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. 

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!!

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.

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!

Weekend Update

No kids this weekend - first one since I opened Miss Jessa's ... so I headed off to Brampton to spend some time with my cousin instead. Went to her hockey game where she did a great job of warming the bench and (wo)manning the doors (she plays goal and they take turns - as usual when my Mom goes to a game, it wasn't her turn). And then we went to a late show. Where I got carded!!!!

Enjoyed the movie. Did not enjoy coming out after midnight to discover that my battery had died. Again. Stupid thing does not like the cold. Not even a little bit.

So we called my uncle who came and got us. Would have boosted the car but we couldn't find the battery in his and by that time it was after 1 am and nobody cared that much. Could have called my auto club, I guess - but yeah - after one a.m. and darn cold and who wants to sit in a parking lot and wait?

So we left my car there and went home to their place; got it started this morning (much easier to find battery hookups in the light when you're not freezing and tired!) and headed back to Oshawa in time to make it to Z's birthday party.

Off to play laser tag.

What? You thought a no kids weekend would actually mean no play time? Where would be the fun in that?  I like my kids - even when I'm not being paid to take care of them; of course I go to their birthday parties when I'm invited :)

Another busy weekend

Well, we had another busy weekend at Miss Jessa's Child Care Services this weekend, with kids coming and going, and a hockey tournament in Aurora thrown in for good measure. Our team made it to the final game but lost to London.

Alphabet finished

Here's my Avengers alphabet! Really happy with how it turned out.

Decorating - Avengers Alphabet

Another Busy Weekend

Yet another 5 kidlet weekend this week....all schoolagers this week, no wee ones.

Lots of running - not only providing childcare, but also running kids to and from hockey practices and all that fun stuff.

It's a good thing I have an assistant (aka my sister). She has also worked in a day care centre, so has her first aid and CPR and criminal record check and all that good stuff. And food handling certificate which is good because while I'm doing the hockey thing, she's handling the food.

If you're looking for a weekend off at some point, feel free to drop me an email at missjessas@gmail.com and - assuming I have space available, would be happy to accommodate you.

Once we get to five full time M - F kids, I'm likely to be less available on weekends - or at least not EVERY weekend... but for now, we're having fun.

Why Miss Jessa's Child Care Services?

So... just in case anyone is wondering why we chose to use the name Miss Jessa's even though even when I was working in day cares, I really didn't much care whether the kids remembered the Miss or not - not my rule! ... it is because that is how my little people mostly refer to me.

So...this makes it easier for them to find me if they or their parents had an inkling to do that.

So, Miss Jessa's it is :)

The logo is kind of sort of part of that as well - anyone who knows me and googles my name will know that they've come to the right place as soon as they see a zebra. I like zebras, and I started buying zebra print things long before they became so ubiquitous, actually. I have a lot of zebra stuff now...and many of my most treasured things are gifts from little people who thought of me when they saw something cool in a zebra print.

Truth be known, the zebra thing started way back when I got my cat.... his full name is actually Zebra in a Snowstorm. He's white, with just a trace of very light zebra-ish stripes on his forehead...so yeah... zebra in a snowstorm worked.

And yep, I do have cats, and chinchillas, too.

So smoke-free, yes, of course... but no, not pet-free, at least not as long as I'm operating out of my current location. But, assuming no allergies, it seems to work quite well, actually. The kids and Zebra get along just fine, and everyone that comes to the house - big peoples, little peoples, whichever, enjoy the chinchillas. Chinchillas are pretty awesome pets... dumb as can be, but that just adds to their charm.

Setting up a home day care

So, I've had a busy week or two. Once the decision to open my own home day care was made, there was a lot of work to do - in a very short time, given that as soon as I told people that I was doing it, I had bookings.

Our place was a little bit full of big people things so the first big task was to clear all that stuff out and make room for little people stuff. I had more than enough kid stuff that I have amassed over years of working in child care centres... just needed to make room for it.

So, we did.

And then it was off to Ikea for some storage solutions for toys and games, baby furniture, and so on. The plan was to stick to the necessities I would need to get started, but well... you know.

They had this way cool tool bench that was on clearance and it needed to come home with me.
And no dramatic play centre would be complete without safety vests, right? Right. Yeah, we bought those too








And I had found an awesome play kitchen that makes noise and everything for my dramatic play centre, so I HAD to buy the pretend food and stuff. And anyway it's way cool, cuz when you take the fish apart, it's got bones inside. Yes, of course I had to try it all out. Quality testing, you know.













Also found a market play centre that can double as a puppet show stage..... and maybe just a ~few~ other things.

Somehow we managed to fit everything into my car and get it home.

And then we got to work setting it all up in the very short time that was remaining before my first kids were showing up.

It was a bit of a rush, but we pulled it off and had everything ready for our first little visitors.

Who so far all seem to approve.

We're having a lot of fun at Miss Jessa's Child Care Services these days.

Come play with us, why don't you! If you are looking for high quality home day care for your wee one(s) please email me at missjessas@gmail.com.