Each class was asked to decorate a pumpkin. The only stipulation was that each child had to participate in part of the decorating and WOW did they do a great job!

Now, we need your help, because there is no way I could pick a favorite. There are many colors, creativity, and personality throughout the pumpkins.

Click here to cast your vote for the best pumpkin in Pewaukee!

Don’t wait… we need your vote by Wednesday at 6:00 PM Central time to count.

If you can’t Find it… Create it!

I have looked for a while at different resources to have a list of foods that are common allergens; recommended as first foods for babies to try; and checkboxes as foods are determined to be safe for baby to eat. But… guess what? If you know me, you know I’m a bit over-the-top and I couldn’t find one that worked. It was either more than one page long, full of ads, too many discussions on the method, or missing foods. So, I made one of my own and I want to share it with you!

I designed these food lists to be a simple, go-to resource to support you as you introduce new flavors and textures to your baby.

3 Lists for you

There are three lists included in this resource.

1. Keep this food list handy or when shopping: without any checkboxes.
2. For your refrigerator with 3 boxes to check off when you’ve introduced the food to baby as it is helpful to give your baby one food item at a time for 3 feedings in a row so you can rule out any allergies and have a quick identifier for new foods. You could also put a date on top of each checkbox if you wanted to track when it was fi
   

   

   rst fed to baby.

3. For your childcare provider or grandparents to track what foods you feel are safe for baby to have outside of your presence.  Likely, you have already introduced these foods three times to baby.  We laminate this list at Just Like GRAMMY & POPPOP’s and keep it in our Raindrops Room where our babies are beginning purees and table food eating. Parents will update the list with a checkbox as new foods are determined to be safe.

No, you don’t have to enter any information to get the checklists, just click on the title below and you will see it pop up in a new browser window and you can print it.  If you have a child that attends at Just Like GRAMMY & POPPOP’s, we will print them for you!  Feel free to share with others… I hope it helps!

the FIRST BITES to SAFE BITES Food List

Remember to partner with your child’s doctor to ensure a smooth and safe experience.

It’s not an easy task to get a class of infants, toddler, or preschoolers ready to go outside. You might think about it more in the winter about all of the layers to put on to stay warm, but the summer is a lot of work too! Thank you, Teachers! First, you want to make sure you are always guiding behaviors and cleaning up before the inside space is abandoned for outside play. So the clean up songs start playing or teachers start singing and children look for what they should do next.  I hear through the halls, “William, I see a book. Can you put the book away?”  “Good job, William!” and soon they are making their way to the bathroom for diaper changes, potty attempts, clothing changes, and…. SUNSCREEN application.

Tick tock, tick tock

It takes time and each child is at a different level so assistance happens in a variety of ways. Growth is so rewarding as you observe a child on day 1 of limp arms as you manipulate the disrobing and dressing into the swim wear followed by a blink-of-an-eye it seems of that same child taking their own shirt off and putting on their water clothes. It all takes time though when you have a handful of children and one teacher. They all have their own routines and systems and I admire them all!

Away they go

After they get their sunscreen on, they march outside to see what might await them to get their hands on.  This week we had our first real water day as it took a while to get our outside faucet working for the season.  We had an obstacle type inflatable water activity that sprayed water in different directions with tunnels to crawl through or sprays to jump in. From the infants who got their feet wet to the school aged summer campers – they truly had a blast!

Before you know it

It does seem long, and if you asked the children, I don’t think they are ever ready, but 30 minutes of outside play goes by fast! Before you know it, they are marching back inside with their towels and water bottles in hands to disrobe, diaper changes, potty attempts, and getting their dry clothes back on. Again, all by [mostly] one teacher per classroom. Usually by this time, the energy is spent, so they are ready for lunch and quickly followed by rest time!

Here is a Facebook post of a video reel of our recent outside play at Just Like GRAMMY & POPPOP’s. Enjoy and we hope you have a lovely summer of fun, whatever you may be doing!

As we prepare and dream about the features of our childcare center that will be somewhere in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, hopefully in the Lake Country area, we have a few things that we want to offer without question. I’m talking more than the assumptive standards, or what I would say are no brainers for a top-notch day care where I wouldn’t hesitate to have left my kids,

I’m talking … extras.

We have been talking back and forth with a space that we really like, but we just don’t know if it will work out based on what needs to be done to the building to make it just right for some of our nonnegotiables… like having a line of sight to all of the areas… or being as open and comfortable as we’d like… and yes, some other things I’ll likely write about later.

Nursing Mom Corner

One of the extras that we are committed to making room for is a private area where nursing moms can go feed their child. I remember back in the day when I’d be out and about and my daughter decided it was time to eat… I mean… when it was, it just was… she was in charge of her feeding schedule… so I made it work. If moms want to get in one more feed or even come during a break in the day to feed, we will have a space just for you.

Safe and Comfy

We always welcome your wishes and hope that you don’t hesitate to let us know how we can improve and make things better. We can grow the Nursing Mom Corner together! One of the things that constantly has me heartbroken is that with the responsibility of being a child care center owner comes making sure you always keep safety at the top of mind. So one of the features we will have in place is that this will be a locked area and we will have a sign in-sign out sheet. Only the nursing mom and her own child(ren) will be permitted in the room at one time. It will not be open for use for any other situation during business hours.

Back to Happy Thoughts

We are happy to support all of our parents and all of the children at the center in any way that we can. Offering a place to breastfeed your child before, after, during your time away from your little one will hopefully make things just a little bit easier for everyone.

I Read, You Read, we all Read Together!

At Just Like GRAMMY & POPPOP’S you will find a lot of books and a lot of reading happening. We believe that everyone can learn from reading and it is important to have a variety of options and different types of books for the children to choose from. Each of our classrooms will have a reading area filled with books appropriate for the age ranges within. Teachers will read books and GRAMMY & POPPOP will even read!

At home, reading is fun too. Using animated voices, pointing to colors and items on pages, and letting the child turn pages can all be ways to engage. Children seeing parents read can be motivating for them to read too. If you have many family members, maybe even start a twenty-minute reading party before bedtime routines begin – it’s a great example for all of the children.

(Hint: It’s ok if the little ones aren’t able to stay focused the entire twenty minutes on a book… keep going and it will improve over time.)