The Joy of Play Licensed Family Dayhome

Bike adventures are the best! The kids are loving getting out on the bikes this summer, and it's all about the unexpected discoveries along the way. This week the kids loved riding through a large puddle over and over again. I asked why and they said they love the sound the tires make as they move through the water. Through active play and exploration, kids learn, discover and enjoy the world using all their senses.

Also a highlight this week was a trip to the zoo, and some great viewings of seals, river otters and a white-handed gibbon!

At our pool party last week we brought out the shark slide! But instead of sliding down, the kids set to work on cleaning the slide with anything they could find. I then supplied them with brushes, cloths and soap, and they had a blast making tons of bubbles. When they did try the slide, it was super slippery! And afterward, we all enjoyed the first crop of freshly picked raspberries from the backyard!

At the Joy of Play, the children are given the freedom to play and explore. While their play may take unexpected turns, my job is to facilitate their creativity and learning, supplying them with what they need to enhance their play and their joy!

B loves hockey, and so I bought a second-hand ball hockey set, which led to many hours of scrimmage this week in the backyard. The kids are also avid bug catchers and treasure hunters, so on Friday we made the the trek to Long Island Lake for a beach day. We found huge dragonflies, lilly pads, wild strawberries and a little caterpillar B named "Lil' Bro!

At the Joy of Play we find out what the kids like and want to learn, and provide them with the materials and resources they need to increase their joy factor! Freedom, time and low staff-to-child ratio...that's the dayhome difference!

Ah these summer days! This week the kids found more and more ripe strawberries to pick each day at our dayhome garden, and further afield, we found a beautiful vista of the North Saskatchewan River valley atop a flight of over 200 steps of the Grandview Stairs. Nourish them, let them play, watch them thrive!

With the coming of spring, many birds are returning to our neighbourhood and becoming more active. We went to the forest to see the pileated woodpecker - the construction worker of the forest who hammers holes in the trees, making shelter and finding some juicy bugs to eat! We didn't see any woodpeckers, but we saw the holes they have made in the trees. Later, some of the kids created a woodpecker scene in their learning books.

With the gift of what snow has fallen this winter, the children have been exploring envelopment and transformation schemas. Finding that perfect snow for making a snowman in Lion's Park, and tunneling into our snow mountain to make a snow fort just the right size!

Celebrating the shortest day of the year with the kids today. We gathered deadfall in the forest and then lit a fire in the backyard. We managed to pop popcorn over the fire with two aluminum pans and a roasting stick! The kids went wild when it started popping! And then of course roasting marshmallows to perfection. I am so grateful for all the precious moments of laughter, joy, and especially all those sweet golden days of playfulness and exploration in the outdoors, that we have shared together this past year. Happy Solstice!

Feeling grateful for our backyard trees giving such wonderful play possibilities especially in the fall season. Leaves can be transported, used to envelop the kids or their found treasures, gathered and scattered, and of course provide a soft place to land!