Author Archives: Lil Bebe Academy

Unknown's avatar

About Lil Bebe Academy

I am a wife and mother to two beautiful children. Since 2008 I have been providing childcare and have tapped into a very rewarding field. My joy has been the ability to watch the metamorphosis of little gems I call butterflies. Browse the website and see why I love my job ~~*
Mar2

How to make balls float – Science

Posted on by
Standard

The purpose of this experiment is to allow the children to observe how balls float when the blow dryer is on. The blow dryer is turned on to the highest level and then the balls are placed over it. The air pressure from the blow dryer allows the ball to float. This experiment was such fun for the children. They continuously request this activity on science days.

Things needed:

Blow dryer with at least 2 settings – low and high

Light weight balls like the ones found in the bounce house or golf balls (I used the light weight balls)

Lots of little people

Before we began our exercise we asked the children to throw the balls up and watch what happened. They started playing ‘catch the ball’…which of course was fun for them.  After much playing of catch the ball we finally got to the science experiment, and since that day a ball and a blow dryer together has not been the same.

IMG_2874

Instructions

Plug in blow dryer of course, and place on highest setting

Add a ball above the blow dryer and …voilà!

For drama and fun which our little people like …add one or two more balls, and see what happens

Allow each child to take a turn

IMG_2869

Teacher demonstration

IMG_2887

Each child experienced the experiment …oh except one that was afraid of the sound

IMG_2886

IMG_2879

IMG_2889

IMG_2893

IMG_2892

Science is so much fun! It is never too early to begin  with  young children

Feb26

Some of our Black History Month Activities

Posted on by
Standard

IMG_5780Not all the people in this picture were discussed but it’s here because I love it.

During Black History month the children learn some things about Martin Luther King Jr, Garrett Morgan and of course our beloved Bob Marley.

The children were given information about Martin Luther King Jr., as it pertains to his strong leadership style, and desire to have children of all race equally attend school. He dreamed of children playing together regardless of their race, ethnicity and color. It was easy for them to understand because of our diverse environment.

We did an activity with the traffic light in honor of Garrett Morgan, he invented the T-shaped traffic light. The children colored the traffic light and even played one, two, three red light.

Bob Marley music played a lot during this month. My daughter says, ‘he has the same hair as us!’ – cute but true. And I say, ‘ he is from Jamaica like mommy!’

… red light says – stop / yellow light says – go very ,very slow / green light says -GO! IMG_5324

   and they are off!!

IMG_5326

 traffic light outline for them to color with crayons provided

IMG_5345

    shading within the lines

IMG_5347
IMG_5349

….Still shading

IMG_5360

 final product. Notice – the light is now housed in as seen on the traffic signals:)

IMG_5361

Feb10

Painting Earth

Posted on by
Standard

During our exploration of the seven continents the children were asked to paint earth using cotton balls.

See how creative there are

Circles were pre-drawn for them …

IMG_2792

The were given paint in sequence

here they are using the white paint first

IMG_2794

green paint is added

IMG_2797

coloring inside the lines

IMG_2798

here comes yellow

IMG_2799

IMG_2801

We then added the globe for visual appeal

IMG_2803

their masterpiece emerges

IMG_2804

very creative…I can not show the final work as their names were already affixed to their final impression of earth…but, as you can see they did a great job

IMG_2808

Makeup class given to one child

IMG_2812

Everyone did a great job and as usual the project was a lot of fun for them

Feb2

Thrifty Meals

Posted on by
Standard

Is it just me our is the cost of food constantly rising? My household eats mainly fish and poultry which, spins off into the items I purchase for the daycare operations. In the summer I love to get produce from local farmers market like; Yorktown, Lombard or Downers Grove but off season I find myself at : Trader Joe’s, Ultra, Jewel, Wholes Food and Aldi’s. I usually spend between $150-$200 for weekly grocery shopping – this included the cost of feeding my family and running the daycare, purchasing household and daycare supplies. Do you think this is too much to spend on a small business operation and for a family of only four?

I am working on ways to cut back cost while providing nutritional meals for all. I recently received a newsletter on the ‘thrifty thirteen’ foods and thought, I would love to share this information and ask your opinion. I got this information from my government agency that holds me accountable for each child nutritional staple.

The list of Thrifty Thirteen Foods are:

IMG_5147 (2)

  • Spinach
  • Banana
  • Berries
  • Potatoes
  • Onions
  • Beans
  • Tomatoes
  • Cauliflower
  • Carrots
  • Apples
  • Cabbage
  • Tuna
  • Watermelon

You can substitute the menu depending on your meat preference or dietary habits. Click here for information from the US Dept of Agriculture

Click to access foodplansrecipebook.pdf

Let me hear your thoughts. 🙂