Joyful Noise Day Care -- 2015 Archives

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A new year!   Let's try to get caught up.

First of all, Christmas has come and gone and we're now into the season of cold, cold, cold.   We have extras of some outerwear but NOT boots, so make sure that if you carry your little one into the house that the boots are either on their feet or in your hands.   We have some very long faces if all the winter fun only gets experienced by watching out the window!   Marking the clothing is a great kindness that you can do for us, otherwise we may find that the wrong mittens and hats and snowpants not only go outside with your child but also go home with her!

A new change in our family is that Tripp started going to pre-school in January, so he only will be with us two days each week now.   This also means that Rose will no longer be working here, and we are feeling quite sad about both of those losses.   Because it is so close to June, (hard as that is to believe when you look out the window, ) we will still hold to our original plan of taking no new children until September.   However, we WILL be interviewing for those openings this spring, so you are free to let your friends and neighbors know about this.   More on the details as we get closer to April.

I'm in the process of making a couple of changes to the parent handbook.   One of them is that Christmas Eve will now be a paid holiday.   You'll all get written notice of this and other changes, but those of you who read the website always know things first!

We can be expecting our surprise interim inspection any day, week or month now, so if you walk in the door while that's happening, please be patient with us.   Our licensing workers are welcome allies when it comes to keeping the quality of our child care high, but it's very hard to juggle caring for the children, attending to parents and fulfilling their demands when they are here for their visits.   We know you understand and count on these inspections to assure you that all is safe and sound here, but thank you in advance for the possible inconvenience.

While we had a well-needed break during the holidays it was not without its own lessons and challenges.   A big lesson was to cherish each day for all the blessings that it brings and to take very good care of our health and our families.   We cannot underestimate how important children and parents are to each other and the value of a sound mind and a body that is free of disease.

During this time of resolutions for the new year, let us simply resolve to improve in whatever ways reveal themselves to us as each day unfolds.   Do something each day that your future self will thank you for!

These are those days I really love; the holidays are done, the weather calms down a bit and we have a few scheduled days off from school so we get to see some faces we're missing.   Adelaide came to visit us one day this last week and Aaron and Mason were here for a couple of days too.   We're all so filled with joy at these reunions!

Another visit we had was our interim inspection on Friday morning: surprise!!!   Our new DHS worker is Kate DeKoenig and we had a very nice time getting acquainted and getting our business done.   I think it was the easiest inspection I've ever had since there was only one child present the whole time she was here and it was 5-year-old Emory who is practically a grown up.   So we had few distractions and got our work done so quickly it made my head spin!   So all's in order, all's well and one more formality accomplished.   Yea!

Our weekends are relaxing but also filled with many chores and responsibilities that make them go SO quickly.   Not much time for any more chatting here if I want to be well rested for work tomorrow; and rest is so important.   Enjoy this last bit of January, winter is almost half over already!

Welcome to February!   Most of us think of Valentine's Day when this month rolls around, and with it, those of us with little children think of those little teeny cards that are exchanged in grade school.   Many people wonder if the children are allowed to bring those to daycare to pass out to their friends and of course the answer is yes.   However I would ask that you please NOT include candy with them or balloons as both of those treats are potentially choking hazards and or objectionable to other parents.   The children at this age don't really 'get' the whole meaning behind Valentines or the little cards and they end up very quickly crumpled on the floor and into the recycle bag, so please don't feel like the horrible parent if you skip them.   It's just one more thing that you will definitely not escape once they start going to the big kid's school but you can still breathe easy about while at Joyful Noise!

Mike Matheny's has written a new book, The Matheny Manifesto about kids and sports.   With children getting involved in organized sports and formal martial arts classes as early as four years of age, I think it's so important for the PARENTS to understand their role, since you are the ones who have decided the child should be involved in these competitive activities.   In a short little interview in today's Sunday magazine, Maheny gives parents the most important advice: "be quiet."   Hmmmmm, read the interview and the book to find out why even encouraging your child is not helpful.

Tomorrow is Groundhog Day, which is another strange, grown-up concoction that the children don't understand (and many of us grown-ups don't really either...)   However, in days of old this time of year had other names like Candlemas or in pre-Christian times, Imbolc.   I was raised Catholic and at this time we always had the blessing of the throat, which also involves candles.   And during this season of increased ear, nose and throat challenges, a little extra blessing there sure can't hurt.   So when you hear about that groundhog seeing his shadow, you can take it back to a little deeper level and ponder how we got to Punxsutawney Phil from the celebration of Bridget, candles and sheep shearing!   In the meantime, you can talk to your little one about shadows, which is a very important science lesson.   But for goodness sake, don't make it boring!   Remember hand shadows?   Have some fun on these dark winter evenings!

Yes, I know, I know.   You feel ignored.   Please know that I would LOVE to figure out how to spend more time blogging and it's one of my goals for this year.   One way to accomplish this is to make short little entries; like this one.

I'm still here, the daycare is vital, lively, full of fun and growth.   Today we're all healthy and still in one piece.   And I am currently interviewing to fill two full time and at least two part time openings coming up after Labor Day.   So if you or anyone you know wants to enroll their child in Joyful Noise, NOW is the time to contact me to discuss details and set up the interview.   I've already had some very promising conversations, but I have room for more.   Waiting until the last minute is never a good idea, so tell your friends, discuss it with your spouse, whatever you need to do, there's no time like the present!

For Earth Day, remember that our forests are disappearing at an alarming rate because of our lifestyles, so please support large forests and the consevation practices that will keep them alive, for OUR health depends on all the forsests.   And remember the 3 R's: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.   Our lives depend on it.

Life in the fast lane just doesn't slow down.   Some of you know that my daughter and I with the help of the most loyal and stalwart of friends spent the better part of this year caring for some 91-year-old elders and have just moved them into a new apartment where we will have sufficent help as their needs became WAY too much for us to handle.   Now, we come up for air and discover that it's Summer!!

We just got done spending a week off to go to Wisconsin and visit my Mom.   We also had the added surprise of having to deal with some health issues; always good to have the days already off!   Now we're on for a week but off for next week in order to celebrate our birthdays; how handy that they both come together!   For four days Ben and I are the same age.

We continue to interview for the openings in September; please be patient with us while we have lots of extra visitors some mornings.   It's getting hot; so please bring your swimsuits so we can start to get out the water table and sprinklers.   Otherwise, be prepared to have children with very wet clothing!

Happy July everyone!   Be sure to watch out for the crazy drivers; WAY TOO MANY people in our little town right now.

August already?   And don't we say that every year?

We're looking forward to a nice hot month, with water play every day in the back yard.   Be sure to bring your swimsuits back from the weekends if you took them home!   The sprinklers, hoses, sponges, watering cans and pails get quite a workout in August, and if we have some good hot days our large stuffed animals LOVE to get scrubbed down and spruced up.   Each season has its special joys.

All the current clients know that last month Ben was diagnosed with advanced bladder cancer.   Everyone has been so supportive and we're more than grateful for the encouragement, advice, offers of help, sympathy and empathy.   I mean those words more than you know, to each and every one.   Right now he's experiencing very few symptoms and enjoying life as usual.   We're researching, consulting and feeling overwhelmed in this journey of discovery and still very naive about how his condition will progress.   This week we will visit an oncologist for the first time who may or may not answer some of our questions.   Because of our uncertainty, we will keep the enrollment in the daycare lower than usual in September, to make it easier to manage and more nimble if Ben takes a turn for the worse.   This is only a plus for our clients as the adult to child ratio will be lower and the children will have a smaller group and more attention.   We'll still hope to see our big kids on snow days and school holidays and a couple of them will be joining us after school every day, so we still have the beautiful benefits of a widely mixed age group.   Be assured we will inform all clients of any developments as time goes by.   Though at first the news was pretty earth shaking, for now this is more glacier than avalanche.   We're not arrogant enough to think that can't change, but as with all major life events, we're taking it one day, week, month at a time.   Thank you for your patience and understanding and for sticking with us.

August also means that we only have a handful of weeks before our 5-year-olds go off to kindergarten!   Adelaide will be leaving us this week to move to Wisconsin, so already the going away celebrations begin.   Then before we know it we'll be sending off Tripp, Emory, Ellie and Bode as well as the older ones who returned for the summer, Andi, Aaron, Mason and Kai.   Even after all these years I don't get used to school starting and my heart gets heavy.   What lightens it up is that we have two new little angels joining us to fill the vacuum: Wim (pronounced Vim) and another Emerson!   They'll be popping in during August to start to get acquainted so if they're here, be sure to welcome them and their parents to our daycare family!

While I'm very happy with the group I have at this point, I still have room for one more child, part time.   Since the flock I have now consists of a one-year-old, three two-year-olds and two three-year-olds, I'm holding out for someone three and a half years or older to balance out the 'top end'.   Feel free to pass the word if you know someone wonderful who is looking.

Remember, each day is a gift, not an entitlement.   Each person in your life is a treasure.   Never take anything for granted, count your blessings and enjoy every pleasure you are allowed.