Today marks the first official week of "Summer Vacation!" I'm in full force with the daycare kids and am really excited for the next couple of months. This summer I have decided to do some themed weeks and also go through the "fruit of the spirt." On Tuesday and Wednseday's I will be having a helper and am really excited about having adult interaction throughout the day!
This week kicks off "All About Me" week and 'Love,' which is one of the fruits of the spirit. The kids were to fill out a questionnaire about themselves and bring a picture of their family and their favorite object in a bag attached with three clues so there friends can guess what it is. This will help them build confidence talking in front of the peers & let their peers learn a little bit more about them. My hubby and I built a three foot tree out of felt that will help the kids practice love (and the rest of the fruits of the spirit.) Any time I catch them showing love to someone they get to add a piece of fruit to the tree. Then at the end of the week they get to bring it home to show their parents.
This summer my school agers are having a "responsibility wheel." Each week they will be assigned a task (water flowers, help kids wash hands, etc) to do. I used the back of a paper plate divided it into four squares and will rotate their names each week on the wheel. Also, during nap time the school-agers will be journaling and going through a devotional. Since I have four (two boys & two girls) kids I am separating them. I am being that paranoid daycare provider that has thought about the worst case scenario. The girls will either get to watch a movie first or work on their chore, devotions, journal and reading. This will just give me peace of mind since I am not downstairs the whole time to supervise.
I also have implemented an incentive program for good behavior. Throughout the day the kids need to be Obedient, Kind/Loving, Truthful, Thankful/Cheerful & practice Giving/Sharing. If the preschoolers (2-5 years old) display these traits, at the end of the day they get to put a star under the appropriate box. Once all five boxes are filled they get to pick a prize out of the "Reward Box." My school-agers have to work as a group. I have a glass jar and each day they fulfill all of those qualities they get a scoop of popcorn, if they don't a scoop gets taken out. Once the jar is filled I will take them on a special outing--Casey's Amusement Park, Bowling, Movie, etc.
My other themed weeks will be the 5 Senses, Wacky World of Water, Camping, Community Service, Farm & Bugs. I am also going to squeeze in another tea party and possibly a field trip to the police and fire station. If you have any fun ideas for those themes let me know!
I am dreaming of many trips to the beach, picnic lunches in the park, water games in the back yard, nature walks, story hour at the library and watching the kiddos grow in the LORD. I feel so blessed to get to do what I do.
P.S. Picture frames & mirror are hung, I just need the photos to put in them. We already had to take down the curtains because the kids pulled the brackets out of the wall--tear, tear. That was most likely caused from them pulling on the curtains, wrapping them selves in the curtains...you get the idea. Since the studs are weak, I can no longer hang them high. So I will post pictures as soon as I get the frames filled.
No comments:
Post a Comment