What does an average day look like in your house?

[mrsplante]

I have two one year olds (one of whom is my daughter), a 3yo DCG, and 2.5 yo & 4 yo DCG siblings.

I just started 3 weeks ago and I'm getting into routine but now I'd like to have a bit more of a schedule as I've basically just had free play while I get the hang of having kids in my house.

An average day for me is:

6:30: 3 yo arrives and goes straight to bed (she only gets 5-6 hours of sleep, so she needs a bit more when she arrives).
7:00: 1 yo arrives and has his bottle and plays til my daughter gets up.
8:00: My daughter gets up.
8:30: Breakfast time!
9:30: 1 yo dcb has a nap.
10:30: DD has a nap/3yo dcg wakes up & we do a puzzle or something.
11:00: dcb awake. free play with dcg.
12:00: DD awake/lunch time.
12:30: dcb has another nap.
2:00: DD has another nap as dcb gets up.
2:30: dcg goes home.
2:45: 2.5 & 4yo dcg's arrive.
4:30: dcg's go home
5:00 dcb goes home.

I feel like I'm so busy juggling naps (and I've played around with them to get them to nap together but dcb still CIO for 10 mins before sleeping, and then takes 15 mins or so to actually be asleep enough to put DD to bed) These nap times seem to give each kid the longest length of nap which makes it a bit troublesome to move either to a shorter nap.

Thoughts? How do you juggle the little ones with the schedule of the bigger ones? I really want to do more than free play/coloring/puzzles but I feel like the little guys just want to be involved and make the big kids mad when they're trying to work on something.

[Crayola kiddies]

That does seem like a very chaotic routine. Do the kids nap in separate rooms? Why is a 3 yr old only getting 5-6 hours of sleep at night. Why not wake you own daughter earlier so she will have her morning nap at the same time as the one yr old and go down in the aft at the same time as well. Even if you put dcb in bed 15 mins before your daughter to let him have his cry then she goes down .... Put them in separate rooms. I have 4 bedrooms upstairs and one down in the daycare and everybody goes in a separate room .... Criers go down first with a fan on. Maybe wake the 3rd old up a little earlier in the morning too so they have some time to play together. There is nothing wrong with free play .... They learn lots from that. I don't allow pick ups or drop offs during nap time which is 12-3 here. You could put the 12 month old in his highchair with some toys or cheerios while the other do a craft or play doh at the table or that could be the time he gets to explore the play room by himself.
Here the kids arrive anywhere from 6:45 -7:30, all the kids have breakfast here (parent supplied) after breakfast they play till 9:00 then we get ready and go outside from 9:15-1030 (sometimes 11if it's really nice) then we cone in and I get the kids cleaning up while I prepare lunch. They have lunch from 11:15-11:45 then it's diaper changes story time and off to bed by 12-12:15 till 3-3:30 then it's diaper changes again snack and coloring or books or play doh till parent picks up.
I'm not a big craft person so we only do those occasionally.
I think you need to use all your bedrooms and get them synced up for naps otherwise you don't get a break in the day

[sunnydays]

Wow...your schedule made me dizzy just thinking about it! So many different naptimes! My biggest advice would be to get them all on the same schedule for naps! Those that need morning naps can nap together in the morning and then everyone sleeps at the same time in the afternoon (it may mean waking them up from morning naps after 45 minutes to an hour so they are tired enough for afternoon nap). This way you will have blocks of time to do things with the kids and nobody will miss out. Also, for activities for the older kids, do you have a table you can use that is high enough up to be out of reach of the little babies? This is what I use for puzzles and playdough, art, etc with the older kids...then while they are doing that, the one year olds can be playing on the floor and not getting into the puzzles etc. I used to try to do puzzles on the floor and it was as you described...babies taking pieces and older kids getting mad etc...plus it made it impossible to do activities with slightly smaller pieces that could be choking hazards for the babies.

[GymMom]

I agree with the others! I have a 12 month old and a 16 month old who nap in the morning. One goes down early because she gets here at 6:15 but I get them both up by 10. Then all the kids are down for a nap/quiet time at 1:00. Some days, knowing that I get an hour of peace & quiet at 1 is the only thing that gets me through the day!

[Dreamalittledream]

Agreed!
Honestly, I find my most successful teaching moments are spontaneous...they learn so much if it's fun and in the moment. If it's a messy craft, I do those when the babies are napping. A lot of the songs, stories, circle time activities I still do and for the most part the babies are happiest crawling around playing. Stuff like building blocks etc. that babies are known for knocking over, a firm no touch and their own pile does work (after a few tries).

Here's my schedule if it helps...
7am to 8:30: Arrivals
8:45: Am snack
9am to 10am: Am naptime (babies) (this is when I do specific activities geared to older)
10-Noon: Outdoor or indoor play/weather permitting (all)
Noon: Lunch
After lunch to 3Pmish: Naptime (all) (Criers down first)
3:15: Pm snack
3:15 to hometime: Freeplay
(Home time 3:45-4:30)

[mrsplante]

I completely agree that they need to be on the same napping schedule but when I change the time, even by 15 mins for either of them the nap is shortened to 30-45 mins so they are both exhausted and I'm frustrated that I've had 15 mins of a break when I could have just had 1.5 hours of an easier time with one or the other of them. I'm having a very hard time with my 1yodcb and am doing my best to stick it out bc it's a friend of mine, but it's really not working :(

Glad to see a schedule is possible. Wonder how much longer I'll be able to put up with the chaos until I ruin a friendship!

[mrsplante]

And Crayola - I have NO idea, but that's how she's been since she was a little toddler. Her mom likes the convenience of being able to do things and not be trapped at home. But that puts her in bed by midnight and up by 5:30-6.

[playfelt]

Can just imagine that poor 3 year old come full day JK.

I am juggling 4 schedules now too and interviewing for a fifth. I start them at different times in the morning but don't let anyone go down after 9:30 or get up after 10:30.

I think one trick might be to wake your daughter an hour earlier so that she is on the same schedule as the daycare boy and then her day will be more similar as in work in age groupings. While you will still have several schedules you will have groups of kids on the same schedule. After a week of waking her it will start to become normal for her and she should start waking at that time on her own.

Given the age group you have worry less about lesson time as their lives really do revolve around food and sleep. I would say by January they should be old enough to have given up the need for morning nap maybe or at least cut it way back.

One way to feel like you are doing more is to set up some of the play as centres the older children can use themselves so some seasonal matching games or a book to look at and related felt pieces to retell the story. They will play together with each other.

For three weeks you actually have developed a schedule that works. Each week the schedule will gradually tweak itself as the sleep needs of the children changes. To push the others to get onto the same schedule you will be able to adjust the timings at even 5 minutes every few days.

The upside to your schedule is that you aren't trying to juggle two with different needs such as two babies wanting bottles at the same time. On the same schedule has it's merits for sure but not until they are more independent as in all get up to the table and have snack feeding themselves.

I think you are doing well with what you are doing given that you are dealing with some unusual situations not of your making but still making the best of it.

[Crayola kiddies]

Yes I just couldn't imagine dealing with my child till midnight every night..... I have to be in bed myself by 11..... Or I'm a grouch !!!! I need an hour or so by my self in the evening to do my dishes and have a tea with my feet up

[mrsplante]

Yes I just couldn't imagine dealing with my child till midnight every night..... I have to be in bed myself by 11..... Or I'm a grouch !!!! I need an hour or so by my self in the evening to do my dishes and have a tea with my feet up

Tell me about it! My daughter goes to bed at 7, and I go to bed at 9:30, cuz I'm exhausted from the day. I need that time alone with my hubby or our marriage would fall apart!