Dandelion Family Day Care

Happy New Year everyone

Today is World Music Day! It's like a big party celebrating the incredible power of music, where everyone is encouraged to gather 'round, bust out their instruments, show off their moves, and belt out tunes together. Music is a worldwide love affair that brings people together and spreads pure joy. It’s a powerful tool that helps develop children's language, social-emotional growth, and creative expression. It’s just plain fun, and we all know when children are having fun, their brains are ready to learn!
Why not play your favourite jams and share the musical love with others? Take your musical talents outside, to parks, and neighbourhoods, playing those sweet melodies or singing together for all ears within range! World Music Day is a good opportunity to mix up genres and listen to music from other cultures. Embrace the whole musical spectrum, from funky beats and jazzy tunes to rock anthems, classical masterpieces, folk ballads, techno vibes, bluesy rhythms, and so much more. How do you plan to celebrate? Perhaps you might share a link to your favourite song?

Love a good long weekend project.
A friend of mine saved this old table from a long daycare centre’s skip bin 😂A bit of deck cleaner, pressure washing, a few minor modifications, and some coats of outdoor furniture oil gave us our new mud kitchen!

“Our challenge isn’t so much to teach children about the natural world, but to find ways to sustain the instinctive connections they already carry.” ~ Terry Krautwurst

A little more tree love today on our creek adventures.
This one a beautiful old gumtree by our creek, that is the home of kookaburra family. It’s enormous, must be at least 100 years old.

“Advice from a tree: Stand tall and proud, Go out on a limb, Remember your roots, Drink plenty of water, Be content with your natural beauty, Enjoy the view”
Ilan Shamir

Appreciation through the words of my Lizzy “I hug trees because it just feels like the right thing to do”

Bit of nature therapy for the soul 🌳 How lucky we are that we are surrounded by such beauty.

Seeds collected by little fingers headed out to another family daycare educator today ❤️

There’s a whole lot of love in these packets.
The children here have experienced the whole cycle of planting these seeds. Which makes this gift even more special.
It’s a gift we’ve already enjoyed, and can now share to other children.

The gift of excitement planting, the anticipation of waiting for them to push through the soil as little seedings, the tender care watering, the honest awe of a sunflower growing taller than yourself!
Searching in amongst the leave of the “tutu frilly lettuce” for garden fairies 🧚 Having a little nibble while you’re there 😉

Little packets of magic, love and hope 🥰🌱🌻🥬

Home schooling and family day care chronicles Day #11

Today I give you more of a highlights reel. We continued our book week on, so that everyone had a chance to enjoy it! As promised Mrs Mum came as “fart” from Zoe Foster Blake’s book “No One Likes A Fart”

Other highlights include accidentally sitting in wee ( not my own, which still isn’t a comfort haha) and witnessing some anatomically correct Fathers Day card creating.

Home schooling and Family Day Care Chronicles
Surviving home schooling a moody teen and two preteens while operating family day care.
Day #7
8:00am-9am: Maths time/measurement- judging the correct amount of time to cook toast without burning- upon achieving competency students may bake cake in food tech later today.
9am-9:20am:English/expressive language/interpretive dance demonstration. Substitute Teacher tries to sip coffee through mask-…. we are at that point of lockdown.
9:20am-10:30am: Emergency meeting in conference room (loungeroom) Students insist Substitute change coffee mask…..Substitute agrees this is a good idea. Yr 8 student makes rude comment, Substitute evolves into Mega Troll and confiscates student’s mobile phone in feeble attempt to regain control.
10:00 am-11:00am Substitute forgets Yr 5 student has a Whole Class Zoom Meeting. Yr 5 student however remembers and manages to log in successfully (winning)
11:00am-11:30am- Food Tech double period: Students prepare cake mixture and place in oven.
11:30am-12pm: Yr 5 student floods kitchen while cleaning dishes, and interrupts Yr 8 students English zoom meeting wearing “bubble beard” (just look at the impressed face of old bubble face and the disgruntled face of Captain Zoom in the background)
12:pm-12:30: Food Tech/ Maths time/measurement: Students burn cake while attending more zoom conferences. Maths time/measurement lesson to be revisited before students allowed to bake again.
12:30-12:40pm: “Fire evacuation drill” while smoke smell clears kitchen.
1:30pm-2:30pm: Art/Freeform sculpture/Lunch? Students resurrect cake with icing.
2:30pm-4:00pm: Staffing issues: Substitute staring into void again….Students, unsupervised consume remaining “cake”.
4:10pm: Teacher begins after school kitchen cleaning duty, and pours a glass of rose.

Homeschooling and Family Day Care Chronicles
Day #6
Welcome to week two Class!
8:00am-8:30am: Students have “technical issues” on lap top.
8:30AM-9AM: Anger management seminar held in School oval.
9am-9:20am: Meeting of the “Blueberry Appreciation Association” held around the outdoor conference table.
9:20am-10:30am: PDHPE/Dance: Family day care children explain that’s “NOT HOW YOU DANCE LIKE ELSA!” and give substitute explicit instruction in this area. Substitute to have further training/professional development to improve “frozen” dance skills.
10:30am-11am: Substitute decides to “Let it go”
11:00am-11:30: Technology: Video call from “Grandma” Grandma takes the FDC children for a tour of her garden-FDC children take Grandma for a tour of their lunchbox contents.
11:30am-12pm:Science Agriculture: Students explore the agricultural plot and discuss new bush turkey proofing that substitute added to vegetable beds. General consensus is that “Barry” the bush turkey will take whatever ripe looking morsel he chooses and attempts to deter him are futile.
12:30pm-1pm: Computer Studies: Substitute teacher demonstrates advanced computer skills deleting Year 5 students entire work for the day.
1-2pm: Student attends school counsellor/substitute meeting. Counsellor promises to write exemption letter for missing work.
2pm-2:15pm: Hospitality: Work placement: Substitute teacher gives students intensive barista training on new coffee machine including Milk frothing/temperature control.
2:15pm-3:45pm Group project/PDHPE: Rearrange all the day care outdoor furniture around to feel like we are in a different space. Set up “shops” roll play area.
3:45pm- 4:15pm Choir/individual vocal Practice held in specialised sound booth (Shower)
4:15pm: Teacher reads emails, DESE media release and opens a bottle of port.

It was just so peaceful in our large and beautiful bell tent that the children chose to nap there last week 🥰
A fresh cool breeze blowing through the windows and the sound of the birdsong in our creek. The perfect lullaby

Just “Mrs Mum” and the Students today
Day #5 Homeschooling
8:00am-8:30am: Meeting in the Substitute teacher/Relieving principal’s office. Two eldest students had an altercation which resulted in screaming and physical violence-“I did not give you that top!!!”
“Yes you did!” “ahhhhh I didn’t. I paid like $14 for it! Give. It. Back!”
Both students placed on a level, and offered work experience with General Assistant on his courier run. Offer declined.
8:30am-9:20am:Yr 8music: Help Yr 8 student with assigned listening task which requires them to analyse Missy Higgins’ "ten days" and answer a quiz. Substitute teacher enthusiastically sings along to said task giving an impromptu concert to the entirety of Yr4 students whole class zoom meeting. You’re welcome 😉
9:00am-10:00m: Year 4 Zoom class. Student apologises to class for substitutes singing, also offers performance review of substitute teacher with Regular Class teacher.
10:00am-11:00 Science: yr 8 English Zoom meeting. Substitute uses off class time to collect extra lap top from regular school and return home to watch funny Tik Tok videos inside vehicle in the “carpark” until required for technical support for third bloody zoom meeting for the day.
11:00am-12pm :Yr 5 Whole class Zoom meeting
12:pm-12:30: Food Tech-Students use newly acquired food safety skills to actually put away cheese after making toasties.
12:30:-1 PDHPE/music system of a down with sit ups 😂
1:00pm-2:00pm: PDHPE Excursion to the beach. Sports included: Chase the seagull, Chase your sister, extreme eyerolling, and Plover obstacle course.
2:00-2:15Pm: Home economics: How to remember to hang out clothes in washing machine (the same load has been washed three times now)
2:15-4: Students wag lessons- Substitute decides to take stress leave until 4pm and looks at plants in garden.
4-4:30pm: Excursion transporting students to other parents house for the weekend. Students to receive private concert featuring “Missy Higgins” discography. Student agree it is unwise at this point to give negative reviews.
4:30pm Teacher opens bottle of gin…..

Home schooling and Family Day Care Chronicles
Surviving home schooling a moody teen and two preteens while operating family day care.
Day #4
8:00am-9am: Stop start motion video creation titled “Worlds slowest eater”
Filled with memorable one liners such as “you can eat more than one coco pop at a time” and “that’s not my bowl left at the table”
9am-9:20am:English/Creative language- Substitute teacher discovers last week’s lunchboxes in schoolbags….creative/expressive language demonstration.
9:20am-10:30am:Students assist Substitute teacher in building and supervising a camp fire with day care children.
10:30am-11:00 Science: How camp fire heat affects bananas filled with chocolate and wrapped in foil.
11:00am:School guidance councillor/substitute to break the news that we are likely to be continuing home-schooling for a few weeks yet.
12:pm-12:30: Food Tech- Food safety- Make sure to leave the coleslaw out on the bench to breed salmonella after prepping and consuming chicken wraps.
12:30-1:30pm: “Chore avoiders association” meeting in the conference room. Discuss strategy and improved deception methods.
1:30pm-2:30pm: Refresher Conflict Resolution Course, Mondays training unsuccessful
2:30pm-4:30pm : Double period of PDHPE- New sport “Roller chair tong pinch” Winning team has the least bruises. Crying automatically forfeits the game.
4:30pm Teacher disposes of Salmonella Slaw and pours a glass of wine. *sigh* 🤦‍♀️
*ttysubstitute