One of the key things I like to include in my weekly or daily environment set ups in my family day care are ‘activity trays’… also sometimes referred to as ‘interest tables’, ‘discovery trays’ or ‘sensory bins’. It’s essentially a hodge podge of various bits and pieces, thoughtfully curated and arranged in a way to generate interest in children to explore and discover. Our Easter themed activity tray this week is filled with eggs and little baby chicks, watched over by a noisy mother hen A post shared by Serenely (@livingserenely) on Mar 27, 2018 at 5:45am PDT I like them because they often add a pop of colour or an interesting corner to the general play area. Plus if they hit the right spots, they can captivate and engage a child for ages on end. Gearing up for Easter with an egg-filled theme this week... 1. EGG SHOP PLAY 2. HUMPTY DUMPTY STORY TRAY 3. FIVE LITTLE CHICKADEES FELT STORY BOARD 4. MELTED CRAYON EGG DECORATING ACTIVITY 5. EASTER EGG COLLAGE ACTIVITY A post s...

Since my last reading update , I’ve been working steadily through my wish list of books to read with the kids . We’ve finished several other Roald Dahl classics, the first two books in C.S. Lewis’ ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ series, and the first book in Laura Ingalls’ ‘Little House’ series. The latest book we’ve just finished and absolutely loved was E.B. White’s ‘ Charlotte’s Web ’. Nathan got especially got caught up in all the emotional ‘feels’ in the story. But kids are surprisingly very accepting on the subject of mortality. Though I doubt they’ll ever look at spiders in the same way ever again. On my own reading list, I just finished Noah Gordon’s ‘ The Physician ’ which is a historical fiction set in 11th century England and Persia. The story centres around an orphan boy grows up to become a surgeon and makes a dangerous journey to Persia to study medicine. Perspectives on the three major religions of that era (Christianity, Judaism and Islam) are explored in the melting pot of the...