Kid Art

Tempera painting by L
"Three Womans"

Tempera painting by V
"Fireworks"

Box Fort

We used the empty shipping boxes that our Youngstar grant items arrived in to build a super awesome box fort!  I wish I had remembered to take more pictures of it because this one doesn't show too much about it.  There was a tunnel and secret doors, and a boat, and cave paintings on the walls and lots more.  The kids were so excited about it and played with it for days until it finally broke apart and got recycled.

Kids Love Containers

Kids totally love to put things into containers and then dump them out.  Sometimes this feels like my entire day:  dump it out, pick it up, dump it out again, etc. etc.  We've got baskets....

We've got bug cages...

purses to fill...

shopping carts....

little suitcases....

and so much more!

Tape Collection Artwork

Here's a picture that V made using a variety of tape.  

It was an easy and fun project to do together.

Youngstar rating

I received the results of my Youngstar assessment and my daycare has been rated at 3 stars.  I actually received enough points (24 out of 40) to qualify for a 4 star rating, but because I've been open for less than a year, the highest rating I could get was only 3 stars.

If you haven't already heard about Youngstar, it is the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families 5 star daycare quality rating system.  You can find out more by going to their website at:  http://dcf.wisconsin.gov/youngstar/ .

I've heard that most family daycare providers just accept the automatic 2 star rating that they are given, but I knew I could do better than that.  I'm glad that I opted for the informal assessment and coaching.  Next year I plan on going for a 5 star rating with a formal assessment and because of the help I received this year, I know exactly what I will have to do to get the highest rating.

Also worthwhile was the $500 Youngstar grant that I received.   With it, my daycare got a new toddler height table that seats 6, a toddler sized sofa, a shatterproof mirror, and 6 chairs of varying of heights specifically for toddlers.  My daycare kids love the new furniture!