WELCOME!!! Blossom House Day Care

WELCOME!!! Thank you for taking a look at our blog and wanting some more information about our day care. We hope you enjoy learning a bit about our family.

Blossom House is a small Family Day Care located on the Greenfield Center/Corinth line. (See below for more information about the location) We are licensed by the State of New York and Office of Family and Childrens Services. We are also one of the few day cares that are endorsed as an EHCC or Eco Healthy Child Care Center. We are breastfeeding friendly as well as cloth diaper friendly. We serve between 5 and 6 families on a full time basis. We operate year round Monday through Friday from 6:45-4:30 p.m. (See below for more information about our fees)

We are a unique day care that strives to serve the WHOLE child. We seek to nourish the child in their head, heart and hands. Miss Jamie pulls her inspiration of child care from an eclectic blend of educational models including Waldorf, Montessori and Classical schooling. Those elements are intergected not so much as a curriculum but more in our rhythm. We follow a rhythm, our days have consistency and the children come to know what is next. This helps them to feel safe and secure. Our rhythm is both daily, weekly and seasonal. They come to know that Monday is Walk Day, Tuesday baking day, Thursday is making Soup Day. In the summer our rhythm varies a little and become a bit more flexible with much more outdoor play. They look forward to festivals such as St. Martin in the Fall, making beautiful lanterns and they remember that St. Nicholas comes to visit mid December at rest time and leaves a golden chocolate coin in their shoes that we have laid out. They treasure rest time which is the same every day, they enter a darkened rest room, a candle is lit and we sing our rest song, Miss Jamie plays a song on the recorder and I tell a tale, fairy tale, fable, legend, or something I have created. The story usually corresponds with our theme for the week. Last week we heard the fairy tale "Rainbows and Fairies" because we did a week on Rainbows. All of these rhythms help the children blossom.

Here is a sample schedule of our day:

7-8:30 arrival/ free play (outdoors weather permitting)

8:45 readying for preschool for those going

9:00 Free Play

9:30 Breakfast Snack

10:00 Activity of the Day (Baking, Painting, Seasonal Crafts, Nature Walk)

11:00-12:00 Outdoor Free Play

12:30 Rest Rhythm (song, blessings, story)

2:30 Awakening, readying for departure/Games, Stories and Free Play

Food is a very important part of our program. Not only are we involved in the CAFCP through NYS that monitors what we serve, but we go above and beyond the guidelines. We serve WHOLE foods to the children. I believe that children will behave and thrive best when provided with a diet rich in whole foods. Whole grains, rices, pasta, beans, vegetables, fresh fruits and low fat dairy fill our menu, much of which is organic. We are primarily vegetarian and much of our menu is organic. We strive to eat as much of our fruit and vegetables fresh and raw to preserve all the nutrients. Often times your child may eat something you see on the menu and think "wow" they will never eat that. Surrounded by others eating the same foods and often foods they have grown & prepared with their own hands makes all the difference.

Our play rooms are stocked with open ended wooden toys. You will not find a ton of plastic toys nor will you find characters. We feel childrens imaginations are critical between the ages of 1 and 5 and toys that are open ended, simple and also beautiful help them to dream big. They may play dress up, be tending babies or cooking in the kitchen for "restaurant". (Also in being certified as Eco Friendly we are required to keep our plastic toys to a minimum). Please scroll down below to find more information about location, fees, and the director Miss Jamie.

**If you desire your child to attend a part time pre school program, we work in conjunction with an amazing area pre school "Rise & Shine" that provides transportation for your child each day.** See http://www.riseandshinepreschool.vp.web.com/ for a peek into their amazing program.

We spend a great deal of time outdoors, free play, games, and hikes fill our days. I love the children to feel connected with nature and so we hatch butterflys, go on bug hunts, watch the changes that occur as baby robin eggs hatch from a nest built outside our door, monitor our milk weed garden for monarch caterpillars, or gather leaves, berries and items from nature to make art and crafts.

Some Special Times At Blossom House

May Day Celebration- Delivering Cones **** Sprouted Acorns- We planted Oak Trees for Earth Day

Indoor Garden Terrariums for Earth Day Week!

To Celebrate Easter Felted Wool Eggs with chicks hiding inside

Soup Day occurs every Thursday in the Winter!!

Soup Day (Thursdays)

Making homemade cranberry sauce for thanksgiving

Our Martinmas Feast

Our gang ready for their lantern walk, siblings too!!

Children love the rhythm at Blossom House whether seasonal, weekly or daily, they find comfort in our celebration of festivals and special activities. Please take a peek into some special times we have shared at Blossom House:

Program Offerings

Blossom House in operated Monday through Friday the hours of 6:45-4:30 p.m. Our program offers full time care as well as part time care, half days, and can even accomadate drop in care as our schedule permits. The fees include all food your child will need, supplies, etc. We serve a full breakfast, a hot lunch and afternoon snack daily. By providing the foods it helps the families, as well as maintain the harmony within the group as we strive to consume healthy whole foods, many of which are organic or we have grown ourselves! The fees are very reasonable $165 weekly for full time care, $35 daily for part time care, $25 for half day care, and $6.00 hourly for drop in care.

Location of Blossom House

Please take a look at our pictures and read below a bit about our new location!!!!

Blossom House is located at the Northern end of Saratoga county right on the Greenfield/Corinth town lines. We are located about 10 minutes from Saratoga, five from Greenfield Center and the Village of Corinth. We are located in the country on a great 2 acre piece of property. Two rooms in the rear of the home are dedicated solely to the day care with its own entrance located just about 10 feet from our rear yard. Our rear yard is completely fenced in for safety and contains a wooden playground, sandbox, and little house. We have some beautiful apple trees in the yard which bear some wonderful fruit for us. Outside our window we have a small vegetable garden growing some terrific vegetables for us to harvest.When we feel like hiking we head into the woods just feet from our fenced yard to take a nature walk on our hiking trails, build fairy houses or tree forts! Our location is just perfect for our nature centered program.

Miss Jamie

Miss Jamie is the owner/director of blossom house day care. Miss Jamie brings to Blossom House a warmth and genuine love for the children. Miss Jamie is a RN and has been in a day care setting for 10 years. In addition to being a registered nurse Miss Jamie has degrees in Psychology and Applied Science and was a La Leche League leader for Saratoga Springs for many years. Miss Jamie has worked with children her entire life, whether as a recreational camp counselor, substitute teacher for both public and private schools or working with special needs children in a home setting, children have been at her core for her entire life. Miss Jamie wanted to develop a day care that was more than Nick jr. and peanut butter sandwiches and applied what she would have sought for her own children in creating Blossom House. She took her inspiration from not only her years as a homeschooling mom but also her experience in Waldorf and public school classrooms. She saw no one way as "best" but saw bits and pieces of many disciplines important in the overall developement of children. She loves the beauty and rhythm of Waldorf, the sensory focus of Montessori and thinks that many classical schoolong activities are useful as well. She brings to the children a eclectic blend of education drawing from Waldorf, Montessori, Reggio and Classical methods of schooling. Believing no one way is the "right" way she has pulled the best from all sources to give to the children what she feels is a well rounded program. So for example much of our rhythm and seasonal focus is drawn from the Waldorf philosophy while Montessori sensory experiences are implemented and sometimes classical activities like fingerpainting and play doh use are beneficial as well!! Miss Jamie works hard to have a deep and meaningful connection with you and your children and believe we are truly partners in fostering each child to Blossom, my families are truly family to me and I often find myself visiting their homes for parties and events and feel honored to be in their lives. Miss Jamie loves when the children say they are coming to "school" but also likes the small family feel we share together each and every day.