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I have been trying to figure out the difference between my awesome days and my not so awesome days to get a sense of what works best with my group e.g. lunch, nap time.
My group seems to be getting hungrier earlier and wanting their nap earlier however this doesn't always work with my older group. Argh...
That is one of the reasons I went to just having those under 3 and no older kids. Once I started taking in kids earlier in the morning I readjusted my closing hours accordingly so instead of being open and trying to cater to everyone all my kids arrive between 6:30-7:00 and all go home by 4:30-4:45. From that standpoint they are more on the same page in terms of hunger and sleep.
There are times when I have a young one that sleeps twice and others only once that I have an infant and me 45 minutes where we hang out - even if it is on my knee while I am on the computer but also included a cuddle and bottle, some free play on playroom in family room where my computer is while others were already down for nap. It is great for the baby because they get a chance to play and roll and pull up to the couches and cruise etc without others around. Trick is to make sure doors out of the room are blocked. Then they go down later having a shorter nap but so that all wake at the same time. As far as my time goes I can still make a lunch and eat it at my computer while the young child does their thing near me. If they are whiney then it is bedtime.