Daily Sheets

[VTMom]

I loved getting daily sheets when my kids were in daycare. It helped me feel connected to them and to what was going on. Before I started my own daycare we had to change to a different daycare which did not provide sheets. We felt so out of the loop and uninformed.

I do do the daily sheets and most of my families LOVE them. There were some that couldn't have cared less and that's fine with me. I know it's a great thing and if some parents don't want to utilize it, then that's their issue.

[Abigail]

I want to keep records for infants, but I think I would state in my policies that I will do this until they turn 12 months of age. I still write down everyday when someone takes a bathroom break and if it's a child in diapers I write down dry, wet, or bm on a sheet for my own records as proof of when and how often diapers are changed and bathroom breaks. I certainly can't remember specifics unless I write it down. I would only hand out sheets for infants up to 12 months of age unless the parent requested it. Our menu for breakfast, lunch, and snack is going to be typed, printed, and posted on our bulletin board and one copy is sent home for the month. Oh yeah, infant papers will have the diaper changes and also feeding on them. That is about it. Anything else like funny moments, behavior--good or bad, or anything else is just written at the bottom. This way I save on ink for things that are not written regularly!

I think I will try to make one real quick and see if I like it using pictures of bottles, diapers, and maybe clocks or just leave it blank to fill in the time. I would rather fit 4-6 on a sheet and make them cute for parents to easily look at without looking too much.

I'm still working on making a cute and simple one and changed my mind. I found one (after the fact I spent an hour on mine) and like it so I will keep tinkering with mine. http://tiny-tales.com/blog/wp-conten...filled-out.jpg

[SimpleMom]

I used to as well. I recently switched to using Communication Books ( sprial notebooks purchased in the Fall). They need to keep them in the daycare bags and there is a $1.00 fee is it is lost.
I found the same thing where they were not looked at very often and also, I was taking up time to write the same things down for 8-10 kids. I now have a wipe-off board that I put the days activities on, meals, reminders dates, etc. I have a parent board and a posted schedule of the Pre-K lesson plans.
This has been working really well.

[SunflowerMama]

I do a weekly sheet, to save paper, with the menu on the back. Some of the parents like it sent home daily others just want it on Friday. The parents really like it. Typical things...how much they ate, when they slept, how they were feeling, favorite activities, notes for the following week, etc.

[jen]

Infants under 12 months have a spiral notebook, nothing for the older kids.

However, I do talk to all of my parents at pick up. I have a split entry and parents stay in the entryway and I bring the child to them. I also send out very regular emails with curriculum updates and digital phots. I think keeping parents up to date on the great services we offer is the best thing we can do for ourselves business wise.

[Abigail]

I created my own sheet by looking at the one I posted from a web site before. They charged $8.00 for a pack of 50 which were half a sheet of paper in size and had lots of details with space to write about each infants day. I didn't find all that information necessary since I will only a few infants and can spend a minute talking to the parents if they want to know vs. wasting lots of time writing the same things over and over everyday. LOL.

Here is a picture of what I did. I can fit four to a sheet, they are about post card size. The black line you see above the name Kate is my computer curser so it's not actually a line. Everything is colored and set up nicely, but please tell me what you think. I don't want to add if the child needs something because that is not a daily or even a weekly thing in some cases(wipes/diapers/clothes). Behind the name is an open area to write the date. I can preprint these with each child's name a few weeks ahead of time. The back side will be blank, but I can always write a note or something on this if needed.

I'll wait to hear what you guys think about this setup before making these four to a page. I created this in word by creating shapes and putting text within the shapes and adding shading. It will become a little messy if I start copying and pasting then want to edit it. Let me know if I have too many or too little spaces. Thanks!

[mac60]

That's looks very nice, but I can't imagine paying for the ink to do it, let alone finding the time each and every day to fill it out for each kid. I do write down for infants bottle and poos and that is it.