Here is the Hive

HERE IS THE HIVE (I learned this at the Mother Goose Program at the Ontario Early Years Centre. The kids still love it, after a year!)





Here is the hive (Make a fist with one of your hands, knuckles facing up)
But where are the bees?
They're hiding away, where no one sees
Open the hive and look inside (Turn fist over)
One, two, three, four, five (Straighten one finger at a time)
Bzzzzzz! (Tickle! Just below the neck gets a giggle out of most kids!)

Preschool

I have been trying, here and there, to show the kids how to use a glue stick to glue shapes to paper. So far, they are interested, but in the very basic elements of the activity rather than the finished product. Aidas likes to dig his finger into the glue stick. He has also experimented with trying to tear the foam shapes apart. Noah likes to feel the glue on the paper, and also enjoys tearing shapes off the paper after they have been glued on. Clearly, it's a little early for them to enjoy the activity in its traditional form!

Aidas likes when we drive a car over each letter of the alphabet as we sing our ABC's. We've focused on the capital letter "B" this week; noticing it in books, toys, and signs during our outings.

This is an activity I had purchased in my early days as a teacher. It is a sorting activity containing different coloured cars, trains, buses, airplanes, boats and fire trucks. Sometimes they like to just play with them. Other times, they have opted to "sort them" in a sense. One day they would be into the boats, and would collect all the boats. Another day it would be the school buses. In the past few weeks though, they have been getting VERY good at sorting by colour. They can say all the basic colours, and usually pick the right one when I ask for a particular colour. Their mistakes make sense too. They sometimes mix up purple and blue, or red and orange.  

I cannot believe how these boys are growing so much before my very eyes! At the end of this month it will be one year since I have been caring for Aidas! What a wonderful little boy, and such a good friend to my son. They are the ultimate brothers in cuteness! Come September, we kick it into high gear again at the daycare, with 20-month-old twins joining the team. No more lazy days of summer for me!

Ooo Aaa Went the Little Green Frog

Ooo Aaa Went the Little Green Frog
 (I've heard this one many different places. Kids like it because you can make really silly sounds and they find it fun to watch you contort your face. You can use any old sounds you like. You can use different vowel sounds or a vowel sound with a silly sound.)

Ooo aaa went the little green frog one day

Ooo aaa went the little green frog
Ooo aaa went the little green frog one day
But he didn't go ooo ooo aaa
Cause we all know frogs go (Clap)
La di da di da (Raise hands while wiggling thumb and fingers)
La di da di da (Raise hands while wiggling thumb and fingers)
La di da di da (Raise hands while wiggling thumb and fingers)
We all know frogs go (Clap)
La di da di da (Raise hands while wiggling thumb and fingers)
They don't go ooo ooo aaa

The Key to the Kingdom

THE KEY TO THE KINGDOM
(I learned this one by attending the Mother Goose program with Noah at the Early Years Centre.)

This is the key to the kingdom (thumb up)
And this is the kingdom (Arms wide apart, palms inward)
And in the kingdom, there is a town (Arms closer together, palms inward)
And in the town there is a street (One arm straight out, palm out)
And on the street there is a hill (Move palm facing away from you)
And on the hill there is a house (Fingers meet over head, elbows out to make a triangle)
And in the house there is a room (Hands apart, palms inward, as if about to clap)
And in the room there is a bed (Thumbs together, rest of hand pointing up - make square shape with hands)
And on the bed there is a basket (Cup hands together, palms upward)
And in the basket there is a blanket (Fold one hand over the other)
And under the blanket...there's a little baby! (Open hands up again - same as basket gesture)

(For the next part, just do the actions in reverse)
Baby under the blanket
Blanket in the basket
Basket in the bed
Bed in the room
Room in the house
House on the hill
Hill on the street
Street in the town
Town in the kingdom
And THIS is the key to the kingdom!

BINGO Song

BINGO (Noah and Aidas have been fans of this song for a while. It is on one of our children's cd's. Though you can't see it in the video, we have the letter cards in front of us. Both of them take turns turning them over, and then I clap above the overturned card. I'm just hoping to familiarize them with some of the letters in the alphabet in a fun way. Start with all 5 letters facing up, and make sure that they are right side up to the kids.)

There was a farmer had a dog
And BINGO was his name-o
B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O,
(Slap your hand just under each letter as you say it - just make sure they can still see the letter as you do this)
And BINGO was his name-o

There was a farmer had a dog
And BINGO was his name-o
(Clap) -I-N-G-O, (Clap) -I-N-G-O, (Clap) -I-N-G-O,
(Clap your hand over the overturned "B", and slap your hand just under each of the rest of the letters as you say them)
And BINGO was his name-o

There was a farmer had a dog
And BINGO was his name-o
(Clap, clap) -N-G-O, (Clap, clap) -N-G-O, (Clap, clap) -N-G-O,
(Clap your hand over the overturned "B" and then over the overturned "I", and slap your hand just under each of the rest of the letters as you say them)
And BINGO was his name-o

There was a farmer had a dog
And BINGO was his name-o
(Clap, clap, clap) -G-O, (Clap, clap, clap) -G-O, (Clap, clap, clap) -G-O,
(Clap your hand over the overturned "B" and then over the overturned "I" and "N", and slap your hand just under the "G" and the "O" as you say them)
And BINGO was his name-o


There was a farmer had a dog
And BINGO was his name-o
(Clap, clap, clap, clap) -O, (Clap, clap, clap, clap) -O, (Clap, clap, clap, clap) -O,
(Clap your hand over each overturned letter and slap your hand just under the "O" as you say it)
And BINGO was his name-o

There was a farmer had a dog
And BINGO was his name-o
(Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap), (Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap), (Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap),
(Clap your hand over each overturned letter)
And BINGO was his name-o

Fish Stick Recipe

Note: Outdated picture

Our daily schedule at the home daycare has changed slightly. You can see the new schedule by looking under the "Pages" heading to the right of the home page.

Other things are changing slightly, such as the menu. As you all know, toddlers can be very picky eaters, and what they like one day might differ from what they want to eat the next day. I am broadening the menu, as I find new ideas to keep them interested in mealtime. So keep your eye on the menu "page", as I will be periodically updating it.

Some of you may have read an earlier post about the safety of canned tuna. I did try giving them tuna sandwiches in the end. I figured, after researching information on this topic, that it was far healthier to include tuna, in moderation, than to completely omit it for fear of high mercury content. It turns out, they are not into trying tuna sandwiches right now! I can try again in a few weeks, or I can try a different presentation of the tuna, perhaps in a casserole. My main goal with the tuna was to get them eating Omega-3 fatty acids, which are supposed to be very important to brain development. For information of their benefits, see the sites below.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/articles/intelligenceandmemory/omega_three.shtml http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega-3_fatty_acid

The reason I had chosen to serve them tuna was because I thought they would immediately like it. I guess I introduced it too late. So, I have been thinking about other ways for the kids to get Omega-3 fatty acids in their diet. One thing I did was to buy Omega-3 eggs, which they seem to enjoy as much as regular eggs. I have also been meaning to buy flax seed bread. Flax seed is apparently an inferior form of Omega-3, but it is still better than nothing. The best source of Omega-3's, the experts say, is from fish. The trick is to find fish your kids will eat that is also low in mercury. For a chart on mercury levels in different fish, visit:
http://www.fda.gov/food/foodsafety/product-specificinformation/seafood/foodbornepathogenscontaminants/methylmercury/ucm115644.htm
If you would rather have the short version, fish low in mercury, and that a child may actually eat are: salmon (fresh or canned), haddock (NOT halibut!), cod, shrimp, trout and tilapia.
 
I found a recipe on the internet for fish sticks, which the kids really enjoyed. I used cod. The recipe can be found at: http://wondertime.go.com/life-at-home/article/fish-stick-recipe_PF.html

Family Time

Dan and I took 2 days off work before the long weekend. We wanted to do some day trips without battling huge weekend crowds. So, Thursday we went to the Toronto Islands. At Centreville, we weren't expecting Noah to go on any rides by himself. First of all, we weren't even sure if he was allowed to. (He is only 22 months.) However, most of the rides' only requirement is that the child be under 4 and a half feet. Still, in France, which was only 2 months ago, Noah was very anxious about going on rides. We were surprised when he decided he wanted to go on the Bumblebee ride all by himself! We thought for sure, he would scream in terror once the ride started, but no! Here he is, sitting beside an older child, on the ride.

From there he continued the trend, by riding the firetrucks and the boats by himself.

He also liked other rides that we all went on together, like the train and the swans. Here he is waiting in line to go on the swans, or as he calls them "kaak boa" (quack boats). I guess they look a lot like ducks to him.

He has always been fascinated, yet slightly terrified of the merry-go-round. He calls it "aya". I have NO idea why. Neither carousel nor merry-go-round sound like "aya". We went on the carousel 3 times that day. The first 2 times he was great. The 3rd time, something spooked him, and he was uncertain. Dan went on with him that last time, and said he was holding on to the pole on the pony for dear life! You never know what emotion you are going to get, from one moment to the next, with toddlers, do you?

Later on, he enjoyed seeing the animals at the little farm. We also went through the maze. Noah was understandably a little puzzled by the maze. He did not see the point of the dead ends, or appreciate the challenge, but it was a nice little hike anyway!

If you are ever at the Toronto Islands, you have got to try dining at the Rectory Cafe. It is quite a ways from Centreville, but the food and outdoor atmosphere make it well worth the walk. If you are walking towards the beach, away from Centreville, turn left when you get to the beach. The path you are on will eventually turn into the boardwalk. It is about a 20 minute walk on the boardwalk, with a nice view of the lake. You will find it on your left hand side. Don't mistake one of the houses for the restaurant. You should immediately see all the tables and chairs outside. It is now a tradition for us to go there every year for dinner, after a day on the islands.

We took a late ferry home from Ward's Island. Here was our view while waiting for the ferry.

For more information on Centreville, go to http://www.centreisland.ca/ For more information on the Toronto Islands, including a map, go to http://www.toronto.ca/parks/island/ The downloadable map will also show you where the Rectory Cafe is, if you care to check it out.

Day 2 - the Toronto Zoo with Noah's cousins Kacey and Mackenzie, his aunt and uncle Krista and Scott, brother Jacob, and Dan and me. We all had a fabulous time. Noah got plenty of attention from everyone. It was so nice for him to spend some time with his cousins. Here he is on the pony ride.

He definitely got more out of the zoo than he did last year. His favourite animal now is the zebra, which he calls the "booba". Here are some pictures of our day. I really LOVE the picture of everyone on the zoo truck!

FYI - kids under 3 are free at the zoo. For adults it is $23.00, but if you have a CAA membership like we do, you can get a 10% discount. For more information about the Toronto Zoo, visit their website: http://www.torontozoo.com/

For the long weekend, Dan, Noah and I went to a friend's cottage in Perth. Noah thoroughly enjoyed himself. He is really into boats, so it was great for him to float around on a kayak by the dock. He was really NOT into wearing the life jacket!

He seemed to enjoy the kayak more than our friend's bigger boat, probably because he had a better view!

He also had a great time running around on the deck of the cottage. He got his way much more than he ever would have at home. He got to go to bed later, and got to eat pretty much whatever he wanted, including cookies for breakfast! Funny what you will give in to to keep your baby peaceful for the sake of everyone!


We have had such a beautiful summer already, and we still have a month left!