World Kit from the Milford Library

I was psyched to discover that area towns loan flannel board stories and other materials!
Norfolk Library has an Early Childhood Resource Center~ I attend many workshops there too~

but they are not part of the CMARS Library network which serves Bellingham~ hence I have to drive to Norfolk and back to get and return these... with my new discovery, materials are able to be picked up right here in Bellingham!
Not all towns will loan these materials to neighboring towns- but many do not have that restriction!

I also utilize the Woonsocket Library- which gains me access to nearly all the library materials in the state of Rhode Island!

Lately, I have been struggling with organization and storage- not even lately, Always!! LOL

So another benefit of utilizing the library systems is that I can have these wonderful materials for the children and not have to worry about where I am going to store them-
and find them again!
when I need them.

This will allow me to have the quality materials I want for the children and also maintain an orderly and inviting environment...

The orderly and inviting environment is a definite work in progress and a huge goal of mine.

I increasingly find that the children do better with less toys.
Having less allows them to focus on what is available.
I notice when behavior problems begin, that removing materials always helps- even if I do not rotate new things in
(but I do rotate when I see interest waning in what is available)

Pictured is the "World Kit" and the children working together on the puzzle~ I love how Lelia joined right in...and the children are learning tolerance :)

Multicultural exposure is important for all children, and particularly to those children who are in a homongenous setting.

Besides ethnicity, multicultural education would include (but is not limited to)
various ages of people- elderly and infants for example~

roles of the sexes- people can do all sorts of jobs-most times, it is not restricted to 'girls only' or 'boys only'

Disabilities, traditions, and cooking/foods are other areas that can be explored.

Building a basis of how people are the same: everyone eats, needs shelter, clothing etc

And having children make those connections is important...

When they start to learn these things as small children, they are not frightened by the differences as they grow older and see more of the world~

They can draw on this early learning to become more tolerant, compassionate and accepting adults.

Library Fever

I love going to the library and finding books and cd's for the kids. I am often surprised at what they take to~ Peter and the Wolf is a great example of this.

With all the cold weather, and resulting indoor time, I have made several library trips, along with renewals and ordering through the inter-library system~ this laundry basket is full of books from the library ~ and there are still several library books scattered around!

Already thinking Gardening!

January is the planning month and in February we'll actually start planting seeds!

This year, I am going to move the veggie garden from behind the playroom and plant flowers out there instead.

I am envisioning flowers which will attract and feed the birds as well as selections for butterflies~ luckily many varieties attract both, so those will be out first choices

We'll plant sunflowers again but I might try a teepee from morning glories or peas (beans?) rather than a sunflower house~ the children will get the final say :D

We didn't plant pumpkins and I missed that, so we'll try some this year.

I want to continue the vegetable garden, but I want it in a more accessible spot~ the shade here is wonderful but makes it tricky to place a garden that needs lots of sun!

I also had seen tunnels made of willow and discovered last season that our cranberry bush by the sandbox would do the same and create a special place for the children :D

Tonight I went to the library and picked up several books with cds.
We will be reading and listening to
The Gigantic Turnip by Aleksei Tolstoy & Niamh Sharkey
Peter and the Wolf Illustrated by Peter Malone with Orchestrated and Narrated CD
The Elves and The Shoemaker Retold by Jim LaMarche
The Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett with CD

We also have Green Eggs and Ham and other Dr Suess stories on CD
and Animal Tales African stories read by Jack Nicholson

We have tons of other library books out currently as well, the children love Eric Carle's Dream Snow, and Polar Bear Polar Bear and Baby Bear Baby Bear both by Bill Martin and Carle; Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni, The Nutcracker Ballet by Vladimir Vagin, The Mitten by Jan Brett. I also have the flannel board storytelling kit to go with this story
~and I will complete the list later as there are many more!

Today we started ice sculptures

With the start of the New Year, I am posting again on this blog~and I hope to be more consistent with keeping up with it!


Pictured above is our science and art project. We've put sequins and water into little pie plates.
We will observe the water freeze into ice and then hang the sculptures from the dogwood tree.
The children have already predicted that the water will turn to ice.

When they do, they will look beautiful sparkling in the sun, and as the weather warms (eventually lol) we will get to see them melt smaller and smaller....knowing me, and the children, we will need to pick up the sequins and put them in our sandbox to add to the "treasures" that we love to hunt for and discover. We like to recycle and I love pointing this out to the children whenever we do.

Speaking of discoveries, I have just found out last week that I can order flannel stories and even some toys from the library through their inter-library system!
This is exciting ~Peter and the Wolf, Eric Carle stories and many others are on the way!
I can also use this library feature for books on cd, so this well-used resource has become even better for us!