Delivery

I ordered something and knew it would be arriving soon.  I told the children something new was coming – they were very excited.  “What is it?”  “I’m not telling, it is a surprise.”

It arrived on Monday – at nap time as usual – I’m fairly certain that all couriers are required to make daycare deliveries at nap time and they get a bonus if they kick the door at the same time as they ring the doorbell… *sigh*

I decided to wait to introduce the new items – but the packaging was fun for day one;

Making a ‘sidewalk’.

‘Crinkles’ when we walk on it;

Plenty of after nap fun with just the packaging;

Day two – let’s open the little boxes that came in the big box;

What are these?

Let’s sort them;

They’re called ‘Balance Pods’ – Can you stand on them?

Is it easier or harder if they are upside down?

Maybe we should hold hands;

Even the baby wants to try;

Let’s see if we can sit on them;

Or walk;

So many new things to try – this is only the beginning;

Alligator Hunt

I went to Ikea last weekend and picked up some new stuffed animals;

Back at home I put away the toys from the loose parts bin – they’ve been out for several weeks and it was time for a change.  I replaced them with some miscellaneous toddler toys.  These are odds and ends that don’t fit with other toy sets so I grouped them together;

This was an unintentional set-up.

The Duplo blocks have been available in the block bin for almost two months – I won’t change the blocks until the children start losing interest in playing with them.   One of the toddlers found an alligator in the loose parts bin and decided it belonged in the block area with the Duplo alligator;

We then decided to go on an alligator hunt to see if we could find any more alligators.  They found the new stuffie and put him in the ‘water’ area so he could ‘swim’;

I found an alligator in one of the November/December books but the toddlers were more interested in the other ones – the ones they discovered.

Going on an alligator hunt may have resulted because I had all the ‘right’ items available but maybe….it was a connection the toddlers made during free play and I just noticed what they did.

What’s the Difference

Changes to the playspace are always made on the weekends so on Mondays we play ‘What’s the Difference’.  Yesterday the first children here immediately noticed the appliance upgrade;

Yes, last month when my husband and I renovated the playspace, I said it would like to paint the appliances to simulate stainless steel.  I didn’t paint the washer/dryer like I originally planned — there was some discussion about possibly re-designing this appliance due to some minor damage and functionality issues.  I didn’t want to paint it if we were going to eventually replace it so until that decision is made I will not paint it.

The children’s comments regarding the fridge and stove were “What happened?” “Cool!” “Neato!” and “Ooo, it’s so soft”.  We briefly discussed the difference between ‘smooth’ and ‘soft’.  Then one of the children excitedly exclaimed “Look! she painted this too”.

Very observant – the tissue box is a different colour than it was on Friday but I didn’t paint it.  I just brought out a new box because the old one was empty.

There was another difference but this one took them a little longer to notice.  As usual, I waited.  I don’t ever point out the changes – letting them notice on their own is part of the game.  As promised – under the sink in the housekeeping area my husband added a drain and water line;

Later in the day the children eventually noticed this new addition.  Each and every one of them squealed with excitement and then immediately did this;

There was a little dissappointment when they realized that the water line was not actually attached to a water source but they still like the new addition.  Now, before getting their tools to repair the sink, they make sure the tap  under the counter is turned off — they must watch the DIY channel too 🙂

Delightful or Creepy

The children enjoy burying their feet in the gravel;

Below the surface it is so cool and the weight of the gravel adds another sensory experience.

The baby found something she thought was interesting – sawdust.  There was a pile of it over from when my husband cut up some kindling.  It was just within her reach and it was so soft and fluffy;

She took handfuls of the sawdust to the other side of the yard, placed it on the bench and then wiped it off;

Then she went and got some more.  It was a process she enjoyed for quite some time.  She was a little surprised when she found something else in the sawdust but the other children were delighted to be able to have her unwanted discovery;

I saw a beautiful black and yellow butterfly fly across the yard and ran over to where it landed in hopes that I might be able to get a picture of it.  When I got there I discovered that it wasn’t a butterfly after all;

I poked it to make it fly again just to make sure and yes – this little fella does have fancy wings.  I learned something new!  There have been a lot of crickets and grasshoppers around lately and the children are thrilled;

Then one of the children asked “What are those things in the wasp trap?”  So I went to look;

That picture didn’t turn out well but I wasn’t about to take any more – had to dispose of that wasp trap full of maggots ewww, ewWW, EWWW!  Quick find me something to get that image out of my head.

The baby has a new interest;

The other children have abandoned their shoes to enjoy a follow the leader/obstacle course game on the new grass;

Now that is delightful 🙂