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Ive tried journals, forms, checklists.. but wasnt really happy with any of them. So I am wondering what works best for you and your clients?
I did find an awesome app for my iphone (tadpoles), but after the 2 week trial there is a $15 monthly charge:huh: and with only 2 part-time clients Im not willing to spend that right now.
I do handwritten journals. I buy them for $2 at dollorama for each child. I write down meals, naps and whatever happened that could be of interest (favorite activity, general mood, bumps and bruises, time outs or reminders). It goes home with the child everyday. The parents can write in some information we may not have time to chat about at pick up and drop off. I use it as a communication tool and references. I do not find it takes a lot of time to write. I do it while the children are eating or sleeping or during freeplay sometimes. It works well for me, it's quick and easy.
I too have notebooks that I use daily. The parents can write back too if there is something they need to tell me or we need to discuss. Most of my parents love having them. There will always be some families who don't read them or want them but if they bring the book each day I write in it each day.
I do "my day at daycare" sheets. The parents LOVE them! I always put in a positive personal comment about what their child did this day. I have parents who save them in a binder and it seems the parent most interested in them are the Dads which surprised me.
I do a daily report sheet. It's a pre-printed sheet that I put together that has what moods they were in, what and how much they ate, what they did, how long they slept for and a space for anything else that I might need to tell them. I just print a bunch of them out every week and then fill them in/circle what applies that child.
I do nothing.... about 3-4times a week I will send out a group email with photos and a summary of what our day is. It is simple and easy! If I have any major concerns about behavior/bumps/bruises/eating habits etc I will give a quick verbal at the end of the day.
I feel writing out five journals each day would be very time consuming and take away the care I give to the children.
I have log books for each child where I keep track of food times & variety of what is eaten and what the child doesn't like, nap times, and diaper or potty times with bowel movements. This logbook is not for the parents it is for me. I give the parents a verbal daily update but the logbook helps me track sleep patterns, potty patterns to help with training and rminds me of the things each child likes or doesn't like to eat. I don't have anything signed or sent home daily for parents except for crafts.
Also, just in case CRA ever audits me the grocery receipts match my weekly logbooks so it's just one more thing to make me feel comfortable.
I keep an electronic log for my personal reference only should i need to refresh my memory or look for concerns over a childs health - it tracks attendance, program highlights field trips and outings meals snacks naps washroom notes medication or illnesses accidents or injuries and any conversations with client or other relevent notes and ues is used as back up documentation in an audit that menu served and program expenses shared use of home hours etc. match
For clients I tell them verbally about their day anything I feel they need to know regarding child - and share weekly documentation on my website members only portal all about what've been doing with photos and written anecdotal observations made with a digital scrapbook program - this is a way more valuable use of my time as it provides authentic progress reporting for the kids of their mastery of skills and learning AND a communication keepsake for clients that IMO come 2, 5 , 10 or 20 years from now is going to have more meaning than a how I ate, slept and pooped at daycare type log we use to keep in centres with a little blurb about Johny played with blocks ;)
I just talk to the parents at the door during pick up. It's a nice time to chat and let them know what we were up to for the day. I also have had several parents who like to text throughout the day, which I encourage. They like the contact and updates and seem to appreciate it. I really only have a journal for out of the ordinary occurrences, events and outings. For detailed accounts of accidents worth mentioning in detail, we have 'The Big Book of Ouchie Boo Boos".
Samantha, it doesn't really take me much time to write up my logbooks and I find it so helpful for me, not for the parents. Cfred, I'm like you, chatting with the parents at the door about the day and any issues that may arise that we have to address. I don't have any accidents happen though thank goodness!
I just talk to the parents at the door and after a few weeks of them getting comfortable they often even stop asking about things. I used to do the log books and they work great when the child is doing well but having to write day after day that the child was crying a lot or fighting with the other kids or still attempting to bite friends,.....etc. well it just gets the parent's dander up and starts to make the relationship go sour. No amount of saying one nice thing then one bad thing can change the fact I am whining about the child. At the same time if that infoisn't put in the book then what is the purpose of the book if it isn't honest. It isn't just about pumping up the parent's ego. Over the years the number of disagreements I can chalk up to something that was written in the journal that was taken the wrong way either by the parent or by me convinced me that it just wasn't worth it.
I also don't think wasting paper on things like how long child slept, ate, pooped is worth the paper either. And let's face it sometimes it is hard to come up with something new and interesting to put down for a child.
I have been toying with a way to do a reusable system that a parent could look at on arrival such as if child pooped since I have a two year old we need to monitor how often and consistency. Also from the standpoint of posting a menu I am feeding different things to different age groups sometimes and subbing fo not like foods so a general menu gives a false impression.