Our Daycare Christmas Party 2010

Wow! We had a wonderful turn out for our 2010 Christmas Party! You can see some photos below! Santa stopped by with presents for all the kids. We had Fazoli's cater, so the food was yummy, too! The kids did a fantastic job during the performance! They sang "The Gingerbread Song", "I'm a little snowflake", "All I want for Christmas is you", "Away in a Manger", "Jingle Bells", and "The Freeze Dance". It was such a fun night! Thank you to everyone who helped put it together! I couldn't have done it without my helpers!!! I hope everyone has a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

One more step completed on the road to NATIONAL ACCREDITATION!

Yesterday we welcomed Cindy Bays to our daycare! She is a Quality Advisor for the Indiana Accreditation Project. Cindy observed our daycare for about 6 hours and found us to be ready for Accreditation!! She was very complimentary about what a good job we are doing! We hope that moving toward National Accreditation shows our parents and families that we are serious about Early Childhood Education and Quality care! We want to provide the best possible program for all of our children! Thanks Cindy for a great visit! Our next observation will probably take place around April. That observation will be with an NAFCC observer. When that observation is complete, all of our self-study paperwork and documentation will be passed on to the Board that approves accreditation for providers. Hopefully our approval will be official by June 2011!! That will be such an accomplishment!

MORE VETERAN'S DAY PHOTOS

OUR STUDENT'S LEARNED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR VETERANS! THEY ENJOYED MAKING AMERICAN FLAGS TODAY!

OUR VETERAN'S DAY PROJECT

IAEYC is coming for an Observation!!

I am really excited to announce that NATIONAL ACCREDITATION is becoming a reality! IAEYC will be at my daycare on December 1st for a day of Observation. Myself and my staff will be showing the observer what our daily routine is like. We are so excited to achieve NATIONAL ACCREDITATION! It is the highest level of recognition that a home daycare can receive. It takes a lot of work, but it is worth it to show all the families that entrust their children to us that we are a QUALITY PROGRAM! I am really proud of the program we have here, so it is exciting to have the NAFCC back us up in recognizing our quality! My second daycare (www.rachaelsdaycareii.blogspot.com) will be working toward NATIONAL ACCREDITATION starting on the day it opens! Thanks to my wonderful staff for working so hard to get to this level!

Centers

"Repair Shop" was our theme today, so we put together "Repair" Centers. We had a Clothing Repair Shop, Gear Shop, Block Shop, etc... The Kids love traveling from one center to another!

More Photos of our Traffic Signs Activity

Learning about Traffic Signs

To finish up our Month theme of "Transportation" the kids had an opportunity to create a fun roadway project! They used sand, scissors, glue, construction paper, street signs, etc... It was a lot of fun!

Outside Playtime

We have so much fun allowing the kids to explore, explore, and socialize through play outside!! We adore all the kids at Rachael's Daycare! They are so precious!!

Welcome Ms.Emily!!!

Emily is joining our team! She is excited to get to know the kids! She has her bachelors degree in Psychology! Please join me in Welcoming Ms.Emily to our team!!

Ticket Station!!

Our TRANSPORTATION THEME this month has been a lot of fun! I will be uploading some photos from today. The kids put together a State Fair Train Ticket Booth in the backyard and sold tickets to each other! It was a great activity to encourage them to count! Then they made a State Fair Fun Zone! The kids were so creative! It was fun taking photos of them while they were having so much fun!!

Today was "Wear your favorite color day!!". We had Blue, Camouflage, Yellow, Pink... lots of favorite colors!!

Knowing what to look for....

It is important that childcare providers know what to look for when they see a child playing with a toy. It usually isn't JUST playing. Children learn through simple play. In the photos below, you will see that Emma was having fun playing with the stackers. She was not directed to play with them she initiated it on her own. She tried many configurations with the stackers. When she had difficulty getting them in the right order she took them apart and would re-stack them. After several minutes she was able to correctly stack the toys in order! She was really proud of herself for accomplishing it! ************** Math Foundations were met during this child-initiated activity: Mathematics - Problem Solving (F.6.15): Use trial and error to solve problems. (Age 3-5) Mathematics - Problem Solving (F.6.19): See a simple task through to completion (Age 3-5) You can view the "FOUNDATIONS to the Indiana Academic Standards for Young Children from Birth to Age 5" by going to the Indiana.gov website: http://www.doe.in.gov/primetime/foundations.html

Painting FUN!!!

Our Art Activity today was painting with colors and stencils! This activity reinforces our Colors & Shapes Theme! The kids really love to get their hands dirty and it IS IMPORTANT that they experience the freedom to be CREATIVE!! We love letting the kids paint and we never force them to make anything specific. We encourage them to embrace their creativity and just enjoy painting what they want to paint! This particular activity also encouraged teamwork. We had the children work in groups to create a beautiful painting.