Indoor Free Play

[SilverSabre25]

Do you find that you have little room in your schedule for free play inside when the weather is nice? And, does anyone care (kids, parents, etc)?

[dave4him]

We do lots of indoor free play Kids love it, and as long as they are learning something every day thats what matters

[quailsgarden]

When the weather is nice we also spend most of our time outside. I am a believer that if you can do it inside you can do it outside so the kids are not missing out. Also like Dave said if the kids are learning that is what matters.

[itlw8]

Having a block of time for free play or child directed activites is important but nothing says it has to be indoors. You can even take some of those activites outdoors. My kids love to color at the tables in the shade. you will often find them making pirate maps


The more we are out the less clean up we have to do LOL

[E Daycare]

My free play is scheduled from drop off till we clean up for snack. It's usually like this:

7:30-8am: free play
8-8:30 breakfast
8:30-9:15 free play

We clean up, have snack, preschool and then outside till its time to get ready for lunch. Eat lunch, clean up and nap.

Get up from nap 3:30-4
have snack 3:45-4:15
4:15-5:15p free play outside usually but too hot/cold/rainy we are inside.

I'd say we have about an hour free play inside a day and that's usually morning and maybe 15 minutes in the afternoon.

[Meyou]

I figure it all balances out with the decrease in outside hours in the winter. We get maybe an hour per day total in the summer unless it rains.

[SilverSabre25]

I was wondering because I revamped our schedule to include preschool time this year--more "official" than we've done before. There's a bit of free play in the AM but I'm having to switch that to being upstairs (where I am cooking breakfast, etc) instead of in the main playroom. I might actually switch it to being when we do art stuff, too. So that would make our schedule,

Art stuff
Breakfast
Preschool
Outside/Free play in bad weather
play while I prep lunch (half hour at most, again, not down in the playroom)
Walk to bus
Nap
Walk to bus
Snack
Outside/free play (depending on weather)

So really, many days, that would be *no* free play inside when we're able to hit both outside times. I don't think it's entirely a *bad* thing per se...not the way my group has gotten lately...and since I"m not militant about the preschool stuff and it's all play based they might not notice. But I feel weird about so little indoor free play during good weather.

[countrymom]

we don't go out till about 10am and stay till almost noone (depends on weather) and really parents don't care if their kids go out or not. Heck most of the time if I don't take them out then they don't go out at all.

[Country Kids]

I guess I'm confused about why you feel weird about them not being able to play inside during nice weather. I guess I would feel guilty about them not being outside during nice weather.

[SilverSabre25]

I guess I'm confused about why you feel weird about them not being able to play inside during nice weather. I guess I would feel guilty about them not being outside during nice weather.

...'cause I'm weird? ::

It's mostly because I overthink things *sigh*. That's what's happened here--I see in our new/current schedule where there's little room for indoor free play unless the weather is bad, and since it's different from before, I think too much and it's HARD for me to step back and see it any other way.

[Country Kids]

Take them outside and don't even worry about inside stuff! My parents want their kids outside and they need to be outside. Get them outside as long as possible and then when the bad weather hits change it to inside.