conversation with chef-husband about pig parts - I'm sticking with bottom.]  Push a pink pipe cleaner and twist short end to long.  Wrap the long end around a marker.  I found a pencil too thin.  Slide out the marker.

I framed them in their own mud puddles.  Super cute!   

Oink!

Happy Independence Day!

Last night, we enjoyed a soggy evening watching the fireworks.  Yes, Burlington always has their fireworks on the third of July.  We had a great spot overlooking the lake, and I had every intention of taking the perfect photo, but it was all I could do to keep my glasses dry!  I thought I was being very prepared by bringing along a rain poncho to go under our blanket, but it quickly became our blanket.    A kind woman sitting behind us loaned us her extra umbrella.  It was a perfect example of a random act of kindness.  Whoever you were, thanks again!  

The fireworks were awesome.  I loved watching Eleanor's face while she was watching them and hearing the funny things that she said, or rather, screamed!  

Every year, I like to make a poem from her comments about the fireworks.  I also do this with my group of Toddlers.  I just start talking about fireworks, and let them chat.   I jot down what they say, including the sounds (Toddlers offer up a lot of odamodapia), and arrange it into a poem.  If you do this with your child every year, you can see how her language develops over time.

Fireworks

by Eleanor

Fun to watch

Little sparks of fire.

Suddenly, the fire exploded in the sky.

One firework... and then another popped up.

They were big, big fireworks,

And little,

And medium size, too.

Very very loud.

That one startled me.

Different shapes:

Lots of planets,

Spaghetti falling from the sky,

Buttons of fireworks.

I wish I could bring one home,

But I can't.

They're fire.

Toddler Tuesday: Oats, Peas, Beans, and Barley Grow!

Chorus: 
Oats, peas, beans, and barley grow
Oats, peas, beans, and barley grow
Do you, or I, or anyone know
How oats, peas, beans, and barley grow?

First the farmer plants the seeds
Stands up tall and bends her knees
Stamps her feet and claps her hands
And turns around to see the land
(Repeat Chorus)

Then the farmer waters the ground
Watches the sun shine all around
Stamps her feet and claps her hands
And turns around to see the land
(Repeat Chorus)

After weeks of sun and air
The farmer picks the crops right there
Stamps her feet and claps her hands
And turns around to see the land
(Repeat Chorus)

This photo taken at nap time.  

It doesn't look like this any more!

We've really been enjoying our sensory table full of oats, peas, beans, and barley.  It's led to some interesting conversations about where food comes from, what people make out of these ingredients, as well as talk about pouring, measuring, and sorting.  The square containers are a donation from a parent who works at Lake Champlain Chocolates. I love repurposing things! These are great for sorting -- beans in one section, peas in another, etc.  More cups and measuring tools including spoons were added later.  We sing the Oats, Peas, Beans, and Barley Grow almost daily along with many other songs about the farm.  We're also including the following two.  Even our littlest ones can clap at the end of Five Little Peas.  Repetition is so important for toddlers.  We sometimes sing the song twice in a row and certainly repeat them daily.  Singing these songs throughout the day helps keep them in mind and I've found many toddlers humming to themselves while they play.

Five little peas in a pea pod pressed
(Hold out five fingers -- make a fist)
One grew, two grew, and so did all the rest.
(Hold up one finger, two, and all five)
They grew and they grew and they grew and never stopped.
(Hold hands together, palms facing -- move hands apart) 
They grew so big that the pea pod popped!!!
(move them even further apart -- CLAP!)

Peas porridge hot

Peas porridge cold

Peas porridge in the pot nine days old

Some like it hot

Some like it cold

Some like it in the pot nine days old

[This can be played like duck, duck, goose with the children sitting in a circle and one child tapping on the heads as she walks around the circle.   I like that all of the children can chant along together... and it keeps the child walking around the circle from choosing his best friend.  C'mon- you know they linger "d-u-u-u-u-u-u-c-k" to get over there!  If a child is caught, they go into the pot in the middle!

Shelburne Farms

I took a break from my sewing frenzy yesterday for a staff inservice at Shelburne Farms.I could feel the tension leave my shoulders as I entered into what they described as a 'living painting.' In fact, all of this land was planned as if it were a painting: from the islands of trees and forests to the placement of the barns and fields.  Regardless of which direction you look, there is something photo-worthy.  I tried to restrain myself.

When I got home:

"Mommy, why are you wearing earrings?"

"Just to be fancy."  

"But mommy, at the farm, you just wear your farm clothes!"

Er, yeah.  But if this is the barn...

We got to go inside the inn - the 'big house' in it's heyday.  Oh, those Vanderbilts knew how to live! 

The lilacs are over 100 years old.

But we were more interested in the barn!  We ditched the tour to get inspired for our Summer curriculum.

...and I am inspired.  The Preschoolers will be reading Charlotte's Web.  So, the Toddlers will do a spin-off of that.  We'll help create Zuckerman's farm on the playground and learn more about spider eggs along with chicken eggs -we have 2 dozen in an incubator that we expect will hatch around June 9. Along with chickens and spiders, I'm going to plan a week devoted to sheep and wool.  There are so many projects, songs, activities, experiments, and fun things to do for a farm unit.  I'll keep you posted.  This year, we also celebrate the 400th anniversary of Samuel de Champlain discovering our Lake Champlain.  So, we'll be playing with water, boats, and visiting the lake often.  My wheels are definitely churning about all of the fun curriculum coming up, but tomorrow's Eleanor's birthday and there's lots to do to prepare, and I've lost David to the first sail race of the year!  So, back to the sewing machine I go while Nora's busy 'sewing' for Lula and making Cheerio necklaces.