I took baby out on the deck yesterday for our daily dose of vitamin D. She found a flower pot full of dirt to explore...
...diggin' away,
...puttin' some on the dog,
So... Just 2.5 months ago, I returned to the $10/day childcare program which I quit back in the spring. The predator that had recently been hired was finally fired (shame on the organization for allowing that to happen for as long as it did) and I brought a new manager back with me. She's fun. Upon my return, I found that the infant/toddler childcare program I had been spending most of my time in had completely fallen apart... Plummeted. The new manager says to me before I start up again: "OMG, every time I go in there, the babies are crying. They just cry all day long. You can hear them all the way down the hall. There are no toys. The staff ignore the parents when they drop their kids off in the morning... I'm so scared to bring my child there." She scheduled me and her little one (18mos old) at the same time so I could intervene on other staff if/when necessary. So... First things first, babies don't cry in my presence. Period. I don't allow it. It's no...
My, my, my it's been a late night with her. So, I'm just going to post a poem - my favorite poem. I always get a bit of a lump in my throat when I read it. The poem, "The Hundred Languages of Children" was written by Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the 'Reggio Emilia' approach to childcare. My brain is too mushy tonight to explain this approach well enough but, I've found a site that explains it fabulously: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Emilia_approach I had the opportunity to work with an educator who was learning about this approach and practising it in her classroom. It was the most amazing experience I've ever had working in childcare. The children were so stimulated, curious - they were little scientists! Our role as teachers was basically that of facilitator. We observed, recorded, and documented their play and provided whatever it was they needed to take it a step further. Projects could go from a few days to over a month. It is absolutely ...
As I may have mentioned in a previous post , playgroups irritate me. Being a co-sleeping, extended breastfeeding, cloth diapering, organic-whole foods feeding mamma (wow, I do sound like a raging hippy), I just can't seem to connect with the other mamma's. But for the sake of having a post-baby social life, Little One and I attend them quite regularly. I've been in the city for a few months now and have found a variety of playgroups. Some fun, some so-so, and some we will never attend again. On Saturday, we hooked up with a group of other mommies and tots for a clothes swap. We had never met this group before and I had already made the usual promise to myself to avoid any parenting conversations. Why? Because I don't need no judgements and it ain't none of yo' business that my baby don't sleep in a crib. I pulled up to the correct address... (it was in someone's house) and couldn't help but notice the huge provincial election signs in the yard. Upo...
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