Posts
This week has gone by both fast and slow. With the weather being so great, it feels like we've been able to live in the slow lane more, as if we have all the time in the world. No rushing home on rainy or windy days; though the rain has been coming at night, as evidenced by the flowers blossoming in the garden. It's nice to be able to just leisurely walk about the neighbourhood and stop to discover every new tree, shrub, or plant that is springing up to life.
Each of us has our favourite signs of spring - one of mine is always the trees that have pink blossoms. I'm always fascinated by them, as they stand out amongst all the other trees that are budding this time of year. As we walked by one of them yesterday, one of the youngsters commented to me that they look like a 'Cotton Candy Tree'. What a great idea! Exactly! Imagine that - what a thought. We passed by, and smelt the 'cotton candy' scent gently wafting by.
This is why we like to get outside earlier in the day; because when we get to exploring, who wants to rush? We would rather bring our picnic lunch with us, and enjoy the day at whatever pace the children seem to be leading in.
This week, we ventured to a few different parks, besides our own local one. Our little Games Club play group decided to meet at Victoria Park this week, being that it was too good of a day to spend indoors. They were right. I'm surprised there were not more people there - it was as if we had the whole park to ourselves! The other park we went to was a small playground that had recently been renovated with new equipment. We were passing by after our outing, and the children thought it would be great to check out. Since we did not have anything pressing on our schedule, we gave it a go. Sorry, I don't recall the name of this playground. There are often little parks or playgrounds we discover that are all but hidden from passing traffic - you could blink and miss it - and we are lucky enough to discover them or are told by word of mouth about them. We sure have fun discovering new parks to play at!
The children have been asking about the greatest of parks... so it seems we will be planning a picnic field trip to the ultimate park in the next few weeks. Can you guess which one?
5...
4...
3...
2...
1...
Blast off!
That's right - the Rocket Ship Park. That's what every kid calls it, though some grown ups call it by it's given name, 'Churchill Park'. If you haven't been, this place is awesome! It comes in a close second place to the 'Pirate Ship' park from when I was a little girl, which they don't have anymore. Does anyone else remember that besides me? It was mostly made of wood, so they likely took it down due to the mass amount of slivers children would get, though they were worth it if you asked a kid. It was the best for playing tag in! I'll bring my camera along, and post photos when we get home of the rocket ship park, so you can see just how great a playground can be.
The other great park to check out is Mohawk Park, in Brantford. If you are ever out that way, it's something worth stopping by to relax for an hour or two. The mature trees there make you feel like you are in a conservation area - it's so peaceful. The playground is terrific! The engineers did a fantastic job of planning it in such a way as to get the most imaginative play out of it. I've seen children play there for so long, without wanting to stop for anything! And you don't have the same blind spot potentials as with Victoria Park. Did I mention there was a nice little water park there, too? But as it's out of our region, it's not on our list of parks to see, unless I were to have parent's consent in advance. Perhaps on a day when we know we have more time to stay a little longer than others?
The children had a good time making their Mother's Day gifts this week. If you haven't had yours sent home yet, you should be getting them at the end of today. This is the part of the week to me that seemed to go by so fast! When word got out what a great project we were doing (yes, I bragged to the other child care providers about our secret project), others wanted in on it, too. You wouldn't believe how many times I've displayed the how-to's to others, and cut out templates. I might have to do this one as a workshop some time. I wish I could thank the wonderful gals who taught me how to do this last weekend, but I don't remember their names (first time meeting). We don't often undertake in a project this big, but the children were thrilled with each step we did in getting this ready, from shopping for their supplies, picking out their own colours, patterns, and textures of material. The putting it together part was quite time consuming, and it would at times feel like the time went by too fast! But since you haven't opened your gifts yet, I won't say any more. After Sunday, I'll post up some photos of our project, including the how-to's for anyone out there who wants to try it themselves.
One thing I have learned for next year is this: do my own children's craft last! I accidentally gave away the secret when my little one wanted to share his finished project with one of the other moms. He was so proud of the job he'd done that he wanted to let them borrow his for a short turn, and I gasped when I saw him showing it. I assumed that she had figured it out right as soon as he showed it to her, but that's not what gave it away... it was my reaction that let the cat out of the bag! So for our next surprise project, I'll have to make sure there are no 'finished projects' laying about for anyone to see. My children are especially gifted at saying or doing things when you least expect it, which is what makes so many great memories to laugh at in hind sight.
So, I hope you all enjoy spending time with your precious ones this weekend, and have a wonderful Mother's Day. And I hope you all enjoy your gift - that is, the gift of being a mother.
