Printable View
Hey everyone!
I'm having a tough time planning my daily schedule.
I have 3 1 year olds and 2 3 year olds
1 1 year old naps 9:30 - 10:30 and then 1:15- 3:00
2 1 year olds nap 10:30-12:30
The 2 3 year olds nap from 1:30 - 3:00
How the heck can I plan my day around this???
I am thinking the 1st 1 year old will slowly transition to the one am nap like the other 1 year olds but that still leaves weird times for lunch, outdoor play, etc.
Any ideas are welcome!
TIA
Sheena
Outside play is the end of the day. That is the only time everyone was up and fed and ready to play. Try adjusting the two that sleep from 10:30 to 12:30 by putting them down at 10 and getting them up at 11:30. Then lunch and naps in the afternoon can start staggered but all end at 3ish then snack and outside from 3:30-4:30. In nice weather I put the older ones outside for snack and stand at the door which is off my kitchen and the little ones still eat in their high chairs but at least the older ones get an extra 10 minutes of fresh air.
10-10:30 would be an activity for the older kids by putting the second group of 1 year olds down before getting the first set up so having a half hour of overlap still is enough time for a story and craft. The one year olds don't need much for programming till they over the morning nap routine anyways. Rather than push the one to move nap later I would be pushing the other two earlier for a bit and then gradually move lunch to 11 and they go to sleep for 11:30 - 2:30 and older kids have lesson time from 12:30-1:00 with the first one year old watching.
Consider a play yard area for the one year olds they go in if awake and that leaves you to be with the older kids for periods and then on their own for periods such as introduce an game and then leave them to play.
Schedule in mixed age groups is always the hard part. Serving lunch in two segments since both groups may be eating different anyways is also an option - feed the little ones in their high chairs eating finger foods while you do story and craft at the table with the older kids and then give them lunch to eat while you start naps for the babies. Lots of experimenting and as soon as you figure it out they will have moved on to a new schedule so it is never ending.
You put everyone on the same schedule. There is no reason why everyone is napping at different times. You ask the parents to start putting the children on your schedule before they start care so that the transition for them isn't as bad. There is NO WAY I would being tailoring nap time schedules for individual kids. That's ridiculous, how are you suppose to do anything if there is always a kid sleeping. I have 2 nap times...1 of them is from about 8:30 - 9:30 for those who NEED a morning nap (but I start to ween that morning nap at about 12- 14 months depending on the child) and my other nap time is from about 12:30- 3. There is no napping at any other time of day here.
My outside time is after morning snack, so around 10 - 11ish. In the summer we're outside twice...morning time and then in the pm after snack until p/u...so from roughly 3:30 - 5.
All kids in my care eat at the same time and eat the same thing. Obviously some things are cut up for the little ones so they can feed themselves. I don't feed kids unless it's something like yogurt or apple sauce. Then I will feed them until about 18 months...after that they learn to use a spoon and do it themselves.
Crafts are done usually before morning snack while the morning nappers are sleeping.
I pretty much have the same routine as fruitloop. Everyone needs to be on the same schedule and it can be done. If they still need a morning nap they have it at 9-10am and then another at 1-3pm or longer. When they don't need the morning nap anymore they just nap from 1-3/3:30. I tell parent from the start their child will have to adapt to this routine.
Part of the problem has to do with the fact kids can be on different schedules in the sense that those up at 5:30 and to care for 6:30 will need a morning nap longer and want to start it earlier and want an earlier lunch than those that sleep till 8 and come to care for 9. It will only be a couple of months before they can move to a better schedule so not worrying so much about lessons with the three year olds that includes you is one way to go. I would rather a mixed up day than deal with crying babies that are hungry and tired.
Experiment with keeping the one child up a few minutes longer each day and putting the others down a few minutes earlier each day and soon they will all be going down the same time in the morning which will put them on more of a similar afternoon schedule too.
I guess this will all depend on what time you open. Obviously if you're accepting children into care at 6:30 they will need an earlier nap time. I don't open until 7:30 so kids nap at the time I stated. I wouldn't want to start work at 6:30...ick, that's early!Quote:
Originally Posted by playfelt
OMG! That would make me crazy, not being able to plan anything at all. I have 2 three year olds, a 1 1/2 year old and 2 who have just turned one. None of them nap in the morning but I asked the parents to help out with that before starting here. We have lunch at 11 and I nudged naptime to 12 or shortly after. They all nap until about 2:30-3 now. As the age groups change the naptime hours change a bit, but if you nudge it slowly, maybe 10 minutes a week you can get the children adjusted.
Wow! I couldn't handle that. Everyone has to be on the same schedule...basically , anyways. Morning nappers have to do it early enough that they are ready for the afternoon with the other (1-3) Even with my own kids, as early as possible (a few months old) I had my baby napping at the same time as her big brother in the afternoon. It's a MUST for my sanity!
Thank you all for your awesome suggestions! It's going to be tough for sure. But it really only lasts for such a short time anyway. I think it will a lot of experimenting. Having crying, cranky babies is more tough to me then having different schedules. Within a few months they will all be more or less on a combined schedule. I'm lucky in that I will only have one of the 1 year olds and my own 1 year old for the first 3 months along with the 2 3 year olds. We can have some time to figure things out before the 3rd 1 year old starts.
Thanks again! You are all so helpful!
Yes, I've planned it so well with my two kids... 10 month old naps 9:30 and then again at 1:30 with her brother. The afternoon nap is my only break during the day to get things done (or even just sit for a few minutes!!). But now trying to plan other people's kids naps seems tough as they've planned their own kids naps around what they thought was best for the last year. Of course these kids are first children though, they never have had to worry about timing naps.
You know what, kids fall into sinc with what is happening faster and easier than you think. I would put everyone on 1 schedule. It's MUCH easier that way and you need a full break so you don't burn out. If you don't get any down time during the day you won't last very long doing this...it's imperative in this job!
Yup, that's my sentiments, exactly!!Quote:
Originally Posted by fruitloop
I also encourage parents to get their kids on a daycare-type schedule before beginning daycare (at our initial meeting, whether or not I end up taking the kid). It's best for everyone...especiall y the baby!
Thanks again everyone!
I am thinking that once my 1st little one starts in a couple of weeks she will need to change her nap times because instead of waking up at 7-8 she will now be waking up at 5:30-6:00. Yes they are starting at 6:15 every morning... So by 9 she will probably be ready for her nap. My little one will have no problem napping at 9 as well. Then they both can go to sleep again at 1:30 with the older two. For the other 1 year old that isn't starting till may, I am going to see if her mom can start putting her on the same sort of schedule in the coming months before she starts. Hopefully she'll cooperate! But I'm sure once they are all here, if they all are sleeping, then she will sleep too... Hopefully!! I think that it is best to do outdoor time at the end of the day, otherwise I really don't know when else it will work.
Thanks again for all your suggestions.
Don't forget that by May the two one year olds now likely won't have a morning nap at all so you will just have one needing a nap and can work your schedule around whatever it is if need be. My little one comes a 6:30. I give her a snack - drink and cracker at 8:30 and she goes to bed right after. If you wait too late in the morning they are really tired and want to sleep too long. Earlier is better than putting them down later.
I have two one year olds, and 2 two year olds, and one three year old.
My one year olds both nap from 9:30 - 11:30, and again from 2:30-3:30. My toddlers nap from 12:30 - 2:30. I dont get any alone time, but this allows me to work on appropriate skills with my infants, while still doing appropriate lesson plans for my toddlers.
Outside time is the end of the day, assuming the weather is nice. Sometimes, we will have outside time before lunch, but this would be out on the deck that is fenced in where I can leave the kitchen door open and keep track of the kiddo's. We have a slide, and a sand and water table and a picnic table, and a climber set up out there for the times when I can't make it into the yard.
Some infants still need naps... I actually worked them into their nap times, because I was finding it to difficult to work individually with each child when they all were all up at the same time. And obviously infants have different mile stones to hit, than toddlers. So this works well for me! The infants and toddlers have breakfast and circle time together. Then the infants go for their nap and we do craft and practice our writing our letter and numbers. etc...
There is no way I would accomodate all those different nap times...and I NEED my break in the afternoon! I have 2 1 year olds who nap in the morning for an hour and another 1 year old who does not, and then everyone has the same naptime in the afternoon. I don't find it that hard to get them all onto the same schedule...they adjust quickly. You can shorten the morning nap so that they still sleep in the afternoon, but are not completely melting down by 11am. I don't know any daycare providers in my area who go with the parents' naptimes...that doesn't work for group care.
I actually used to like it when the infants were on the 11-2 nap schedule as it allowed me to get lunch for the older kids and eat myself without having to feed the babies. Then had the 1-2 break to myself then babies up and fed before the big kids got up. From there they pushed very quickly to the 12-2:30 then 12:30-3:00 of the big kids.
Last week was the first time that I had 2 children that were 12 months old. How on earth do you get 2 babies to nap at the same time? When I put them down they would both be crying at the same time and keep each other awake? What is your secret please?!
Are they in the same room? You could try a noise machine to muffle some of the noise? Eventually they may just get used to it? Both my kids have noise machines so they don't wake each other up if one is crying. The older one can scream his little head off at times and it doesn't wake up the little one. Their door's to their separate rooms are closed. I start my first 12 month old next week so we will see how my 10 month old and her will do at nap times!!!
If separate rooms aren't available and that doesn't always make a difference anyways I just leave them longer and they eventually get exhausted and fall asleep - start timing naptime from 15 minutes after the tears stop to get an idea of how long they slept. They soon learn to sleep through it and most adjust to less fussing anyways.