Ms. Amy's Blog @Child Central Station

I am so excited to tell you that this year's U.P. Early Childhood Conference (UPECC ) to be held on April 13 and 14, 2012 at Northern Michigan University in Marquette Michigan will be bringing Jeff A. Johnson and Rusty Keeler as the keynote speakers this year!!!! (Most of you know, I am on the conference board....) Jeff A. Johnson, of Explorations Early Learning has been a huge inspiration to me and our childcare program for years. Jeff has a great webpage , blog , and quite a following through his Facebook page . He has written a number of great books, One of my favorite is: Pure Genius! I've never seen Jeff present, I have however watched a number of his youtube videos...  I'm super excited to have him coming to our area to share his enthusiasm and creativity with all of us! I really hope you can make it to the conference! Jeff has also recently made some AMAZING posters! (There are more on his website) I don't know how much "stuff"

The bubbles are coming, the bubbles are coming!!! Sometimes, the simplest things are the best. Bubbles are a prime example!  Much like dancing and good music,  if you need to turn the mood or the day around...  bubbles tend to do the trick! They are fun to chase, fun to pop, fun to blow... Children of ALL ages seem to LOVE them! We blow our bubbles everywhere... Inside (a little extra soap on the carpet never hurts,  especially when you run the carpet cleaner frequently) Outside- in all seasons bubbles are BIG fun! In the winter snow, you can really see all of the colors in the bubbles as the light hits them...  AND if it is cold enough, the bubbles freeze and shatter like glass when you pop them! EVEN... in the car!!! I like to keep a small container of bubbles in the car for those long rides.  They are a great way to keep infants, toddlers, and travel weary children entertained! There are so many fun things you can use

On the 30th of each month, I blog over at PreKandK Sharing.  This is a collaborative effort involving a number of early childhood professionals.  This past month, I shared a bunch of ways in which We LOVE Paint! Then, I asked (you) the readers to link up ways in which you paint or recipes for homemade paint. There are now over 100 ways to paint listed!!! I KNOW THERE ARE MORE IDEAS OUT THERE! Do you have a great painting post, or idea for painting?  The linky is open for another couple of weeks! (2/29/2012) Some of my favorite so far include: Let's Paint Together: From Brick by Brick I just love collaborative/cooperative projects! Wrapping Yarn Around Blocks to Make Paint Prints: Share and Remember I love how they just used what they had and dove right into the process! Reggio Italy Toddler Mural: Rainbows Within Reach This is awesome how the children were able to use their whole bodies to paint! Nirvana Homeschooling: Freezing

One of the biggest roadblocks teachers talk about in regard to having daily outdoor play is dressing.  "It takes forever to get all of the children dressed." "By the time I get the second one ready, the first one has already started taking off their clothes!" "It is just way too much work to get everyone ready, for such a short time outside" IF you are one of "those" teachers, I'm here today to tell you, GET OVER IT! Put your big girl/boy panties/underwear on and stop making excuses! There are so many ways that you can encourage children to become independent about dressing themselves! Many of the activities/options I am going to share with you today are Montessori inspired. I do not use a full Montessori curriculum, but there are definitely pieces that I integrate into our program every day. The first, simple activity: How to put on a coat. First, lay the coat out in front of the child with the hood or the collar at

We're still on track with our 365 day photo challenge! Here are the glimpses into our playful days from the past week: Day 22: If you're going to play with a fire truck... You might as well wear a fire hat! Day 23:  Snow Cakes! Day 24:  On Our Way Outside to Play! Day 25: Cardboard Classic Day 26: Dane is reading Day 27:  GEOBOARDS! "Look, I'm making squares!" Day 28: Hula Hoops! Have you been playing? Are you up for the 365 Challenge? We are joining in on the challenge proposed by Donna over at  Irresistible Ideas for Play Based Learning  on  their Facebook page.  We are capturing one photo, one second a day to share with you our 365 days of play! Each day, the photos are being posted to  our Facebook page , and once a week, I'll share updates here on the blog.

We have been busy with all kinds of collaborative efforts lately, You can still hop on over to PreKandK Sharing to link up your favorite painting activities/recipes,  and the Heart Project Fundraiser for the American Heart Association  is still going on for the entire month of February! Today, we are participating in the Paper Bag Challenge hosted by Tinkerlab . (If you remember, we've done this before with magazines and cardboard boxes .) Keeping with our child-centered philosophy, I plopped a giant pile of paper bags down in the middle of the floor and asked the children if they wanted to create and if so, what other materials did they need. None of the three children who worked on this project opted to create together or make the same thing :). YEAH for creativity and giving the children an opportunity to venture off on their own, to enjoy the process and control their own products!  (By the way, there has been an interesting series of posts over at Pre