Am I doing enough?

[chill.winston]

I just opened my home daycare this past September. It was definitely a hectic start and I thought I was going to lose it. Somehow, I managed to hold it all together and here I am. I do feel like I've made progress but now I'm concerning myself with the activities the children are doing. Our day goes something like this:

The children get here between 7 and 8:30 and I have one 15 mo dcg who only comes part time and gets here whenever her parents decide to bless us with their presence..... (Anyways, that's another story).

We usually do art and play dough, snack, free play in the playroom while my baby naps, outdoors time weather permitting, back in so I can make lunch, free play on the main floor, lunch, clean up, nap, snack, and then I rotate between free play, art, or outside depending on the kids' moods and the weather.

I have zero clue as to how to do circle time so we just sing songs throughout the day. Any tips for circle time? Am I doing enough with them or should I have more structured activities?

[Cadillac]

What about educational stuff?

Learning ABC's and numbers and shapes and colours?

Story time anywhere in there? that should be a daily thing for literacy development

[Cadillac]

what about special days or weeks when you learn about different things like plants and animals.

I agree with lots of free play but those pre K skills are really important to be ready for kindergarten.
it also give you a really good name amongst the parents and your waitlist will grow immensely.

[playfelt]

What you are doing is a great basic start and a good schedule. A lot depends on the ages of the kids you have in care as to what you do for "circle time". It doesn't have to be a long period where you do everything at once but can be like what you are doing now spread out in smaller segments throughout the day. I agree that reading stories is a good way to start circle time. Gather the children together to read some stories and then use the theme of the story to do an activity. Then you lengthen the time according to the interest level of the children and it will vary from day to day. Try to build time into the day when you talk about things like colours and shapes and counting but at the same time don't fret if it doesn't happen. Just plan a game for the next day that does include that skill. Make sure to have some toys out that also teach those concepts so the children can choose them if they want. Sometimes academics/educational stuff is accomplished while commenting on what the children are playing as you count and talk about the colours of the cars they have lined up or the blocks they are stacking.

There is a shift away from formal adult led teaching in preschool/daycare and more time spent doing child chosen freeplay activities. What you are doing in your day meets that criteria. Just try to sneak in some academics into the play, offer short sessions where the children can join you for a story, songs, fingerplay etc.

I see that you are in Ottawa (I am in Orleans). Have you joined the CCPRN to take advantage of their resources and workshops.

[5 Little Monkeys]

I think you are doing just fine! As you go along, you will pick up new ideas. Checking out this sight and pinterest will give you lots of ideas for activities and circle time. I agree that free play is important and it's definitely the direction some preschools and daycares are going. My only advice with free play....make sure there are educational toys out as well. I hate toys that have batteries in them and the kids just push buttons and wait for the toy to do something or a car that zooms on it's own instead of the child pushing it. I do have some of these toys in my daycare but I much prefer puzzles, blocks, books, cars that need to be pushed, lacing beads, hand eye coordination toys, dolls that make no noise etc. It gets the child using their imagination and makes them be physically active if they have to actually "use" they toy to have fun.

I usually do circle time after lunch, just before nap. Depending on the day, we will sometimes have a circle near the end of the day.

Some things I do for circle are:
*read books...discuss each page, what do they see, what does such and such say, can they find the purple ball etc
*sing songs...each child gets to pick a song and we have actions for most of them
*flashcards...I've been trying to do a theme a month and I have been making flashcards for each one. For example, this month is animals so I have made a dozen or so with pictures of animals. I ask them what this one is called and what does it say and where we would see it. I make doubles so that we can also play "memory" with them or "find the pair".
*a Friday afternoon circle time will be spent talking about what we are all going to do on the weekend
*Take a few smaller toys and a blanket. Show all the toys to the kids and discuss their name. Cover them up with the blanket and take one away. Ask the kids which one is missing. If they are older, you can keep doing this until their is just one toy left. Mine are young so I just take a different one away each time.

[daycaremum]

I think you are doing fine. If you don't want to have structured activities or circle time you don't have to. Just as effective is discussion during free play with the children. They will learn through play. Count the number of blocks in their tower, point out the colours in a puzzle, ask them what they are cooking and what ingredients they used. Sing a song relevant to what they are playing with. Alphabet song when playing with letter magnets, Old MacDonald when playing with the barn. Often times I ask the kids what song they would like to sing and we sing whatever they come up with - impromptu. Read books to them during free play, if they want to sit and listen great, if they don't, that's fine they can still hear you as they play elsewhere.
Like I said, I think you're doing fine. Now if you WANT to do more, you can use google to find a plethora of information

[Secondtimearound]

I opened in September too !!! Sounds like you have a great day !! I think a lot depends on our personalities and of course the ages of the children you are caring for !!! I am pretty scheduled but I'm learning to let my schedule serve me and not me being stressed trying to stay to it !! Lol we start our day with puzzles ( mine all start about 8 ish ) and I start free play around 8:30-8:45 , they will play until about 9:40 and we clean up and start circle time . I have a monthly theme and we do a story and they all have tambourines and we sing songs !! We practise our colors with flash cards and our shapes !! Then we do a daily sheet ( right now practising following lines for printing ) and we do a craft based on our theme ( right now it's on transportation ) around 11 we clean up and go outside until lunch ( or if it's too cold I plan a longer craft ) then we eat , change diapers and go down for nap at 1 , my non nappers then watch a DVD or color until 3 . I change diapers again and offer snack ! In the winter we do free time play ( most leave at 4 ) and warmer weather we are outside until pick up !
Pretty much I just follow my own kids schedule !
Just to give you an idea of my day !! But it's your day home !! Which means you get to choose your activities and what works for you !!!

[chill.winston]

Yes I am a member of CCPRN but unfortunately their scheduled workshops are rarely given at times when I am able to attend.

[playfelt]

Yes I am a member of CCPRN but unfortunately their scheduled workshops are rarely given at times when I am able to attend.

Please let them know what times work for you because we are always trying to adapt as needed. We have tried holding them in different parts of the city, etc.

What is the biggest drawback you are finding with the schedule - days, dates, place, time, topic, etc.

[chill.winston]

Mostly days and times. My husband unfortunately works shifts in the evenings so someone has to stay home with the baby and that would be me lol

During week days is impossible as I have the daycare children here.


I just want to clarify that we DO read lots of stories and talk about colours, shales, etc. I just find that everyone's program is so different so I have no baseline to guide me. I'm hoping that as I gain experience I can introduce more of a preschool program but right now, the children in my care are 2 and under, have never been in a daycare setting, and I'm finding it difficult to introduce new concepts to them outside of free play time.