When was the last time someone asked you what your favorite color was? When was the last time you asked someone else that question? Simple questions about what someone likes matters. Questions show care in learning more about somebody.

Even simple questions can be hard to answer though.  Honestly I love all the colors.  Color depends on mood and weather – and if I’m wearing it, or eating it, or coloring with it! But I think if I have to pick a favorite I’d say blue.

Wearing blue to match my eyes, eating blueberries, coloring a picture of the sky, exploring water life… This week we continued nurturing nature and transitioned to a focus on exploring the sky and water life.

Next week we’ll also start transitioning to our August studies and planning our fall program.  This fall Mi Families (“my families”) LLC will NOT be offering child care.  Limited babysitting services may be available.

Please email Christi@MiFamilies.com for information about children and adult services or visit www.MiFamilies.com for more information.  Mi Families will continue to reach out with resources for families and those who work with families.

Mi Families will continue providing education through recreation. Provider trainings, parent workshops, family events, youth programs… Youth programs include (click) developmental services, tutoring, and infant thru teen groups.

Both groups and one-on-one services will utilize top rated curriculums to learn through hands on activities. Our littlest learners will continue using Mother Goose Time’s themes, such as this months Nature Detectives (as pictured).

Older students love using themes to learn from as well, and expanding on the study units by diving deeper into subject matters.  As we dive deeper into water studies we’ll take a field trip to the SOO LOCKS to learn more about water travel.

Field trips exploring the great lakes and learning more about water life is a fun part of our mini camp adventures.  There are still some dates in August with spaces available if you know a tot to tween who’d like to join us!

We’ll be enrolling for fall youth and adult programs soon so check back for more information on the awesome programs that will be starting up in September! I can’t believe summers almost over… Here’s the schedule for the rest of the summer             CLICK : AUGUST18

Nurture vs Nature? How about focusing on nurturing through nature … and education through recreation?

Mi Families facilitates programs for families and those who work with families using an education through recreation approach.

Education through recreation means we have fun learning! Recreation is defined as “an activity done for enjoyment when one is not working.”

Learning new things often takes a lot of “work,” but this approach makes lessons enjoyable and are often enjoyed outdoors!

When the weather makes it hard to learn and play outdoors we have fun inside our various locations – in homes, centers, and other community spaces.

Indoors or outside – our programs have had a nature focus this week.  Our mini camp / daycare friends enjoyed Mother Goose Times nature curriculum.

Mother Goose Time is a prepackaged curriculum making lesson planning easy, as well as adaptable for multi ages/stages.

While tots learn new concepts, tweens dive deeper into the themes and expand on the lessons.

Nature lessons about the land, water and sky encouraged building on self help skills as my own son made a nature/dirt-cake.

I love watching little learners want to do the same activities as older students.  Whether it’s my own tot to tweens – or friends that visit – peer teaching is encouraged.

Our multi stage programming focuses on students learning in their own time and in their own ways.

Our home-based-center is designed for toddlers to teenagers, while our other locations are more age defined, yet still stage approached.

Whether working with babies, big kids, or parents … Our hands on learning approach makes activities adaptable for kids or families to learn together.

As we start to plan our learning activities for the fall semester – we hope you sign up for developmental services, elementary tutoring, or homeschool coop classes.

We’ll also be offering new family events, parent workshops and provider trainings.  However to make room for new programs we will NO longer offer childcare.

Sorry for any inconvenience this causes! If you still need part time babysitting please feel free to email Christi@MiFamilies.com.

I have loved caring for children in our family home and invite everyone to continue visiting us through our other services.

Our youth and adult programs will fill up quick so please check www.MiFamilies.com for more enrollment information.

Our youngest participants will still utilize curriculums such as Mother Goose Time for theme based learning.

Many of the pictures posted showcase MGT materials for their current nature curriculum. We’ve enjoyed activities such as crafts and games all week long.

Last week we transitioned to animal activities learning about how creatures move differently and live in different habitats.

This week we expanded on animal habitats and looked closer at the ground during our own backyard adventures.

We explored the dirt and who lives under the ground, what grows in the dirt, how trees grow from a tiny seed…

From dirt to leaves we covered all subject matters of reading and writing, math, science, social studies and art.

We’ll continue offering theme based learning, covering all subject matters through our new programs.

Programming will be updated with our August calendar as soon as possible! July will finish off using our mini camps with current daycare kiddos!

We have a couple spots remaining for mini camps over the next couple weeks if you know a 2-12 year old that would like to join in the the fun!

In August we will have limited availability as we prepare for our fall classes.  Some of the homeschool coop courses are posted in the pictures below! (click image)

Myself (Christi Morgan) and my husband (Jeff Morgan) love teaching through Mi Families (& the TCAPS Homeschool Partnership).

Our Mi Families team of teachers and providers are growing! Mi Families has goals of reaching across Michigan!

Mi Families is reaching out with SUPERIOR resources for families – and those who work with families…

Check back on these articles and on LinkedIN, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, etc for updates and to network with Mi Families – family members!

Click image above to view what Mi-Mini camps did the first half of the month – and what our plans are as we finish up July.

After Independence Day we continued to learn about our nation and enjoyed make believe travels to big cities and nature reserves across the country.

We continued talking about traveling and made mud transportation mud tracks as we learned to “look closer” at nature.

We talked about finding clues and details in dirt and other images – and enjoyed Mother Goose Time’s “Get Close to Nature” book.

We use Mother Goose Time’s curriculum to inspire theme driven learning for tots to teens in our program.

Our littlest learners love the exposure to new concepts, while older students dive deeper into unit studies.

MGT provides a pre-packaged ready to use curriculum. It can be easily adapted and modified as the open ended supplies can be used as desired!

In the workbook provided students found ways to transition from how transportation moves to observing how animals move.

Students learned about animal movements and tracked foot prints.  Students discussed ways to protect animals, plants and our natural resources.

We spend a lot of time outdoors during our mini-camps and the kids loved having their own books to work on outside.

Some students continued to tape found items and write notes for days.  They also loved sharing their findings with others.

I love watching the progress of student scribbles turning to writings and watching them take pride in their work.

Although students are learning all day long they don’t consider camp school as our days are packed with education through recreation…

Although there are lessons we don’t sit at desks listening to lectures.  We look through suggested activities and discuss ways to explore topics.

This months kit came with 2 “workbooks.”  “My Nature Collection” was a favorite for many who came to visit this week.

Our program is part time so materials such as these books are a great way to encourage kiddos to continue learning at home.

Some children come for a couple hours, some come a couple days a week.  All leave with activities to continue at home or keepsake projects they made.

Mi Families programs encourage learning through hands on fun so please send those who attend with extra clothes as they often get messy working on our projects.

From digging in the dirt to water play and paint, etc this program is designed to make friends while making a mess.

Research tells us that we learn more through doing then listening. Our strongest memories are linked to activities that build on our emotions.

I hope that the emotion felt during our activities is a happy feeling.  A feeling of joy, friendship, and a peaceful place to play.

Sometimes we must play and learn indoors because the heat is too much to bear or there’s a storm outside.

A group of boys loved playing hide-n-go-seek-tag in the rain the other day, and were bummed when thunder meant heading indoors.

Sometimes we have to change plans (and while I prep other options) big kids love to look through materials to teach little ones with.

MGT lesson plan books are available for big kids to find ideas and build confidence teaching our younger participants.

Each MGT box comes with 20 theme related day kits, an extra holiday/seasonal study pack and teacher tools such as lesson plans and music cd’s.

Teacher materials walk instructors through preschool assessments and how to know what skills are worked on during different activities.

Activities are broken into sub themes.  I find creating smooth transitions through themes makes lessons connect easier.

We transitioned from our summer travels to animal travels and as we move into deeper nature lessons – families can transition topics from camp to home.

If you’d like information how to extend the learning at home feel free to email me at Christi@MiFamilies.com.

If you’d like information on the curriculum mentioned (and photographed) contact www.MotherGooseTime.com.

Mother Goose Time is only one curriculum we use. Mi Families works with many ages/stages so we use many curriculums to individualize lessons.

Lessons are individualized based on struggles and strengths.  Strength and interest focused lessons are the key to learning.

If a student is interested in animals or art or building – or whatever – interests are used to excite them about learning!

As we hit the middle of our summer session we start preparing for fall programs.  This fall Mi Families is making some changes…

NO WORRIES – Mi Families will continue providing programs for families and those who work with families!

But camps and child care options will end in August so stay tuned for new program details (including a new tutoring program)                                                                                                          (CLICK developmental services )                                                                                                                 AND if you haven’t already – sign your children up for mini-camps before summers over!

Sorry it’s been a lil’ over a week again since my last post – but we’ve been busy having summer adventures!

In our 1room school house and across Michigan we’ve been learning about summer adventures…

and transportation by playing out and researching transportation timelines.

We roll-played animal travel and how nature celebrates the summer season.

We roll-played family summer traditions and planned how to celebrate summer holidays.

We created festive foods for the 4th of July!

Red-white-&blue fruits are always a seasonal favorite around here!

We enjoyed cookouts and lots of outside fun.

Daycare friends loved bubble breaks during recess.

Tutor time students loved water play activities during the hot days.

During one of the hottest days we braved the heat to explore Greenfield Village.

Mi Families was able to secure homeschool discounts for this amazing fieldtrip!

All year round Mi Families programs host field trips and events for families!

The special day at Henry Ford lined up perfectly with our transportation lessons …

and made a smoooooooth transition into our US history lessons!

Learning about American History helped us prepare for our 4th of July activities.

Tots to teens researched American history and how it’s impacting current news.

Students researched old speeches, documents and symbols.

Mi Families participants watched documentaries and listened to patriotic music all week long.

Students made reports about topics they wanted to learn more about.

From learning about our founding fathers to those who first discovered America…

Students were eager to share what they learned and dive further into history lessons.

Students will continue to learn about American history, national monuments… national parks…

As we learn more about our nation we’ll be learning how we show our country and citizens respect.

Respect for other and responsibility for ourselves is a year round character focus in our programs.

Although some programs are simply a daily themed focus, we offer activities year round for all ages!

Our youngest participants love our Mother Goose Time activities.

Mother Goose Time is a preschool curriculum with a monthly topic.

The curriculum includes an extra day of lesson plans for seasonal topics, such as the 4th of July!

Little learners love being introduced to new topics through hands on activities.

Older students love expanding on daily topics and help plan future days activities…

Next week we still have a couple part time openings in our mini-camps as we continue learning about summer adventures for people – and for animals.  Animal topics will help transition us into future NATURE DETECTIVE lessons from Mother Goose Time as we expand on our national parks / respect and responsibility lessons.  Mi Families uses an “adventure academy” curriculum for all ages encouraging education through recreation.

I’m finding it hard to keep up with articles this summer! Between friends coming over for daycare, and students attending our summer school program, and my own family enjoying summer activities – it’s been a busy month! Here’s a link to next months busy schedule! JULY 2018

Summer schedules for many are different then their school year routines.  Summer schedules can create anxiety for kiddos who rely on predictable daily patterns.  I recommend posting a calendar with upcoming events or daily activity list for easier transitions.

I also recommend posting daily expectation lists to calm the chaos! For example my own kids have a chart to complete their chores and homework before they can have tech time (computer/tv options).  They also have limited tech time and spend a LOT of time outside!

This summer we’ll be spending lots of time outdoors enjoying Mother Goose Time’s – Nature Detectives – curriculum! MGT provides a preschool based curriculum that is designed for little learners to be introduced to new concepts.

Older students love to expand on MGT themes.  So when tots play in the water, tweens are researching waterways and waterlife.  Students help decide where themes lead us as we learn about the world around us.  As we head into our nature studies we’re finishing learning about the indoors.

We’ve been learning about habitats and homes and communities this past month.  This week we’ve studied homes that travel such as campers and house boats.  We made maps and destination bucket lists.  We discussed summer vacations and exploring big cities to natural landmarks.

As we continue to learn this summer, we’ll continue to connect with nature and our friends.  We invite more friends to join in the fun as we have a couple part time spaces still available for child care or summer school – tutoring.  Please email me at Christi@MiFamilies.com for more information.

Also feel free to visit www.MiFamilies.com (or find us on LinkedIN, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, etc) for more information about our youth programs, our family events, our parent workshops, and our provider trainings! We’re going to start scheduling out fall programs NEXT MONTH!!!! JULY 2018

Mi Families facilitates programs for families and those who work with families – such as daycare providers and teachers.  Mi Families facilitates programs for infants through grandparents – with a focus on parent partnerships.  Parent partnerships include resourceful connections and communication with providers.

Mi Families facilitates provider trainings, parent workshops and youth services – such as tutoring and child care.  This summer there is part time / hourly youth services available.  Child care includes thematic activities and outdoor adventures.  Tutoring is also theme based and filled with education through recreation!

Last week our theme centered around Fathers Day.  Some years this has been tricky because of family dynamics – but we found ways to focus on father-figures and encourage dad day activities.  Mi Families is sensitive to all family differences and parent partnerships mean we include all parents.  This isn’t just another “mom’s club.”

Many programs offer wonderful mom club benefits, but today’s families often include dad’s who want to be involved or dads who can’t be – or grandparent led families or foster families … All families have different needs and strengths and our focus is on individual strengths.

All families have different homes, that celebrate their individual and unique cultures and traditions.  This week we talked about families, about our homes and our communities.  We branched off family trees and also home trees showing how homes connect to communities then the city and county and state and country.

As we get closer to the 4th of July we’ll be learning more about our country and the different cultures and traditions within our “melting pot.”  We’ll be learning about the different regions around the USA and making summer bucket lists.  Even if they aren’t summer vacations we can travel to – we can learn about them!

If your child would like to learn with us through small group activities or one-on-one lessons please email Christi@MiFamlies.com – feel free to email to inquire about our parent partnerships or provider trainings as well.  Or visit www.MiFamilies.com for more information about our programs.

ALSO visit www.MotherGooseTime.com to learn more about a fun open-ended preschool curriculum. Their curriculum is open-ended enough that it can be adapted for younger children to learn new concepts, while older students expand on unit studies.  Each month has a main theme with 20 subthemed days, as well as a bonus day of activities – which was Fathers Day this month and photos in this article showcase the Father’s Day materials we utilized!

CLICK developmental services to learn more about our youth programs!

JUNE 2018 (click 4 calendar)                                                                                                                  Mi Families (“my families”) reaches out with resources – in attempt to connect others with supportive materials, information, and people that benefit their lives. Our education-through-recreation program approach is not only resourceful, but fun, with a goal to put the fun in FUNctional for families, and those who work with families.

Functional means the operation of a specific task, designed to be practical and useful,  rather than entertaining or fun.  Too often parents and providers (such as daycare staff or teachers) say they do the minimum to make sure kids are safe and jobs are completed. BUT what if you found ways to have fun completing tasks and caring for kids?

Mi Families offers provider trainings and parent workshops to help adults learn FUN tricks, tips and tools.  Mi Families also offers developmental programs for tots to teens teaching them FUN ways to learn.  Developmental programs, such as tutor time, use a unique Adventure Academy curriculum that adapts to students unique learning styles.

Some parents use our youth services for time to run errands or go on a date, some parents take the opportunity to stay and build up their tool bag of fun ways to help their children learn.  This week we’ve continued learning about houses and how to be respectful to others and responsible for ourselves at home.  If your child attended ask them about their chore challenges!

We’ve been using Mother Goose Time’s “Alphabet House” curriculum to learn about homes and communities.  Next week we’ll be expanding our home studies to learn more about homes in our community, across our state, around our country, even the world! We’ll be learning about how our home and family is connected with the whole world and ways to be responsible and respectful beyond our front door.

Theme lessons connect early learners with the world around them, while encouraging older students to expand on topics and connect all subject matters. To learn more about the themes and curriculums utilized or to enroll your child in our part time summer-school options email Christi@MiFamilies.com.  Feel free to email or visit www.MiFamilies.com for more program information or find us on LinkedIN, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest …

developmental services (click for youth services information)

It’s June! That means it’s time to start our summer programs! Mi Families has limited spaces left for provider trainings, parent workshops, family events and youth services.  Youth services include tutoring sessions and mini camps.

Mini camps are part-time small-groups designed to reinforce basic skills and prevent the summer slide. Our mini camps use various curriculums for theme based fun, such as Mother Goose Time’s “Alphabet House.”

This week – Alphabet House encouraged us to explore animal habits and family homes.  As we continue learning about houses we’ll learn about own family responsibilities and respecting differences in homes around the world.

Every home is different, because every body is different.  Everyone has different family dynamics, traditions, cultures, needs… Every home is different because homes meet personal and locational needs from apartments to igloos!

From our own homes, to homes in our community, to the difference between city, state, country, continent … we’ll be using social studies to learn about history and science – while working on reading, writing and math.

Summer school subjects are implemented through fun activities! Make learning fun for your tot-to-tween by signing them up to make friends, make a mess, make believe and make memories this summer.

Email Christi@MiFamilies.com for more information.  Visit www.MiFamilies.com to learn more about our programs.  Network on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest…

We’re growing our social media content, we’re growing programs and we’re growing our community.  Mi Families (“my families”) community is for families and those who work with families!

CLICK HERE for our JUNE 2018 SCHEDULE / MEAL PLAN!

There is an ancient proverb that “it takes a village to raise a child.”  During a recent parent meet up one got defensive saying only parents should do the “raising.”  Not debating politics or worldly influences – we simply then conversed about the benefits of involving POSITIVE family, friends, teachers, coaches, church groups and other support systems in our children’s lives.

Watching the news can lead to debates of negative influences and confirm worldly fears, but avoiding the “village” doesn’t teach a child how to survive in it. Bubble-wrapping a child and never letting them explore their village may avoid some bruises, but it may also avoid teachable skills, even motor development. Research proves adventures are important for a child’s body and brain.

Adventures teach kids how to play safely.  Adventures to a park to run and climb are as important as adventures to a park to play with others.  Playing with others doesn’t mean having to find similar playmates. Playmates don’t have to be the same age or look the same … Playmates help us learn how to interact.

Mi Families teaches through interaction.  During provider trainings, parent workshops and youth services there are times to simply interact with each other through conversation and hands on activities. Mi Families facilitates programs for specific ages, but also in multi age/stage classrooms. I hope those who participate feel we are a positive part of their village!

We only have a couple weeks left of our spring programs – which included soccer, tutoring, multi-age child care, parent and me preschool, elementary art courses and a child development class.  It’s time to prepare for summer adventures! I hope you consider enrolling your child in our part time camp or summer school options.  1-on-1 and small group options are available.

Next week’s article will include our summer theme plan.  This weeks theme was transitioning from Mother Goose Time’s “Growing Gardens” to “Alphabet House” curriculums.  We are transitioning by learning about garden visitors and other spring animals and learning about their habitats and how animals help their own “villages”/communities.

If your child participated this week ask them about ways they helped their community while playing and learning in our programs.  If you’d like your child to participate email Christi@MiFamilies.com or visit www.MiFamilies.com for for more information.  You can also network with us on LinkedIN, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, etc 🙂

Mi Families (“my families”) facilitates programs for families and those who work with families, through provider trainings, parent workshops, family events and youth services.  All programs have an “education through recreation” approach, and all programs have a parent partnership focus.

Parent partnerships are important for student success. Tots thru teens that attend child care or tutor time programs get a portfolio that parents/teachers can use to save work showcasing development. The portfolio is also a communication tool to send daily notes back and forth, regarding child development, behavior, health, scheduling and more.

Daily notes may include information on meals, potty training or milestone celebrations.  Notes may include topics such as student strengths and needs, as well as what a child is currently working on.  This week students were continuing to work on Mother Goose Time’s, growing gardens, theme and learning about spring growth.

Growth is observed across the continuum using tools such as Mother Goose Time’s observation records.  Growth is observed across domains of social/emotional development, large/small motor skills, creative representation and STREAMS subject matters.  STREAMS includes Science, Technology, Reading (&wRiting), Engineering, Arts, (Music) Mathematics, Social Studies (hiStory).

Various curriculums are used to support students individual learning styles in one-on-one, small group and large group programs. For more information on curriculum options, such as our unique Adventure Academy curriculum email Christi@MiFamilies.com.  Feel free to email or visit www.MiFamilies.com for more information about all of our programs!

Our programs are year round and we are currently enrolling for part time summer care and tutoring through elementary levels.  We are also currently taking planning out fall programs and scheduling classes such as Child Development courses for teens, parents and providers.  I can’t believe we’re starting to plan out fall when our snow finally melted away last week!

Pictures in this article showcase MGT supplies and a couple Mi Families service sites!