Welcome to this year’s A to Z Challenge! This year I’m talking Child Care. I’ll be blogging topics related to my many years in the family home daycare profession. I hope you can find a tidbit of information that is useful in caring for children whether you’re a parent, grand or another important person in a child’s life. And to end each post, I’ll share a bit of my creative side/relaxation time. Taking time for yourself is good for your health–both yours and your family’s 😉

We all know that art in early childhood is not going to look like a Renoir in the end. It may look like Picasso, but that’s another thing. We’ve all heard in the nightly news how some kids’ art is sold for big bucks. I wish anyone the best in that endeavor. In a daycare setting, it’s all about the process, the experience, the visual and sensory stimulation. Not the final composition. And let’s not forget it is a valuable tool in surviving a day in childcare. I mean some days, we all gotta get our creative on. Even the littlest people.

To get the most from an art experience, you vary the tools and the medium. Let me give you a list.

TOOLS: Paint brushes, toothbrushes, hair brushes, vegetable brushes, combs leaves sponges, twigs, spoons, squeegees, forks, paper towel tubes, and of course FingerS.

MEDIUMS: Paint (tempera, watercolor, fabric paints), Homemade flour paint, watercolor pencils, powder tempera and water to spray over it, shaving cream, icing, pudding, oil pastels, ink, washable markers (paint over after drawing for that Renoir feel), paint sidewalk chalk for a vivid pop of color, colored glue and just plain ol’ water on a sidewalk.

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We’ve even painted on bread for “rainbow toast”. Add some food coloring to milk in a few little ramikans for different color choices, break out a set of new brushes –but wash them up with soap and water– and let them color bread before toasting. After it’s buttered, sprinkle some sugar on top to give it some sparkle! This is a yearly activity I do with children around St. Patrick’s Day but, sadly, the Pandemic scuttled this plan.

I’ll be spending some time this weekend adding items to the Etsy shop. But these are not my items. Today’s creativeness belongs to my mother. When I told her the mask making is doing rather well, I also told her she should give me some of her things to post. Might as well see how they do, right?! (I get my craft genes from Mom.) This is a little sneak peek of what she’s been working on at home.

Mother makes her own binding and quilts when accent is needed.

Hope you’ll take time to check out other A to Z blogs in the month on April. Click here to find the list. Click here for the Official A to Z blog. Have a great day and stay safe!!