Through my childcare years, I had a special mission. It was clear to me that children are natural, instinctive, artists. I wanted to keep that alive in my day care friends.
We never used coloring books and I just made many kinds of art supplies available. As an artist, myself, I gave them instruction on composition, style, and lighting in their paintings.
We even put on an Art Show in my front yard once. I wanted them to have the whole experience. Public schools (during my time there) didn’t take art seriously IMHO. It seemed to actually interfere with the innate creativity every child has. I wanted MY kids to bloom and embrace a confident, personal, approach to creating art that they’d never forget.
I’m just going to load this post with photos of the Art Show but also many creative moments we all had. Enjoy!
First a slideshow of our Art Show followed by a stacked gallery of some really cool masterpieces!
Tag: childcare
Share Your World 3/27/23- Kids and Dogs
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Melanie always included an optional gratitude section at the end and I see no reason to change that.
1. Do you have a lot of friends or do you know a lot of people ?
I know a lot of people because I still live in the same small city where I was born and my father before me was also born here.
I know a large number of families having been a family day care provider for 46 years here.
As for friends, I count my friends on the fingers of one hand. I have a higher standard for ‘friends’ than acquaintances, but I feel a friendly affection for many.
2. If you are at a party and know very few of the guests, do you mingle and introduce yourself, sit on the sidelines and people watch, or discreetly leave?
If the gathering has a dog or small children on the premises, I’ll direct my attention to them first because I usually like them far better than unknown adults. BUT I can mingle well because I’m not the least bit intimidated by people so if someone seems interesting, I’ll introduce myself.
3. What is the best job you have ever had?
It used to be being a childcare provider and a mother but now it’s being a Grandma. I sense a theme developing. 😉
4. Can you swim?
I’m a very good swimmer capable of lying on my back without any effort and just floating. My problem is that I abhor being wet. So, as I’ve aged, I haven’t had much of an interest in swimming.
Gratitude:
https://pensitivity101.wordpress.com/2023/03/27/share-your-world-27th-march/
SoCS 2-4-23 Just Right
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “perfection.’” Use it any way you like. Enjoy!
I’m a ‘word’ person. It wouldn’t be a stretch to think that y’all are too.
Words have meaning. Some are cultural, and some are regional, but we all hope that the meanings are close to universal in our own situational contexts. Don’t get me started on the current Pop Culture effort to redefine and/ or at least ‘water down’ the cohesiveness of our common understandings! {deep breath}
The word “perfection” has been one that I refused to use according to my own philosophy on early childhood education. I made a decision ‘many moons’ plus years ago to avoid using the term “perfect” in my interaction with children.
I’ll use the term “just right” but never “perfect”.
Here’s why:
“Perfect” suggests (to me) that there’s an objective measurement of something tangible that IS perfect. What a daunting pursuit for anyone to attempt to find “perfection” in an imperfect world among flawed, imperfect, people. I didn’t want any child to believe such a thing. I just know that they would fall short and be discouraged by their repetitive “imperfectness”. It’s already a hard enough task to grow and learn.
I also have noticed many adult people who actually get up in the morning with an expectation to find that ‘unicorn’ known as “perfect”. It’s painful to watch. Many people are just ‘born’ to impose such an impossible standard on themselves, but I made up my mind that during my childcare years, I wasn’t going to inspire it in kids by an inartful use of language.
So, what did I substitute for “perfect”? I adopted the use of “just right” with the kids. If something you’ve planned comes out the way you expect it to, it’s the subjective place of “just right”.
Goldilocks wanted porridge that was “just right” according to her expectations and tastes. Is there, or has there ever been, a “perfect” bowl of porridge? I’d like to know where THAT recipe book is.
Our mannerisms have lasting effects on children. They study what all adults do. (Not unlike the way our pets study us.) But our language also should be carefully regarded. When they aren’t watching us, they’re listening, and words still do have meaning.
Just so ya know, having the opportunity to watch kids grow and learn has offered me a small glimpse of God’s ‘perfect plan’ when He created them.
Happy Saturday everyone! I hope your weekend turns out “just right”. ❤
Oh, after writing this I recalled a heartwarming memory from my childcare years that fits this theme ‘just right’.
A former child in my care had a 1st grade assignment to draw a picture of something “Just Right” for him. When he showed me his drawing and caption, I cried. The drawing was of my house and play yard and the caption was ” My Day Care is just right for me.”
https://lindaghill.com/2023/02/03/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-4-2023/
Sunday Dawdle- 1/29/23 Who we are.
Rory, as usual, has offered a few interesting questions.
Should we fear the arrival of more progressive AI [Artificial Intelligence] or embrace it?
As with most things, cautious fascination is my default.
It’s the same way I approach thunderstorms.
They are wonderous, awe-inspiring, events but shouldn’t be met with careless disregard for their dangerous capability.
Given that…my worry mainly lies with the ‘all for profit’ type of human innovators who time-after-time throw caution to the wind.
A quote from Jurassic Park that fits this well is, “The scientists were so concerned with whether they COULD, they never asked if they SHOULD.”
How much time do you spend sitting each day?
Sometimes a lot (reading or blogging) and sometimes so little (from gardening or doing errands) that my body aches. I guess that balances out over time as a healthy lifestyle.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
[Having Children not included]
Being an excellent childcare provider. I built a wonderful reputation and took my role of inspiring and teaching kids farther than what some might consider “babysitting”.
Kindergarten teachers approached me on a few occasions expressing how well prepared and skilled ‘my kids’ were and knowing new kids each September had spent their ‘tender years’ under my tutelage made them happy. Some family members of ‘my kids’ have also reached out to tell me how pleased they were by what they had noticed the kids had learned. That included manners, life-skills, and being curious.
Are/Were you the youngest, middle, oldest or only child?
I have been interested in ‘birth order’ theory for a long time. Some psychologists believe that one’s birth order plays a crucial role in each of our personalities. The little day care ‘families’ (keep in mind that many of the kids spent more wakeful hours with me than at home) that grew up in my care often scrambled that dynamic by placing ‘oldest’ children in a group where they were the ‘youngest’, and so on.
I was all in on “Birth Order Theory” at one time. And I DO think birth order plays a part in the rate at which kids mature. BUT, after years of my own curious study, I’m now convinced that most of our temperament and natural inclinations come from inborn tendencies. Our DNA has done much of the decision making. I could go on and on about my real-life observations, but I’ll spare you. LOL
I am the oldest child of three. I was also the oldest grandchild on BOTH sides. I got a slathering of attention for sure.
https://earthlycomforts.uk/2023/01/29/a-wild-aloha-to-you-8/
Morning Dawdler- 1-22-23 Good Impressions
Thanks to Rory for today’s questions!
What is the best way to cook an egg, and what is your favourite egg dish?
I never met an egg I didn’t like. Since “variety is the spice of life”, surprise me any time with the preparation.
My most frequently chosen method of ordering eggs at a restaurant, is either a spinach, egg, mushroom and cheese omelet or eggs benedict. As for home, ‘over easy’ with bacon and fruit on the side. There’s something about a salty and sweet presentation in a meal that’s dreamy, delicious.
What makes for a good listener, and are you one, or do you only hear people as noise?
I don’t like crowds, but I do like individuals. My favorite conversations are the ‘one on one’ kind. I spend a lot of time in a solitary existence while ‘thinking’ which sometimes causes me to ‘spill over’ when someone engages with me. This is something I’m hoping to tame. I so dearly hope to be heard yet sometimes I fail to listen. I am usually way ahead of others in the natural thought progression on a topic because I’ve already thought about most basic questions and have answers. But I really need to bite my tongue more and listen to others. My preplanned/pre-thought retorts are not received well, and I do want other people to feel ‘heard’ too. I’m working on it. Wish me luck!
How well can you control your emotions, and is it hard to keep them in check with moments and times when you feel passionate or angry with others or situations?
I’ve been accused of being nearly impossible to insult. Somewhere along the way in my life of learning, I realized that “losing one’s cool” offers nothing good. If there’s a life-threatening emergency, those who panic often are more likely to die. If someone is trying to get ‘under your skin’, allowing them to get what they want is foolish. If someone is behaving irrationally, they may just be asking for or in need of some help. The only time you don’t want to ‘test me’ is if there’s any instance of an elderly person, animal, or child, being abused. Let me just say, don’t make me that kind of angry, you won’t like what happens.
Having said all of that…I’m sure the temperaments we are born with actually rule our reactions most. 😉
Is it necessary for you to be remembered by others for your contribution to life?
During my career of caring for children, this question occurred to me. I believe anyone who mentors children has a deep desire to be remembered. But I don’t think it’s my name that I want remembered, it’s about those inspirational positive moments when I made an impression on them that they will (hopefully) carry to their children, and so on. Having and/or raising children, IMHO, is the most important thing anyone can do to positively impact the future.
https://earthlycomforts.uk/2023/01/22/a-wild-aloha-to-you-4/
Unanswered Question: Why did “boredom” have to become a ‘bad’ thing?
What an interesting morning in the ‘blogosphere’ I’ve had. It seems to have produced a treasure trove of thoughts and questions.
My Unanswered Question for today was inspired by one of those exchanges. A subject of great interest to me is the evolution of environments kids grow up in.
I’ve already examined the dynamic changes in the make-up and size of nuclear families. There’s still ‘meat’ on that bone to take up later.
But my unique vantage point afforded by providing childcare for 46 years, has given me a clearer view of the timeline of changes in the realm of ‘being a kid’ than most people would have had.
The most mind-blowing thing I discovered my granddaughter doing recently was observing her watching videos of other children playing. It didn’t seem to be a curious inquiry that might inspire a game that she could play. It was merely a form of entertainment.
Her response when asked (probably a little too judgmentally), “What the heck are you doing?!” was, “I’m just bored.”.
She predictably rolled her eyes at my ‘all too familiar’ response of “Read a book.” before I pulled out some paints and invited her to the table.
Then it hit me. How many of you had parents who answered the “I’m bored.” complaint with a chore or a request for us to “Go outside and play with your friends, then.”?
Kids just can’t go outside on an impulse anymore. And sadly, there aren’t a bunch of other kids nearby either.
We had something they don’t… The opportunity to explore and ‘boredom’ inspired some of our best adventures!
The changes to our children’s and grandchildren’s environment didn’t stop at ‘less safety’ and fewer friends. It came from an attitude adjustment inspired by those things. Exploration had been replaced by entertainment.
I hope those of you still reading this can imagine the tragedy in the last statement. One broadens the mind, and the other broadens the “behind”. One embraces curiosity and creativity, and the other discourages those things.
Too many ‘old folks’ tend to immortalize their childhoods as the BEST, but this ‘old person’ can’t imagine that this ‘kernel’ of change is a ‘good’ thing.
Knowing that kids are learning to require entertainment certainly explains a lot of our current troubles. It comes down to expecting ‘boredom’ to be a ‘bad’ thing AND suggests that a person’s environment has an obligation to offer ‘entertainment’ instead of it coming from within.
My head is banging the table as I consider today’s question.
WHY DID BOREDOM HAVE TO BECOME A ‘BAD’ THING?
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