Still here - but full

Yes, we are still here, providing reliable and stimulating home day care, even through the pandemic.

Unfortunately, though, we are now fully full, with not much more than an occasional Wednesday available.

I don't know how this is all going to play out, but it sure looks as though day care spaces are going to be at a premium for quite some time.

Wish I could expand - so silly, this 5 kids max. I went to school and earned my ECE. Worked in centres for about 10 years. Moved to a house specifically for the purpose of running my home day care there - big back yard, basement for us, main floor for the kids. A separate sleep room and two playrooms, and a full time live in assistant. And none of that matters. Five spaces. That's it, that's all. *sigh*

I'm okay with five full-time spaces, actually. But I also think that they should stop treating everyone as if we're all the lowest possible denominator.  I'd like to be able to have a few part-time spaces for school age children. Most of the time, that would still mean I'd rarely have more than five kids at once - but for PA days and holidays and yes, pandemics, my families could then have older siblings who need care at the same place. Less contagion points, and less running around.

Perhaps COVID-19 will bring about some positive changes. Won't be holding my breath though!

Wishing you all the best and good luck in your quest for care.

Summer flies by...!

I can't believe it's almost over.

We've had so much fun this summer. Added the Oshawa Zoo to our list of places where we have memberships. Lots of babies there, so the kids love it. And there are pony rides, too.

Not quite as many trips to the Toronto Zoo this summer, mostly because we're spoiled and we like it better when it's not quite as busy - although it sure is nice to have the zoomobile.

We have also been to Jungle Cat World a few times, and to the Library for lots of things, but especially the music acts. !

We tried to do the Build-a-Bear pay your age event but were a bit too late for that; the line got cut off right before us!

We did get to build-a-bear the next week though! It cost more then but the parents and Jessa-momma helped so that everyone got to do what they wanted.




We've found caterpillars again and the kids are having fun watching that whole process, too. We always have fun at Miss Jessa's. And we learn a lot too!

Summertime!

Summer is going to be here before we know it. 

Have you made arrangements for your child yet? We have one, possibly two, summer-only space(s) that will be available (the joys of providing care for teachers' and/or students' kids! 😊)

We have SO much fun in the summer at Miss Jessa's. In addition to trips to Jungle Cat World, the Toronto Zoo and the Science Centre, we like to explore all sorts of places and things. We go to special events at the library, visit tons of playgrounds and waterparks, and when we do stay at home, we have tons of fun in our very own backyard. 

Our activities and programming is driven by the children's likes and

interests, and we take pride in providing not only tons of fun, but also lots and lots of learning activities. Last year, that looked like a whole lot of science and outdoor exploration (we needed a constant supply of milkweed for our caterpillars).  

For more pictures and updates do feel free to check out on our Facebook page. We do have both younger and older children than the few that you see pictured there, by the way.... only children whose parents expressly give permission show up in social media. Whether yours ever will is entirely up to you. 

ANYWAY...  as I said I do have room for one or two summer's only children and would love to have those filled sooner rather than later. So if you're looking for fun and educational care for this summer, do give us a call (647.300.5687) or email. While full time is preferred, we may well be able to accommodate families who only need a week or two, also. 

Spring?!

Making a birthday cake
 in our new play kitchen

Well, not quite yet! But we are having some great weather for playing outside.

And it's the time of the year when several of our littles are having birthdays.

They are a lot more excited about that than we are!

Every birthday is a step closer to leaving us and heading off to school :(

It's a good thing there are always more little ones to join us but still ..... so not looking forward to losing the littles who have been with us since the beginning. Only one this year, thank goodness! But next year there will be two more.

December Already?!

Can't believe how quickly we got here!  It's almost Christmas! 

These days, we're doing lots of baking and crafts and knitting, even. 

Tamara and Jessa have both been working on knitting hats (one for each of the kids but shhh! Don't tell!) - and the kids are pretty interested. A, in fact, is helping. She likes to sit on a lap and help by putting the yarn around the needles  - won't be long before she's knitting all by herself at this rate!  She may be only two but sure doesn't miss much. 

Not doing quite as many trips to the zoos and/or Science Centre lately - partly the winter driving thing, and partly an adjustment period. We have a new wee one that is on an entirely different nap schedule than the older kids, so for now, it's easier to stay closer to home most of the time. Doesn't mean we don't get out though. Lots of fun indoor playgrounds to make use of. The kids love Nebs, and several of the fast food restaurant playgrounds.  


And of course, there's always the library and shopping, too. And SO many fun things to do at home too. We have our new playground in the backyard. And always so many fun things to do inside. 

Our latest addition is a 'ballerina bar' which we installed for our aspiring ballerina. It serves well as a pull up bar for the littlest littles too. 

Merry Christmas to you and yours! 

Summer Fun!!!

Our summer is off to a great start! 

The littles & the not-so-littles are all getting along very well, and that means we get to go DO fun & exciting things almost every day. 

Or, sometimes we decide to just stay home and do fun stuff there instead. We have lots of fun toys for both inside and outside play.

And we now have a lot more play space too. We freed up a new room to use for our sleeproom, so now we have a playroom for the littles plus another for the not-so-littles. And that lets us have a lot more ~stuff~ out for use (still scads stored so we swap things in and out depending on what group of kids we have. There's always something new at Miss Jessa's). 

And we have another paterpillar too!! 

The first three we had hatched and we let them go free - but then a couple of days later, we discovered eggs on our milkweed. 

So we are watching the whole caterpillar --> caccoon --> butterfly process again. 

We do sometimes have space for another child - if you are  looking for an occasional (or even relatively regular) kid free day, do feel free to give us a call and we'll do our best to accommodate you :)   Trips to TO Zoo, Jungle Cat World, the Science Centre, and a whole bunch more are included at no additional charge.

 

Almost a butterfly!

We've been learning about butterflies this last little bit.

You can, if you are interested, follow our adventures on our calendar. This project took us on a milkweed hunt! We visited the butterfly gardens, which, it turns out, are within walking distance.

And then we did a trip to a garden centre, which the kids loved.


We started with three teeny tiny caterpillars and now look!!


 
 
They are about ready to hatch!! SO hoping they emerge tomorrow, while the kids are here!

But if not, we should still be okay with #3, which is about 2 days behind the other 2.

Fingers crossed!!