lauraarmstrong

[lauraarmstrong]

Our Very Last Day

I’ve been paid to play for the last ten years. I have worked with 58 families and 74 children running an accredited day home, playing outside in rain, snow, and sun, and making science experiments and crafts with all sorts of materials. I have loved (almost!) every minute of this career, and have supported and strengthened the social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development of dozens of children, including my own. I have done my best to create a world of people who are empathic, care for each other and the earth, and appreciate fun, companionship, beauty, and this life. 

On our last day, the very last day, we went to one of my favorite parks, Kenilworth. They played, we shared snack and lunch, and marveled over a garden carrot gone awry (so cool!). I drank in the beauty of the day, these final moments, their laughter. I am not sad the day home is coming to an end, because I can see the growth I’ve helped promote. I can see their happiness, contentedness, and joy. I have lived and loved all of these past days, weeks, months, years in child care, and am now ready to grow a little more myself.

As we walked home together, feeling the sun on our backs and the wind in our hair, I was grateful. For so many seasons, playing outside. For so many children, loved and nurtured. For friendships spanning years, and relationships which change lives. Will I miss it? Absolutely. Is it time? There is no doubt. The children and I are walking forward, into a new time and place, with new teachers and friends. 

These last day home children, thankfully, are a family I love, a family who lives close, and a family with whom we will continue a relationship on school grounds, and hopefully at play dates and birthday parties too. All of the other children will be remembered and thought of fondly, and our moments and days and laughter and tears and PLAY and LEARNING and GROWTH together, will be nourishing for the rest of time.

[lauraarmstrong]

August

Crazily enough, we are down to this day home’s last 2 days! And, as my boys are in summer camp, this is the last day all these kiddos will spend together - which is kind of sad. The summer days have trickled and spilled through my fingers, and now time has just run out. I’m very grateful Nixon and Saxon will still attend the same school, because they’ve had one another in their lives since they were both babies! Another birthday is around the corner, so we spent our morning baking cupcakes to celebrate.

Then, off to the park! It’s still quite cloudy and cool here, but they had tons of fun anyway, running around, hiding, playing tag, and more. I love watching the play together, and reflecting on how much they’ve grown and how far we all have come. I will deeply miss these summer days, “working” at the park with some of my favorite people.

[lauraarmstrong]

Summer Days

On this warm summer day, we headed to the park. The children love playing in the sand, on the equipment, and playing grounders with each other. Kenilworth is a great park for a Tuesday, because the Green Shack crew is there, too! They organized the children into playing Graveyard and other games, helping build social skills and teamwork abilities.

At the house, I have set up an early literacy provocation for the children. The Garfield comics displayed on cozy pillows invite children to curl up and look at pictures, sound out words, or read to themselves, depending on their age and ability. Setting out books like this draws children in, and comics turn reading into a fun time to look forward to, rather than a chore. On the sides of the window, you can see that the space is enhanced by the monster dill from the garden - it is four and a half feet tall this year!

[lauraarmstrong]

Last Trip to the Zoo!

So the time has come to share the news: Sunshine Dayhome is closing its doors. This has been a wonderful decade of love, laughter, and learning through play inside and out, but the time for change has come. We are all growing and moving on to new friends, new adventures, and new places to learn and play. My Child and Youth Care degree work has opened my eyes to many realities, and with new knowledge came an awareness that for me, the time has come to move on to different things. I start a full-time practicum placement in the fall, and in January I will be diving into a different career which builds on the same platform, learning, and growth that running an accredited day home for ten years has provided. But for now, we still have a few summer days left together - and today, Kaliana’s 13th birthday, was a day for the zoo!

We saw lots of animals, including reptiles, farm animals at the new Urban Farm exhibit, a zoo cat on a walk, Lucy the elephant, and lots more!  We made time to see every animal we could, and luckily the warm but shady weather permitted a lot of animals to be on the prowl. We also did some climbing around together, on the beaver dam and the glacier rock exhibit.

Because it was Kaliana’s birthday, and because it’s an annual zoo tradition, we topped off our day with a picnic lunch followed by an ice cream treat. It was a wonderful day, it is a wonderful summer, and I am cherishing these numbered days with this happy crew and the great outdoors, learning through play as we grow.

[lauraarmstrong]

Double Decker Bus Ride!

After months of wishing and dreaming, the big day finally came: our double decker bus ride field trip. The 401, a double decker running between Edmonton and Sherwood Park, has been catching the children’s eye for weeks now, and we have been planning out the perfect day to hop on and ride. We gathered up our gear, grabbed some snacks for the trip, and headed off! 

This is our chariot, the 411, a bus which looped into the Bethel Transit Centre, around to downtown Edmonton, and then came full circle to the stop where we got on. You can see how delighted the boys are to be finally on that bus they’ve been watching from afar for weeks! They had discussed what it would feel like, how high up they would be, and just how cool it would be to take a ride.

For the first leg of the trip, we sat in the middle as the front seats were taken.  They had snack, pretended to be a bus driver or passengers, and settled in. Luckily, soon after the start of our ride, we were able snag front-row seats - and just look at that view!

We could see everything because we were so high up. We saw many neat things like the Hotel MacDonald, the Ice District, friend’s houses, and nearby neighborhoods. We also had some fun experiences like going down a big hill and feeling like we would fall into the river, and hearing the crash as low tree branched smacked into the roof! Because there are so many windows, this was quite startling and of course they just loved it.

Here, Nixon and Katie are cozily settled in. We enjoyed seats at the very front for most of the drive, and as the bus bounced and swayed along I was so glad that we had made the time to take this fantastic journey together. Childhood is fleeting; the days can be slow but the years fast, and I know this was one day we will all remember for a long, long time.

[lauraarmstrong]

Summer

July is here, and we are loving the more open schedule that comes with not having to do kindergarten drop off and pick up. We have been enjoying long walks outside, mucking in the garden and playing with the pups, and planning what we will be doing with our fantastic summer days. Speaking of the puppies - we are adopting Tucker!! Tucker is the blonde dog in the corner. We are so excited to finally have a fuzzy pet to keep!

We are planning special trips including a double decker bus ride next week,  a walk to the amazing Bonnie Doon park, a visit to the library and zoo, and much more! These days seem short because there is so much we want to do, and I am excited to spend them playing, learning, and growing together.

[lauraarmstrong]

Last Day of School!

It’s hard to believe a whole year has flown by, but it’s true - today was the last day of kindergarten for Saxon and Nixon, and the last day of grades 4 and 7 for Kai and Kaliana. The time has gone by so quickly, but we have so many happy memories and a ton of new learning and skills to show for it! Yesterday I was lucky enough to attend the kindergarten farewell celebration along with Katie and her parents, as we watched the boys graduate from kindergarten together.

They each got an amazing scrapbook to commemorate the year, as well as a picture of themselves. We were regaled by the class singing together, and showing us the signs they learned to accompany the music. After the singing each child had the chance to have pictures taken by the bright balloons.

And for today, their very last day, Katie and I attended one final indoor playgroup while the boys played at the splash park! This explains why they were shirtless when we picked them up - and they could not have been happier about it. From the first day of kindergarten to the last, they have grown so much. I am proud and happy to have been there every day, picking them up from school and hearing about what went on in the classroom. Playing a part in guiding their development, alongside other amazing adults including their teacher and parents, is why I love what I do, so very much. And now - let summer begin!!

[lauraarmstrong]

Donna Dragon Day

We were very luck to be able to take part in Donnan Dragon Days today. Katie and I manned the refreshment station, while all the boys ran around in and out of the school trying activities like scooter shuffle, obstacle course, bean bag toss, skipping, and much more. 

They had the tunes pumping and it was a TON of fun; I loved our station because we got to see all of the kids from the whole school. Kai was one of our first guests for gummy treats, as it was too cold for popsicles today - but luckily no rain!

We were able to have a picnic at the school as I was finishing the volunteer shift, and then the children played in the field. They were so happy, spinning together on the big green grass, that I just had to take a picture. These last days of kindergarten are so sweet; I feel incredibly lucky to share these precious fleeting moments of childhood with them.

[lauraarmstrong]

Butterflies

After first growing fat, then morphing into a chrysalis and waiting until the time was right, our butterflies have emerged! We have 8 wonderful Painted Lady butterflies ready to fly away and complete their life cycle in the great outdoors. The children always have a lot of questions about the process, so we use several life cycle and butterfly books to describe and explain the immense changes that these tiny creatures undergo. Some aspects aren’t mentioned in the books, and have to be seen to be believed - like, what’s all that red stuff?

It’s not blood, but meconium - a waste product from the caterpillar growing into an adult. It’s tinted red because of the bright colors in the butterfly wings. In the picture above you can also see some of the empty shells left behind from the pupae, it is fascinating how they open up and let the full grown butterfly slip out. After they pump fluid into their wings to expand them, they rest and let their wings dry - and they are so pretty!

We released them into the back yard a couple of days later, as they are gorgeous to look at but their life spans are so short it doesn’t feel fair to keep them much longer. Often they will sit on your hand for a minute before they fly away, but this crew was excited to get going and fly! Only two children were lucky enough to “hold” a butterfly for a moment, but it was a good lesson in nature, how insects and living creatures aren’t pets, and to enjoy the moment in other ways. And who knows, we may get lucky and see one of our own butterflies in the yard this summer!

[lauraarmstrong]

It’s Turkey Time!

Spring means hatching, and this week, after 28 long days of waiting and watching in anticipation, our turkeys have hatched! The children were SO excited to watch as they made their first tiny holes in the shell, called a pip, and then turn and start making one long crack in the top, called a zip.

We watched and waited but they took their sweet time, and were actually born in the night! The next day, though, we had three amazing turkeys to watch, gently pet, and hold. We are learning together about the challenges and rewards of nurturing tiny turkey poults (they have flip-over syndrome, weird and potentially deadly but not contagious!), and can’t wait to watch and help them grow.

[lauraarmstrong]

Last Kindergarten Days

It’s hard to believe that almost an entire school year has gone by, with Nixon and Saxon entering their first year of school together. I watch them run up the alley to the house, on our way to lunch and a rest, and wonder, where has the time gone? They are still so young with their bouncing backpacks and exuberant energy, and I hope they can carry their enthusiasm for school into the years to come.

Our garden is coming right along; nearly everything has sprouted and is growing well, even the new veggies we are attempting this year - onions and cabbage! I love how the rows look, fresh and green, straight and proud. I am dreaming of tall corn and sunflowers, curly bean vines and pumpkin shoots, and more. This picture is from the front yard, where we are attempting to grow a massive pumpkin using seeds from a 1,200 pound pumpkin we snatched last fall at the Smoky Lake Pumpkin Festival - it’s tiny now, but we are so excited to see just how big this baby will get!

One other living thing we are curious to see how big they will get is the new puppy family we are fostering! We were lucky enough to be chosen to foster a mom and her 4 three week old cuties, and they are so new to us they don’t even have names yet! (Besides the mom - her name is Honey). We will take care of them all for the next 3 weeks, and when they are weaned send two pups and the mom on to other families. The last 2 pups will be ours to keep until they are ready for adoption, and the last pups of the summer. They are tiny, adorable, very sweet, and the children are beside themselves with joy and pleasure from these fuzzy cuddly bundles.

[lauraarmstrong]

Dandelion Spring!

One of the best parts of spring is the dandelions - and yes, I’m aware they’re a weed! They also have incredible play value; the children pick them, smell them, pop their heads off, or blow on them and make a wish. And did you know they can be used in art activities as well? Each year, we choose some bright yellow fresh heads to use as crayons and color away. It’s something the children look forward to and ask about every spring! It works very well, though the pictures do fade quickly.

We also gathered a large bunch of dandelions for another activity - baking! Yes, dandelions are edible, and I have an awesome cookbook with a ton of interesting recipes. Over the years we have tried so many varieties, including dandelion fritters, burgers, syrup, and this year - dandelion jelly and dandelion pancakes.

The jelly turned out perfectly; in fact it was the best jelly I’ve ever made! It has a very mild sweet taste; my mother tried it and said it tasted like sunshine. I served it to the children as PBJ’s for lunch, let them try a few bites, then shared the secret - and they all loved it too. The flowers are sweet and not bitter, so although you have to be careful where you pick them (clean flowers only please!) they are great to bake with. Katie below, trying the pancakes, agrees!

[lauraarmstrong]

Gardening

Finally, the ground is ready for digging! James rototilled over the weekend, and we were able to get some gorgeous green plants into the earth. Some seeds, like corn and peas, we plant directly into the ground, while other plants, like tomatoes, dill, and parsley, we bought at the farmer’s market. This year, because of the those boisterous puppies, a little green fence went up for the very first time - but we still have our essential garden path.

We have garden beds at the side of the yard, too, and of course the children help me prepare them as well. We used the garden claw together, and then one of them grabbed a shovel to make a big hole for the mint.

Katie was so proud to be able to hold this herb and loosen the roots all by herself! They love watching the plants grow from tiny little seedlings in the spring, into gigantic massive adult plants that we get to eat in the fall. I love the look on her little face as she prepares to plant it!

And finally, the beanpole tepee. This is almost as much of a joy to plant as the potatoes are! Beans are perfect for little fingers because they are easy to manipulate, and also to push down into the prepared soil. The beanpole tepee is so fun because it becomes a living tepee, a green playhouse that becomes covered with flowers and, eventually, tender shoots and pods that we can actually eat. Summer, here we come! :) 

[lauraarmstrong]

New Additions

This week has had some exciting additions to the day home! First, let me introduce Misha and Raven, our two newest foster pups. They are huge, adorable, fuzzy, and full of energy! Both are girls, and it is interesting to compare their habits and personalities to the other dogs we had. The children here are getting very used to puppies, including starting to learn to train them. Teaching them not to bite, scratch, or jump up are focuses here, to keep everyone safe and ensure the puppies are adoptable for a home with families, perhaps.

Our next additions are greener, and much smaller than the puppies. We have planted some seeds in anticipation of rototilling the garden this weekend, to get a head start on the season. Sunflowers, pumpkins, cabbage, and more have poked their green heads through the soil, and we even have a gigantic pumpkin seed waiting to be planted! With any luck we’ll have a mammoth pumpkin come fall . . . We’ll keep you posted!

And finally - praying mantises. Our first hatch this year was a little small, but hopefully the other oothecae will have more little bugs to enhance our garden and outdoor space with. Saxon and Katie are so proud to show this little one off!

One year we were lucky enough to watch them grow into adults, and I hope that’s the case again for 2019. For now, however, he is super small! Good luck in the back yard, little fella!

[lauraarmstrong]

Best Friends

One aspect of running a day home which is so special and meaningful for myself, the children, and their families, is establishing relationships which can build over time. One family in particular has been with me for years, and I have had the great pleasure of watching their three children grow, develop, and flourish. The children really feel safe and secure when their caregiver is consistent, and it gives time and space for deep relationships to form.

My youngest son, Saxon, has perhaps benefited the most, as he and Nixon have struck up a friendship from almost the moment Nixon started coming here. They play together every day, and as luck would have even started kindergarten together this fall! I love watching them grow and learn together, and being able to reflect on the many memories and good times we’ve had for these past few years. Day homes are different than day cares, because group of children can stay together, and stay with their main caregiver. Those relationships have benefits which unfold over their entire lifespan, enriching their own lives and mine as well. Thank you for trusting me with their care. 

[lauraarmstrong]

Seed Babies

Spring is the best, because it means we get to plant and raise tiny seed babies. The best part of growing plants, besides planting then eating them later, is watching them germinate. While many tiny seeds are planted into soil to grow big and get a head start on the short garden season here in Alberta, it’s fascinating to watch germination right from the first moment.

These little necklaces are perfect for that! Every child chooses two bean seeds (this year we have a pole bean and a snakebite variety), and mists a paper towel with water. We gently slide them into a little baggie and tie a cord on the end. After that, it’s time to label them so we know whose is whose!

The final step is the hardest: waiting. They are hung in a warm and sunny window, where the heat and moisture can help the seeds to germinate. We check them every day, looking for that first delicate shoot! When they are ready, they become wearable bean baby necklaces that the children can enjoy, and plant them in a pot or the ground at home. Beans are fast, big enough for small fingers to manipulate, and perfect for this spring craft!

[lauraarmstrong]

Multicultural Easter

This year we carried on a tradition that has been happening in my family on the Swiss side for generations: Dzupfa! This a fun Easter celebration that is a bit competitive, a bit creative, and a bit about sharing food with family and friends. First, you take white eggs and wrap them in twine. You can add leaves to increase the design, or just use plain string. Wrap tight or it may fall off! Next, collect red onion skins from the grocery store - they are free, and offer a natural source of dye that colors these Swiss eggs.

Boil as you would for normal hard boiled eggs, longer to achieve a deeper color, and then let them sit in the colorful dye as the water cools. Children can help wrap the eggs in twine, but clearly the boiling step is just for the grown-ups! After the water cools, slip off the twine and rub the warm eggs in olive oil. It gives them a pretty sheen that sets off their gorgeous shell designs. 

Here are the eggs we created this year - don’t they look great? The best part is still to come - dzupfa! Using a careful hand hold perfected by my Uncle Bernie, you show your neighbor the barest tip of the egg. Then you crack them together! Tip to tip or bum (bottom) to bum, each person crashes together the eggs with their neighbors until that one perfect unbroken, invincible egg comes out victorious. Then, you eat them up! The dye also colored the white eggs on the inside, so the boys called them dragon eggs ;) This year, Katie was victorious and she proudly displays the winning egg! Happy Easter!