Feeling a bit bored?

[Daycare123]

Bright Sparks- I hear ya!

Anyway, it sounds like I am not alone in feeling a bit isolated. Thanks for all the replies everybody!

[cfred]

There are some days during which I wouldn't mind a little change, but for the most part, I find my days go by quite quickly and I really enjoy myself. I have good relationships with the parents who will often come in for a chat or a coffee at the end of the day. I have 1 mother who often joins me for a morning coffee at drop off as she has a flexible schedule. My neighbour joins the kids and I for our morning walk in the summer, which is quite nice. There's another provider who lives around the corner from me who brings her older kids to the park behind my house, so we chat by the fence. Most of my evenings are full socially with friends from the old neighbourhood, social activities with clients, boyfriend, what have you. We have regular activities (today was tie dying shirts) and don't seem to have much problem filling our hours at all. We seem to have a nice balance of scheduled activities. All in all, I find I'm rarely bored.If all else fails and I'm starved for adult company, I'll call my mum

But during the early years....OMG!! I thought I'd go crazy!!! Any poor slob who came in to do repairs or maintenance on my home were subjected to a barrage of small talk as I almost begged anyone (ANYONE) who didn't require a bum change or nose wipe to talk to me. Ugh....the first few years were a little slice of hell in that regard.

[playfelt]

The age mix we have makes a huge difference too. There are days when I have all young ones needing morning nap leaving me and another 2 year old to entertain each other that are bad for sure. Right now the oldest I have is turning 3 in September and while she talks ok is not a great conversationalist so really there is no one to talk to. When I had school age kids at least they could answer questions and interact verbally. Even when I do a circletime or equivalent it is me doing the talking and singing for the most part so again that isn't even as much give and take as would be nice.

It is something you get used to and on some days appreciate - especially when your own kids are in school and you know the minute they walk in the door it is non stop talking about their day, helping with homework, feeding them, getting everyone to the right activities and back again and the next day when you are bored cause the kids are playing and don't need you you take advantage and get a cup of tea and hide in the corner and enjoy the pretend solitude. One of those what is boredom now will become the most welcome part of your day in a few years.

I know that doesn't help you get through them now. I find those lulls is when I do prep like cut out parts for a craft or make things for a new resource or sit with a clipboard and lesson plan. I also crochet around the kids but there are strict rules about how close they can come to me till I have put the hook in my bin and they are good with it so I can make little things for them to play with or work on a larger item that will be a surprise in a month or two - I try to work in advance like I am making fall stuff now but mostly just experimenting with patterns to see how it goes and then ripping it out since I am only partly concentrating on what I am doing. That helps me to feel like I am doing something for me even when it is really for them if that makes sense and saves me a task needing to be done in the evening.

[Momof4]

Daycare123, you said your dckids are too young to get to the park. Mine are 16 mos, 22 mos, 2 1/2 & 3 1/3 and in a month we're adding a 9 month old. I have a double stroller so only the two smallest can ride. So right now the 22 mo old, who is quite small, is practicing walking long distances so that we can still get out and about. It takes months of practice and strengthening but by the age of 2 all of my dckids have always been able to do this for over 5 years now.

I bought the puppies and ponies backpacks at Walmart for $20 and they have a long rope that hooks onto my wrist or my stroller. That way the walkers are very safe and can't dart out into traffic at any time. I live near downtown and all the roads we travel are very busy with traffic. There's no way I would be stranded in the house without travelling after I've developed this system of going to so many different places each week. The parents love the variety I provide to the children. I love the variety!

[playfelt]

We have a park within walking distance but they took the sand out and put in bark chips and removed the two spring horses the babies could ride so it wouldn't be fair for me to go to the park too often and expect those not able to walk and climb on the structure to just sit in the stroller and since dog walkers use the park not letting them on the grass either - hence we use our backyard too.

Walks now only happen when my daughter is here as my one child is in a wheelchair and the other 4 ride in the foundations quad or the wagon and oldest was walking till she left in June. But have wondered about the logistics of putting own child and baby in wagon which can work weight wise as it is rated high and then using the backpacks to leash the other three to the wagon but then we would be limited to walking on the road and not on the sidewalk due to width. I also feel little ones spend so much time in stuff I prefer to let them loose in the back yard for outside time.

[torontokids]

For the most part I find my days fly by and I don't have much time to get bored or sit. This could just be because I am in my first year of the job but when the kids are free playing I am usually prepping snack, cleaning up or changing bums. I think my boredom comes a little bit from the same routine everyday. I love it and won't stray from it because it keeps them sane but sometimes I wish I could just spice it up a bit.

I like to be outside a lot and so do they. We mostly stick to the backyard but go to the park as well and on Fridays when I just have 4 kids (my 2 and dc 2) we go to the splash pad. I think it can be a bit harder to be mobile when you have your own kids on top of dc kids unless you own a quad or 6 seater. My stroller seats 3 and the others walk (I have 6 kids including mine).

I think to mix it up I might try and do some outside crafts/activities as we generally free play outside. Currently we do a lot of water play, bubbles, ride on toys and small games e.g "Mr Wolf."

I would like to try tie dying. Any other ideas? Today we dug for "fossils" in the sand box but it held their attention for only 5 mins.

[playfelt]

Have had good success giving the older ones a place to make a garden - just cleared an area of grass to show the dirt and they could dig and weed and gave them plastic flowers from the dollar store to plant - so no issues of the flowers not growing but they still had to weed and well watering was for fun.

Sun pictures are fun - give each a piece of black or dark blue construction paper - the cheaper the variety the better as it fades better. Then have them find small things in the yard to lay on their paper - pebble, leaf, feather, etc - maybe even make it a scavenger hunt. Then leave in the sun all day and go back out at end of day to remove the items (save them) and see the shadows. Then laminate the papers and use them for games having them sort and match up the pieces to the shadows, switching papers - keep pieces in zip bags with the correct paper.

Make them wash all the toys in the playroom a few at a time and lay in sun to dry. Great thing for blocks that can be floated in a pool of water and then scooped out.

If they are content to create their own play outside and are easily bored having that interrupted with planned activities then just let them explore and make their own fun.

That is where caregivers that have been in it for many years find the boring time. We learned that kids need to be in charge of their playtime more than they need us to run it for them so while we still program and plan activities it takes up less of the day and there is more child led play/learning going on. But it takes time and experience to master setting up the environment to allow that kind of self learning.

[sunnydays]

I feel the same as those who have said that it is more a lack of intellectual stimulation that can get to you. I don't have much downtime in my day as I have 5 dck's plus my own 2 (one is in school during the year)...so while they freeplay, I am always either changing someone, cleaning up after a meal or prepping a meal. It's only once in awhile that I actually get to sit down and just watch them play...and I savour those moments and enjoy them. I can see how I might have more down time once my own kids are both in school full-time though as I notice when they are not here that I pretty much don't know what to do with myself as I have so much more time and less demands on me. My kids all play really well on their own and I wouldn't want to start structuring all of their play just to keep myself entertained. I do some work on my computer at naptime, which helps keep my brain active. I also get out almost every day to the park where I talk to whoever I see there. I am lucky too that my neighbour has a daycare and we go for walks together or meet at the park...it is really really great to have an adult ot talk to and someone to chat about daycare stuff with. I am not sure hw I would manage if I had to stay home all the time and not have any adults to talk to.

[torontokids]

Yeah, I have struggled with the free play issue from the beginning. We do primarily free play and they love it. I structured it that way on purpose as I think it is important for them. This has been really validated once my 3 yo dcg started as she does not know how to play independently at all and struggles with this. I think he parents unfortunately have done her a disservice by playing with her too much that she gets bored quickly and looks to adults for entertainment. None of my other kids are like this. I think I am looking for other activities not to entertain myself but to have ready and waiting for those moments that free play seems to be not enough at that moment.

[torontokids]

I tried incorporating some theme week activities and they largely sat "undone" as they were content to have free play and my introducing something would have interfered with that.