Creative Wednesdays I’m not sure when or where I first learned to make phonics flowers but I started making them for the kids in my care in 1993. The goal of phonics is to enable beginning readers to decode new written words by sounding them out. Phonemic awareness helps children hear, identify, and manipulate spelling […]
Babies On the Move I am reading Scientific Secrets for Raising Kids Who Thrive by Peter M. Vishton, Professor The College of William and Mary. The professor explains that cruising begins after babies have started crawling and before they are able to walk on their own, (at about 8- to 11-months-old). When they learn to […]
Weekly Trip to the Library What can you make with one oval, two circles, and eight triangles? Just ask three clever mice. In Mouse Shapes,the mice play with shapes while hiding from a cat. In the end, the mice build big mice to scare the cat away. After reading the book let the kids trace […]
A Happy Nanny Makes Happy Kids Working as a nanny can be an isolating caring for kids in a home all day. It’s essential for in-home childcare providers to make friends, just like the kids. The best way to keep happy at work is scheduling plenty of playdates and play groups with other moms, nannies, […]
Weekly Trip to the Library What child doesn’t like penguins? And now that’s it is cold outside it’s the perfect time to read and doing indoor crafts. This week I borrowed books from the library about penguins and has the kids make some penguins from different shapes cut out from colored construction paper. If you […]
Cooking with Kids Each year I play “You Have Been Ghosted” with the children in my care. But, more and more kids are allergic to peanut butter so I didn’t want to risk getting friends sick by making my annual ghost cookies out of Nutter Butter cookies. Instead, I simply replaced Nutter Butter cookies with […]
Creative Projects While at a playdate with another nanny and her charges we made these adorable little tins. We simply removed the paper from soup cans and decorated them with construction paper and Halloween themed foam stickers you can find at nearly any craft store this time of year. Use them as pencil holders, as goody […]
Creative Wednesdays If regular painting has become a bore allow the kids to paint with feathers, Popsicle sticks, plastic spoons, twigs, cotton swabs, and toy cars and trucks instead of using paintbrushes. Just have the kids roll up their sleeves and wear a smock to stay clean and cover the work surface. Provide plenty of […]
Cooking with Kids Nothing says summer like s’mores. I can’t make campfires with the kids in their backyard. So, I used the power of the sun with the this kids to make their favorite summertime treat. Little did I know when making the s’mores that this past Wednesday was actually National S’mores Day as well. […]
Keeping Kids Busy on Long, Hot Summer Days During the long, hot days of summer nannies don’t need to rely on electronics and video games to entertain the kids. Here are more than one month’s worth of easy activities to do with the kids. 1. Find an object in the house that begins with each letter […]
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