$1000 to spend on your daycare -- wwyd?

[Starshine]

If you were given $1000 to spend on improving your home daycare, what would you do with that money?

[Inspired by Reggio]

Hmmm ~ I love to shop and my dreaming list is always long ~ top of it is more SPACE but I need more than a grand to get that ;)

I would love a LOFT ... a book nook / puppet show area on top for 1-2 kids to lounge in if they need to be 'alone' and underneath it would have a 'dark cave' with a proper light table inside with some cool accessories that help children explore light / color / shadows things that glow or reflect light and so forth ... right now we just have a portable 12x12 light table which serves a purpose and I have the playroom set up with things that glow and reflect and we can turn out all the lights and explore this way however a loft would be so cool because than only those who 'want' to explore in the dark can and those who are not interested are not forced to play in the dark while the others explore ;) I had a custom built loft in my last centre and LOVED it the kids spent hours using it ... tried to talk my spouse into building one when we renovated the basement but he poo pooed it but I am still dreaming ;)

For my outdoors space I would love to have a larger collection of 'large outdoor blocks' as well with more ramps / gully accessories so that children can build their own structures where their balls or vehicles can actually move along or use them for building forts and so forth ~ this has been one my wishlist for a while but need to find blocks that would not 'rot' from the weather if they got missed during tidy up time or my shed leaked or something ~ right now I just have small blocks that fit in a rubbermaid bin :(

Also for outside would love some new playscapes for on the fence .... one to explore making ramps / tracks for balls or water to run along depending on the time of year, one for making music / sounds on, and one for exploring latches / fasteners and another plexiglass one for creative art and a small 'sensory' one for the babes.

Also want to build a 'fairy garden' for the kids for next year ~ an area where they can actually play in the 'garden' with hearty plants and little invitations of people and homes and so forth ... saw it on Pinterest and it looked SO COOL!

[Momof4]

Starshine, my first question to you is: Are you dreaming or did you actually get $1000 for your daycare? Woohoo, I sure hope you won the lottery!

The first thing I would buy would be more of the 6' cupboards with doors on the front that I use to hide toys away on the evenings and weekends and a bunkbed to replace the toddler bed in the corner of my room so that I could get the children off my couch. Oh yes, I need a new couch thanks to my little munchkins. I have way too many toys and puppets and craft supplies and everything else I could possibly need, but I guess a really nice outside climber would be awesome. Right now I have several small pieces outside, slides, picnic table, water table, but a big huge climber with slides would be awesome.

[Toregone]

Rid my playroom of the ugly brown/orange 70's carpet I currently have. Put in some good thick underpad and perhaps a short shag or something nice and squishy and warm. Right now I have THIN ugly carpet glued directly to the concrete so it's ugly, hard, and cold in the winter.

God I want new flooring down there... haha.

[Sandbox Sally]

I'd buy a tonne of new toys, and paint the walls, and likely buy some cool removeable decals. I'd also love some plasma cars for outside/inside, as well as a big entryway structure with hooks and bins for each child. I hate that my entryway is so tiny. There's no room for such a thing. :(

[Bookworm]

I think I would get more versatile toys, new outdoor toys, and some puppets etc for circletime. Oh, and I would get some stuff for the walls...oh there are endless possibilities! If only.

[Mamma_Mia]

I'd buy a tonne of new toys, and paint the walls, and likely buy some cool removeable decals. I'd also love some plasma cars for outside/inside, as well as a big entryway structure with hooks and bins for each child. I hate that my entryway is so tiny. There's no room for such a thing. :(

Wow that's funny how exact this is to what I would want/do/need! LOL even the hallways w/ bins and all! lol

[Connect]

hello,
get sofa covers
put in larger and brighter basement windows
put a more private fence in my backyard