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!!

Our Calendar Finally Works!

So, if you look up there a bit, you'll see that we have added a Google calendar to the site.

I was just able to get it working today, so mostly everything I've filled in so far is from outings and activities that made it onto our Facebook page - which means that it's pretty far from complete. But we're going to try to keep it properly up to date from now on.

So you should make a point of checking it out once in awhile :)

You might notice, from what is posted so far, that we do go back to our favourite places a LOT.

That is for several reasons, not the least of which is that we don't always have the same kids. Also, we tend to go for short chunks that fit in between naptimes, so as to keep things fun & easy for all. Which means there's always lots more to see & do. And last but not least, it's because that's what the kids ask for!!! 

They're little - but they have plenty of opinions! Some days, they just want to stay home and play in the backyard; other days, they NEED to go see whichever critter they happen to be enamoured of that day, and off we go :)

If your littles - or even bigger kids - need a quality, fun, active & busy place to hang out this summer, we do happen to have at least one, maybe two, spaces available yet. Give Jessa a call at 1-647-300-5687 or email us at missjessas@gmail.com and we'll be happy to arrange a tour.

We had to go find some milkweed to feed our paterpillars!

Still keeping busy at Miss Jessa's

Well, the Toronto Zoo strike is a bit disappointing. Our littles don't understand the whole strike thing - they just know they want to go to the zoo and see their favourite animals and ride the zoomobile!

But we've still got plenty of alternative activities to keep them busy and engaged.

Got the backyard mowed and cleaned up so the cars and playhouse slide and all that fun stuff are back and ready for play. And of course, we have bubbles! We have bubbles at Miss Jessa's, and sometimes when we go to other Oshawa playgrounds, too. And we found bubbles at the Science Centre too!

Since the Zoo has been closed, we thought we'd try the Science Centre - and the kids loved it. Yay, science!!! As they say :)

We went grocery shopping at the pretend market, played with all sorts of balls, made music, and climbed and learned about skeletons and lungs and all sorts of neat stuff. And the best part is that there's still lots more to explore the next time we go.

We're waiting for summer to use our iMax passes (mostly because the times conflict with nap times and/or home times, but also so that some of the bigger kids can come too) but looking forward to seeing their reactions to that.

So - lots of fun activities & crafts & outdoor play, and still lots of outings, too. What's not to like?

Quality care, great fun, and flexible hours to suit your child care needs  - and we even have an open under two spot available right now! Give us a call at 647-300-5687 to arrange a tour. Or, you can email missjessas@gmail.com or contact us through our Facebook page.

Spring Doings!

We've had a great winter at Miss Jessa's. Lots of outings to the zoo and to Jungle Cat World. Neb's Fun World, Airzone  and the play area at Burger King are also big favourites with the kids.

Most days we head out once all the kidlets get here, and head back just in time for lunch and afternoon naps/quiet time. After those, depending on pick up times and so on, we usually stick around and use that time for free play and/or fun crafts and/or activities.

Won't be long before we'll be out blowing bubbles in the backyard again!

Our wee ones have aged out of our under-two spots, so if you're looking for quality day care for your wee one, please do drop us an email, or give us a call at 647-300-5687.

Fall Fun

We have been having lots of fall fun at Miss Jessa's Child Care. 

We've been to the Farmer's Market to buy our own fresh veggies.

And to Cooper's Farm for the corn maze.

And of course, to Jungle Cat World - the kids never tire of going there and neither do we.

This Friday we're off to the Toronto Zoo again, too! 

And yet we still find lots of time for crafts and play and stories and trips to the playground, too. 

Miss Jessa's kids have a lot of fun - and so do Jessa and her helper, Tamara. 

We'd love to have your 2+ child(ren) join us! 

Give us a call at 905-240-5300 or email missjessas@gmail.com to arrange a visit. 

Full time days, before & after school care, evenings & weekends spots also available.

Subsidized day care

Miss Jessa's is now a licensed Wee Watch provider.

Which means that we have met all of their licensing requirements, passed reference checks & inspections of the premises, and get to do a whole lot more structured record-keeping :)

And which means that we can now offer care to Oshawa families eligible for subsidized day care support (as well as not instead of for those who are not, just so we're clear).

You can always check for available spaces here - but as of this writing, my M-F daytime infant spaces are full until at least February & March, and I only have one remaining space for a 2+ right now (another opening in November).

We do, however, have spaces to provide some evening & weekend care (yes, even for infants).

Summer Fun

Well, now that we're all moved in and set up in our new location at 574 Simcoe Street North in Oshawa, Miss Jessa's has a big back yard with lots of fun things to do right there. Climbing activities, water play and bubbles are all big favourites.

But we're still heading off to explore other fun places with the kids. Miss Jessa's has memberships at both Jungle Cat World and the Toronto Zoo so we get to both of those fairly often. We also get to the rocketship park in Whitby, and the splashpad and other assorted playgrounds in Oshawa as well.

And of course, once in awhile we stay inside and play in our well-equipped dramatic play, crafts or sensory play areas.

While we only have one full time 2+ space available for fall right now, we do have summer spots available for full time, part time or occasional care - and yes, we do weekends and/or overnight care. Give us a call at (905)240-5300 to book a tour or arrange a spot. 

Emergency/last minute care available when space permits.   

Moving

Moving is SO much ~fun~

 

Way too much like work for me!

 

But things are getting sorted and packed and we will be ready to start providing care in our new location starting on Monday, May 16.

 

Can't wait to get everything set up and organized over there. Really looking forward to having a back yard!

 

There are so many great ideas for outdoor spaces on Pinterest. We've already scored some climbing equipment and slides - but also looking at building a water wall, and maybe a music wall. And ...and...and.... !

PA Day

Bubble painting at Miss Jessa's child care services in Oshawa

Friday was a PA day so both of our wee ones brought sibs for the day :)  We had lots of fun - bubble painting, playing Avengers. There are always lots of fun things to do at Miss Jessa's.  Our dramatic play includes a kitchen, work bench (with the ever so popular safety vests), and a market stall/puppet stage among other things. There are lots of building toys - blocks, marbleworks, and so on, that the kids put to all sorts of imaginative uses.  And of course, we have lots of games, craft materials, and especially books.

 

The kids' favourite activity of the day, though, was probably our outing to the park. Kai is back!!! Kai is a puppy that we look forward to seeing when we go to the playground - but her owner has been away for a bit, so we've missed her and were very happy to see her again.

Excitement!

We've found a new place!!!!

 

Miss Jessa's is moving to a new address.

 

Still in Oshawa - but with a much better (&bigger) space, a great location and best of all, a fenced in back yard!!!!!!!

 

SO excited!!!!!!  

 

We've been collecting all sorts of cool outdoor play ideas on Pinterest - and now we're actually going to have room to do them!

 

 

 

March Break

Well, the weather didn't co-operate for most of March Break - but aside from that, the kids had a great week at Miss Jessa's.

The highlight was our trip to Jungle Cat World...although I think if you asked any of the kids what they liked best, it was probably the playground.

Not THAT different from the playground we normally take them to, really - but llamas and peacocks and geese wandering around do add some excitement. Even though we cut our trip short because of the weather, we got a great deal on a yearly membership, so will definitely get back there on a nicer day.

Of course, we did lots of other stuff too. Arts, crafts, sensory & dramatic play - we keep busy at Miss Jessa's!

This week's favourite new addition was probably the balls. Picked up 100 of them and they were used for all sorts of fun sorting, counting and gross motor play. And for dumping. Lots and lots of dumping all over the floor :)  Great fun!

If you are looking for quality care for your 2+ yo child in Oshawa, why not give us a call at 647-300-5687? I still have a couple of spaces available and would be happy to have you come by for a visit.

I am a registered ECE, with lots of experience, excellent references, & reasonable rates - and I would love to meet your wee ones.

Happy Monday

Watching what she's doing!

I like having extra kids here!

I can almost reach!!

Car watching.

Emergency/last minute care

Did you know that Miss Jessa's Child Care Services also offers emergency/back up/last minute care?

If space permits (up to a maximum of 5) I am happy to provide last minute care for those times when your day care plans fall through for one reason or another.

Call or text Miss Jessa at 647-300-5687 to check availability.

End of the Month Update

It's been a busy month.

Got my day care all set up the way I want it - well aside from I'd kind of rather it were somewhere else entirely, but that's another story - and we have kids.

Full time Monday to Friday kids, even. One started this week, and another is starting soon, and as an added bonus, she's bringing her big brother along part time too. So between him and my other part time 2+ little charmer, that fills 3 of my spots.

Still got two though!  If you're looking for high quality care for your 2+ child, I'd be happy to hear from you. 


You can email me at missjessas@gmail.com; message me via Facebook, or give me a call at (647)300-5687.

We have lots of fun at Miss Jessa's!