The "witching hour"

I find the hour before nap time the busiest and craziest time during my day. Lately the kids have been a bit "off" and it has been hard to bring them back into our routine. Looking for suggestions!

Our routine
11:30-lunch (stay at the table until the group is done).
During this time I set things up for nap e.g. play pens, put up the black out curtains, give second helpings etc. One they are done they look at books until the table is all wiped down and swept up.
12-12:15- milk and stories
12:15-12:30- potty and diapers. During this time lately, I find it the most challenging as they start to take out toys, run around etc. The expectation is that they go potty and look at books until everyone is ready. The potty goers were fooling around in the bathroom while I changed the little ones. This has mostly stopped as I limit who is in the bathroom and I reward them with a final book for going potty quickly. Today, I had to put 2 kids (that go upstairs to sleep) in a chair at the table because they were running around. If the others start to get silly they go in their PNP immediately.

Any other ideas to make this time go more smoothly? My daughter is one of the ones that runs around a bit (I get it, they are tired and I am asking them to sit and read!) She gets rewarded for good listening by getting to help me put her friend down for nap (the other one that sleeps upstairs) e.g. help get her blanket, turn on the fan etc.

Over the years, I have found that when the routine is getting out of whack, I have to figure out why in order to fix it. Are they running and playing because you are distracted? Are they too tired or not tired enough? What if you changed the order a bit and had milk at the table before everyone gets up and have stories after bathroom/diapers? Is there something you could have them do instead of books? What about setting up the beds? I assume some are sleeping in the playroom so maybe they could get their own blankets out? Or the older ones could help the younger ones. Sometimes a small change can make a big difference. This is how I look at it; the kids have to do what is expected, but if they can't, then it's up to me to figure out what to expect of them.

Are they strapped in at the table? I would leave them at the table. I used to save their drinks for after they ate...I'd slide them all back clean table and floor while they had their cups. Then I would leave them all in their chairs as you change one and put them in their bed. Don't let them free. Give books at the table to keep them busy. A quick change then straight into bed. Save story time for later a different time of day.

This is how I look at it; the kids have to do what is expected, but if they can't, then it's up to me to figure out what to expect of them.[/QUOTE]

LOVE this!

From my experience kids seem to get another bust of energy right after they eat, especially after lunch. I have to let them down and run around abit. Toys don't come back out but they can run around while I sweep up. Then I do diapers. Then we all sit for circle time. Then nap. The circle story time calms them down again for nap. I find it much easier letting them run around while I clean up lunch to get that bust of energy out.

Try to do your clean up after you have put them down so they have less freedom to start causing havoc. Also, take the books away if they can not behave. Sit nicely in their spots and quietly while you do diaper changes.

Here, after all the kids have finished eating and drinking their milk, they may get down and play while I clear the table, sweep etc. Once I am done the clean up, I take each child, have them pee and/or diapered and when everyone has had a turn I put them down all together. Then once they are down for naps, I do a tidy of the toys/play areas.

I think asking them to sit for 45 minutes is a long time especially if they eat quickly. Here I use a child sized table and chairs. When they are done they can go. On days it's nice and we are going out after nap we begin clean up at 11:40 while I cook so they don't actually finish cleanup. We eat at noon, those done fast leave the table and continue with cleanup. At 1230 I send kids to potty, they are only allowed 1 at a time and have to wait at the gate for other child to be done. During that time I go to nap room and change diapers. Everyone is in bed by 1240. We don't have a set reading time, it just happens at random times throughout the day.

On days we don't go out after nap kids leave the table and just go play and at 1230 we do our bathroom routine and bed.

My routine is...I ask them to clean up while I get lunch ready (it's usually made or premade so doesn't take long) than I call them in. One of the oldest hands out the water cups while I hand out the plates. They eat and when finished they put their dishes in the sink and cups on the counter, I tidy them up and they are sent to either keep cleaning up or to read books. The other oldest washes the table while I finish the dishes (i do the big dishes while they eat so it's really quick) I than give the table and chairs a wash down and quickly sweep the floor if needed. The 2 oldest use the washroom and I change the other 2 and put them down for nap. If we did things quickly and it's still early, we have story time or circle time but usually do those at other points during our day now as my crew is tired after lunch and ready for bed. They just know the routine and it goes quite smoothly. We have been outside most mornings for the past month or so now so I find they are tired even earlier than normal.

After nap is sometimes a different story though....they wake up with TONS of energy and it's outside time as quick as possible lol