Pretty Clouds

A few weeks ago we had some really big clouds that were pretty to watch. They were pre and post rain clouds as it turned out. There's something calming about blue skies and big fluffy clouds. 

Look What The Cat Dragged In!

Literally. The cat dragged in a praying mantis yesterday. I found her 'playing' with it in the kitchen and was able to rescue it before any serious damage was inflicted. :-)

A treat for the daycare kiddos to get to see and hold the mantis. I loved that not one of them was shy about getting closer to it.

Alex (professional hand model) coaxing the mantis to the branch.

When we were done investigating, we realized replacing it in the backyard would mean certain death as soon as the cats or dogs went back out. 

We thought the front entry bushes seemed like a nice safe place to relocate the mantis.

Have a good life, Manty!

Tubb's Berry Farm Fall 2012 Trip

I took Alex and the daycare kiddos to visit our favorite berry farm this morning. Raspberries are what they grow in late Summer/early Fall, and they just opened the rows for picking.

Alex ate about a third of what we picked on the way home since he skipped breakfast. I'll freeze most of the rest and use them for our green smoothies. Yum!

We used old milk jugs with a side cut out like a scoop and a rope strung through the handle to tie around our waist as carriers for the berries as we picked. Alex used a small one and I had a full gallon size. The farm supplies these for you! 

Here are a few of the animals we said hi to as we walked around the fields. The middle picture are the baby turkeys we visited in the Spring, only they are almost all grown up now!

I also picked up a big jar of raw organic honey and a lotion bar. This honey is my favorite flavor of theirs (they have several). Its got a little zing to it! It's from wildflowers, clover, and mint blossoms in and around Rock Creek Canyon, and you can actually taste a subtle minty aftertaste (or it could be my imagination). 

The lotion bar is a first for me, and I can't wait to try it. It's handmade on the farm with only natural ingredients and zero chemicals. It has beeswax, sweet almond, apricot, avocado and coconut oil, honey, and essential oils that are healing for skin- palmarosa and geranium.  

The Apple Orchard

We visited the apple orchard today and picked fresh apples.

Apples are so symbolic of Autumn and I love having them around this time of the year.

I'll be slicing most of these up and dehydrating them over the next 20 hours (in my oven) or so to use for my wreath, to make decorations, and keep some for snacks. 

Nature Deficit Disorder- A Cure

Playing in the Rain

Being a dessert climate, it stays pretty dry through the year here and doesn't rain a whole lot. Last week we had a fantastic thunder and rain storm. I understand for most sane people this usually means staying inside and curling up with a book. But a Summer rain storm just calls to me! So just when the daycare kids (and Alex) started getting mopey faces, thinking they wouldn't get to play outside once the heavy rain started, I had everyone take off their socks and head for the door!!

The air was cooler, maybe in the 80's, instead of the 90's, for a change, and it was quite comfy outside. The rain was so heavy our road was like a little river in places. Nothing to cause danger to the wee ones, but enough to really get wet in.

I have to say- I needed to do a little coaxing for a couple of the kids because apparently playing in the rain was NOT something they felt was officially grown-up approved. The mixed looks of uncertainty and confusion, excitement, glee, 'my dream come true!', disbelief and those knowing 'Ms. Wendy's gone crazy!' looks on our way out the door were priceless. 

Splashing, running, stomping, and laughing. This is what being a kid (and a big kid) is all about! I'm sure my neighbors didn't know what to think of us. In my world, everyone should have been racing out of their homes to play in the puddles and the rain! This was fun!!  

Coming inside to dry off with big towels, the kids, even the ones who had been hesitant at first, had a blast that I hope they'll get to repeat again soon. 

Process Based Art with Spray Painting

Today the daycare kids and Alex did a fun spray paint project!

I'm a big fan of process-based art, which allows the project to be open-ended with no expectation on the final result. There are lots of times project-based art is fun and creative and even beneficial for skill building, but process-based is really about creativity and expression, not meant to meet anyone's approval or idea of 'pretty', and that's why I love it so much.

So today we set out to have some fun with paint.

I always buy things I think I'll have a good idea for later, and maybe half the time actually use it. But this is one I did get to use! I picked up these spray bottles for less than a dollar each on sale and thought they'd be great for a spray painting activity.

I made blue, lime green, yellow and red.

This isn't my idea, many smarties have done this and if you've been in the early childhood education field for even a second you'll know about this fun art activity.

The paint I used was water-based poster paint. I have several giant bottles I had picked up for about a $1 for all of them at a yard sale. I hadn't used them yet (they were mostly new so pretty full) and I knew they'd be great for this! I mixed each color with about one cup of water and whisked it to get the lumps out, then poured it into the spray bottle and capped it.

I taped up art paper (thicker for painting) to our vinyl fence- counting on the idea they would wash off easily enough. (I usually do things this way- assuming it will all work out in the end! haha) Then each of the kids chose a color to start with.

And they're off!

Then they swapped colors.

Color #2 going on. I set the nozzles where I thought they'd get a wider spray, like a mist, but it was too far out and they ended up being more of a stream. The kids wouldn't let me change them though because they liked the streaming paint! I think it was kind of like shooting water guns for them, which we ban at my house, so this was fun for them.

Color # 3 after another swap.

Little Levi, just under 3 years old, can do this activity with no problems (though I may have set his paper a teensy bit high).

And this is one of the reasons why for the most part, grown-ups should stay out the way when kids create. After the 3rd and 4th colors, I thought their papers looks about done! Their pictures were lovely and I was getting a little worried that more paint would cover up their other colors and it would all end in a muddy brown mess, which we've all seen happen. But I stepped back to keep myself from jumping in and let them go.

They wanted to cover all the white, so they weren't ready to finish until that had happened. Then they discovered they could flourish the bottle with a 'swish and flick' kind of motion, while they were spraying, to make arches and interesting lines. Aren't kids awesome!!?

Right now is about when I'm starting to give more serious thought to how I might clean my fence...

Now they are done. We just need to let the Sun do his job.

You can see the red lines showing through. I just love these! 

Later, after lunch, I went to take them down and bring them in. I noticed the dried flakes on the art. I think these were paint particles that didn't dissolve all the way when I mixed them up. Total accident but I think it adds a nice texture and interest to their art!

Ta-da!

A Morning at the Spider Park

We spent yesterday morning with the school aged daycare kids playing at the Spider Park. That's the name we call it, I'm sure it has another 'official' name. It got it's name because of the web-like climbing structure. It's a favorite place for my kiddos!

Playing Tag & Tumbling

Yesterday afternoon the kids played tag in the front yard and used the tree as base. They were having so much fun several of the neighbor kids came over to join in (not pictured). Who needs TV when there's a game of Tag happening?? Not us!

The kiddos performing tumbles and somersaults.