One day my staff and I had decided we wanted to take the little ones to the public swimming pool. The children were excited and pumped up to use the waterslide. Had I done my due diligence, I would have discovered the pool policies would not allow our group in without written permission from each parent. Down heartened we decided to have our first water day at daycare instead, hoping it would be enough to brighten their spirits.
We pulled out our paddling pool, sprinkler, sunscreen, and put on their swimsuits. My heart hoped this change would suffice, and cloud their disappointment. As their joy began to expand and laughter began to overflow, there was one little one that came up to me and said, “But there is no waterslide”, she looked down and walked back to the sprinkler. My heart broke, I had forgotten that they had been excited about the waterslide. My mind raced trying to think of an alternative, it dawned on me how to create a little magic to their day.
Pulling the paddling pool over to the slide, positioning the sprinkler near it so it would get wet, creating our own outdoor water slide. Feeling proud of myself, we began to help the kids safely slide down into the paddling pool. Little children slide very fast, sliding past the pool and onto the grass. Grass that was slowly turning into mud. “Let them have fun”, I thought to myself, I will deal with the consequences later…….
Little muddy children stood in line waiting to get washed, dressed, and ready for lunch. So much mud! We decided to spray them down outside through their giggles. Outdoor swimsuit showers for all 🙂
Smiles across their faces, all with hungry bellies eagerly eating their lunches. My one little girl looked up from her plate, smiled, and said “This was the best day of my life” 🙂