Enviroment changes

some changed around area's

Doll and Dramatic play area

These key boards are used a lot we have three .The kids write each other letter , spell their names .. find letters we been working on . love it !

We also have cell phone which hum they must of hide them as i can not find them i think we have around 4 . even a slide one and did you know 3 and 4 years can text already or at least pretend too. Remotes also just add last month and we have a few calculators also . fun

Barbies are over with the dolls we just have one draw . see how i have them label easy clean up .

i have to of these storage boxes lids fit nicely we make L with them and store all the dolls in them . blankets , bottles dolls and stuffaminals .

last picture here what it usually looks like over most days all piled all over but as above picture the trick is that it can be cleaned up nicely and neat. best of all easy for children .

Routine / circle time

so what does your circle time included?How many circle time do you have a day?
The young children most of us work with it can not be long . 5 minutes to 15 most.
Our First circle time take place right after Breakfast We do calendar which moves us in to a story most time then right to table time . I have posted my calendar area before here, here is the post.
http://abcsofjesshouse.blogspot.com/2010/11/monday-number-3.html
it works great for me . We review our number of the month . We count the days of week , names of the month and sing the months . There are many ways to do this i would think .
Sunday , Monday , Tuesday ,Wednesday , Thursday , Friday Saturday then we start again . Then we stop on the day of the week Sunday , Monday . Months is done the same way . And count until the number .
Then we move into a quick craft or possible just some table activity . Most things i do are very flexible and open ended so they can do as little or as much as they want . It is way different for my 4year girls in my care she can spend hours at the table but my Two year old boy 5 or 10 minutes tops .
Then after free play we do another circle time . This is done on are circle time carpet . This will have usually two songs , two short books and possible a group interaction . I pick usually two songs almost always one with movement for the children to be involved and a counting one . Story's are short few words great pictures . I usually do a story ,song , story song to break it up . Then for interaction sometime it a flannel piece they get to hold , a prop for story or song . other times like this week we did a large floor puzzle at circle time .
here the post on where this circle time takes place
http://abcsofjesshouse.blogspot.com/2011/02/enviroment.html
There are many times for opportunity to read through out the day. For a few years i would pick a classic story and read a chapter each day before the children feel a sleep while they where in their beds . I sometime read at lunch while they are eating or at snack in late afternoon . Even right before they go home i will start another short circle time again 5 to 10 minute story .
I think some of the most important thing about circle time is routine children now where it is and when it is . Like my children know right after they clean up breakfast they are to sit back down and we do calendar right away . They know right after we clean up from free play they sit on a letter on carpet ready to listen .
Ilike routine why wound the children like routine .

Enviroment where all these activities take place

am posting a pc of my Environment once a week as someone asked , almost done i promise , But i want to say the Environment is one of the most importance things it not all the things "we" make . But i truly believe it the way you have your environment set so children can learn .I have shown a lot of the play environment (not all yet ) but most so now i though i should show you where all these activities take place . Take Encounter and remember this is my home with my family of 6. We share .This is my dinning room it set for Childcare classroom . There sets a box of color each day of 500 for free use . A basket of paper to use any time . Draws just for them to go and get glue , cutting tools or marker. Now remember i work with mixed so they are not left in open shelves like when i was in a classroom with 3's or 4's. But they are their for them to use any time . They also have a 3 draw been with items like lace cards , file fold games and other ideas they might want to use . An other cabinet has puzzles and games for them to use during free play or table time . I also in this room have our calendar which i believe i posted before . We do calendar and table time after breakfast every day . I usually read one of or two to three stories a day at this time .To Tye in what we are doing this day .

Sorry for side way pictures computer and camera still not playing nice .
http://abcsofjesshouse.blogspot.com/2010/11/monday-number-3.html
here where i post my calendar if you missed it in November . I use my glass doors which wonderful .

Block area

My block area some what small . But i have plenty of open space for them to play . I have many kind of blocks but mostly we use the wooden blocks . I will add different blocks or rota the different kinds . This is one of my favorite areas to add items to .You see i have Dinosaur there . We will be doing dinosour this month . I have these little tiny ones and This bigger one . I like that the blocks can be closed up or spread out but easily put way . We have a wooden train tracks and a b0x of blocks out .

Reminder this is my living room that a classroom 50 hours aweek but the other time is my family livingroom . Sunday area post !

Enviroment

Happy Ground hog day ! now we live in Minnesota and it does not matter we will have more then 6 weeks of winter ! but he a cute little Phil and a great way to talk about shadows .

We had an out side guess today so we did not do a lot of ground hogs day .

Yesterday at circle time we started playing with shadows my three's and fours get it my two year old no so much .

Today we will read Huff and puff on Groundhog Day from The best of totline Totline books .

I folded a paper plate in 1/2 and a copy of ground hog pattern from totline to make the groundhog shadow appear and disappear to help tell the story .

So no exciting pictures today . We also have some pictures to match to there shadow .

So thought i show more of my Environment .Here is the play kitchen Dramatic play area . This kitchen getting to be around 10 years old and is very much used . As you see we have white three draw storage label for the food and dishes to be easily put away .

I am also showing you one of the mosted used toys in my childcare . It the Lego table it 17 years old . It is used from children 1 year to 12 years easily and used every day . It has a nice storage to it also . (why i love it )

The middle picture just a large view . As a home childcare with out a Childcare space i still try to have section area for my children . Blocks (which is coming maybe Sunday ) reading , dramatic play (which i just divide up here in January ) just for a change i think i added them together again . And so on. It does make storage and clean up easy .

Sunday Area Reading area

So here my reading area . Which in home childcare poses some issue as i have a group of children from 12 weeks to 12 years of age . I do lose a few books each year by being ripped or eating by a toddler or two year old . But so worth it to watch a two year old or 4yr old sitting and reading a story to another child or out loud . I do rota my book and each month add the books we are using at circle time and then remove at the end of month . I just in January remove some books so it was not so many .