The Tigerlily room is a licensed infant program! Our educators have a 1:3 ratio with a total of 10 children between 3 staff! Our children range between 14-18 months old! As early toddlers the Tigerlilies are excited and fun learners!! Before our closure we were seeing crawling, climbing, singing, dancing, pretend play, and all kinds of beautiful early toddler play skills developing daily! With the closure, as a team, finding ways to keep children engaged and learning at home has been our goal! Connecting past interests from childcare with creative, low to no material ideas, has led our team and families to many different and interesting ways to play.
Through collaboration with our ITSP team we’ve been able to maintain connection with families and learn about development and new interests at home!
Families have expressed that some children are now full time walkers, loving nature in the backyard, or practicing sign language. These insights remind us we are going in the right direction and maintaining our community. Togetherness has helped guide our program in the same direction as if we were at Youville!
With the changing of seasons nature is beginning to be part of our daily lives again. At childcare we play outside as much as we can, as young toddlers are amazing explorers! Social distancing times where we can’t always explore nature daily, inspired Tigerlily educator Kaylee, as she taught families to make nature sensory bottles! Sensory bottles allow children to use their senses and make connections to the world around them. They can come in all shapes and sizes depending on what is interesting and available to each family!
Encouraging families to access nature in a safe way can help build a lasting relationship with our earth!
RECE Kaylee holding a sensory bottle
“Love this idea, I will definitely do this” – Youville mom
“I created some sensory bottles (nature bottle remix)!” – Myriam
Working together and playing as a family is always on our minds at Youville Centre. Being mindful of siblings and different ages is always part of planning! Remembering these things educator Julie was able to share this popular daycare activity oobleck or goop! Cornstarch and water is an early intro to chemistry and exciting for children of all ages! Including alternative recipes for families to try if they didn’t have cornstarch was an inclusive way to bring families together! Showing small toys, loose parts, and household items helped illustrate the many possibilities of sensory play! Seeing Julie in her home with family gives a beautiful glimpse into our lives that this strange situation has given us.
“My child would love this, going to give it a try today! :)” – Youville mom
“So much fun for all ages! Love it!” – Youville mom
Books are a way that we stay close when far apart. Discussing as a team we wanted a book to promote belonging and family. Educator Sophie settled on “The Family Book” by Todd Parr. This story led us through all kinds of families both near and far! We asked families what their favorite book to read together is and here are some of our family faves!
“I know our family loves “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom as we always read this book.” – Youville mom
“We are really loving The Gruffalo right now. We loved this book cause our family has lots of step members and we don’t all look a like!” – Youville mom
Even Sunflower educator Barb shared “One of my son’s favourite books when he was little was The Runaway Bunny. I always liked to read to him. He likes to read on his own now (he’s 22!)”
Maintaining a sense of belonging right now through weekly individual programming and daily engagement pieces, keep us together in a new way. We miss everyone very much!
See together again soon!
Tigerlily educators
Sophie, Julie, and Kaylee