What can I do with my 4 yr old?

[playfelt]

When he says he doesn't want to do something if you ask him what he would prefer to be doing instead what does he say? A lot of boys do not like arts and crafts for instance or having to sit for even very short periods of time and need to be just on the go. I had three boys in care last year nearing age 4 and I found things like circletime often got derailed in favour of something else so I had to revamp my program to include the learning I wanted to accomplish in other ways such as giving them coloured rolled up construction paper rocks to put in the dump truck while we named the colours they dumped out or collected. You mentioned that you started the daycare to provide an education for your son. Be careful that you are not demanding too much adult directed time for him in the day. If he feels that he has to cooperate and go along with what he doesn't want to do just because of the daycare the purpose of it all becomes an issue.

The age mix of the children in the daycare could also be part of the problem if there are too many that are younger than he is he is missing out on peer interaction. This is often when many caregivers consider giving their child a chance to go to preschool a couple mornings a week to be with peers.

And of course our own kids will always be the worst behaviourwise because they know us very well and how to push our buttons. It is just more annoying when we have other kids to watch too.