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nothingwithoutjoy 05:37 PM 01-19-2013
Originally Posted by Heidi:
Thank you NWOJ!
You're welcome! I have a few minutes, so I'll answer a bit and tackle the rest later. This is a good way to do your interview--I can get to it when I can get to it! :-)

Originally Posted by :
I like how you segued from babies to toddlers to preschoolers.
Yes, me, too. My plan had been to start with 0-3 year olds, then do 1-4, then 2-5, and then stay there (to match the age of my child and to stay with the age group I liked best). Turned out we didn't have a baby as soon as we'd thought, I liked babies better than I expected, and I failed to consider that all my original two year olds would soon have baby siblings! So I ended up doing babies and toddlers for longer than planned. But my intention is still to keep the group (pretty much) within a three-year age span. That's the mixed-age group that works best for me with my goals for RE-inspired work. (My group is currently 2-5 most of the time, although I have school agers in the summer and during school closings.

Originally Posted by :
Can you give me some examples of materials you had for babies? At what age do you introduce art materials...paint, clay, collage materials, etc.
Sure. The interior photos I have posted in the decor forum are from when I first opened, with kids 2 months to 2 1/2 years. (Album here.) What you see is about what I had:
1st photo: kitchen set. Breakable dishes up high where the "big" kids could reach them. Below are lots of metal pots, pans, wooden spoons, etc. I'd often park the baby there to bang around while I worked in the kitchen.

2nd photo: toy shelf. Wooden peg puzzles, cardboard stacking blocks, wooden wheeled elephant, soft cloth dolls, ball squish thing (super popular!), wooden rattles, board books, vintage jingly wobbly things, teddy bear, alphabet blocks, push toy. (nearby and not pictured: huge stack of cardboard brick blocks)

3rd photo: studio shelves: I can't possibly say everything that's there, but on the lower shelves (i.e. most accessible to littles) were markers, paper, colored pencils, crayons, tape, stickers, chalk and chalkboards, paint (visible, but they couldn't really reach or open without help, so they did have to ask), scissors.

4th photo: opposite wall of studio: rocking boat/steps thing I once won at a conference! I wouldn't have bought this for my small space, but since I have it, we've used it well. Perfect for getting toddlers up to the window and for crawling practice and indoor gross motor activity. Mirrors above it. (Mirrors are a must-have in my book.) The cupboard to the left holds lots of recycled loose parts. For example, there's a large basket in there full of caps from all sorts of containers. They were one of the babies' favorite "toys"--they stack and nest and fall down and have lots of bright colors and you can poke clothespegs onto the sides of them and, and, and... I like open-ended non-toys like this a lot. Likewise, the big basket of pine cones on there got a lot of use.

5th photo: longer shot of studio. Easel--a must. See-through-plexiglass easel--even better. This was a favorite for toddlers, who liked to peek at each other through it. You can also get a peek of rhythm instruments, another big hit. And another mirror--fascinating for babies. Not seen, but also part of the studio then and very big to babies/toddlers: a push cart; scarves, bags, and hats for dress-up; and an overhead projector for light play (on the floor, projected up onto ceiling or walls).

6th photo: kitchen island. This photo shows a lot about what I wanted my program to be--not a classroom in a home, but a home designed with children in mind. Toys are incorporated into my regular space (with the exception of the studio, which is pretty much kid focused). Bottom shelf holds teethers (which I offered whenever I saw a kid mouthing something else I didn't want them to chew), ball-and-wire thing I used because I had it (I wouldn't recommend these--too closed and one purpose), wooden cars, wooden sorter, and wooden duck-on-a-ramp (again, not a must; I had it because it was a gift. We loved it, though.)

I generally had one baby, or sometimes two, and then the rest were toddlers. So I offered materials to the toddlers, and included the babies as they seemed ready. I tried to listen to what they were telling me. My first baby demanded to be included in painting at 8 months (by pulling himself up at the table where they were painting and grabbing a brush), and so he was (I could have done it earlier, but he seemed to nap when we were painting--or maybe that's all I could manage at that point, I don't remember). Scissors at 14 months--same way. But I had him poking his fingers into clay from my lap before he could sit up, and he had crayons and markers in his hands as soon as he could sit. He was included in art in other ways, too. For example, the toddlers would draw with markers on the overhead as he lay on the floor, watching the changing designs on the wall. As soon as he could crawl over there, he was in on it. I tried to offer things on the floor so he could participate: for example, rather than a sensory table, I use a large metal tray intended as a boot tray. When we put snow in it, I put it on the floor, and the older kids kneeled to use it, and he could drag himself over and reach in, too. But if I didn't want him doing something, it could go up on a table.

I'm just remembering that I still have my brainstorming lists of what I was looking for when I started. I'll attach them. My absolute must-haves for babies/toddlers: blocks, balls, teethers, push toys, containers w/stuff to dump and sort, dolls, paper, colored pencils, paint, clay, mirrors, lots of recycled stuff and natural stuff.

Man, I'm wordy! See how I need to write a book? :-) That's enough for now!
Attached: FTBAC Shopping List—stores and online.doc (39.5 KB) FTBAC Shopping List—tag sales and thrift stores.doc (25.0 KB) 
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