Archive for October, 2009

Trick or Treat – Daycare

October 30th, 2009

-Tried to find our first and last names on items around the room
-Used our bat counters to work on counting one to one objects up to five
-Talked about bats and how they sleep during the day and stay awake at night
-Practiced using our manners throughout the day by saying Please, Thank You, and Excuse Me
-Used ‘Echolocation’ to determine where our friends are when they make a sound
-Learned how to say Spider in spanish
-Put together our puzzle with Halloween colors
-Used black and green paper with purple yarn to create with
-Sang ‘There’s a spider on my…’ to work on identifying our basic body parts
-Played a game by using our fingers that is called, ‘This Little Spider’
-Discussed spiders and their webs, then observed a spider’s web with a magnifying glass
-Put on our spider hats and pretended to be spiders and crawled around on the ground
-Used our blocks to build a ‘Haunted House’
-Created with black paper, green paper, crayons, and glue
-Practiced picking up candy corn using tongs to work on gross motor skills
-Practiced using our patience by waiting our turn to use a toy that a friend had
-Played ‘Ghost Bowling’
-Practiced expressing our needs and feelings in sentences
-Used pumpkin candy corn as counters to help us count to five
-Created with orange paper and pumpkin seeds
-Held hands and ran around a big orange pumpkin to work on multi-tasking
-Looked, smelled, and felt the inside of a pumpkin
-Practiced pushing down and pulling up our own pants when going potty
-Took a look at a computer and tried to identify the different parts of it
-Sorted our pumpkin cut-outs by size
-Listened and danced to our ‘Kids Bop Halloween’ CD to work on the control of vigorous body movements
-Practiced washing our hands at the right times throughout the day

*Gavin and, his friend, Anna were playing cars together. He told us that they were going on a trip. Awesome Imagination!
*We asked Gavin what he is going to be for Halloween and he said ‘a pirate’.
*Gavin was pretending to be a cowboy and saying, ‘Yeah! Partner!’ So Silly!
*Before sitting down at the table for art, snack, or lunch, Gavin always asks, ‘Can I sit here?’ He is so sweet and polite all the time!
*Gavin played ‘Car cops and robbers’ with his friend Nathan. So funny!
*Gavin did a terrific job using the tongs to transfer candy corn from cup to cup.
*Gavin greeted all his friends who walked through the door today with a big hug!
*Gavin counted the candies up to 10 by himself! Great Job!
*Ms Tracey gave Gavin some items to ‘deliver’… He loved it! So Cute!
*Gavin has his own mail carrier hat in his cubbie to take home! (Ms Emily’s dad brought Gavin an old postal hat that he had – He his a mail man.)

Daddy’s Helper

October 28th, 2009

Daddy had to ‘personalize’ Gavin’s desk. He lowered the keyboard tray so that it was easier for Gavin to use. Gavin (and Bingo) were big helpers. Gavin helped to hold things, Bingo helped measure, and Gavin put all his tools away when he was done. Which is more than I can say for his dad. =)

Apple Orchards and Pumpkin Patches

October 23rd, 2009

-Practiced saying apple in Spanish
-Exercised by reaching up and opening and closing our hands, We called it picking apples, We bent our knees and placed the apples in a basket by touching the floor
-Learned that apples are fruits… we looked at them, felt them, and tasted them
-Pretended that we made and baked apple pies
-Made apples on the computer to practice using the mouse
-Looked for our first and last names on pumpkins placed around the room
-Counted our numbers on our calendar to see how high we could go
-Played ‘Simon Says’ to enhance our cooperative game play
-Tried to identify where the apple was by using our positional words
-Placed apples inside a canvas bag and pulled them out one-by-one to count them
-Passed an apple around our circle of friends as the music played and the one that had the apple when the music stopped had to sit in the middle
-Sang ‘Apples and Bananas’ while we used our index finger to tear tissue paper into small pieces
-Discussed that apples grow from apple seeds, looked for seeds inside an apple that was cut in half
-Worked on our manners by saying Please and Thank You to our friends and teachers
-Practiced saying Pumpkin in Spanish
-Put a pumpkin puzzle together by using a real pumpkin
-Created with orange paper, shaped foam pieces, and glue
-Sang ‘Five Waiting Pumpkins’ and did the hand movements
-Played ‘Pumpkin Hopscotch’ to work on our gross motor skills
-Compared an apple to a pumpkin, answered questions about how they are alike and different
-Sat in a circle and passed a pumpkin to each other, everyone got to say something about the pumpkin – Gavin told them that it was Yummy!
-Took a walk around the building and tried to identify the different parts on computers that we saw

*Gavin has such an awesome imagination! He loves to cook. Today, he made apple pies and apple juice to go with it.
*Gavin did a great job using the computer!
*Gavin loves to play with his friend Joslyn. They were pretending that she was sick and Gavin was ‘fixing’ her belly. Gavin said, ‘Ms Bethany, I love her.’ HeeHee! So Cute!
*Gavin was very excited about Picture Day! He showed his big smile to us! So cute!
*Gavin did a great job using his manners today!
*Gavin was standing on top of the climber waving his arms and chanting, ‘ I’m a pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin!’ So Silly!
*Ms Pam was reading our book, it had a ghost pumpkin in the story, and out of the blue, Gavin screams and says, ‘Oh, no! I don’t like ghosts!’ So Silly!

Responsibility

October 23rd, 2009

Gavin thinks that this is super fun!

We thought he had a cold…

October 16th, 2009

When I picked Gavin up from the daycare on Tuesday, his teacher had some concerns. She said that he had not had a very good ‘Gavin day’. He fussed when asked to do things, got upset at lunch, woke up crying during nap, and refused to sing his ABC’s when he washed his hands (he always sings them). We had noticed on Monday that his left eye was watery and the left side of his nose was stopped up. So, we started the ‘get well’ regimen… Motrin, Tylenol, Vicks on his chest, and a Vicks humidifier in his room. He got a couple of hot baths and lots of snuggle time. His flu shot was scheduled for Thursday and we wanted to be sure that he could get that.

I called the doctor’s office on Wednesday to be sure that it would be ok to get the shot. They assured me that as long as there was no fever that it was fine. So, we were going on Thursday. Then, I got a call on Thursday… out of flu shots. They had the nasal kind. So, that is what we will get.

We talked about how the nurse would be squirting some medicine in his nose. I told him that he had to hold very still and do exactly what the nurse told him. We were walking into the doctor’s office and Gavin says, ‘Just like Grandma BB?’. Grandma BB has an oxygen tank that she has to use sometimes. So, Gavin had associated putting medicine in his nose with her oxygen tube that goes in her nose. He is an obvervant kid with an intriguing little mind!

So, we get into the doctor’s office and are done in less than 10 minutes. Gavin held very still and they squirted half the gel up one side and the other half on the other side. Done deal!

Friday morning rolls around and Gavin’s nose is still runny. And, his breath is nasty! We had him brush his teeth after lunch and he took a nap. He sounds so congested… poor kid! While he was napping, Scott and I were talking about his ‘breath’. We realized before his nap that the smell was coming from his nose. Ick!

The plan… use a q-tip dipped in warm salt water and clean his left nostril out. Then, squirt a little bit of saline wash in there. Then we would reevaluate on Saturday morning after soccer and call the doctor at that time. We wanted to catch the infection as soon as possible.

I sat down in the living and had Gavin sitting on my lap facing me. We tried to blow his nose… nothing. We got out ‘the bulb’. I sucked some snot out and then looked again. I had Scott look. Then we asked THE question (which had already been asked earlier with a big NO)… Gavin, did you stuck something up your nose?

Gavin says, “It’s paper towel, I think.”

Scott looked at me and I looked at him… ‘Tweezers?’. I talked to Gavin about what we were getting ready to do. I told him that he had to hold very still just like at the doctors. Then, Scott came down the stairs with the tweezers and a flashlight. He was thinking that we were going to shine that up Gavin’s little nose… Gavin was NOT happy about the light. So, we put the light away.

I asked Gavin to hold still and explained what was getting ready to happen, again. I used the tweezers, reached into his nose, and pulled out a tiny piece of something. I tried a second time. Gavin was getting kind of squirmy. I got another little piece. Then, I explained that if he did not hold still… we would be at the doctor’s office and they would not be as gentle. He held very still. And, this is what I ‘caught’…

Eeeeewwwww! The stench! It was gross! But, I looked at Gavin and said, ‘Does your nose feel better?”. Gavin looked at me with a big grin and said, ‘Oh, yes’.

So, what did you do on Friday night? =)

Scarecrows, Hayrides, and Corn Mazes – Daycare

October 16th, 2009

-Learned how to say corn in Spanish – maiz
-Created with paint, paper, and corn cobs
-Practiced shucking the corn that we will use for art to enhance our gross motor skills
-Practiced saying Please and Thank You to our friends and teachers
-Took a walk through the building to find computers and discussed the different parts
-Repeated finger play of ‘I’m a scarecrow’
-Measured our class scarecrow with corn cobs
-Created with squares, circles, rectangles, straw, glue, paper, and googley eyes
-Tore orange paper and then glued it to white paper to enhance our multi-taking skills
-Held up different foods and identified if it was a fruit or vegetable
-Practiced pushing down and pulling up our own pants during potty time
-Repeated finger play of ‘Fly Away Crow’
-Used our critter cars and matched the words to the correct colored car
-Tried pulling corn kernels off of cob to work on hand-eye coordination
-Practiced sharing and waiting our turn for toys
-Worked on sitting for a whole story – The Falling Leaves and The Scarecrow
-Used our blocks and built towers with our friends
-Practiced walking on the balance beam
-Went on a scavenger hunt and looked for a small bale of hay

*Gavin whispered to his friend, ‘I Love You!’ So Sweet!
*Gavin enjoyed shucking the corn and he even attempted a taste of it. Yuck! Silly Boy!
*Gavin did a great job tearing his orange paper into small pieces to glue on his pumpkin!
*Gavin had fun helping Ms Jackie put the straw on our class scarecrow. Great Job!
*Gavin absolutely loves Joslyn! He was giving her hugs all morning! So Cute!
*Gavin is such an awesome friend! He shared his toys with Sam when he asked him to play!
*Gavin did an excellent job using his listening ears during story time. He even received a sticker! Awesome Job!
*Gavin decided to walk the blue line. He did a terrific job!

Friday Night Dinner

October 16th, 2009

We were going to have a chicken and rice casserole… Got started late and the chicken was not thawed out. We ate at Noodles & Co. I had the Japanese Pan Noodles with tofu. Gavin had Chicken Noodle Soup. But, Gavin ate all his noodles, most of his chicken, lots of my udon noodles, and several pieces of my tofu. Gavin finished it all off by sharing a Snickerdoodle with Scott and I. However, he ate his cookie with chopsticks… Silly kid!

Did you see this in your parking lot?

October 14th, 2009

James the Elk was visiting Gavin’s daycare on Wednesday. He is a big guy! Gavin and I stopped and talked to him while he ate. Gavin was concerned how much he was eating. He said that it would take a while to fill up his big belly.

Pumpkin Puree

October 11th, 2009

I picked up 3 pie pumpkins last weekend. So, I did something with them this morning.

I cut them up, cleaned them out, and baked them in the oven. After, they were done, I scraped off all the pumpkin and pureed it in the food processor. I have several containers of pure pumpkin for pies and breads this holiday.

I might have eaten a little… Ok, I ate more than a little. =)

Dinner Time!

October 10th, 2009

Scott did not want the bread that we had for dinner… He made pancakes!

So, they had pancakes with BBQ pork and corn/hominy. Gavin thought it was wonderful! He loves hominy and he got pancakes.

The Five Senses – Daycare

October 9th, 2009

-Worked on sitting for a whole story – You Can’t Taste A Pickle With Your Ear
-We tried to name our basic body parts in Spanish
-Put together people puzzles to learn how all our body parts go together
-Used our noses to paint
-Laced our letter cards to work on hand-eye coordination
-We put on cup headphones and pretended to be in a recording studio
-Used textured dominos to play dominos and work on our cooperative game play
-Identified ourselves by our first and last names
-Worked on cutting
-Used our color words to match them to the colors on the wall
-Practiced singing on the potty chair to go potty
-Used scissors and play dough to work on cutting
-Worked on communicating in full sentences
-Used our legos to sort into color groups and then built tall towers
-Worked on saying Please, Thank You, and Excuse Me with our friends and teachers
-We played the ‘ABC Game’ on the Fisher Price website to work on identifying our letters
-Listened to the different sounds that music blocks make and made music with them to work on our rhythm and tempo

*When I asked Gavin to go potty he said, ‘I don’t have to go potty. I went potty yesterday!’ So Silly!
*Gavin is so funny! He insisted on wearing his Purdue hat all day! So Cute!
*Gavin likes to snuggle with Ms Bethany early in the morning. He is lots of fun to talk with.
*Gavin looked so silly with blue paint on his nose. He thought it was so much fun!
*Gavin was playing catch with his friends while outside. He said to them, Over Here, when it was his turn.
*Gavin was all in to feel the inside of a pumpkin today.
*While playing the computer game, Gavin saw the letter ‘G’ and said, ‘That’s G for Gavin’. Awesome Job!
*Great job with the music blocks.

*#%$&@ Dog

October 9th, 2009

On the left is the bedspread – On the right is the sheets

No, the bedspread does NOT have scalloped edges… Only this spot!

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