Book recommendations?

[Momof4]

Tray, it doesn't all have to come from books. Use your intuition, common sense and experience with children and listen to your gut too. I'm sure you are an intelligent, caring, nurturing person who will do a wonderful job. Just my two cents. It all falls into place in time with practice and a few years of learning the ins and outs of how to rearrange your space and what works and doesn't work with different age groups.

[tray]

Thanks for your kind comments, momof4,i have to admit i am a little nervous about expanding my daycare. I have to keep the kids happy and make sure the parents are happy with what I am doing too, so i am just looking for ideas.

[Momof4]

Thanks for your kind comments, momof4,i have to admit i am a little nervous about expanding my daycare. I have to keep the kids happy and make sure the parents are happy with what I am doing too, so i am just looking for ideas.

By researching you are proving that you are a dedicated professional. But I come up with my weekly or biweekly themes on my own and then google for craft, song & game ideas weekly and get books at the library every week. It isn't rocket science but I put myself in the category of 'teacher' and know that I'm planting seeds of knowledge in the children's minds with lots of different subjects.

Today we talked about snow and I brought a bowlful in the house and let the children play with it on trays after lunch, then I made a tiny snowman and told the children we would see what happened to it after naptime. I asked lots of questions about how it felt, what it looked like, the colour, things like that. In this simple way I taught the children about the science of snow.

Next week we are talking about dinosaurs. I will set up lots of toy dinosaurs, read the books, sing some dinosaur marching songs, play roaring and stomping games, and take some of my old playdo and put the children's handprints and some toy dinosaur prints in it, bake it, they will paint it and we will have fossils. You see? This is all from looking around online and using my own imagination to keep myself interested as well as the children. That's my point.