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  1. #1
    Shy
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    Suggestions Pls for One Year Olds

    I've just opened in January. Right now I have a 3 year old part time, a 1 yr old part time and 1yr old full time. I am sorta stuck in two areas.
    First is the daily run of the day. I feel like I should be doing more but arts and crafts with one year olds is almost non existent just because they don't have the abilities to do much. I do finger painting with yogurt, we attempt to color etc. very cautious as they still put thing in their mouths! My 3 year old I believe has some physical and mental delays, he can't do cutting, pasting is coming along, he paints a little bit, he only colors for 5mins then he's done. So I'm super stuck as to some artsy craftsy stuff to do with these guys. One year olds are fun to play with but that seems to be all I do and I feel like maybe I'm missing something. I find it a long day with my one year olds compared to my three year old.
    The second issue is my 3yr old daycare child's development delays. He can talk. He understands very well - instructions, questions etc. his "talking" is a lot of babbling, "da", "na", "mama" and not much more. I can't get sentences out of him. I am working hard with him everyday he's here but not to the point of stressing him out! He can't say his name so I'm working on that right now, the letters etc and recognition. His walking is very unstable for 3 years old, seems somewhat unbalanced. Not potty trained either. Starts school in Sept. He has come along a bit since he started here so that's a plus for me. What types of things can I do with him? I am dying to do crafts but his abilities are about that of my one year olds and he can't handle it nor does he really understand.

  2. #2
    Euphoric !
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    Are you doing circle/storytime? When I had five 12-16month olds we still did a story time every day. I sang a few action songs and read a handful of toddler books. They LOVED it, some wandered while listening but for the most part they tried to sit near me while I read.

    Stickers were a favorite activity. Buy the bigger stickers from the dollar store and let them try and get them off. I had to bend up a corner on each sticker for the first while.

    With 1 yr olds you are limited to some degree but you can still have a schedule of activities. Periods of free paly, periods where you bring out a special toy to have them play with (blocks, potato heads, cars etc) that bring them together to spend a few minutes on the same activity.

    Have periods where you put on children's music to sing along too (this works wonders when they don't yet sing and you get sick of hearing just your own voice). It doesn't take much to break up the day (simple differences like music on, music off, story time, a special toy activity) and it is enough to vary the flow of the day for your sake!

    Once the weather is that little bit warmer and you start going outside more then you'll find the day goes by faster as well since just getting them outside and back inside takes up a good chunk of your day!

    For the 3yr old. Any idea why he might be delayed? It sounds like he hears you fine? The lack of language output and the trouble with balance could be a hearing issue. I'm not sure what to recommend there. Part of me would worry that if he is that far behind then hanging out with 1yr olds is not the best thing for him, as he would benefit from the modeling of older children. But, make the most of your time with him and try to really work on the crucial skills he'll need for kindergarten. If he is far behind all around then I wouldn't worry too much about letters and number, I would likely rather spend my time working on his speaking, his expressing his needs (asking for water, food, the bathroom etc). Many children in kindergarten don't yet know their letters and numbers and lots of time is spent on this in kindergarten...but most children are able to speak in sentences, go to the bathroom with minimal help and express their needs.

    If crafts isn't his thing then simplify it. Put paper and glue out and let him glue a variety of materials down (pompoms, scraps of paper etc). Let him use markers, let him paint etc. Structured crafts take a lot of patience and require the ability to complete multiple steps in a certain order. It sounds like he is far from ready for that. Let him explore some art materials without instruction...he free exploration may peek his interest, the more time he spends exploring the more he'll start to like it and the more he'll start to do and soon enough he will be ready for 'crafts'.

    Have his parents taken him for a language assessment? There is likely a local group that does free assessments they will give the parents a lot of activities to do with him to help him along and they will flag him for any supports he may need.

  3. #3
    Outgoing
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    My suggestions with regards to the arts and crafts, forget crafts, it's the process, not the product. 4-5 yos can do some crafts, but otherwise, it ends up being you doing it yourself. With 1 yos and toddlers, I focus more on the sensory stuff. I have mentioned soap before. A small dish with a bit of water (warm) and a big chunk of Ivory soap bar and a small sponge. It is non toxic but unpleasant to eat so not a huge big deal and clean up is easy. I don't do markers or crayons with under 1.5. Waste of time, but, if you put something in the yogurt or pudding, like dry rice, cake sprinkles, couscous (dry) that adds to the sensory nature of what they are doing.

    If you are trying to give the parents pictures every day, don't worry about it at this age. If they are asking, you can take photos of the sensory play to send/give them.

    As for the 3yo, it seems there is a lot of that going around. It seems like what you are doing is good, keep it up. And keep notes. I have found this helps, write out every word he can say and the meaning "na" for ..... and keep working on it. When I had a child the same, I would ask for a "please" if he wanted ketchup, for example. Not a big deal when he didn't say it but since I knew he wanted ketchup, it was an incentive. Took a few months, but then, one day like a floodgate opened, please came out (not for ketchup, but for gravy!) Then every day new words and new interactions. He too didn't do the toilet training. Couldn't pull or push anything. But at the same time as the words came, the other stuff came too. It was slow, I was never sure how much was being done at home, but he was coming along. And as for crafts with him, let him do the same as the others. I don't even try scissors with 3 yos. If you get more kids, older ones will help too, he can see them do things and model after them.

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  5. #4
    Shy
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    Thanks for all your input.
    With the little ones I do a sit-down reading session about twice a day, sometimes more depending on everyone's moods that day. Sometimes they are all sitting on me, some days just toddling about. I know they're only a year and attention is short! Lol. I'm going to try stickers, will look at dollar store for big ones, thanks. Everyday we do something like what you mentioned - bringing out a different toy, etc. we have a cubed shelving unit and I do pull out some of the higher up buckets with Potato Head or wood puzzles. It does work like a charm!
    I guess I'm not far off what I should be doing by the sounds of it. My husband reassures me all the time. My daycare parents love me and have such relief knowing their kids are well taken care of. I think I need to relax and not be so paranoid that the parents expect more. I am not into providing crafts and arts to go home with the babes. The parents do love it when the kids do yogurt painting and such.
    As for my three year old. I am not sure of the reasons for the delay. I'm doing what I can with him. I do make him at least attempt to talk "all done", "please", "excuse me" etc. we say colors and shapes too throughout the day. I kind of had the same thought about him being around the wee ones not helping his case but the parents chose me, he was my first sign up. The child's mom says he gets so excited to come here! He has really taken a shining to My 8 year old son. I can't wait for March break when my son can be here and be a bit of a model for 3yr old.
    Thanks again for the reassurance.

  6. #5
    Euphoric !
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    Sounds like you are doing a great job...I agree with you, relax

    I also agree with kindertime, process vs product is what we do here too! Even though they are young, just keep bringing it out on a weekly basis and they will eventually get the hang of it. If they aren't exposed to it than they too will also be 3 and not have a clue what to do with scissors, glue etc.

    When they are quite young, I sit beside them and help or do their art activity one on one after they have watched the older ones do theirs.

    I've never thought to use yogurt...we use pudding! I'll have to remember that for the future

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  8. #6
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    Some great ideas kindertime. I think I'll be trying these with my under 2's. Thank you!

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