Child Care Sparks

April 10, 2016 by Admin Leave a Comment

Dinosaur Eggs at Discoveries

Dinosaur Week at Discoveries

The end of February brought Dinosaur week to the Alligator Class. They were Archaeologists looking for the Alphabet in the sand, fossil hunters and of course dinosaur detectives themselves. They even did a dinosaur egg hunt; they went out searching to the archaeology site on the playground for dinosaur eggs. The eggs were made of baking soda by Miss Jessica’s special recipe. A surprise was inside. We even invited the Monkeys and Mustangs to join in our science fun. Before the hunt, the Mustangs invited the other classes for a story about dinosaurs.

After finding the eggs each child got to discover what was inside. To help with fine motor skills and have some science fun, the students used spray bottles to experiment with the different reactions between water and vinegar on the baking soda eggs. We also tried droppers to uncover the hidden secret inside.

The excitement grew as the eggs fizzed and dissolved before our very eyes. Inside was a baby dinosaur. We discovered that the vinegar and water melted the baking soda faster than just plain water.

An amazing time was shared by all.

February 15, 2016 by Admin Leave a Comment

February at Discoveries

What’s In Store For February

The month of February is a busy time for all classes. The babies are growing fast. Miss Sara and team do a wonderful job keeping up with the changes. They have added some new friends to the group. Some of our older babies have moved up to the Cub class. Come see our LOVE BUG bulletin board.

The Cubs room has a new look and feel to it. We have moved the furniture around and developed new learning centers. We have the reading center, play toys, blocks and play house. We have a new fun zebra stripe rug that’s wonderful for playing on with many of the toys. New friends joined us this month. Some off our friends moved over to the Panda’s room. Miss Polly and Miss Olivia keep the Cubs busy exploring and learning thru play. This means we learn by hands on experiences. Potty training is in session all the time and we are proud to say many of them have mastered this skill.

The Pandas tend to run in the middle of the pack. Bigger than the Cubs and babies, but not ready to move into the Monkeys. They do know how to have a fun time. The dramatic center with fun dress up clothes is the favorite. The Pandas have a fun playing house and keep it in good shape with the help of tools that are kept in the colorful bins. The sensory center has the amazing SANDS ALIVE. This sticks to its self and molds into many shapes and things. The things they can create are limitless.

The Monkeys continue to work on the alphabet. They learn about the letters by using them to create animals. S is for snake. They are playing games to learn their numbers and shapes. Fishing game and hunting shapes hidden in the room are a fun way to learn.

Alligators are learning about the ocean and its creatures. Valentine’s Day is a wonderful way to learn about our emotions and feelings. The Alligators are learning how to handle many emotions. The end of the month dinosaurs will entertain them as they become archaeolists, discovering fossils and find their dinosaur names.

The Mustangs are busy learning their phone numbers and addresses. They made cell phones to practice dialing their own phone numbers. To practice their addresses each child created their homes and Miss Dawn wrote their addresses on each house. Now the Mustangs have a neighborhood of all of our friends.

All the classes will have Valentines party to exchange cards and have a fun time. Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone.

January 28, 2016 by Admin Leave a Comment

Mustang Quilt

Keeping Warm With our Quilt

The month of Dec was cold and wet. Snow and rain filled our days. Miss Dawn decided we needed a quilt to snuggle under for the reading loft. So she brought in her Christmas cloth and sewing machine and helped class make a quilt. In the age of technology sewing is not high on the list. Some of the children had never seen or used a sewing machine. Some were even amazed that we could make cloth things ourselves. Many just knew that they could go to a store and the clothes, backpacks and home goods were there.

And so the lesson began. We learned math skills of using a tape measure to make each piece the same size. We counted how many “fat square” pieces of materials we each got to choose for our part of the quilt. Then we laid out the material so that each child got to design their part of the quilt. Next came sewing. The children helped press the pedal to make the machine sew. Then they held the material as it fed through the machine sewing as it went. We laid out the sewn strips to make complete quilt. Miss Dawn pinned the quilt together. She took it home and sewed the quilt together. Her daughter Tiffany attached the binding of black ruffle edging and the quilt was done.

Miss Dawn brought the finished quilt back to school. Everyone admired the worked the students had done. Miss Gina wanted to hang it up in the big room for all to see, but Miss Dawn explained this was to use in the reading loft. We would let her display it in the summer when the reading loft was too hot to need it.