Weekly newsletter

[bright sparks]

I get feedback from all my dcparents about my menu's and meal plan, including the ones who tend not to seem to give a damm. They always comment on how happy they are that I give them lots of notice about what the kids are eating each week and they are always saying that they'd love to come for lunch!!! I also find the menu is beneficial to me so that I can plan my meals and my grocery budget easier. Also the fact that I dont have to cook every day, just put a foil tray of food in the oven to reheat is sooooo much easier. I have tried lots of different ways of preparing the meals and this is by far the easiest IMO.

[Momof4]

Personally, I love my crockpot. I just throw everything in there the night before and plug it in at 8am. But my children are grown so the main meal I'm cooking is our lunch meal. All of you with young families are doing the opposite and making dinner your main meal.

We all do things the way they work best in our households but it's great to get tips from others.

[playfelt]

The age mix of kids makes such a difference in how you cook too. With having those that still finger feed I tend to make my meals finger friendly and then give the older kids a spoon an fork for most foods insist they use it cause they are "big" now. Chicken strips etc. the exception of course. There is no sense making a casserole then trying to get kids to pick out what they don't want or won't eat mixed together or have to feed the little ones so we all do what works for us. When I am putting the oven on to cook family supper I will toss in a tray of muffins to have for snack the next day or cook something I can then just warm at lunch or make a double batch of supper and freeze some.

[bright sparks]

All my dck's eat the same foods. I wean my babies if they come early enough on their seperate, fruits, veggies and then I just puree the same as they other kiddies are eating and eventually mash, or chop depending on the consistency of the food they are able to have but I dont make different things for different kids. They learn that there is one meal for all of them and if they are fussy then there isn't an alternative. If they are hungry, they will eventually eat and in the 5 years I have done daycare, and the 11 years of being a parent, this rule of thumb has never failed me. If I accomodated all the kids with their likes and dislikes, they would have me wrapped around their finger and I'm not having that. Who's the adult and who's the child in this situation??? I'm not going to play that game with them. And it works. I've never had an issue. If we are having a casserole and the child isn't going to use their spoon but instead delve in with their hands, WHO CARES. This is part of their learning process, it's just messier and not the end of the world. The food still goes in one way or another. They will learn eventually. I don't sweat this small stuff.

[Toregone]

I actually started a facebook business page for my dayhome and let my parents know about it. They're not my facebook friends but just "like" my business page. I post pictures of the kids going about our day to day, notices of closures, special events etc. So far every one enjoys it, I don't waste any paper or time, and it's easily viewable to anyone who wants to.

[Littledragon]

Omigosh, you are working too hard! I make a quarterly newsletter stating all the important dates, all my themes and a bit about what we are doing over the next quarter. It is one page usually, sometimes two because I really believe parents only skim it. I keep a copy on my front bulletin board just in case I ever have to point to it and say I TOLD YOU ABOUT THIS!!!

Haha. I know it sounds like a lot of work but I should mention I have a degree in Professional Writing, this is something I enjoy doing. I did up my newsletter for July and it was 4 pages - 2 pages of info, a meal plan for the month and a calender page depicting all the fun things, daycare closings and birthdays. I put in PDF format and send it through email.

On fridays, they will still receive a report card and any "reminders" like daycare closings (I'm closing on July 10th) and needed supplies.

I'm sure I'll get sick of doing it at some point but right now, I really enjoy it

Thanks everyone for your advice. I really am excited about this. And so far, the parents seem to appreciate it. One parent printed out the calender and filled out all the days her kid would be taken out for their vacation so it worked out really well

[Littledragon]

I'm having issues planning out our lunches. Can you guys give me some ideas on what you feed your kids for lunch?

[Inspired by Reggio]

My list is in this thread here

http://www.daycarebear.ca/forum/show...hlight=lunches

[dodge__driver11]

I actually stopped doing a weekly menu and newsletter, because the parents I have in care know that the kids eat healthy, and when I need to tell them something I usually call or email, because my ft group is so small.

[Mamma_Mia]

I actually started a facebook business page for my dayhome and let my parents know about it. They're not my facebook friends but just "like" my business page. I post pictures of the kids going about our day to day, notices of closures, special events etc. So far every one enjoys it, I don't waste any paper or time, and it's easily viewable to anyone who wants to.

I like this idea!! Thanks

The ONLY thing I'd have to be carfull about with this is reading the type of parent they are....some wont enjoy seeing me posting somthing (even if about their child) at i.e. 10am...I had one who was very adament during an interview about me NOT being on my phone or computer during the day......all day until the child is at home <whatever>