High Park Home Daycare: Easter, Etc.

I hope everyone had a happy Easter!

I gotta start this blog off right, by showcasing the beautiful eggs the kids painted, dyed, and decorated, and the paper egg decorations as well!

We ended up dyeing or painting eggs a total of three different times; an all-time daycare record! We did it first on the March Break because Noah was home to enjoy it. Still, Thomas was on vacation that week, so we had to do it with Thomas again the next week (while Noah was at school). Finally we had to do it one more time after the ONLY pink coloured egg that Thomas had dyed broke (when he was trying to decorate it with stickers). Good thing I had back-up dye packages given to my kids from my mom!

Actually, the picture below was taken the morning of the Easter party. This was also the morning of our emergency egg-dyeing session. Funny though, when Thomas arrived, he didn't care as much about that broken egg as he had the day before, and opted out of the activity. (This gives me a good little chuckle. Isn't that always the way? Still, better safe than sorry, I say!)

Noah had a great time playing an Easter themed bunny game I had picked up from Dollarama. I used to have a peg game like this when I was a kid (though it didn't involve bunnies), and I loved it too. It's a one person strategy game where you try to end up with as few pegs as possible, one being the best.

Some of the kids also played an Easter memory game. Easy and fun for the little ones!

We even did some bunny bowling outside. I came back inside about half an hour early, with the two babies, while my helper and another parent watched the rest of the gang outside. That's when I played Easter Bunny, and hid the eggs for our big Easter Egg hunt!

I only hide the plastic eggs for the kids; nothing inside. (Although when the Easter Bunny himself visits on Easter Sunday, that's a different story!) For the big gang, there is already enough competition for the eggs. It really helps to decrease the competitive spirit when there's no chocolate inside. It's more about the fun of the find!

Noah's friends Salim and B. joined us. Yes, Noah stayed home from school on this day too! (Although, I think this is the last year I would do that, since the big guys were so speedy, they almost need a separate, more complicated Easter Egg hunt!)

Eggs were hidden everywhere! The kids started in the living room for a bit, but quickly moved on to Leila's room. Even though it had only been a couple of minutes, it was apparent that the big kids were taking over the hunt. They were just so good! So fast!

I finally had to explicitly say to the big guys, "No more eggs for you. You have enough. Help the little guys by giving them hints."

They were totally cool with that. :) (Like I said before, if chocolate had been involved, I'm not sure they would have been as compliant!)

Marcus and Maryam just went about their normal ways, playing with their favourite toys, and wondering what all the commotion was about!

Oh - which reminds me of another great reason not to have chocolate eggs around for a home daycare Easter Egg hunt: they're a choking hazard. I'd rather not use my CPR skills as part of this festive occasion. Maryam and Marcus, even in the weeks before, enjoyed playing with the plastic eggs. Maryam in particular liked putting them into, and taking them out of an egg carton. So they're safe for everyone! (Caveat: until they're stepped on.)

Glee! Amadea found an egg in Marcus's high chair!

Ahhhhh.....time to take a load off after the pandemonium. :)

We had a healthy, tasty lunch of cheese sandwiches and cucumber, and some not so healthy treats.

As with Leila's birthday party, the babies weren't given any food treats. They were happy with their bunny plates and napkins, and their regular menu.

I made up these little boxes of Easter jelly beans. There were plenty for each kid to try a few, and later take home and share with their families (and I encouraged them to do so).

It was a delightful Easter lunch!

In the afternoon the little guys napped, while the big guys watched a movie together. Later in the afternoon, there was another opportunity for children to do Easter crafts, if they wished to do so.

Thomas and Salim were game. I had Easter-y stickers, but Salim specifically requested Star Wars stickers for this egg, and luckily I managed to find some! He also made sure to decorate an egg for his older brother. He's so sweet like this. Whenever he comes for a play date and I give him a snack, he requests extra so that he can bring some back to his brother.

The Easter party wouldn't be complete without Pin the Tail on the Bunny! I can't remember who won, but I do remember there were no tears. Phew!

The following pictures make up the "etcetera" part of this post.

We are now getting some warmer, spring-like days here and there, and we are relishing them!

I'm excited for Maryam and Marcus to ditch their snowsuits, on a regular basis. It will be so fun for them to crawl around and explore more. Baby snowsuits make this pretty impossible.

Maryam didn't crawl around much on this day. She was too busy playing with the sand! I was amazed that she was not trying to eat the sand, as most kids her age do. Marcus was asleep in the swing, so we'll see his response to sand in the weeks to come. Noah devoured sand until he was about 2.5 years old. :) (And NO, he did NOT have Pica!)