Cindis World

More new additions to our outside spaces

noreply@blogger.com (Cindi S World) — Tue, 23 Jan 2024 17:38:00 +0000

Little by little we were able to add some extra 'learning while you play' areas in the backyard. It definitely is a learning curve as the huge wind or rain storms show me what is working, and what is not. Tarps hanging from hooks on the fence panels and curtains and/or shower curtains hanging from bamboo poles are definitely a huge protector of all of the hard work to make spaces that are inviting and include all of the loose parts, art materials, tools, and whatever else they decide they want to do each day.

Our Creation Station

Instead of a mud kitchen, I chose to call this area their creation station so that it had a more open purpose. There are all kinds of dishware, pots, pans, utensils, two nearby sandboxes, and water provided. Then they have many types of loose parts, natural manipulatives such as seashells, rocks, dried flowers, bottles of colored sand, baking soda, corn starch, and vinegar to make oobleck, potions, and lots of arts and crafts materials.

Explore and Tinker Corner

This corner has no set purpose other than to provide a space for the children to use, with tools, real and wooden ones, loose parts, and their kits for exploring with magnifying glasses, binoculars, tweezers, compasses, etc.

Chalkboard Wall

Such a simple thing, a chalkboard. The children run to it every single time, and they will come back to it time and time again in between swinging, running, climbing, and all of the other things they choose to do.

Climber/Stage

One of our plastic Little Tikes climbers that was given to us years ago, did not make it through a visit from some of our younger granddaughters, though they are actually too old to be on that equipment, lol. So I started piling pallets on top of each other and grabbed some of the tree stumps from the creation station and then he came to the rescue with filling in the spots that needed more stability. The children asked me what it was, and I told them they would have to decide. The picture above is an adult view, and these pictures are the children's views:

Water Wall

I love that the children understand why we included pans under the water wall. They know we don't want to waste water, so when they are done with their big buckets of water, they can pick up their pans of the water that did not end up on the ground, and use it to water their plants, or clean their hands or toys, or even go use it with their creation station with sand, rocks, shells, etc.

Under the Sea for my in-home childcare

noreply@blogger.com (Cindi S World) — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 14:05:00 +0000

When the children have talked about the ocean, ocean animals, going to the beach, etc. each year around the same time I have brought out our under-the-sea manipulatives, filled the sensory bin with seashells, sea glass, rocks, and pretend ocean animals, get the hand and finger puppets out, etc. But after seeing some very creative ideas on Pinterest, that other people had done for their Vacation Bible School at their Church as well as my daughter and son-in-law building and painting some very awesome wooden props for a child's mermaid birthday party, I just knew I wanted to bring that creativity to life for the children here in my child care.

Little by little I saved each idea that I was in love with and felt that I could accomplish. I went through my hoards of supplies to find any items that I could use to help me create this under-the-sea adventure. I was shocked at how many items I was able to refurbish and use. But then the longer I worked on making the props, and picturing how I wanted it to be, the deeper and deeper I went into how it had to turn out so that the children could not just enjoy the look of it, but to interact with it.

I chose to order sea animal pool floats so that they would withstand the children wanting to sit, bounce, and pretend on them. And I knew that SAYING under the sea was not going to be as meaningful unless it FELT like UNDER the sea. So that is where making and hanging pretend jellyfish and strings of "bubbles" comes in. The bubbles were made using clear plastic ornaments that open up so you are able to fill them and tie them to fishing lines, the jellyfish was made from semi-clear huge commercial trash bags. I was able to get him to hang them from the cable line which gave the depth needed to present the feeling of UNDER. Then I set up my photo backdrop stand and hung more strands of "bubbles" as well as the "seaweed" I had made from dollar tree tablecloths. I also had purchased plastic corrugated board seagulls from Oriental Trading Company that I hung on the lower branches of the tree and they hung higher than the bubbles, seaweed, and jellyfish. There are videos on YouTube that go step by step explaining how to make the jellyfish from trash bags and the seaweed from thin plastic tablecloths like the Dollar Tree ones.

I watched every video and step-by-step tutorial I could on how to make a colorful coral reef using cans of insulating foam sealant and large wooden plant stakes, both purchased on Amazon. It took 3 cans of the sealant to make 18 different pieces and of course different colors of spray paint. I had a large arch I had made from pool noodles and used each year for St. Patrick's Day for the children to enter through, which I was ready to reuse for something else. So I took it apart and used the noodles to make different types of coral I had found on Pinterest with the wooden plant stakes. I literally did these whenever I was sitting and watching TV until I had used them all up. Then I saw an idea for using floral mesh to make sea plants that are colorful and beautiful. I found the best pricing at Michael's online, I already had floral wire, and medium wooden skewers for staking them into the ground. I needed all of my materials to be weatherproof due to my setup being in the backyard. This is why I did not make the ideas that used tissue paper and many more materials that would have been ruined with the first sprinkle of rain.

I loved how so many people used clear balloons to make bubbles for their setups, but I knew that they would be a danger to the toddlers/preschoolers as they love to interact and touch the setups I do for them. So I lucked out and found inflatable small clear balls that came 12 to a set and they were perfect. They even withstood the children kicking them all over the yard. And I have already thought of several ways I can use these in other projects. (Right now I am in the process of wrapping them with foil wrapping paper to make them look like balls of candy for our Candyland theme.)

I used foam balls and toothpicks to make sea urchins then spray-painted them in bright colors. I cut foam balls in half and used cut-up pipe cleaners to make sea anemones. Because of the materials used, I was able to have a lot of these outside in the coral reef areas. Both of those ideas were from Pinterest. I also made jellyfish from paper lanterns, beaded necklaces from Oriental Trading Company, and these springy long strands of decorative stuff that I purchased in many colors from Dollar Tree. I saw versions of these on Pinterest but chose to go with my own design. And obviously, because of the paper lanterns, I could only use these for the interior decorating.

I have tons and tons of seashells from our beach trips, as well as the fact that he and I LOVE seafood and for years I soaked and scrubbed all of our stuffed scallops and stuffed clam shells and saved them. So these were used in several different areas for the children to explore. I also added seashells, rubber crabs, and sea turtles to both of our sandboxes.

I set up a treasure hunt that took the children to 2 different treasures they were allowed to take home. They loved their big colorful plastic jewels and the metal doubloons I purchased on Amazon, as well as the tools I purchased to help with the hunt which were treasure maps, toy compasses, and monoculars/spy glasses.

I purchased a set of large plastic sea creatures from Oriental Trading Company that consisted of 3 of each lobster, crab, sea horse, and starfish, and I had a couple fish nets that I laid out near the two large anchors he made for me from corrugated plastic boards and vinyl as well as some blue rope that I attached to the anchors.

We had a lot of manipulatives inside that the children had full access to when and if they wanted, and sometimes they used them as they were intended, but mostly they used them in their way igniting their imaginations and taking them away to wherever they wanted.

A fun activity that I had been wanting to do with the children that I had seen many other child cares do online was making a pretend plastic mason jar fish aquarium. So we had to do it! The children chose their pretend plant and their pretend fish or turtle and I hot glued their plant to the inside bottom of their jars. Then the children poured their rocks into their jars and added their fish or turtle, then they poured in their light blue colored water and since the lids leaked even though I hot glued them, I had my guy take care of it for me, which he said he used a rubber ring and hot glue.

I had to include these guys...I love to provide more realistic type manipulatives when I can for the children. When I saw these on Amazon, I absolutely had to have them. The funniest part was I had to keep them put away unless we were out in the backyard playing because I had a couple of birds try to attack them!

I generally send books home with the children about once a month, and when I can, I try to have some of them be on point with things they have been talking about, asking about, or showing curiosity in any way about. I love helping them to build their home libraries.

I spent a lot of time saving links, videos, etc. in my Pinterest board to help me create this setup and I hope it can help you as well: Under the Sea

New additions to the outside play area for the in-home child care kiddos

noreply@blogger.com (Cindi S World) — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 23:57:00 +0000

I have wanted to add to the outside play area for years, but with his three vegetable gardens and how he worked so hard on the grass, I knew it would not work. I have play equipment back there, climbers, swings, picnic tables, sandboxes, and lots of kitchen items to play with nature and the sand. But with seeing so many wonderful areas in others' yards on Pinterest and their blogs and websites, I held onto the dream of one day being able to just do it. Now with just a few years until we retire and move it has finally become possible. I have been purchasing things I would need from home improvement stores little by little, saving items I knew would be useful, building up my supply of loose parts, and literally ended up with so much stuff waiting to be used, that it became overwhelming. But over the past few months, I have been able to get his help with things I was unable to do alone, and though there is still more that needs to get done I am happy with the progress so far.

I absolutely LOVE the music wall that I made! And the children do also, which is the best part. I got rid of my two very old plastic turtle-shaped sandboxes and invested in this awesome new wooden one:

Since I had two of these type of sand/water tables, I kept one to use for standing up fun with sand and water and started collecting small world and fairy garden items as well as the glass stones and pebbles to use for ground cover to make a changeable fairy garden/small world table.

Next, I framed and covered the ground with landscape fabric up against the back of my house, and divided the area into two spaces, a digging/planting area, and a rock pit. It took a while to be able to purchase enough rocks for the rock pit, as well as getting an outside scale from Tractor Supply so the children can weigh the rocks. I purchased the saw horse from an estate sale and over time purchased pvc pipes to cut to smaller lengths and rain gutter extension tubes from Lowes Home Improvement Store. I still have to make the scale with a level and two buckets for them to be able to compare which weigh more than others. I already had the construction trucks and purchased a few sets of metal and wooden hand shovels from Amazon. My amazing daughter made all of the wooden signs in my outdoor spaces.

In the digging/planting area I chose to cover the landscape fabric with rubber mulch for the drainage and feeling it would be more comfortable for the children to sit on. I purchased a second-hand pool for the potting soil and had a wooden plant stand that I was not using, so I had my Jeff attach it to the wall for safety to store our pots, planting tools, gardening gloves, water containers, etc.

I had been purchasing items while planning and working on the backyard spaces, which I knew would be fun for the children such as butterfly nets and pinwheels. I had dried lavender, eucalyptus, and pampas grass that I hung under the beautiful fresh herbs sign my daughter made.

We have completed a few more projects but still have a couple more big ones that I am looking forward to for the children. I am very excited.

Read Across America/Dr. Seuss' Birthday theme

noreply@blogger.com (Cindi S World) — Sat, 06 Jun 2020 21:49:00 +0000

It is so fun to join in the fun for Read Across America/Dr. Seuss' birthday. The focus is definitely on the reading of Dr. Seuss's books and every year I look all over Pinterest and get more ideas for fun with food. I set the food up, show the children, take the pictures, then have to chop it all up due to the ages of the children in my group. But they and their parents do enjoy it.

Before

After

The very next thing I worked on was the sensory bin. I have not made a sensory bin for this theme before, so I knew I would end up having to purchase some things. I found all kinds of ideas for making Truffula trees online and went with painted popsicle sticks with big puffballs (bought on Amazon) glued to them and incorporated them into the bin. The plastic blue stones are glow in the dark, I had gotten them and a few other colors back when I was doing reviews and was saving for the Fairy Garden that some of the grandchildren are going to make. There are erasers with the characters on them from the Target Dollar Spot that I found over a year ago, then a set of rubber ornaments from Amazon, the small plastic colored fish, and solid-colored cups are a Dr. Seuss color sorting game I purchased online but am not sure now what store. I used white paint markers to put the stripes on the small red Solo shot cups, red paint marker to color the small wooden letters, I already had polished white stones from past sensory bins and added a few different types of child-sized tongs I had gotten from Amazon a few years back. I had a good time building this one, and even though I did put some money into it, I will be able to use it all for many years to come.

I used some of the plastic solid-colored fish from the game to set up a color matching invitation to work on their fine motor skills as well.

I used food coloring to dye some of the white polished stones though I definitely should have worked harder on the blue and red, and had these fishbowl looking jars that I use for spices. The wooden chopsticks are from our favorite Chinese restaurant in town, they gave me a few sets to use with the children, and I purchased the helper pieces from Amazon. The beautiful tray is also from Amazon, and the basket is from an estate sale. I admittedly have a problem when it comes to baskets. I may even be obsessed.

Next, I decided to change up the photo op set up this year. I found the adorable Dr. Seuss' books material to use for the backdrop on Amazon, as well as the Cat in the Hat balloon, the One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish baby toy and I already had the Horton finger puppet, so I went online and found a set with the Cat in the Hat, the talking Fish, and Thing 1 and Thing 2. I already had the red, white and blue lanterns, the black and white tablecloth and the black and white towel. The reusable bag was purchased from the Target Dollar Spot a couple years ago.

There are many free Dr. Seuss printables I found on Pinterest that I used for coloring, matching, and number/letter recognition with the children. But they are mostly toddlers, so we focus on hands-on learning and learning through play.

Polar Bear Day

noreply@blogger.com (Cindi S World) — Thu, 21 May 2020 02:08:00 +0000

The children had so much fun with our Arctic and Antarctic winter themes, I knew they would enjoy celebrating Polar Bear day. I greeted them at the door like this:

Purchased on Amazon and they are super snuggly!

I found a free printable at Every Star Is Different with a real picture of a Polar Bear that had P is for Polar Bear on it to hang at the entrance where the children could see it as they entered. Then I googled 'large bear paw print' and picked one, made several copies, laminated then hung one at the entrance for the children to High Five on their way past. I taped the others in a path across the floor for them to walk like a polar bear.

I set up some provocations on the shelves... National Geographic Kids Polar Bears, a couple polar bear figures, and a big paw stamper for the children to stamp in their journal.

I had purchased the paw print years ago at Walmart and the other items from Amazon.

Giant dice from the $5 and under store, chunky dice from Dollar Tree, the polar bear figure from Amazon, and the tray at an estate sale score of 3 of them!

On the next shelf, I set up the polar bear tracks game with GIANT dice and chunky dice and a smaller polar bear figure that you roll the dice to get him to his home, the cave at the end. The printable for the game is from the preschool toolbox blog.

This fun transferring activity was another of their provocations. With pretend ice cubes, silicone ice trays, and cute tongs.

The pretend ice cubes, trays and tongs were all purchased from Amazon, the tray from Dollar General

This next tray with the super awesome do a dot Polar Bear printable from Living Montessori Now can be used in so many ways. I had purchased a pack of tiny polar bear erasers from Amazon, so that is what I used, but you could use cotton balls, or dot markers, etc.

Tray and bowl from estate sales, and gator grabbers from Amazon

I love using printables with real images, not clip art or cartoons whenever possible. So these adorable polar bear images from Every Star Is Different are perfect for setting up a matching invitation. I printed in black and white because my printer hates me right now, and I need to replace it, but the printables are even cuter in color.

Wooden tray from Amazon and part of a set

The children had so much fun with this theme, but I was super stoked to get their Read Across America/Dr. Seuss's birthday items set up by March 2nd!

Building fine motor skills

noreply@blogger.com (Cindi S World) — Sat, 02 May 2020 23:30:00 +0000

Many of your child’s daily activities—like getting dressed, eating, and writing—require control of small muscles in the hands. We call these skills fine motor skills. Your child can do more things for himself when he has opportunities to practice these skills. There are lots of activities that can increase muscle strength and coordination, preparing children for more advanced skills, from writing with a pencil, using a computer mouse, or playing a musical instrument. Help your child build fine motor skills at home by providing opportunities to...
Set the table

Hold knives, forks, and spoons to eat
Pour the juice into a cup
Wipe the table with a sponge
Help with meals—stir, shake, chop, cut, and mix
Get dressed—button, zip, snap, buckle, and fasten
- Use Velcro tabs
- Open and close containers with lids
- Cut with child-safe scissors
- Finger paint
- Use a paintbrush
- Play with playdough and clay—roll, smoosh, pat, pound, and use tools like popsicle sticks or stamps
- Draw, scribble or write with crayons, pencils, and markers
- Put together puzzles
- Place pegs in a board
- Build with small blocks
- Play board games
- Play with puppets

Photos are mine.
Source: Adapted from "Getting a Grip on Things: Building Fine Motor Skills,” Message in a Backpack, 2010, Teaching Young Children 3 (5): 26–28.

Valentine's fun

noreply@blogger.com (Cindi S World) — Sat, 02 May 2020 22:58:00 +0000

In the last few years, I have started collecting things to use as photo props and backgrounds to coincide with themes we are working on or holidays we are celebrating. It is fun, and the parents seem to enjoy having these little photoshoots of their children throughout the year. I have a private Facebook group for the families of my childcare kiddos where I post pictures throughout the week of things their children are working on, as well as just them playing together. This is also where I post the themed photoshoot pictures.

I do not do a whole lot for Valentine's Day, but I did set up the photoshoot area, did a sensory bin, and put out a couple of trays for working with their fine motor skills, the children painted with cookie cutters and made muffins for their families. I also try to do some fun with the children's food for a treat, like using shaped cookie cutters or containers for their food.

Free educational resources, virtual field trips and daily livestreamed storytime, etc. for all ages

noreply@blogger.com (Cindi S World) — Mon, 16 Mar 2020 15:02:00 +0000

As an in-home child care provider, I am always looking for educational resources that I can use to supplement the things I do with the children. My daughter homeschools her six children, and the children have told me about the documentaries they have watched at home. With so many people trying to figure out what their children are going to do while they are not in school, I have seen many people sharing awesome resources to help out. My favorite so far is this list of virtual field trips, it says Mrs. Fahrney at the bottom, though I do not know her, or have a link to give her the credit.

Over 30 Virtual field trips with links

Then this schedule of free homeschooling and educational resources by grade level could be very helpful:

Free homeschooling and educational resources by grade level

Here is a list of over 60 free online learning resources for teaching virtually:

60 plus free online learning resources for teaching virtually

And this huge list of resources includes a wide range of topics and levels of classes/courses with options including videos, tutorials, lectures and more: Scroll down to get to the actual resource links

Free Educational Resources

The Atlanta Center for Puppetry is closed so they will be live streaming curriculum-based workshops and Digital Learning interactive puppet shows. The schedule is here: Schedule of puppetry workshops Livestream

Mo Willems will host daily Livestream doodle for kids home from school daily at 1:00. Check it out here: Mo Williams lunch doodle

Virtual storytime on Instagram with Pete the Cat author James Dean! Check it out here: Virtual storytime with Pete the Cat author James Dean

Free Online: Mindfulness Class for Kids k thru 5th

Even ABC Mouse is offering its website access for free!

FREE HOME ACCESS TO ABC MOUSE! Redeem code SCHOOL7771 for FREE access to ABCmouse.com Early Learning Academy, Adventure Academy, and ReadingIQ during the period of school closure!

Here is an entire list of all of the educational companies offering free subscriptions due to school closings:

Educational companies giving free subscriptions while school is closed

This one is going to be one of my favorites! 33 National park tours you can take virtually!

More Virtual reality field trips around the world!

Some areas are even being offered free internet. Call Comcast or Spectrum.

Setting up Winter themed activities, invitations, provocations

noreply@blogger.com (Cindi S World) — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 01:41:00 +0000

When I am changing out the theme for my home child care, I generally start with a new sensory bin. Then I spend some time going through my Pinterest boards to get ideas from all of the amazing bloggers and teachers that are of the same mindset as me. I have a lot of things sorted into storage containers and bags in my basement from previous years for different themes and seasons, but I always end up visiting some of the local Dollar Tree stores and ordering from Amazon and Oriental Trading Company to pick up some new manipulatives. One thing I always have a good selection of is baskets, trays, and containers. It is an obsession of mine.

This is the first time I have used battery operated tea light candles in a sensory bin, and that idea came directly from the blog, Teaching 2 and 3-year-olds. It made a huge impact on the children.

After deciding on the skills I wanted to work on with the children, I was able to pick the ideas I wanted to replicate on my shelves from Living Montessori Now which is one of my favorite resources, then another in-home child care provider from one of the many Facebook groups I am in had posted a build a snowman activity that I wanted to copy, as well as some ideas that I came up with myself. I did end up placing a couple orders for new manipulatives, but that is mostly for my own pleasure because I could have made do with what I had.

Since the children enjoy sensory bins so much, and I saw a lot of bloggers using ice or snow in their bins but knew that I did not want to do that, I chose to purchase some pretend snow mix like I had gotten last year for my daughter's children and they enjoyed it so much. Then I saw a set of penguins that I just had to have on Amazon, and knew they would withstand the fake snow mixture and the children would love them.

Sensory bins

noreply@blogger.com (Cindi S World) — Wed, 08 Jan 2020 19:00:00 +0000

No matter the age of the child, they all engage with sensory bins. I love setting them up whether they are based on a theme we are doing at the time or focused on fine motor skills the children need to develop. I try to include a good variety of textures and colors and different types of manipulatives for interacting with the items in the bins. I have purchased over some time different types of tongs, tweezers, scoops, etc. from Dollar Tree and Amazon. When I have had much younger children mixed with my normal toddler/preschool-aged children, I have set up a version with larger items so that it was safer. Because I choose to keep my in-home child care group small, I can monitor the children closely while they are participating with the sensory bins. These rocks, glass gems, scoops, and bowls were all purchased from Dollar Tree and the storage bins from Lowes.

Being that it is Wintertime, our newest sensory bin is all about snowflakes. The first step is to decide on the type of filler base that you want to use, and I chose rice. I put half of the rice into a gallon size baggy and added a few drops of blue food coloring and a drizzle of white vinegar, then shook the bag up until the color was distributed evenly. Then I poured the rice out onto paper towels to allow to dry, as well as get rid of the strong vinegar odor. I didn't have any liquid food coloring on hand, so I had to use my dyes that are made from vegetable colorants, so the results were not as vibrant as they normally are when I do this. Pictured is the beginnings of our St. Patrick's Day/Rainbow themed sensory bin which shows how vibrant you can get the filler to be using liquid food coloring and white vinegar. I purchased the gold coins and plastic shamrocks at Dollar Tree and the black plastic pots and glittery bouncy balls from Oriental Trading Company.

One thing I have learned through the years is to look at things and ask myself, "could this be used with the children?" because storing things just in case has always ended up surprising me with how either I was able to use them, or my daughter was with her children. Take, for example, a box of styrofoam peanuts that I received from something fragile that I ordered a few years ago. I kept them for over a year before it hit me that they could look like snow to the children and that the texture would be stimulating for them. So I used them to set up a Christmas sensory bin. I pulled out ribbons and a felt tree from our craft closet, I had metal boxes and a few jingle bells in the Christmas tote, I picked up plastic Christmas cookie cutters, glittery foam gingerbread men, trees and snowflake ornaments after Christmas one year from Dollar General at clearance prices, and last year got a great deal on wooden sled ornaments on Amazon.

Now back to our snowflake sensory bin I had a set of small felt snowflakes from Amazon as well as an embroidered type from Oriental Trading Company that I had purchased in the past in our Winter themed storage container, some clear glass gems I had picked up from the Dollar Tree, and some reusable ice cubes from Family Dollar, but I really wanted more of an impact and another texture to entice the children's senses, so I ordered a mixed size of plastic snowflakes from Amazon. During my research for Winter themed activities, I saw on Teaching 2 and 3-year-olds that she had added battery operated flickering tea light candles to her Winter sensory bin, and I just happened to have a box of them left from my daughter and son in laws vow renewal ceremony!

I think it turned out great, and the children have been spending lots of time interacting with it all. I added plastic bowls, scoops and shot cups for now, and plan on changing those out for plastic bottles and funnels next.

Cindi's World Home Child Care

noreply@blogger.com (Cindi S World) — Tue, 07 Jan 2020 23:50:00 +0000

I have spent the biggest part of my life caring for children. At almost four years old, I became a big sister to my baby brother and my parents said I made it very clear to everyone, he was our baby. I took it upon myself to always watch out for him, even at a very young age, I had a lot of responsibility for his care, even when we were being watched by babysitters, I monitored them, and was sure that he was okay. (He would totally kill me if he knew I posted that picture of us!) When I started 6th grade, our mom opened her own in-home child care. I helped her whenever I could, and once I was old enough, the parents would hire me to watch their children in the evenings and weekends.

I babysat children off and on until I became a mother at the age of 25, then again at 26. I did watch children here and there while my children were young, and was even a helper to my best friend in her in-home child care business for a while, but I did not start my own business until 17 years ago. I decided to open my own in-home child care so that I could still be available for my then Jr. High school children, as well as doing what I have always known, take care of children.

My child care has changed and evolved a lot over the years, as I have learned, grown and studied more about the different learning genres and ways to work with children. I implement Montessori inspired invitations/provocations to play, open-ended resources, a lot of hands-on learning opportunities, as well as themes, process art, music, dance/exercise/yoga and plenty of fun.

Meals and snacks are mostly healthy options. Sometimes I will do fun with food where I will use cookie cutters, and other unique ideas to provide the children special meals, etc. geared toward the season, special day or theme at the time.

I spend a lot of time researching and planning, shopping and setting up to provide the children with the most fun, while also making sure we are working towards the learning goals we need to achieve, to have them ready for the next level of their growth.

I plan on sharing more of this part of my life here, because I know I get so many ideas from other child care providers who post on social media, bloggers, etc.

$50 Cash Giveaway via Paypal

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Almost a year without posting anything...and so much I want to share!

noreply@blogger.com (Cindi S World) — Thu, 21 Jun 2018 01:13:00 +0000

I have gotten way too accustomed to posting everything on my social media, the short version, a cute picture and a little bit of description with some attention seeking hashtags, and even limiting a lot of my personal contact with people to messaging. It does work for me, because I am able to take care of whatever is going on in my home at the moment, such as child care kiddos, my Jeff, etc. and come back and answer whomever I was "talking" with, or even respond to comments on my posts and everyone understands. But when I see my sweet almost 3 year old granddaughter take our house phone, which is literally a wireless landline phone, when her Mommy called, and held it out looking at it saying, "I can't see you Mommy" , I knew that not only am I truly a senior citizen, but I am losing touch with the basics.

When I started this blog, I mainly wanted to post about deals that I wanted to share with my friends, or deals we personally had gotten between couponing or just being at the right place at the right time, or about my growing family...Grandkids! Then when I was given the opportunity to review items, I loved doing that here as well, or even sharing a good recipe. But I do not have any type of niche, or desire to have one actually. I would like to start posting again. Mainly because someday, my grandchildren might want to look back and see what a blog was, and what was their Grandma doing with one, lol.

I will end this post with an updated picture of my six Virginia grandchildren...and will follow up soon with pictures of ALL TEN of my grandchildren!

To use a well known phrase that really fits with this picture, as in, how precious and sweet they appear in it, lol, "I am too blessed to be stressed" .

#Eraorganics skin care line #review

noreply@blogger.com (Cindi S World) — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 23:24:00 +0000

We have tried and loved the baby care line from E raorganics so were really excited to have the opportunity to test their skin care line.

As soon as I received the products, I contacted my adult daughter to see if she wanted to try them out and she jumped at the chance. Now my daughter is a wonderful mother to my 6 grandchildren, an awesome wife to my son in law, and has a good head on her shoulders, but sometimes she just does not think things through, like her mother.

The products I gave her to try are the e raorganics Microdermabrasion Face Scrub & Facial Mask in One- Manuka Honey Walnut Natural Face Exfoliator , which she used first and said smelled wonderfully, and made her skin feel smooth, soft and it just felt good.

The next product was the E raorganics 10-in-1 Facial Moisturizer with Aloe Vera and Manuka Honey , which she also said this smelled so nice, and she proceeded to apply it, RIGHT AFTER THE SCRUB. I am sure that anyone that reads this knows exactly what happened, it burned, because of course a good scrub opens up your pores and does exactly what it says...SCRUBS your skin. Anyway, after washing her face with cold water, and waiting a bit, she then reapplied the moisturizer and said that it was silky smooth and she loves it.

Finally, she was very excited to try the E raorganics Dead Sea Mud Mask with Organic Aloe Vera, Shea Butter, Manuka Honey & Hemp Oil Spa Quality Face Mask . And being the awesome mommy that she is, and also to show that this skin care line is so wonderful, it is safe enough to use on all ages...she used the mud mask not only on herself, but on her six children as well.

We love the E raorganics skin care line and know that if you try it, you will feel the same way.

I received these products at a discount, but all opinions here are mine, and/or my daughters.

Our #Tryazon #KaskeyKids Super Bowl Party

noreply@blogger.com (Cindi S World) — Fri, 24 Feb 2017 23:36:00 +0000

We were so excited to be one of the lucky families chosen by Tryazon to host a Kaskey Kids Super Bowl Party!

We are huge New York Giants fans in our home, but sadly they did not make it to the Super Bowl, so we just enjoyed the game, commercials, half time show and awesome food.

The Kaskey Kids Football Guys were a huge hit with the children. Of course they enjoyed "playing football" with them, but I was really pleased at how they would request to use the football guys with our special learning activities. They were used for counters, they added them to one of our sensory bins and they liked using them for matching games. There has not been one day since we received them, that they haven't asked to get them out.

The children set up a couple of the teams on the table while they were having their snacks in their football shaped bowls.

It was really fun having the surprise boxes to let them take home. They talked about which football guys they got for days after the party!

The Football Guys are so fun, sturdy and versatile, I can see us playing with them for years to come! Kaskey Kids has lots of other sports sets as well, including baseball, basketball, soccer and hockey.

Disclosure: We were provided with free Kaskey Kids Football Guys to play with and share, but all opinions are my own and the fun was real. I am a member of Tryazon where you can apply to host partiesand try out products for free.

These 4D Magnetic Blocks encouraged a new level of creativity #review

noreply@blogger.com (Cindi S World) — Sun, 18 Dec 2016 01:12:00 +0000

I have many types of blocks in my home for the daycare children, from Mega blocks and Duplo, to the cardboard brick type, wooden blocks, bristle blocks, and even foam blocks. But recently we tried out a set of 4D magnetic blocks that look like tiles and come in different geometrical shapes. I gave each child a turn alone with the blocks so that I could see their reaction, and individual ideas.

I was happy to see each child really delve into creating something unique, not just the basic towers, vehicles, or weapons they normally build. Each child paid a lot of attention to the many different shapes included, and they also noticed that the colors looked like jewels, which gave them the ideas to make snowflakes, stars and crowns also.

As a group, the children really got creative, because they had to build upon each others ideas, and work together. The magnetic aspect is my favorite part. We work with magnets during our science explorations so the kiddos are used to how they work, and the many ways you can manipulate things differently when they are magnetic.

You can get your own set of 4D Magnetic Blocks HERE

I was provided the set of blocks to try out, but my opinions here are my own.

Estate Sale finds: Bamboo poles equal extreme backyard fun

noreply@blogger.com (Cindi S World) — Mon, 05 Dec 2016 15:55:00 +0000

We have gotten some amazing things at estate sales. Recently my Jeff picked up a pile of bamboo poles, with the intention of using them decoratively once we purchase and move to our forever home.
Well a week ago, we had 2 of the granddaughters, and right before we were taking them to meet up with their mom and dad, I sent them to the backyard with their Grandpa so that I could finish getting their belongings together. When I was finished, I grabbed my phone to go get some pictures of them playing, as I could hear them squealing and yelling back and forth.

Here is the scene:

Now, let me just make one thing very clear...this is not okay with me. I am the one that will say, don't run with whatever, you could hurt yourself or someone else. And all of the many other overprotective, cautious things a person says to children to hopefully prevent them from getting hurt. Everyone that knows me, KNOWS I am overly, and irritatingly, safe when it comes to children. That being said, my Jeff and the girls were having a blast. I was a wreck, but as I took pictures, I continuously spouted out my words of caution, to no avail. They were in their own world. A world where they had to plan every move, to get to him, or to keep away from him. The playsets became castles where they could run and hide and attack from behind them.

Then Grandpa decided to take it up a notch while I was inside getting the girls some water...

And though I felt the need to say over and over again, "please watch out, run girls run, be careful, you better not get that too close to them, anyone want a snack, Grandma has candy" they were all careful, they kept good distances, used common sense AND the bamboo poles were heavier than I thought, so all of their moves were actually in slow motion, including when he literally shot one as if it were an arrow, and though it did fly, it promptly dropped to the ground. So no need to call Social Services, the granddaughters have a memory they will never forget, their Grandpa got to be completely silly and evil at the same time, and this Grandma is very happy that I took the pictures that will forever remind them of their little adventure.

Organic Baby Body Wash by Era Organics #review

noreply@blogger.com (Cindi S World) — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 02:39:00 +0000

There are so many baby products out there, but you always worry that it might not be safe for your precious little one. My now adult children, both had contact dermatitis, so I could not try new things at all with them. Once we found something that did not cause a rash or irritation, we stuck with that. Thank God they both outgrew it. But now I see my daughter go through the struggle of what is or is not okay for her children. I sent her the link to the era organics honeybuns baby body wash on Amazon and showed her the ingredient list as well as the list of what it DOES NOT have:

She liked what she saw and wanted to try it with our fifteen month old granddaughter, Dallyse. Apparently it worked great, did not cause any type of rash, or irritation. My daughter was happy with it and felt comfortable using it again and again. Here you can see how happy our Dallyse is after having it used on her...

And you can purchase yours here: era organics honeybuns baby body wash.

Disclosure: I was provided a discount to purchase and use this, but all opinions are my own.

Making memories with the Grandchildren

noreply@blogger.com (Cindi S World) — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 01:11:00 +0000

I definitely try to make it a priority to have special time with the grandchildren. Though it is difficult sometimes with the oldest two having every other weekend visitation with their mom, and the youngest two are not ready for overnight stays. So that leaves Audryna and Lexcyee, the 6 and 1/2 year old and the almost 5 year old. I honestly cannot believe they are that old. So with the Thanksgiving holiday, and me having a super long weekend, I asked the girls to come stay for the weekend. They immediately started in with "let's play this" and "let's get this out" based on other sleepovers we have had. I always make sure to have them help me, to talk with them about memories of their Mommy and their Uncle Chachi when they were their age. I remind them of things we did together when they were younger, and I show them pictures and videos from other visits.

Our newest "thing" is journaling. I started it for my in home childcare kiddos, and wanted to include the grandchildren as well. So each time they stay, or even if they are just visiting with their family, I ask if they want to pull out their journals and draw or write something in them. They use markers, colored pencils, crayons, stampers and stickers to express themselves. I put the date on the pages they did, and we put them back in the writing center.

Something that has become a staple for them is eating oatmeal before its time to get ready to lay down. Mainly because I worry that they have not eaten enough healthy food while we have played, so I know the oatmeal will cover them. Then it is time for brushing teeth, washing hands and faces, and pulling out and setting up their cots so we can choose something to watch together before they go to sleep.

The next morning they have both noticed different things they have not seen before. Because I run an in home childcare, I have manipulatives, toys, games, and everything in between stuck in every nook and cranny. So we start pulling things out...this goes on all day.

These are just a few of the things they did, and I can tell you, by the time we dropped them off with their parents on Sunday afternoon...I was beyond tired. But I would not trade this time for anything in the world.

Dealing with diaper rash - eraorganics honeybuns diaper balm #review

noreply@blogger.com (Cindi S World) — Wed, 16 Nov 2016 16:02:00 +0000

I finally have half of the childcare kiddos completely potty trained and wearing underwear...but that leaves the other two who are still in pull ups. We have struggled with the heat this past summer and how it causes rashes for the kiddos in pull ups and/or diapers, as well as the random bouts of diarrhea that will also cause a rash. Though the ointments that are super thick and white work really well, I have found that some of the children have reactions to the zinc oxide that is the main ingredient in those. When I was offered a discount to try out the eraorganics honeybuns diaper balm, I was interested to see how well it would work on the children. It claims to be ph balanced, hypoallergenic and fragrance free, and the ingredients list includes all 100 % USDA Certified Organic, made with Sunflower Oil, Beeswax, Cocoa Butter, Coconut Oil, Olive Oil and Chamomile, Calendula and more.

This kiddo from my childcare had a pretty serious rash, so I got permission from her mom to try the honeybuns diaper balm on her for the day. I used it each time I changed her, which ended up being a total of 5 times, then I gave it to her mom to take home and use that night as well. She said she ended up using it only one more time, and the rash was better the next morning. So after using it under a 24 hour period, it had healed a pretty bad rash. I am impressed.

You can get yours here: eraorganics honeybuns diaper balm

I was provided a discount to purchase and use this, but all opinions are my own.

My new obsession: Estate Sales

noreply@blogger.com (Cindi S World) — Fri, 11 Nov 2016 23:08:00 +0000

When I first started going to Estate Sales, I felt creepy. I mean, some of these sales are because the owners have passed away, or are being moved to a nursing home, and it bothered me to walk through their home, and rummage through their belongings. Then one day, I overheard a man and woman talking at an Estate Sale, about how the money from this sale was going to help so much with the cost of the care for their Mom. This made me realize that the true family heirlooms, and things that mattered to them, were not here with a price tag, they were selling things that none of them needed or wanted, and would be able to use the profits towards their Moms' care. Now, every weekend we try to find at least one Estate Sale to go to, and see what type of treasures we can bring home and bring back to life.

This past weekend, we set a route to hit 4 sales! At the first one, it seemed pretty bleak for me, though my Jeff was loving the dirt basement/cellar and the stuff he found, which I still have no clue what all he got. But I did spot this awesome cooler in really great shape, the horseshoe, which I have always wanted one, and I grabbed the apples from a box of ornaments, and a couple bigger ones from a bowl of fake fruit to use with my daycare kiddos while we are working on the letter A. But still, I wasn't really excited.

The next place had a lot of expensive things, crystal, china, and tons of other things that I have absolutely no interest in...but it seems I have a sense about where to find these jars that I absolutely love! I noticed that in the kitchen, there was a door open that went into a tiny pantry/closet...and the door was WIDE open, so that means you can look there too, right? So when I saw these 3 glass jars just sitting on the shelf, alongside all kinds of pots and pans, cookbooks and I don't know what else, and though there were no price tags, I had to check. And obviously, they were for sale! I love them. And along the way, I found the brand new Pottery Barn basket with the tags still on it, and the 3 compartment snowman tin that the grandchildren are going to love opening up to see what goodies I have hidden inside this winter.

At the third sale, I was just walking around randomly as my Jeff was purchasing a few things he wanted, and while in the kitchen, I noticed these large plastic tongs which I knew would be perfect for the daycare kiddos fine motor skills practice with picking items up. And then right near them were the wooden bowls and trays that I had to have for when we finish the outdoor mud/sand kitchen for the kids. The leaf cutouts were in a box of coasters, but being that it is fall and we are working with leaves in the daycare...I grabbed them. While in line to pay for my items, I noticed the pinecones and pods in a basket nearby. These are the large pinecones that I remember seeing while me and my children, years ago, were in North Carolina visiting their Aunt and Uncle. And us living in Virginia, I have never seen them this size again, so I know the daycare children as well as the grandchildren will enjoy exploring these finds.

Yet again, I just did not feel that awesome feeling of excitement that I get when I feel that the things I have found are true treasures and I can't wait to get home to enjoy them, though I am happy with the items I found, and everything will be used and loved for a long time.

But then there was the fourth sale...it was unbelievable! And there are so many treasures, with really cool stories behind them, that I will have to share that in another post. I am so happy that my Jeff got me started on going to Estate Sales as well as this being something fun that he and I get to enjoy doing together.

Customized Holiday Gift Cards From Adoramapix Discount Code

noreply@blogger.com (Cindi S World) — Tue, 25 Oct 2016 21:50:00 +0000

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