How many hours per day are you 'playing' with the kids?

How many hours a day do you figure you're actually down playing with kids?

Between meal prep, clean up, etc, do you find you have a lot of time that the kids get your undivided attention?

Yup - I find I have lots of time to play during the day ... however my environment and play philosophy is set up to promote a lot of independence in play and learning so much that my crew rarely WANT my undivided attention during actually 'play time' ... I often get told I am too old to play their games or they do not 'need me' go play with the baby :rolleyes:

I do make sure to try to spend 15 or so minutes of time with each child one on one during the day .... if they will let me ... however in reality the older kids once they are two do not want it however they will happily sit as a 'group' and have group time with stories / puppets / finger plays and so forth or do a group experiment with me or something to have some 'undivided attention' on my part but shared between all of them ... I am not sure but I think they equate one on one time as something the 'baby' in the program needs and therefore they only really come looking for it once they are 'older' if they are under the weather and needing an extra cuddle or quiet book time or something.

I will be honest - my group plays so well engaged and learning on their own with no desire for 'adult intervention' that I get BORED some days just 'watching' them and miss having someone to talk to ... which is why I end up on forums at quiet time or the end of the day!

I agree with reggio two ways to look at it. If you find your entire day is taken up with things not related to the children then time to redo some of the procedures such as cooking ahead so you can warm quickly or streamlinin the cleanup to be done later such as during naptime.

While I am totally willing to be down on the floor constantly playing with the kids I do not feel that that is an ideal way to conduct my program. Learning and playing is a child's work and they should not constantly be directed by me. My role is to assist not to control. When I am playing they look to me to direct and offer suggestions. When I stay in the background they look to peers and come up with their own solutions more often than asking me for help. I am there to intervene and "help" only when necessary. Now having said that getting down and playing WITH an infant and teaching them new skills is important but be careful that you are not playing FOR the infant instead of letting them discover what a toy can do. Too much adult interference will stifle their future creativity because they will come to think that a toy can only do one thing - what the adult showed me.

It pretty much balances out that when I have a full house I am busier in the background and the kids rely on peers for entertainment. When my numbers are down my workload is less and I have more time to be part of the play.

LOL - totally agree with the infant thing Playfelt ... also think this is why my crew has come to some weird ass conclusion that only 'babies' need support in their play and that they want to be seen as 'big' as soon as possible and able to play on their own without my two cents being added or interfering in their 'work' so to speak :o

Do not get me wrong - my over two crew will do things like 'bring me a cup of tea' in their play or occasionally assign me a 'role' in their role play games but I only engage in that if 'invited' into the play cause consistently if I attempt to 'enter' it uninvited I get told 'your too big for this game' or 'we do not need you thanks' ... most often with that age group I am only looked to if they cannot solve a problem on their own but lets face it kids are often more creative at solving problems and conflict than we are and all parties are happy with solutions that often seem 'unfair' to us - but if they are 'agreeing' to those terms of the play that is their vote so to speak.

No, I don't get down on the floor and play with the children really, but I'm talking to them, asking them questions about what they are doing, making suggestions when they have a role-playing game going, tidying up the room so they don't get it too cluttered, and for the last two weeks - wiping noses nonstop.

I'm pretty sure it was Judy who said - it is the children's job to play. I agree with that. I set up the toy stations, change them up every couple of weeks, set up the creative crafts or painting but I don't mind if their crafts end up completely off the track and looking nothing like the finished project should look. It's their craft. I know some people who want their child's crafts to be fantastic works of art but my dckids learn how to be independent and to be proud of their own accomplishments.

I have a hands off, let them learn and experiment approach I guess. Well, hands off except for all the hugs and I love you's that I get all day every day.

I agree with the other ladies. If I'm 'invited' in to play along then I'm all for it :) They always bring me what they cook in the play kitchen to eat/drink and every so often they ask me to play along. My job is more to guide them and allow them to play independently. I find they come up with so many other ways to play with toys. For example, I have a shopping cart that they push around and do their shopping...the other day the little 2.5 year old grabbed the tools from the toolbench, turned the cart over and starting to 'fix' what they decided was a broken wheel. Nothing was wrong with the wheel, but awesome to see them using their imaginations and incorporating other toys into their play.

I try not to make anything for snack or lunch that is going to take more than between 5 and 15 minutes to prep. And most of my clean up occurs during naptime.
So usually I am right there with the kids. However, unless we are doing a craft or another adult led activity, I am also one that is just amongst the children. I often find myself just observing them as they free play. And I think that's how it should be. I am there to drink pretend tea or make a scared face when a dinosaur is chasing everyone. LoL.
As they play I am tidying up certain messes, dealing with sharing issues, or using any teachable moments that pop up.

Yup when it's "free play" time it means YOU go and play...use your imagination - I'll guide you for other things. I just yesterday had 2 friends on FB comment on how it was a tv day since they can't come up with ideas to entertain their 3yrs olds. I then asked why not just let them play? She replied because her DD will just stand there and stare. I gave her my advice - STOP telling her what to do. Go away, no eye contact...let HER play and use HER brain! She is in a room full of toys, durring her nap go into the playroom and move everything around. See what happens when she wakes up. Well she called me 3hrs later to say it worked! Well DUH!! She's not waiting for orders, she's PLAYING!! <<eyeroll>>

In my opinion ** Babies are under 1yrs old.....if at my playgroup all the 10-14mos old keep themselves busy then so can you!

Love that, Mammamia! I was not allowed to say I was bored when I was a child and my children were never allowed to use that word and in this day and age no child should EVER say it!

Currently, I have three babies - 8, 9, 13 months. They are pretty independent and I allow them to play on their own for a lot of the day. They in a secure area where there is ABSOLUTELY nothing that could hurt them unless they fall from trying to stand or walk, or bonk each other with something. I spend the time before morning snack on the couch drinking my coffee and watching them play and after snack cleaning and getting ready for after nap (luckily, I have morning naps! i love it lol) Then they get up from nap, have lunch and we go outside. They go back and forth playing alone and exploring and coming over to me for reassurence. We come in from outside and have 30 minutes before afternoon nap. That's when I get down on the floor and show them all the toys, press buttons, sing songs, clap, dance, lie on the floor so they can climb on me. Then I take them all upstairs and put them in their playpens (at the moment, they're all in seperate rooms). I give them their bottle or milk and a toy and go from room to room giving kisses, tucking them in and reading a short story. I am really lucky that all my kids are pretty independent and are patient. It's VERY rare that they protest while waiting to go to sleep. After naps, we have snack and then they have free play until pick up. I'm usually in the room with them, but don't really get down on the ground unless they are showing signs that they want me to. But usually, they're pretty good on their own. I love it!

It isn't amout hours and how much. Everything an infant does from stare at the shadows on the ceilings to rolling a ball is part of his learning. Sometimes he does it alone, sometimes he does it with another child/adult and sometimes he learns by watching others do things. It all counts.