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View Full Version : Do you do a daily craft/activity?



mlc1982
03-29-2011, 02:13 PM
Does your day always allow for a craft or activity of some sort?
Are there ever just days when you let the kids have free play time all day?

I for the most part try to have some sort of activity/craft planned for the kids everyday. My crowd is all pretty young so it makes it hard sometimes since their attention span is not very long and they don't really know what they're doing. I have free play days sometimes but then feel like I haven't really done anything with the kids and then feel like I don't have much to report back to the parents. Am I wrong to feel this when when it comes to free play?

playfelt
03-29-2011, 03:37 PM
I do activities every day but rarely a craft. My kids are young so just scribble, don't cut with scissors, don't have the strength for a glue stick, etc. We play games and do a lot of sorting and classifying type of activities as in things that teach them a concept they need.

Mommy-Jenn
03-29-2011, 04:01 PM
I look after 3 kiddos. My son does numbers and letters everyday that he works on, but thats cause I want to prepare him for school in the fall. Usually the kids can sit and color and thats as far as I let them go. I have 1 girl that is allowed to paint because she is capable of doing it, but the others are just able to color and even that is a challenge. So no not really work on a so called craft everyday.

daycaremom
03-30-2011, 12:41 PM
Most days we just colour. I try to do at least two crafts per week which may include painting or pasting. We will attempt more complicated crafts, however my daycare kids are young and I find that I have to do most of the work. I feel bad not sending the kids home with some sort of art work, so they at least scribble on paper everyday.

giraffe
03-30-2011, 12:56 PM
It really depends on the day of the week. I try to do some form of manipulative (playdoh, sensory bin etc) everyday, but it is not always a paint/glue/colour type of craft. My guys are younger so any type of "tactile" activity keeps them happy and creative.

lilac
03-30-2011, 08:49 PM
In the winter, we do a craft every day but I have kindergarden kids who enjoy the craft most. Sometimes getting them to come and do the craft is a challenge, b/c they love to free play. But once they get there and see the craft they get excited for it and it usually leads into something else. I also put out some random stuff, like glueing, stickering, playdough, painting,colouring, beading etc for the afterschool kids, becuase I find if I dont and I allow them to free play for the entire 3 hours school is out at 2:30 here) they run amuck (especially inthe winter) argue, fight, or just get too rowdy if I leave them to their own devices (mosly the boys) and I find I spend more time nagging at them to calm down and then we are all just annoyed at eachother!! LOL! Now that its starting to get nice out we play outside for the majority of the afterschool period.

angele
04-14-2011, 12:59 PM
On average, I would say I am doing 4 crafts per week after a.m. snack time. If not a craft then an educational type activity learning about animals, plants ect... We have free play (sensory bin/blocks/make believe areas in the early morning, and late afternoon providing that we are not outdoors. I also do "circle time" sometime in the a.m. that can include stories, playdoh or music. The kids range from 2-3 and are quite capable and excited to paint, glue, draw and are learning to cut quite nicely :o)

fruitloop
04-14-2011, 02:08 PM
I use to do a craft every day and activity worksheets for the older ones but found it was a lot for the parents. They didn't know what to do with all the stuff they were bringing home so now I have limited down to once or twice a week for craft activities.

lilac
04-15-2011, 11:30 PM
I hear you about the daily craft, I have 2 kids, 2 of each craft each day!!! I put them up on our front cupboard door, and when its full, take it all down and although I hate to, chuck it (however, if its a particularly cool craft I file it away to do again one day down the road).

Spixie33
04-16-2011, 05:38 PM
I do at least one craft a week for everyone. usually I time it for Mondays because that is the day I have everyone (including all the PTers) so I can get the mess and clean up out of the way in one shot. lol
Sometimes the kids are happier to play than do the craft but we try to do stuff once a week. One thing is for sure....we did a lot of painting the last few months when it was too cold to get out in the mornings ! The kids ages were so varied (15 mo - 4 years) and painting works for everyone.
I feel painted out myself ! lol. We painted cardboard caterpillars, freestyle, canvases, bday cakes, christmas trees, everything imaginable.
I have let the parents know that in the summer months we will often use the morning craft time for outdoor play instead. We might as well get out while we can and enjoy the nice days