Just Like Home Family Daycare - Burton/Grand Blanc

We are proud to announce that we have joined the North American Reggio Emilia Alliance (NAREA) as part of our ongoing commitment to providing the highest quality early childhood education for the children and families we serve.

The Reggio Emilia Approach is not a curriculum or a scripted teaching method. Instead, it is a philosophy that views children as capable, curious, creative, and full of potential. This approach values hands-on learning, exploration, relationships, documentation of learning, and honoring the many ways children express themselves—often referred to as the “Hundred Languages of Children.”

NAREA is one of the leading organizations supporting Reggio-inspired educators throughout North America. Through membership, we gain access to professional learning opportunities, conferences, study groups, research, publications, and connections with educators who share a deep respect for children and the learning process.

At Just Like Home Family Daycare, this membership supports our vision of creating a learning environment where children are encouraged to wonder, investigate, create, collaborate, and develop a lifelong love of learning.

We are excited to continue bringing the best of Montessori-inspired learning, Reggio-inspired practices, nature exploration, and child-led discovery into our classroom every day.

❤️ Because every child deserves to be seen as capable, competent, and full of possibilities.

🦋 Our Painted Lady butterflies! 🦋

One of the things children love most is watching real-life transformations happen right before their eyes. In less than two weeks, our Painted Lady caterpillars changed into beautiful butterflies!

Even a simple classroom butterfly kit provides opportunities for children to practice observation, learn new vocabulary, ask questions, and begin understanding life cycles. These hands-on experiences help make science meaningful and memorable for young learners.

Now we’re enjoying watching our butterflies before releasing them to continue their journey. 💛

Have your children ever watched butterflies emerge?🦋✨

⌨️ Learning Through Play: Exploring Keyboards! ⌨️

Did you know that an old keyboard can become a powerful learning tool for young children?

Today, our little learners explored letters, numbers, and technology through hands-on play. Activities like this help children build the fine motor strength and finger coordination needed for future skills like writing, cutting with scissors, buttoning clothes, and more.

Some simple keyboard games we love:
🔍 “Can you find the letter L?”
🔢 “Can you find the number 5?”
📝 Type your name or simple sight words
🎨 Create pretend stories and messages
💼 Pretend to be a parent, teacher, or office worker

Keyboard play also supports:
✨ Letter and number recognition
✨ Early literacy skills
✨ Hand-eye coordination
✨ Problem-solving and critical thinking
✨ Imaginative and dramatic play
✨ Technology familiarity in a developmentally appropriate way

The best learning opportunities don’t always come from expensive toys. Sometimes, everyday items spark the most meaningful exploration and creativity.

❤️ At Just Like Home Family Daycare, we believe children learn best through play, discovery, and hands-on experiences.

It’s Father’s Day weekend!
That means our dads are going home with dinner for the family

☀️ Outdoor Picnic Day 🍉🌱

Fresh air, sunshine, and lunch with friends—some of childhood’s simplest moments are often the most meaningful.

Research shows that outdoor meals and play experiences support social development, encourage conversation, increase physical activity, and help children build positive relationships with healthy foods. When children eat outside, they engage all of their senses while connecting with nature and one another.

Some of the best lessons happen around a picnic table—with friends, laughter, and a little watermelon juice on your shirt. 🍉😊

🌱🥦 From Seed to Supper! 🥦🌱

Today, our little gardeners were excited to discover that the broccoli they planted and cared for is almost ready to harvest! Watching food grow right outside our classroom helps children understand where food comes from while building a meaningful connection to nature.

Research shows that gardening supports every area of early childhood development:
🌿 Science & Discovery – Children observe life cycles, weather, insects, and plant growth firsthand.
🖐️ Fine Motor Skills – Digging, planting seeds, watering, and harvesting strengthen little hands.
📚 Language Development – Gardening introduces rich vocabulary and encourages conversation and questioning.
🧠 Cognitive Skills – Children learn problem-solving, sequencing, cause-and-effect, and responsibility.
❤️ Social-Emotional Growth – Caring for living things helps build patience, confidence, empathy, and perseverance.
🥕 Healthy Eating Habits – Children are more likely to try fruits and vegetables they helped grow themselves.

For children growing up in urban and city environments, gardening can be especially valuable. Access to green spaces is often limited, making opportunities to connect with nature even more important. Studies have found that regular experiences with nature can support attention, reduce stress, encourage physical activity, and help children develop a sense of environmental stewardship.

At Just Like Home Family Daycare, we believe some of the best learning happens with dirt on our hands, sunshine on our faces, and vegetables growing in our garden. ☀️🌱

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” 💚

If you could go back to your very first classroom and take one thing with you, what would it be?

This is exactly the opportunity I was given over the weekend.

So for me, it would be these mushrooms and tree stumps.

I’ve sat countless babies on these little mushroom stools. I’ve helped preschoolers pull on snowy boots while sitting on these stumps. They’ve been part of snack times, painting, and quiet conversations.

Some of the children who once sat here are over 14 years old now.

These aren’t just seats—they hold years of memories, milestones, first friendships, and growing independence. They’ve supported hundreds of little feet and listened to thousands of childhood stories.

Now they’ve found a new home in my classroom, where they’ll continue serving the next generation of children for many years to come.

🍄❤️ Sometimes the most valuable things we carry forward aren’t new at all—they’re the pieces that have already helped so many children grow.

🍄🪵❤️

❤️ Supporting Children Starts with Supporting Teachers ❤️

Earlier this week I created these posters. You may have even noticed them hanging throughout our classroom.

These aren’t for the children—they’re for us.

Early childhood educators are expected to help children navigate big feelings, build confidence, solve problems, and develop emotional regulation skills. Unfortunately, many of us were never explicitly taught the language and strategies that best support those goals. We often teach the way we were taught.

These posters serve as professional resources for our teaching team, providing developmentally appropriate language right where we need it throughout the day.

By keeping these reminders visible, we’re intentionally building a classroom culture where teachers are continually growing alongside the children they serve.

Because supporting children’s social-emotional development begins with giving educators the tools, language, and resources to do it well.

🌱 When we equip teachers, everyone benefits.

Same materials. Three completely different learning experiences.

One child is engineering and balancing blocks into a structure. One child is intentionally searching for the letters in their name. One child is investigating the stamps themselves—turning them over, testing them, and figuring out how they work.

This is why we value process over product.

When children are given open-ended materials instead of step-by-step directions, they can follow their own curiosity, practice different skills, and learn in ways that are meaningful to them. The goal isn’t for every child to create the same thing—it’s for every child to think, explore, and discover.

The learning isn’t in the finished project. The learning is happening right now. ❤️