More Proof that Mr. Allan ROCKS!

I'm still trying to regroup after our vacation and to de-clutter our home and classroom! 

 I'm sure I'll have new stuff to share soon, but until then... Here is one of my favorites from the archives!  I originally posted this last January. I'm sure we will soon have enough snow for our new and improved sled run!!!

There have been some questions and discussion among some of my blogging/internet friends in regard to male involvement in early childhood settings. We have found, for the most part, the men in this field are far and few between. We have an amazing assistant caregiver here (and I'm not just saying that because he's my husband..... ) Mr. Allan.

This past week has been nuts. Both Dane and I have been out sick for portions of it, and Mr. Allan has made sure to keep things on track for all of our little friends. In fact, this past weekend, while Dane and I were all snuggled up in bed reading books and watching movies he was outside shoveling the piles of snow that were falling from the sky. He did not stop with the necessary areas. He decided that we needed to turn our "butt" slide into a sled run. (Of course, the children can still choose to go down on their bottoms). Our primary concern with the children using this hill made from our parking pad to the backyard has been safety. We have a large tree, a section of fence and a play structure that provide large obstacles. Mr. Allan decided that by using the "yooper scooper" he could make a track that would deter the children from the obstacles, making a safe sled run right in our back yard!

The children walk up the "driveway" area between the house and the parking pad.

Then, they slide down the mound of snow that has been added to the hill off the edge of the parking pad.

It is difficult to see from the photos, but the path scooped out has walls that are between 18-24" tall, providing a direct route down the run!

Enjoy a few clips of our sledding run fun!

We have had a few really cold days here this week, but the children don't seem to mind. The temperatures have limited the amount of time we can stay outside. (Sometimes we are only out for 10 minutes at a time...), but the children can't wait to get back out on that sledding run!

Here in the U.P., winter is far from over. We anticipate that this lovely white stuff will stick around for a few more months. You'll have to check back to watch how the run walls grow and see what creative ideas we come up with next for our winter wonderland!

Have you been out in the snow today?