Thirst for Learning

My weekly blog is becoming an "every-other-week-or-so" blog. At this point I'm ok with it. I'd love to get to a place where I can blog more regularly, but I think I'm still rusty when it comes to writing and creating content. Not that I can't find content, but I search for ways to tie the events that have occurred during my week to something meaningful that would be worth sharing.  I do believe that if I wait for the perfect ideas, though, I won't ever write, so again, I'm ok with putting out "ok" content, "sort of" regularly for now. Please bear with me. I'm learning.

I think that's how I view life. Being a home child care provider (or preschool teacher), one of my biggest goals is to help children come to love learning - to desire such a thirst for knowledge that they'd seek it out on their own. Actually, this comes pretty easy to kids and do this naturally already starting out. Babies eyes wander the room to absorb the lights and colors that they're beginning to recognize, ears listening to familiar voices and sounds that bring comfort. As they crawl, they want to put everything in their mouths, to discover new tastes and textures. Whether that freaks us out or not, that is their intention - to learn. Children push the boundaries as they become toddlers to learn what they can and cannot do in their environment. They touch, throw, bang, stomp on, tear, stack, constantly seeking to learn new things of how things work in their world.

 
As we grow older, we lose that. Many of us have had experiences in school where we've had to learn as a requirement, regardless of whether it was interesting to us or not, and with no connection of how this new content would relate to real life. I can hear that teenager saying, "When am I ever going to use this in real life?" It's a valid question. Often times, we don't know the answer.

But, coming back to teaching, I get to see children's faces light up when they learn something new. My daughter will ask a question, and after letting her know that I'm not sure of the answer, she'll ask if we can find a book about it at the library. And when I follow through with that, her thirst for knowledge grows even deeper. And that same love and thirst for learning becomes rekindled in my own life as well. These children have reignited something in me.

I have been reminded the last few weeks of the things I've been "wanting to learn... someday." I have decided I want to learn it now. Now is the time. Now is the time of learning all those things I've put off. I want to learn another language. Photography. How to be a professional blogger. Learning how to paint. Teaching my children art, music, and how to cook and bake. Practicing on the piano again. Playing in a band again. I told my husband how I wanted to improve my blog by taking better pictures, and I wanted to learn to use my DSLR camera. He told me the words I needed to hear. Just like Nike. "Just do it." And I did! I picked up my camera for the first time in a very, very long time, and I've been carrying it with me everywhere I go. Taking random pictures of the kids, of places. Some come out pretty good. Some are awful. Some are so fuzzy I can't make anything out. And quite a few pictures of the floor. But it's awesome because I'm doing it, and little by little, I'm getting better!

And I've been painting. Many of these supplies I bought almost a year ago. But I'm using them now, every week so far. And I've been so blessed to be commissioned for a few projects, allowing me to invest in more needed materials.

 
I may not have life all together yet, and maybe I never will. But I need to stop waiting for life to be perfect to do the things I feel I was called to do. I need to take the advice I give my perfectionist 5-year-old daughter: "You're learning. And when we learn we all make mistakes. And that's ok. We get better every time." I'm reading this back as I just typed it, and it's so true - I need to tell myself that more often. So I guess I'm not so sorry my blog isn't as regular as I want it to be. I'm getting better. And that's ok.

Backsliding

My blog today is entitled "Backsliding." I started this blog with the purpose of sharing how I'm doing on my goal of becoming organized. Yet, a month later, I'm finally posting what was supposed to be a once-a-week blog.

 

In the book of 1 Corinthians in the Bible, a man named Paul compares living life to running a race. More specifically, it’s found in chapter 9, verses 24 through 27. In my Bible, the section is titled “The Need for Self-Discipline.” I think it’s very fitting, because my goal to become organized this year as somewhat morphed into a journey of becoming self-disciplined. Ultimately, the attainment of this will help me reach my goal of organization, or hinder me from ever reaching it. 

I have found that in working to become organized, one needs to plan regularly. Once my tasks are in place, I then need to follow that plan, and follow through with it. The key here is consistency. Following a plan and following through are, unfortunately, not my strong suits, thus my dire need for self-discipline. It's so much easier for me to dream up my goals and get my dreams on paper than it is to complete the little tasks, and so I lose focus in the process.

Paul states, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” He later adds, “Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.” Now I've seen two grown men step into a boxing ring at a gym before, never having boxed before, all pumped up about beating their opponent, only to watch them have a go at it and see their flailing arms go everywhere, never really landing a punch, and both guys were exhausted by round 1. It was hilarious then, seeing this, thinking to myself that these men thought that this whole boxing thing was easy - Erh! Wrong! 

And yet looking back, I can now relate to Paul's description of this boxer. I can relate to these guys, because it is an accurate portrayal of how I see myself right now. I feel like I did a great job my first few weeks of seeking organization. I had my projects lined up, my to-do lists ready. I was checking things off left and right. And then it happened. Life got in the way and I stopped.  I could blame it on my week-long cold. I could blame it on that long day, or that impromptu visit to visit family, taking up an unexpected evening. But a part of growing up (which I’m still in the process of) is taking responsibility.  So here I find myself, after sliding down the mountain I had so diligently climbed, back near the bottom. My planner is blank for the week, and my weekly food menu, while partly filled out, has not been followed.  So while I still feel exhausted from running, I’m running aimlessly, in circles, and I find myself right back to where I started.

I wonder if God sees us as rats in a little maze, running around, refusing to look at the map with directions He’s already provided us. But I won’t give up. I refuse to go back to living on a whim because I know what brought me to my resolution in the first place – the need for change. This is only a reminder of that. I’ve learned along the way some things that worked well for me, and some things that didn’t. I’ll make smaller goals to hit smaller milestones and keep moving forward (taking a hint from the turtle that actually won his race).   

Here are some tips I’m taking for myself along the way:

• Simplifying
  I've learned that going from having no weekly menu plan to a full day, three-meal + snacks menu plan is a lot of work. Even more work when I’m juggling other goals. Time to put that ball down and switch it up a bit. I’ve created a new “dinner only” menu plan. I know I can always whip up something for breakfast and lunch so long as I have my staple items on hand, which I’ve gotten better at stocking up with my master shopping list.
• Checking Directions
  I’m going back to making sure I check my daily planner every night and morning. And this time, I’ll glance back at the monthly calendar as well. I need to give myself a bird’s eye view of where I am in the month to have a better sense of direction in terms of where I’ll find my focus and motivation. This way I don’t use the kids nap time to aimlessly work on tasks that are low priority and could wait until later.
• Pausing & Reflecting
  Adding time for meditation and reflection. The days that I take time for quiet moments (when I can sneak them in) just to close my eyes and let my thoughts unwind are the days I feel clearer and calmer. I tend to always rush myself from one thing to the next, but I have found that pausing here and there to pray and think help me get more accomplished at the end of the day, and enjoy the day in the process.
• Taking a Day of Rest
  And doing my best to “keep the Sabbath.”  I think God had a good idea when he chose to take a siesta after creating the universe and mankind. In fact He knew it was a good idea, and extended that day of rest to us.  “For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their own works, just as God did from his (Hebrews 4:10).” Jesus said that the Sabbath was, in fact, made for us (Mark 2:27). 
  I always struggled with this concept of giving up a whole day in the week to rest. After all, I worked 5 days a week, and the weekends were my time to catch up around the house and do the things I couldn’t cram during the week. Certainly it was unrealistic to live with a full day of rest. More recently, I did some more reading and I found out how people kept this tradition in the Old Testament so successfully. They’d gather their food and prepare the day before. “Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days (Exodus 16:29).”
  
  So their trick was – put it on the calendar and plan for it! So I started to do this, and I stopped scheduling my tasks on this day. I have begun preparing casseroles, creating two batches of lasagna and freezing one for Sunday, or the like. So far so good, and this is one tip from the Bible I want to keep! If God gave me a day of rest, I’ll take it! Sure being a parent is still work, and that continues even on days of rest, but I find my Mondays being more energized than drained, and I’m ready for the weekly race!

Though I found myself disappointed at my “backsliding,” I’m back to the climb. I’m digging in my heels, and keeping on keeping on. I hope that any of you reading this find that while the roads to change may be discouraging at times, but what matters most is to persevere. You live, you learn, and you keep moving – forward! Run to win the race!

Remembering the Important Things

It's been quite a week in our household. My husband recently began a job as a film teacher at a local high school, working with at-risk youth, or truthfully, many kids who are already involved in many risky behaviors. After the first day of working with them, my husband admitted that there were definitely some walls that would have to be broken down to connect to many of these kids. No surprise there.

It got me thinking. I find that since I've been in the early education industry, I relate a lot of things in life to what I've learned about children. When I see adults engaging in childish behaviors, I think like a preschool teacher on what would be helpful to this person to regain self-control (let's try holding hands and doing a breathing exercies... ok let's count down from ten...). See, the things that work for kids, often times works for us. I've learned that often times what causes young kids to lose control or have an apathetic or fearful disposition towards new situations often comes from their lack of basic needs being met. I mean, how are you at work in the mornings after less than 5 hours of sleep, no breakfast, and a couple cups of coffee to jumpstart your day? Probably not at your best. You probably aren't as patient on the road as you could be. Or as great a listener as you should be.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs portrays what we need to get by before we can succeed in the higher levels. If you are fearful for your safety, you probably wouldn't  be concerned with much else. As educators, we are challenged with doing our best to guide and educate children, with their home life circumstances being out of our control, and often times knowing that students may not have those basic needs met. Some teachers may simply treat every child "fairly" by teaching them all the exact same way, thinking all students should learn the same way. But there is more to that child's life than the hours they're with you in your care or your classroom. Trying to be more aware and sensitive to the special challenges many kids face on a daily basis might help us teach with more grace, and may possibly change how we approach teaching in general. Yes, it's challenging to offer individualized education. Yes, it's impossible to meet every child's every need. Yes, there are SO many things simply out of your control. But there is at least one thing you can control - letting them know that you care.

Because above those basic needs of food, water, shelter, safety, it's love. It's being valued. Being valued by someone, or even by oneself. And everyone needs that.

So to all my friends in education, keep loving your students. They may not love you back, but you do make a tremendous difference. To those of you who do, thank you for doing what is often times a thankless job. You're changing the world, one starfish at a time.

So what does any of this have to do with my new year's resolution of becoming organized? Not too much, besides the importance of pausing and remembering the important things, and what really matters. We can't forget that, even in all the business of life, because what is life if we forget our purpose?

My tip for the day, is take the time to read the "Starfish Story." I'm sure most of you have read this many times, but reread it just to remind yourself. :) Each one counts.

http://www.cityyear.org/about-us/culture-values/founding-stories/starfish-story

Go Ahead. Drop the Ball.

It's Tuesday, and in the spirit of my resolution of becoming organized, here is my 2nd weekly blog post on this topic - on time! This week, I thought I'd share a bit as to what brought me to where I am now, and to this resolution for 2015. As I grow older, I become more aware of who I am and how I function. In fact, I’ve created a visual in my mind of how my brain works in comparison to other people, at least from my perspective. If you can imagine that a typical person's capacity for awareness of various things at once can be represented by a bucket, you can turn over to me and see that I got gypped with a teacup. How do I know this? Well, I am blessed and cursed to be married to someone who got a semi-truck of awareness. So the one thing I’m most painstakingly aware of is how unaware I am.

Introducing my wonderful husband, Orlando, business owner and filmmaker extraordinaire. Our relationship is truly proof that opposites attract. Sure we have a lot in common – we both are musicians, love God, agree in politics – but personality-wise, we are so different. I’m very free spirited, whereas he’s more reserved and structured. I’m outgoing, he’s introverted. I’m naturally an impulsive, spur of the moment gal. He’s naturally strategic and calculated in his decisions. In our differences, we balance each other out. It’s really a great thing. In fact, it’s pretty awesome. In the words of Jerry Maguire,

The only “curse” part is that I am constantly reminded of where I am lacking. And when it comes to organization (and basically remembering things in general), that’s possibly our biggest difference. He remembers everything, while I forget everything.

Orlando has this superhuman ability where he could watch a movie once, and can practically recite the whole movie by heart (how does he do that?!). I, on the other hand, am the one who enters a rooms and forgets what I’m doing there, or makes a call only to forget why I’m calling (or who!). I’ve been known to make 5 separate U-turns going to a place I’ve been to a million times before. I once started to drive away from a gas station – with the gas pump still attached to my car.

People say men have a one-track mind, whereas women are multi-taskers, able to handle the impossible. Women have eyes in the back of their heads, they say. Well, I missed that memo. God skipped me on the creation assembly line when handing out those extra sets of eyes. Instead, I can only focus, truly, on one thing at a time if I want to do it well. If we’re having conversation at a restaurant, don’t place me near a television. My eyes will inevitably drift – even if it’s an infomercial for a Barack Obama chia head (yes, they exist). It’s very difficult for me to be aware of things without being painfully intentional to do so.

A couple years ago, I decided I had enough with it. I was convinced there was something wrong with me, perhaps some sort of attention deficit disorder. I did research. I took quizzes. I read articles. I even began visiting a psychologist at my university, who was surprised at what I was juggling at the time – a full-time management job, a masters program in the evenings, two kids (one infant and one toddler), and some heavy involvement in the leadership at my church. She did suggest I be tested for ADD and wrote me a referral. A year later, I finally took her up on it (Did I mention I’m a procrastinator?). Sure that I would get some answers, I sat with my husband in what felt like an AA meeting with others who also were being tested. “My name is Adriana Gomez and I forgot why I’m here.”

I came to various appointments over the course of a few months, was formally tested, and finally, got the report back. Here was the answer to my prayers. I would get a magic recipe to rid myself of my distractedness and forgetfulness. My results? NEGATIVE. Nothing. No sign of ADD. In fact, I actually did quite well on the test. Surely this couldn’t be right. I asked for an explanation. It was simple – I had too much on my plate, and needed to find a way to balance my life. I needed to find ways to cope with stress and focus past the millions of things cluttering my mind.

A part of me was relieved. But then I was frustrated. And borderline depressed. I wasn’t sure how to take it. Maybe there was no answer for me, and my husband would have to just accept me for this awfully forgetful person that I am (which he already did).

But then I realized, I didn’t want to accept this. I didn’t want to accept that this was how I had to live my life. I would find the tools to help me cope, ways to work around my inabilities. I had Outlook organizing my every email at work, as well as keeping my tasks on a timetable and my appointments scheduled. Everything was synced to my cell phone, and Siri would set my appointments. I even let go of some volunteering commitments. At home, however, things weren’t the same. Laundry was piling, bills were going unpaid, library books were collecting late fees, kids’ hair went uncombed, and we were late to everything (correction: I made us late to everything).

Then, through a turn of events, I came to start a family child care program out of my own home. Now, I thought, surely everything would start to come together. I would finally be able to catch up and get my life in order. I would have all the time in the world for my family, and we’d have home cooked meals every night. Not so. I was struck with the same reality. Though things changed dramatically (in positive ways) and many new opportunities opened up for me at home, this path of putting myself back together would not be as easy as I thought. I chipped away one day at a time, trying to do more each day. I felt I was getting nowhere.

Now fast forward to December, 2014. My now-kindergartner got off on winter break, and we all got to spend a gorgeous amount of time together. And we baked. A lot! We flipped through cookbooks, recipe cards, picked our favorites, and went for it! We watched cooking shows on TV and actually made the stuff! I was reminded of how much I enjoyed baking, and so much more now with my girls.

Then, New Year’s Day, I found myself looking around my kitchen. I wanted to bake more, and with the new baking supplies we got our girls for Christmas, I needed to find room. But I had clutter everywhere. Well, I was motivated and determined! I would organize this kitchen once and for all!

My husband awoke from our late night celebrations the night before, and came in the kitchen to see me climbed up on a chair, taking everything down from all the cabinets around my kitchen, stuff everywhere. He maneuvered through my obstacle course to say hi to my self-entertained daughters, wished me luck, and left the room. I don’t blame him. I stopped to look around myself. Now I was committed. I kept going, and that night I finished! I completed a task! Since then, we have cooked and baked more than ever before in our home. I even had my daughters’ friends over to bake cookies!

I caught myself thinking, what if the rest of my house were so organized? What if the rest of my life were so organized! I had tried taking home organization as seriously as I took my scheduling and organization my last office job, but after failed attempts at typical calendars and tons of organization phone apps, I knew the same tools just wouldn’t work for me. I was ready to try something new. Then I found it. That same evening, someone on Facebook shared a link for something called the Passion Planner. Could this be the answer? I clicked, got a free digital copy (hooray for free!), economy printed it and got it bound (for free. Again! Jesus does love me!). I began reading the introduction (more like instructions) and experienced one of those rare “Ah, ha!” moments.

In the introduction, the Passion Planner gives the example of how we juggle things in life. If we have too many balls in the air, we will never get a handle on them. The planner went on to further explain how each ball has different values, and how we need to put down the ones with lesser value to make sure we can juggle and take care of the very valuable ones. This was me. I had every ball in the air at all times, never putting any of them down. Along with my natural proclivities towards being more “unstructured,” it’s as though I were doing all of that with a broken arm.

Now I was ready. I was ready to put down some of those balls. Even if I only had one ball up at a time (which is more doable with a broken arm!). This brings me to today. I’ve laid down all the balls I was juggling - this burden - before God, and committed to letting them stay there until I could pick them back up, one up at a time. And to do less. And I’m ok with that. Hey you know what, that could be a bumper sticker: Less More, and More Less.

So this week, go ahead. Drop the ball. Drop a few of them. Figure out how much each is worth to you, and be willing to lay down some of the ones that just aren’t as valuable. Let God juggle them for a while. His hands are bigger anyway.

Resource of the week:

The first ball I'm juggling is meal planning. I wanted to tackle other things as well, but this became my focus because we aren't in a position to afford eating out all the time, and I'd prefer to reserve it as a last resort. The biggest reason we typically haven't eaten at home is because of lack of planning. And those last minute trips to the grocery store have really added up. I'll blog more about this later on I'm sure, but here is my "beta version" of my menu planner. Feel free to give it a try and let me know if it works for you! Here's the link for more info, as well as the links to download the PDF or Excel versions.
http://adri-333.wix.com/garlandofgrace#!menuplanning/cjk0

New Year's Resolution: Getting Organized

When we think of New Year's Resolutions, we often hear the same ones: losing weight, exercising (oddly enough, these first two don't always go together), spending more time with family... and one of the ones that tends to make it to the top ten every year is getting organized. In fact, for 2014, getting organized was 2nd only to losing weight. We live in a society where we want to have more, more, more. And when do we want it? NOW! And we wonder why we live in such a chronic state of stress. I think people get that there's something amiss in their lifestyle. So maybe if they ate healthier, they would feel better. Maybe if they got out more, exercised more, did more of this, more of that. Are we seeing a pattern here?

So let me suggest something... what if we did *gulp* less? Okay, before you dismiss what I just said thinking I'm crazy, just hear me out. What if we did less of all this stuff? Maybe we weren't created to live such a crammed lifestyle. Kids in schools these days are far more stressed than they were before because of all the MORE they have to do. MORE homework, MORE practices, MORE activities, and unfortunately less of, well, nothing. The good kind of nothing. The nothing where you lay on your bed and dream about what you want to be when you grow up. The time to play.

So what does any of this have to do with organization? Well, we focus so much on the more, and we don't realize where our time goes. Seeing it in an organized fashion and planning it all out helps you see where you have too much, and something needs to change. This is where I found myself, having far too much to do, and not knowing how or where to start. Not just work related goals, but I found myself longing to build a home - homecooked meals (and healther ones!), organizing chores lists for my kids to teach them to be independent, finding time for myself, finding time for my spouse. I began to prioritize - what are the things that are truly the most important to me, and is my time being designated accordingly?

 
Maybe you chose getting organized as your new years' resolution for 2015. Maybe you (like me) have tried getting organized many times before, and have found yourself back at square one, hoping to find a better way. If so, follow me! I'll be sharing my organization adventures to build a healthier home...and healthier me! Isn't there a saying: "When Mom's happy..."

So, I commit this to you: I will blog once a week on this topic of organization. I need accountability. Although I am blessed to have an accountability partner, this is another way to keep me motivated to keep moving forward. I'll share resources I find and share any I create myself. Don't reinvent the wheel. Wish me luck, as I wish you luck as well! See you next week!

Tip of the week:

I have begun using the Passion Planner, which is a calendar planner / journal / sketchbook that does so much more than just keeping you on track. It helps you turn your dreams into attainable goals by setting milestones on a timeline, creating reasonable and achievable tasks, which will ultimately turn those dreams into reality. It's been a couple weeks (since the 1st), and I've mostly spent my time doing the task planning and have barely touched the actual calendar section itself. However, it's been an amazing tool to help unload all the clutter in my brain and finally get it all on paper so I can do something with it. I've probably re-sketched my goals 3 times as I'm learning more and more what my real priorities are in the now. It's bringing me down to reality and placing my feet on solid ground. So, check it out if this is something you might be interested in:

www.passionplanner.com

How Does One Start a Family Child Care?

A while back, I received an email from someone who attended one of my recent trainings. It seemed like a simple enough question. Basically, how does one start a family child care?

Seemed simple enough, until I began responding. One very long email later, I realized that perhaps it might be good information to share! This blog, after all, was intended to follow my journey in starting a family child care home, and some of the things I discover along the way.  So, with that, here was my response (and keep in mind, I'm writing from Fresno, CA, so this may be different for other counties/states):

Hi Anonymous,

I'd be glad to share my experience with starting a family child care home.  It's not a short answer, so I hope you have a few minutes to spare.  [Ok, so maybe more than just a few minutes...]

1. Before you get started with opening your own family child care home, here are some things to consider:  http://ccld.ca.gov/Res/pdf/WAIT.pdf
   
2. Next, get general info about starting a family child care by visiting their website here: http://ccld.ca.gov/PG513.htm
   
3. Be sure to find out where your local community care licensing branch is. To find out the phone number and address of your local community care licensing office, go to this link: http://ccld.ca.gov/res/pdf/CClistingMaster.pdf
   
4. Once you've decided that starting a family child care is for you, you'll start off by attending an orientation. You can now take it in-person or online. I recommend taking it in-person in possible - it's nice to be able to interact with a real person and be able to raise your hand and ask questions. I used to work at my local Resource & Referral agency, so I had had multiple opportunities to sit through this orientation before, so I chose to take it online. I had some minor complications logging on, but once it worked, it was very convenient to take it at my own pace in the comfort of my own home and be able to replay parts I didn't totally understand the first time. Here's the link to register/get information: http://ccld.ca.gov/PG534.htm
   
5. Be up to date for your Infant/Pediatric CPR/First Aid and Health & Safety courses. These are required to submit your application, although you may choose to register for them and submit proof of registration with your application just to get things going.
   
   
6. Submit your application as soon as possible! This is what will really get the ball rolling. Your community care licensing office will know you exist and get you what you need to do the next steps, such as getting fingerprinted/background check. If you need help filling this out, you might try the next step.
   
   
7. Find some support. This step might actually work as a first step, too. I recommend contacting any agencies in your area working with early education programs. Resource & Referral (R&R) agencies tend to have various programs to support providers becoming licensed. Often times, local First 5 offices may be able to connect you to resources in your area, as would some county offices of education. You can find your local R&R office by visiting their site: http://www.rrnetwork.org/
   
8. Become familiar with licensing regulations and make sure that you're able to comply with them: http://www.dss.cahwnet.gov/getinfo/pdf/fcc.PDF
   
9. Prepare your space. This is where that support will really come in handy if it's available. It helps to have someone to bounce ideas off of to plan a thoughtful layout and to help ensure that your space is safe for children and meeting regulations.
   
   
10. Along with this, you can also look for resources. There are many great books for family child care home providers to give ideas on how to arrange the room for children in a home setting. You can buy these less expensively online (especially when used), or perhaps borrow them for free at your local library. Here are some of my favorites:
• Family Child Care Environmental Rating Scale (By Thelma Harms, Debby Cryer, and Richard M. Clifford) - This may not be an easy read, but it is a great growth and quality improvement tool you can use to set (manageable) goals for your space
  
• Family Child Care Homes: Creative Spaces for Children to Learn (by Linda J. Armstrong) - great ideas that can work in various types of homes. Offers some inspiration.
  
• Designs for Living and Learning: Transforming Early Childhood Environments (by Deb Curtis and Margie Carter) - this book may not be specific to family child care home environments, but offers some ideas that could work in both homes and centers.
  
11. Besides books, you can also check out blogs online. This has been my greatest source of inspiration for both environment and curriculum (which often, I've found, go hand in hand). I have an inclination towards earthy, natural learning environments, which is why I've looked into the Waldorf philosophy, and I believe in encouraging exploration and projects, so I look for blogs related to the Reggio Emilia philosophies. The following are some of my favorite sites. They don't have to be geared towards family child care home providers - many of them are parenting blogs, but the same principals apply.
    
    
• Soule Mama: http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/
• Daily Pea: http://www.dailypea.com/
• Miss Reggio Blog: http://missreggio.blogspot.com/
• Let The Children Play: http://www.letthechildrenplay.net/
• The Magic Onions: http://www.themagiconions.com/
• Bending Birches: http://bendingbirches2010.blogspot.com/
• An Everyday Story: http://www.aneverydaystory.com/
• You're welcome to also follow my blog, "Garland of Grace," as well! http://adri-333.wix.com/garlandofgrace
  
12. After you submit your application for licensing, as well as other required documentation, you'll get your visit from licensing. It helps to have a mock visit, if there is a support agency in your area that would offer one.
    
13. Once you are licensed, you're still not done! Make sure you are well aware of  ratios you are allowed to have depending on whether you have been licensed for a small or large family child care home. Licensing will give you forms and resources to include in your enrollment packet for parents, which leads me to the next step (if you haven't already done this by now):
    
14. Put together your parent applications, policies, and enrollment packets. This is by far the most tedious piece of the process that I went through (at least for me!). What really helped is that my local R&R agency provided templates that I could use and customize for my program (How cool is that?).  Here's the resource they let me borrow:
    
    
• The Redleaf Complete Forms Kit for Early Childhood Professionals (from the Redleaf Business Series)
  
  http://www.redleafpress.org/Redleaf-Complete-Forms-Kit-for-Early-Childhood-Professionals-P191.aspx
  
15. Finally, advertise! There are many ways to do this. It helps to be listed with your local R&R agency. They may have ideas and suggestions on how to price and market your services. I advertised through Craigslist, as well as various mommy groups (that allowed marketing) on Facebook. You can also try to flyer your community or in neighborhoods by nearby elementary schools. Word of mouth is one of the best!
    
16. Take baby steps. This is my biggest piece of advice (and one that I often remind myself of). This process of becoming licensed has been a fast one, but also a big learning experience for me. I'm looking at early education from a totally different angle, and having my two young daughters in the programs adds new challenges, and joys, to the mix. The biggest thing is that it must be something you're excited to take on, and do what you can to keep that excitement! Don't overwhelm yourself with trying to tackle everything at once - that's what I tend to do. I've committed myself to just learning one new thing a week. After all, it's not a sprint, it's a marathon. Start a pace that you can maintain and not get burnt out at the start. Know what you're able to handle, and stick to that. Be sure to include things in every day that bring you joy. If you're the journaling type, keep a journal to mark your accomplishments and milestones. Every little step counts, so celebrate them!
    

I am certainly no expert (I have been licensed for a whole half a month now [at the time of writing this]), so I'm sure there are additional steps that might be added here, or perhaps you may find that following this in a different order works best for you. Hopefully, however, you will find this somewhat helpful in your endeavors. I wish you the very best of luck, and hope you find much support around you to make it a reality. Please let me know how it goes, and if I could be of any assistance or encouragement to you in the process!

Blessings,

Adriana Gomez

Garland of Grace Early Learning Program

Edible Paint - First Attempt

I love Pinterest. There are sooo many different ideas and fun recipes on there - for just about anything, really. It's been a little over a month now since I began my family child care, and I just had a baby join my program, so off I went to Pinterest to see what fun, baby-safe art recipes I could find. A lot of them (well most of them) tend to be a food, plus a coloring substance (like food coloring, or Kool-Aid). Not all of them seemed like they can be used with a brush, and I thought I'd see if baby (close to a year old), might be interested in using a brush, since that's what the older children in my program would be using.

So here's what I used:

Over the years, I've collected baby food jars. I keep telling my husband that I would use them, so (a few years down the road), I'm proud of myself for pulling these bad boys out. They were washed and sanitized before use.

These were my two ingredients. Condensed milk will paint well on paper (particularly on fingerpainting paper, which is a bit smoother), along with food coloring.

I filled up three baby food jars with the condensed milk. You could always just start with one, but I wanted to give baby the opportunity to see different colors. I put one or two drops of coloring in each jar and stirred.

Baby was in her high chair and I tried putting paper in front of her, but she wanted nothing to do with it, but the brush she loooved! 

After a while, she tried touching the paint, and then some cause and effect learning with the paint brush.

By this point, it had gotten a bit stickier than I had anticipated, so you couldn't really slide it around anymore. I wonder if additional milk or other substance might have helped. Ultimately, I think it would've been great as an edible paint to be used on paper rather than with fingers. Either way, we still enjoyed the learning process and will continue to try some different recipes and share our results.

If you have any recipe requests or recipes to share, be sure to message me at our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/garlandofgrace), or by visiting the Contact Us page at our website at http://adri-333.wix.com/garlandofgrace.

Hope you enjoyed this article!