My 2.5-year-old, Lucy, goes to a wonderful home daycare three days a week, spends one day with her Nana (my Mom), and one special Lucy-Mama-House-Day.

We try to either get out for some shopping or lunch or special snack (she loves “Hortons” for a muffin!) or do a craft together.

The Internet is a goldmine of arts and crafts sites, and I’ve shared our favourites on a new links page called Crafts & Blogs. Check them out!

MaryP’s recent craft post on making trees using all the beautiful falling leaves inspired Lucy and I’s creation yesterday. My tree trunk and sky aren’t as pretty as hers, but we love it just the same!

Oh, the excruciating process of interviewing childcare providers. In our search for home, or “family”, care for Lucy, I interviewed more than a dozen providers either in person or on the phone.

(I’ve been writing about Lucy and our family’s wonderful (and sometimes wacky and sad) childcare searches and experiences — with Daycare Debbie, Julia and Shelby — for years. Read it here.)

Although absolutely necessary when looking for the special person (or centre) to be, almost, your surrogate, it doesn’t make it any less stressful.

Just like interviewing for a job, one of the most helpful tips I read about before beginning the search was to be prepared and know exactly the questions to ask a potential provider.

There’s a wealth of information for parents online, often broken down by type of childcare, too. Here are our favourites:

• About Kids Health (from the Hospital for Sick Children): Questions to ask for infant/toddler care, preschool care, and school-age before-/after-school care
• Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services: Childcare choices and questions
• CBC news in-depth on daycare: Questions parents should ask
• BC Health Guide on choosing childcare: Questions, plus how to decide between a home and centre
• The search is on: A lengthy but worthwhile read from the Brantford Expositor

Any favourite sites or resources to share? Leave ‘em below!