Handling mixed age groups

I have had my day home open since July 2011, previously I worked in a daycare, so I am finding the transition of working with strictly one age group, to a mixed age group pretty tough. Can anyone offer ideas for working with the mixed ages. I currently have 4 full time children between 19 m (mine) 19m, 3y, and 4 y, plus my 6 y/o daughter who is here after school. The older children will try to do a craft, or a puzzle, and the younger toddlers will just grab the crayons/marker/paints and throw them on the ground, or walk all over the puzzle the kids are trying to do, or knock down a tower the older kids are working so hard at building tall. I'm not sure what to do. I don't really have space to make seperate play areas (besides, supervision would be tricky if I did that) and the 3 and 4y/o aren't quite big enough to sit comfortably at the full size table, which the younger toddlers can still reach anyway. Any help with figuring out a solution for this would be greatly appreciated.

can you enlist the big kids as helpers?? I do that with mine and it seems to at least help some- 7 y/o gets a kick out of helping the little ones.

Well your age group sounds great to me because last year I had all ages 3/4 & then when the oldsest graduated babies came in to take their places. Starting over with babies age 1 and trying to entertain almost 4 year old children at the same time is proving somewhat of a challenge to me.

I've had a crazy mix of ages as well and it can be tough even more so when the older ones are building a tower. Nothing better to a little one than running over and knocking it down :laugh: but not funny to the one building it!
An idea is to get the little ones interested in a toy that they haven't seen in a while ( I rotate toys in the playroom so when I bring out a different one, it's like getting something new)
Your just going to have to keep telling the little ones not to step on things or get their attention to other things.
Who needs a gym membership when your running around after these ones!

I know how you feel...except for me, the 19 months and up are just fine with the puzzles, towers etc...it's the 12-13 month olds who eat puzzle pieces etc. Currently I have three 12-13 month olds who nap in the mornings, so I do puzzle/art time while they sleep. As for the tower building etc...I just keep telling them no and removing them to another toy or showing them how to help. At 19 months they are quite capable of understanding that they should not detroy other kids' towers or puzzles etc. I would enforce the rules clearly and give time-outs for misbehaviour. Also, give them their own puzzles to do (wooden peg puzzles etc) and let them help build a tower instead of knocking it down. 18 months and up are more than able to join in these activities.

I would try 'visual definition' of space for the older children to play in that tells the younger ones 'do not bother Billy when he is in there' cause it is hard when sometimes Billy may WANT to play with them and build a tower for them to knock over and other times when he might not .... so down in my playroom I have hula hoops and carpet squares that 'define' personal space for children ... if you are playing with the blocks IN the hula hoop it is a visual reminder that "I want to play alone with these so do not come in my space" or if they are on a carpet square same thing 'this is my space please do not bug me right now' ... but like everything there is the 'learning curve' where younger ones might forget so you have to be there to redirect them away until they master impulse control and GET IT so to speak.

For arts/craft and other things that the older children might be using 'choker items' that the younger ones cannot I would set the 'younger ones' up in their highchairs with something to keep them engaged while the older ones engaged in their art/creative explorations.

I also have 'table top activities' for quiet time that the older children who do not nap any longer can engage in ONLY while the younger ones are napping and ONLY if they are quiet about it otherwise they have to return to their 'rest cot' - so this is the 'special' time of day to play uninterpreted with fine motor tiny things!

Ooh, I like the idea of using hula hoops to define space. i also have issues with my 4 and 6 year old always saying "I want to play by myself." So that would be a great tool to use for that.

Thanks for all the other suggestions. Glad to know I'm not alone in this.

That's a wonderful idea! I'm going to be on the look out for hula hoops now. I remember having to put a line of masking tape through the room my two youngest daughters shared when they were little because one was a neat freak and the other, well, not so much. I could define the space in my toyroom in different ways like that with a line of toys for instance especially so the ones who love to build towers don't have them crashed by the 1 year old children. That's our biggest issue.