Robin's Nest Childcare

Taken yesterday. All the children really enjoyed washing the car, pushing the car and taking turns in the car. There is so much learning and experiencing happening here Pushing/pulling - working on vestibular/proprioceptive needs, gross motor skills, social skills (to make sure the child inside is not scared) Sensory - feeling how the cloths washes the car, how dirt comes off the car... Sense of Community - working together to get the car clean, turn taking, giving each other space to clean cooperatively and taking care of our youngest to make sure he’s ok getting in and out Communication skill - talking to each other as they work cooperatively Aaaaaand so much more in such a simple activity. All of this helps to prepare the children to enter kindergarten where they will have to take turns in a large group, know how to speak politely and respectfully to their peers and comfortably engage in activities. See more

Taken yesterday. All the children really enjoyed washing the car, pushing the car and taking turns in the car. There is so much learning and experiencing happening here Pushing/pulling - working on vestibular/proprioceptive needs, gross motor skills, social skills (to make sure the child inside is not scared) Sensory - feeling how the cloths washes the car, how dirt comes off the car... Sense of Community - working together to get the car clean, turn taking, giving each other space to clean cooperatively and taking care of our youngest to make sure he’s ok getting in and out Communication skill - talking to each other as they work cooperatively Aaaaaand so much more in such a simple activity. All of this helps to prepare the children to enter kindergarten where they will have to take turns in a large group, know how to speak politely and respectfully to their peers and comfortably engage in activities. See more

We experimented with salt water colours on watercolour paper. The children used the salt watercolour mixture to paint their pictures over a couple of days. On Friday I offered the children their paintings with markers. It was amazing to watch the children spend a lot of time on both the original paintings as well as colouring on their own paintings. Things the children learned - pre-writing skills - grasping the markers and paintbrushes. Distinguishing between the variou...s colours and shapes they painted and drew - fine motor skills - painting and colouring - hand-eye coordination - putting paint and markers to paper - visual/motor and social development - science - how the salt interacts with the painting - language and literacy (see comments) as each child described their art work See more

We experimented with salt water colours on watercolour paper. The children used the salt watercolour mixture to paint their pictures over a couple of days. On Friday I offered the children their paintings with markers. It was amazing to watch the children spend a lot of time on both the original paintings as well as colouring on their own paintings. Things the children learned - pre-writing skills - grasping the markers and paintbrushes. Distinguishing between the variou...s colours and shapes they painted and drew - fine motor skills - painting and colouring - hand-eye coordination - putting paint and markers to paper - visual/motor and social development - science - how the salt interacts with the painting - language and literacy (see comments) as each child described their art work See more

Domesticity does not equal motherhood. I once sat in a class where teenage girls said they needed to learn how to cook, do laundry, and clean if they wanted... to one day be good moms. I stopped and told them that cooking, doing laundry, and cleaning are part of being an ADULT. Those are not the things that make up motherhood. But I get where they got that conclusion. You always hear women say they aren’t good moms when they don’t make homemade lunches, prepare cupcakes for the bake sale, show up to the doctor with kids who have brushed hair, or get the laundry put away in a decent time. I’m such a bad mom. I sent store-bought valentines to school with my kid. Mom fail. I didn’t get the laundry done. I’m a failure as a mom. I don’t make homemade bread/cookies/whatever. NO. Your success as a mother is not defined by domestic duties. Domestic duties are part of being an adult. While your children do need to be changed and fed, that’s not the summation of MOTHERHOOD. Anyone can change and feed children, including dads. You can hire someone to clean your house and feed your kids, and you’ll still be a mom. And if you weren’t a mom, you’d still have to clean your house, cook food, and do laundry. You’re not a bad mom because you didn’t do laundry in time. Let’s stop combining domestic duties with motherhood, because they just aren’t the same. Yes, moms do domestic things. And they raise children. These are two separate things. Your housekeeping is not your motherhood, and you’re giving away power when you combine the two and judge one against the other. You are a good mom because you love your child, and you try to help them learn the things they need to learn. You worry about your kids, you spend time with them, you plan for their future, and so much more. You might be terrible at domestic duties (I don’t know) or you might be the best housekeeper in the world. But neither end of the spectrum -- or anything in between -- determines if you’re a good mom or not. Housekeeping is NOT motherhood. https://www.rebeccabrownwright.com/housekeeping-is-not-mot/

Domesticity does not equal motherhood. I once sat in a class where teenage girls said they needed to learn how to cook, do laundry, and clean if they wanted... to one day be good moms. I stopped and told them that cooking, doing laundry, and cleaning are part of being an ADULT. Those are not the things that make up motherhood. But I get where they got that conclusion. You always hear women say they aren’t good moms when they don’t make homemade lunches, prepare cupcakes for the bake sale, show up to the doctor with kids who have brushed hair, or get the laundry put away in a decent time. I’m such a bad mom. I sent store-bought valentines to school with my kid. Mom fail. I didn’t get the laundry done. I’m a failure as a mom. I don’t make homemade bread/cookies/whatever. NO. Your success as a mother is not defined by domestic duties. Domestic duties are part of being an adult. While your children do need to be changed and fed, that’s not the summation of MOTHERHOOD. Anyone can change and feed children, including dads. You can hire someone to clean your house and feed your kids, and you’ll still be a mom. And if you weren’t a mom, you’d still have to clean your house, cook food, and do laundry. You’re not a bad mom because you didn’t do laundry in time. Let’s stop combining domestic duties with motherhood, because they just aren’t the same. Yes, moms do domestic things. And they raise children. These are two separate things. Your housekeeping is not your motherhood, and you’re giving away power when you combine the two and judge one against the other. You are a good mom because you love your child, and you try to help them learn the things they need to learn. You worry about your kids, you spend time with them, you plan for their future, and so much more. You might be terrible at domestic duties (I don’t know) or you might be the best housekeeper in the world. But neither end of the spectrum -- or anything in between -- determines if you’re a good mom or not. Housekeeping is NOT motherhood. https://www.rebeccabrownwright.com/housekeeping-is-not-mot/

Even running through bubbles is learning. Here the children are working on - gross motor skills, balance and coordination through running - social/emotional skills as they navigate running through bubbles and not hitting bumping into each other - cause and effect as they run through the bubbles and pop them - sensory sensations as the bubbles pop on their feet, face and body... Finally, there is just the simple pure joy of running through bubbles

Even running through bubbles is learning. Here the children are working on - gross motor skills, balance and coordination through running - social/emotional skills as they navigate running through bubbles and not hitting bumping into each other - cause and effect as they run through the bubbles and pop them - sensory sensations as the bubbles pop on their feet, face and body... Finally, there is just the simple pure joy of running through bubbles

Today’s nature art exploration, moon sand play and squirt paint. Tons of fun and learning.

Today’s nature art exploration, moon sand play and squirt paint. Tons of fun and learning.

Blackberry picking on our property. We enjoyed the berries as part of our lunch.

Blackberry picking on our property. We enjoyed the berries as part of our lunch.

Exploring soap paint. I wonder how it will dry?

Exploring soap paint. I wonder how it will dry?

Shadow drawing, the kids have been also exploring shadows. On Wednesday we explore shadow drawing with the sun. The kids worked on a lot of fine motor skills and pencil grasp. It was awesome to watch the children try to figure out how to draw the outline of their creature without their own shadow getting in the way (you have to draw upside down).

Shadow drawing, the kids have been also exploring shadows. On Wednesday we explore shadow drawing with the sun. The kids worked on a lot of fine motor skills and pencil grasp. It was awesome to watch the children try to figure out how to draw the outline of their creature without their own shadow getting in the way (you have to draw upside down).

While on vacation, I picked up 10’ long bamboo from Coombs. Darren helped me cut it and the kids have spent days exploring water. How to get it from one point to another, how it works, how it moves and how it feels.

While on vacation, I picked up 10’ long bamboo from Coombs. Darren helped me cut it and the kids have spent days exploring water. How to get it from one point to another, how it works, how it moves and how it feels.

In June we finally got to the second half of our chalk paint process art (darn Covid getting in the way). It was fascinating to watch the children experiment with the chalk dust. Some made art pictures, some made art textures and others made chalk clay. One wasn’t done crushing the chalk so he continued to smash chalk between two boards and play with the texture mixed with water. They used fine motor skills, gross motor skills, social skills and many more. It was a great experience for all the children and one we will do again.

We went to Spectacle Lake today, we found leaves, sticks, rocks, streams, a slug and a snail. We made the snail a home off the trail. Love the rain and a hike.

Puddle jumping is one of our favourite activities. Here’s one of the reasons it’s so popular.

Some tidbits from Wednesday

Tuesday was full of fun, crafting with loose parts (courtesy of Kya) and watching the excavator start to take our pile away.

We went to Spectacle Lake today, we found leaves, sticks, rocks, streams, a slug and a snail. We made the snail a home off the trail. Love the rain and a hike.