Stations or set times for certain activities

I would like to create some stations that are used at certain times during the day but I am not sure how to go about this. I never worked in a school or in a daycare centre so I am looking for some feedback on how this is usually done.

My space is set up pretty open and the kids have a structured day with lot's of free play. I am intrigued by the idea that certain toys are played with at certain times. My old b and a kid had mentioned this once when talking about his day that he had a hard time because he was only allowed to play with the blue centres and he had really wanted to play with a red centre. The reason I am interested is that I find my kids don't do a lot of art or crafts unless I initiate an activity. My "art centre" is just a table as I have been scared to leave supplies there at the ready (I have "marker eaters" and I am worried about everything everywhere.)

For example we do playdo if I ask "who wants to play playdo?" then it gets brought out. Or "who wants to do a craft" and we do one. There isn't a set time for anything. If I see them getting crazy I hand out quiet puzzles and have them go and do them. i just think if this was more structured then they could be more independent at initiating the activities? I have mostly 3/4 y o's but I do have a 2 yo, 22 mos old and a 14 mos old. Thoughts?

As long as you have a mixed age group then your room has to cater to the youngest in care to be safe. Ie leaving markers and scissors out may not be the ideal. I see nothing wrong with you determining when it is craft/playdough as that is what most of do that have little ones.

I understand the red/blue concept. This is done to limit the amount of time the kids get to just play such as with blocks or the farm set and forces them to choose other things such as fine motor so for example you could use a cupboards and open one for them to choose from for the first hour of play and it could have things like fisherprice playsets, large blocks and trucks, then have snack and then open the next cupboard and it could have puzzles, lacing cards, small lego, peg boards ie manipulatives. The idea is that while they still have lots of options to choose from you are forcing them to choose from a type of activity or what you want them to learn. As for the what to learn you could have one cupboard that is only letter activities but they choose if they want to make a letter puzzle, or toss letter beanbags into a bin.

I bring out certain "special" things throughout the day, when I notice they are getting bored. For the most part, I don't have stations set up though. For free play, I do toy rotations as needed but usually once or twice a month. I find that in dc centres, stations work better because there is a large number of children and usually a few at each station. In hdc's (at least in mine), if I bring art, playdoh, water table, sensory bins or whatever else the "special activity" is...they ALL want to do it at the same time so we usually do a quick tidy up and then proceed to do the special activity together. We do this anywhere from 1-4x a day. My current dck's do like free play but one of them (the oldest) gets bored fast and than starts to get out of control and can quickly change the whole atmosphere in the dc!! I actually have to work on free play with her....her parents are constantly entertaining her and she goes to preschool 2x a week. She doesn't really know how to play nicely without adult supervision......

There have been times though that I have set up the kids kitchen table with art supplies and they can go to it if they want. Things like crayons, glue sticks, pom poms are usually fairly safe to leave out. I am almost never out of eyesight of them though so for me, leaving things out isn't an issue.

I have a young-ish group that includes a mouther (13 mos, 20 mos, 2 y.o) and I have never worked in a daycare centre, so take my ideas with a grain of salt.

I have activities that I pre-set at the table for the kids and then change them daily. This would be where they can draw, do puzzles, playdough, lace beads, colour sort, etc, etc. They can come and go as they choose and they have learned that the activity items stay at the table. I have my activity table in an area that I have made unaccessible to my littlest one (strategic furniture arranging and careful monitoring) as she still is mouthing everything. These are out for our morning indoor free play but I tidy them up during nap and put them away.

I have a set craft time but as my group gets older I hope to be able to leave more art stuff out for them at the table.

I don't have centres, although I have had my room divided with shelving into dramatic play, book nook, building blocks, etc. This was probably my favourite set up. I don't have time limits as my group is young and small.

I do have toys that I will rotate in and out, and switch up my display tables and activities frequently according to our theme. The only thing that I have out at a set time is the sensory bin, which is open only when the little one is napping.

In the past if I've had a mixed group etc and don't want all of the activities available all of the time, I've created shelves that I can close. I hinged two small shelves together (wheels on the bottom optional depending on how easily they can be moved). The back side of the shelf can be set up with a mounted felt board, chalk board or posters to "pretty it up" if wanted. It's great to hide away activities that you don't want used at certain times!

In a school setting the kids don't usually have free access to arts and crafts, it is always teacher controlled and initiated. The supplies may be available for them to access independently (perfect in a school setting, but not a mixed age daycare setting) but they don't get to use them whenever they felt like it. Also, going by the mood of the group is a great way to go through the transitions of your day. When I was teaching I would do the same thing, go by interest and mood of the class (and myself) to determine how the day went. Of course I had a plan for the day, but activities would be shortened, lengthened, dropped totally or added on the fly depending on how the class was that day. I have taught every grade from kindergarten to grade 8.

I have three 4 year olds, an 8 year old, a 20 month old and an 18 month old right now in my daycare. I have my toyed organized in picture labelled bins and a designated pretend play area, but I don't worry about access to certain toys at certain times of the day. I give options to the older kids whether they want to colour, do play do or board games at certain times of the day based on our schedule. Doing art is always something I preplan and it is not a free access thing.

I personally wouldn't have a free access to glue, scissors, Pom poms, etc because of concern about safety. I am extra cautious now because my youngest daughter spent a week in hospital at the beginning of December because she swallowed a board game piece and it got stuck in her throat. She had to go into surgery to get it out and then had to be on IV antibiotics because a life threatening infection started forming in her throat. She is okay now, but I think I will never get over that experience.

amandakdt, that certainly is a scary experience for both you and your daughter!! I am glad she is okay now!!!