Mother's Den

A girl and her kitty 🐈‍⬛…napping 💤 together!

Because this child help pick out Chai “Mocha” Latte out from SPCA, she tells the other kids that it’s Ms. Donna and her kitty. Even though Ms. Donna takes care of her all the time!! 🤣

She does make sure everyone is nice to the kitty and reminds them of the rules when Chai Mocha Latte is around. Which is a sign of a good pet owner. Right?! 🤷‍♀️

for the week of Monday, June 8th thru Saturday, June 13th

Happy Father's Day

Mother's Den Sign of the Week is "Daddy" to help us celebrate Father's Day.

To sign daddy, dad, or father, make the number '5' in ASL, extending and spreading out the five fingers on your dominant hand. Then tap the thumb end of your '5' hand on your forehead.

https://vimeo.com/706346642?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

If it's done right, you will look like a turkey. Another trick to help you remember daddy is that male signs are always above the nose, and female signs are below the nose - so the sign for daddy is the same as the sign for mommy, just a little higher.

See the first comment for the ASL image for Daddy.

Mother’s Den is doing training to obtain the Baby Sign Certification credential.

We have been using ASL and Baby Sign for a couple decades now. I actually completed the Baby Sign Course back in the early 2000’s because I was working with a non-verbal child.

My reason to do this program again and become Center Certified and a training is that very reason as well. Yes, it’s baby sign. And so helpful when working with any non-verbal child, no matter their age, so they can better communicate with you and others.

I firmly believe that ASL should be taught to everyone as a universal language. I mean seriously, we already talk with our hands and bodies already. Why not do it in a way that everyone understands our language despite our home language, ability to communicate, or any other barriers.

I hope families join the children and our program on this journey of using ASL and Baby Sign as a way to communicate. Mother’s Den will start with a Sign of the Week (SOW) like our Word of the Week (WOW) we do already!

Let’s all get to using our hands 🙌 to sign our words to better communicate with our children who aren’t able to use their words yet.

Never Have I Ever…ECE Edition!

Hum…Do these two items really count?

> I don’t drink coffee…so I can’t forget it in the microwave if I never have it in the first place. Right?!

> I don’t drive to/from work…so there’s no opportunity to cry in the car after a hard day. Does a shower count?! Because…I am guilty of a few good cries under running water!!

That’s life in the world of an Early Childhood Educator.

Such a beautiful day, last couple of kiddos are ending the day with a big of sand play as Chai Mocha Latte watches out the window.

As we spend more time outdoors on these beautiful summer days, this is an important reminder about proper footwear for our children to keep them safe as they play.

Thank you for helping to keep everyone one healthy, happy, and Safe as we play and enjoy the longer summer days.

What should we call this?! The “Excavation Area” the “Dig Pit” or do you have any other cute name we can call this play area?!

The kids LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to dig and play in dirt…this area gives them permission to do so.

This space has two excavators and some gardening tools like a hoe, shovels, etc. for them to explore. The excavator will allow children to develop those hand-eye coordination, core muscles strengthen as well as strengthening their arms and hands.

This space is sure to bring a lot of joy to the littles this summer. Now…back to what are we going to call it?!

for the week of Monday, June 1st thru Saturday, June 6th