It seems clear

... but it often isn't.

A sudden wail from Ella. I glance up from our craft to see the source of her upset. Willa sits on one dining chair, Ella and Dominic in the adjacent one. Well, Ella was in that chair. Now she is slithering off the dining chair on which Dominic kneels. His face looks... surprised? bemused? or is that... guilty?

"What's up, sweetie? Why are you sad?"

Wail...

I look at Dominic. It could be guilt I see there, maybe. Or maybe not. Hard to tell. Worth asking, though.

"Did Dominic push you?"

"YES!!!"

Pretty damning, huh? She understood the question, she gave her answer. Unequivocally. Clear as day. But hang on a bit. I've worked with these guys long enough to know that such declarations are not as reliable as they appear.

"Did Dominic hug you?"

"YES!!!"

"Did Dominic give you a nice, big kiss?"

"YES!!!"

"Is Dominic dancing with a purple elephant?"

"YES!!!"

Each declaration as fervent as the last, each as assured, all equally indignant. YES, he did, YES, YES, YES!!!! and how DARE he????

Since I'll never know the truth -- which, in fact, I suspect to be more a matter of Ella not wanting to share the chair with Dominic -- I just burst into laughter. Ella joins in. Dominic smiles at the two of us. Willa ignore us all and continues scribbling on her coffee filter. We finish our craft.

Menu Monday

Monday: Farmer's omelet. (Oven-baked with bread, milk and cheese)
They ate this at room temperature, with their fingers, like cold pizza. Dominic enjoyed it, Ella had TWO helpings!!!, but Willa was not enamoured.

Tuesday: Southwestern bean salad
Huge hit. Everyone had multiple helpings, from Eliana's FOUR to Ella's two. (Because the children enjoyed it so much, I've posted the recipe so you can make it at home if you like. The name of the salad is a link to the recipe post.)

Wednesday: Squash and chickpea curry on rice

Thursday: Stuffed peppers

Friday: Somali stew, biscuits

Outing

Get them all lined up on the porch,

buckle those wriggly bodies one at a time into that big stroller and we can go anywhere!

Mystery Potty

Just a boy and his balloon, taking a wee rest. (Yes, it's a potty, but that's neither here nor there.)
But wait. What is it about the boy's decently-clothed bottom that is garnering such attention?
Let's have a peek where the girls are peeking... hm... maybe it's not the cute butt that's the focus of interest...
Hey, lookit that! Balloons just fix EXACTLY RIGHT inside the potty!
You learn something new EVERY DAY at daycare!

Bead Boy

While all the children enjoyed the beading we did last week,

it was Dominic who seemed the most fascinated. Not only did he create a bracelet for himself, but he managed to stick with it long enough to make two others. (We seem to have lost one of them, but that bracelet in Nora's bag is Dominic's handiwork!)

Proud boy!

Just Hangin' Around...

I am really not quite sure just exactly what Nora is doing here.

Flying?

Swinging?
Dancing???
Whatever else she might thinks she's doing, one thing you can quite safely call it would be
"Having Fun".

Play-house, pre-beautification

I forgot I'd uploaded these pictures!
The box was pretty ugly,
but the children sure are cute!

Rain, Rain...

It was a pretty drippy Valentine's Day,

but we decided to get out before it froze!

Some of us graciously conceded the wisdom of that idea.

Menu Monday

Monday: Grilled cheese sandwiches, cucumber

Tuesday: Roasted carrots, rutabaga, and zucchini with feta; pulled pork

Wednesday: Red lentil dahl with rutabaga and rice

Thursday: Curried chicken, rice, dumplings made from chickpea flour

Friday: Lentil soup, cumin flatbread

Flower Power!

It was my idea to put a circular window in the door.

It was Eliana's idea to make it look like a flower.

And it was EVERYONE's* idea to poke their face out through the circle

so as to BE a flower!
CHEESE!
But while some of us actually indulged in a little jockeying for that coveted position...
others of us really would rather NOT, thanks...
*almost everyone, that is...

A House is a House

A giant box with a door
and a window or two
is a marvellous way to spend a day!

Menu Monday

Monday: Cucumber raita (shredded cucumber in yogurt flavoured with mint, coriander and a few spices), pita bread

Predictably, the toddlers enjoyed the bread more than the raita, but they managed to each decent portions of both.

Tuesday: Chickpea-squash curry

Wednesday: Quinoa-chickpea salad

Thursday: Beef stew, marinated winter vegetable salad

Friday: Sweet potato soup, biscuits

Snow Removal

You know, there's a ton of willingness here...

endless energy...

and limitless enthusiasm. (Okay, so she doesn't look overwhelmed with enthusiasm. Being blind in one eye 40% of the time probably doesn't help. But she was! Enthused!!)

If we could get them to all move the stuff in the same direction,
we'd all be RICH, I tell you! And I could put away the adult-size shovel permanently...
(If he had opposible thumbs, Romeo would be shovelling, too. Yes, he would!)

Romeo-zilla

We have roads, and we have houses. We also have trees! Trees which require little dollops of playdough to be their 'roots'. Milan squooshes some playdough into place.
Dominic places a tree in the playdough. And takes it out. And puts it back. Then removes it. Then replaces it... This was a very absorbing game for a good eight minutes...


A game which does not seem to be interesting Romeo all that much. (I know! Astonishing!)

Astonishing and short-lived. Milan is slightly concerned when Romeo begins to evidence some interest in the trees. "He is just sniffing it, Eliana," he states, not quite believing his words, but seeking reassurance.
Milan's concerns are not unfounded, and the reassurance unforthcoming. If you're a puppy, as we've all learned now, a sniff is merely a percursor to the chew.


Mmmmm, that foam feels good on those teething gums....

Roadwork

A roll of masking tape becomes roads.

The boxes are houses, or perhaps garages. We have trees, we have friends,
we have fun!

Paintshop

Some lightweight cardboard boxes, flipped inside out, make most excellent houses and garages. A little bit of paint,

and a LOT of concentration




and a dash of giggles

Makes for a morning of cheerful industry. What did we do with those houses? We'll show you in the next post!