When Do You Lesson Plan/Prep?

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

I'm trying to get a better system in place so that I am spending my time outside of work actually relaxing or with my family.
I have most of the kids here from 8:00-5:00 with a few that come at 7:00 and stay until 6:00. 11 hour days are long and stressful. This is our family business so we all chip in and work. I am definitely not alone (thank you God) and without help. But, I am the one with a teaching degree and I am the one who decided to open this Preschool. So, that leaves me with lead teacher/director responsibilities. I lesson plan, do the craft, do the skill practicing activities, menu plan, log the meals eaten, log the kid's attendance, do accounting, scan/log the receipts, etc.

When do you lesson plan?
When do you prep for the week (put out the menu, put out the sign in sheets, bring out the thematic unit's toys/books, etc.)?

Also, when do you search for new ideas?
Do you browse the homeschooling/Preschool/informational blogs and websites during lunch break or do you do that outside of work?

[daycare]

I'm trying to get a better system in place so that I am spending my time outside of work actually relaxing or with my family.
I have most of the kids here from 8:00-5:00 with a few that come at 7:00 and stay until 6:00. 11 hour days are long and stressful. This is our family business so we all chip in and work. I am definitely not alone (thank you God) and without help. But, I am the one with a teaching degree and I am the one who decided to open this Preschool. So, that leaves me with lead teacher/director responsibilities. I lesson plan, do the craft, do the skill practicing activities, menu plan, log the meals eaten, log the kid's attendance, do accounting, scan/log the receipts, etc.

When do you lesson plan?
When do you prep for the week (put out the menu, put out the sign in sheets, bring out the thematic unit's toys/books, etc.)?

Also, when do you search for new ideas?
Do you browse the homeschooling/Preschool/informational blogs and websites during lunch break or do you do that outside of work?

I do it all on my lunch break or like right now the kids are eating and my computer is right next to the table they eat at. I also set up everything in the morning before daycare starts. If I have a new theme coming out, which happens each start of the month, I will do it also monday morning. I do have a few things extra that get put out each week and again set up in the morning.

I also have my stuff out, as I have my whole bottom floor of my house dedicated to daycare. Another thing, I quit trying to clean my house over the weekend and started cleaning it after my youngest goes to bed at 7:30pm. It only takes me about 2 hours to clean top to bottom.

I think a lot of it requires some good organizing, which I do good at sometimes, but not always. I try really hard, but seem to always be rolling that rock up a hill just to have it roll back down on top of me....

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

My son vacuums and mops it daily when he gets home from high school. It is a part of his chores and takes him 10 minutes to knock out. We also use our whole bottom story.

I take photos each month (around 100 of each child, including scanned copies of their artwork and skills practice) and to upload all of those, tag the faces of the children (so the computer puts them in a folder with their name on it), and then upload them to private albums for the families takes about 6 hours. I was able to do that during business hours last month and only spent 1 hour uploading on Friday. It was amazing!

[Cat Herder]

Whenever I am online talking to other providers, peaking at pinterest, reading curriculum guides/books or just watching TV, I look for ideas that will suit my group. Inspiration comes at odd times for me.

When I find something that stands out I put it on a index card and toss it into a recipe box. After 18 years of this, I have LOT'S of cards to pull from. :::: (plan on front, supply list on back)

I use Funshine for the paperwork and craft side of it (learning objectives), grab a card or two to shop for on the weekend...and I am set for next week. Feels like I never really plan. ::

Oh, and I create my menus for the year every January.

[spud912]

When it's broken down, I end up doing a lot of daycare-related stuff in my personal time. I try to limit my theme-related "research" to my nap time break, but it often leaks into my personal time at night once my kids are put to bed (mostly because planning is one of my favorite things to do!). In addition, I spend about an hour on Sunday nights getting out the theme materials, updating the bulletin board and decorating (if I have some kind of theme-related decoration). I usually do the menu planning, grocery lists and grocery shopping on Saturdays, which takes up a good 3 hour block of time every week (sometimes more). I also do deep cleaning on Saturday, which averages out to be 1-2 hours. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I spend approximately 1 hour daily outside of daycare hours on daycare-related things; with the exception of Saturday in which I spend about 4 hours.

[Country Kids]

I easily spend 1-2 hours a night during the week doing planning/prepping.

The comes the weekends-at least 10 hours! Cleaning my house(deep),getting laundry caught up, writing up menus's, going over and entering receipts and such on computor. Doing shopping, going to the library, cleaning childcare room. Getting supplies ready, possbly working on outside things also for childcare. Switching out toys.

The end of the month takes the most time-switching out calendars/shapes/numbers. Getting bulletin board ready!

Its a never ending job.

[saved4always]

I work for a center and do lesson planning and most preparation of materials during nap time. I do some prep first thing in the morning when I have only one or two kids and they are having free play time. I don't take my laptop to work so I have to do internet searches and printing at home outside of work. I am thinking of starting to take my laptop to work to at least do searches for ideas from there. I do try to do as little as possible outside of work hours since I am only paid for the hours I am at the center.

[saved4always]

Oh...I do spend a lot of time outside of work hours ordering books from the library for circle time/story time. Another thing I could do at work if I would take my laptop.