Family Involvement Ideas

[jenboo]

Does anyone else plan different family activities for your home daycare? I would like to have a small thing planned every couple of months. So far I have done a bbq and the families loved it!
Does anyone have ideas and experience of what works best? I would like the activities simple and something I can have planned around pick up time to make it easier for the families. I only have 4 families, one being my sister.

Any ideas are welcome!

[Cat Herder]

Smores and storytime by a campfire sounds awesome right now.... lovethis

[thetoddlerwhisper]

we used to do a "stone soup" dinner. all the familys brought a can of veggies and we threw it all together as a soup. then we read the stone soup book together. we also did breakfast for mothers day(muffins) grandparents day(gravy and biscuits) and fathers day(fruit or donuts) was a good way for kids to enjoy that time with their parents

[snbauser]

We do twice a year. We do a spaghetti dinner in December and a cookout in June. The one in Dec is only for currently enrolled families since it is indoors. The cookout is for current families, families that have left/graduated, and in some cases if they have already signed on, for families that will be starting in August.

[Annalee]

We do twice a year. We do a spaghetti dinner in December and a cookout in June. The one in Dec is only for currently enrolled families since it is indoors. The cookout is for current families, families that have left/graduated, and in some cases if they have already signed on, for families that will be starting in August.

I offer two family events per year in Spring and Fall. The one in the Spring is for parents with their children and the Fall is for parents only. We have had different things through the years with homemade ice cream being a favorite. I try to have the event outside (cookout, pizza, or something easy)when the kids are here, too. The parent event is always inside and generally leads to some good discussion (usually have a meal with door prizes). Some daycare providers around here offer a bonfire with hayride each Fall. That would be cool!

[DaycareMom]

I offer two family events per year in Spring and Fall. The one in the Spring is for parents with their children and the Fall is for parents only. We have had different things through the years with homemade ice cream being a favorite. I try to have the event outside (cookout, pizza, or something easy)when the kids are here, too. The parent event is always inside and generally leads to some good discussion (usually have a meal with door prizes). Some daycare providers around here offer a bonfire with hayride each Fall. That would be cool!

You have an event with JUST the parents? Where do your and their children go? Is it so all the adults can get to know eachother? What is the purpose of leaving out the children?
I am just curious. I have never heard of anything like that before...

[Annalee]

You have an event with JUST the parents? Where do your and their children go? Is it so all the adults can get to know eachother? What is the purpose of leaving out the children?
I am just curious. I have never heard of anything like that before...

Licensing/QRIS requires this for the Parent/Family Involvement part on the State report card. The Spring/families meeting allows everyone to interact/get to know one another. The parent only one allows me to introduce new concepts/go over old ones/answer questions/get feedback/etc. The parent only one allows the parents to go throughout the room exploring what their children have access to daily. I get a report card each year with different components and a score for each component. The QRIS has been her for over 10 years and it just keeps magnifying certain areas of our group/family child care program. A provider doesn't have to complete all of the components BUT the report card is very large and HAS to be displayed upon entrance to your program so who wants a big "0" posted on the wall. Certain areas are not realistic nor attainable so I try to excel where I can to keep my score on the highest level.

[Starburst]

Does anyone else plan different family activities for your home daycare? I would like to have a small thing planned every couple of months. So far I have done a bbq and the families loved it!
Does anyone have ideas and experience of what works best? I would like the activities simple and something I can have planned around pick up time to make it easier for the families. I only have 4 families, one being my sister.

Any ideas are welcome!

I have some ideas I've thought about in the future for "daycare family fun nights" or "family appreciation nights":

Well this one might depend on your area and group (as well as your own beliefs), But I thought about when I start and have a few families around Halloween having a kid friendly Halloween party where they can stop by play some Halloween games (bobbing for apples, spider bingo) also great way to advertise for possible future daycare clients (let them invite family and friends and invite neighbors). Maybe around Christmas have a Christmas party or concert where the kids can sing Christmas carols you taught them and play Christmas games (pin the tail on the rain dear) or read Christmas stories or have a mini Christmas play (depending on age groups).

I've also thought about doing a talent show where the kids can make a skit of a short children's stories (ex: three little pigs) and/or the kids, older siblings, and parents can also show off their talents (singing, dancing, playing instrument).

At my college's preschool and at the preschool I did my student teaching at (it was a church), they both did a movie night where they would all come over and watch a movie with popcorn, chips, and pizza. They had a big overhead projector DVD player. It could work if you have a large and/or flat screen TV and a large enough living room.

Since they liked a BBQ, what about a bond fire in your backyard (fire pit?) roast marshmallows, campfire songs/stories, make bracelets/necklaces/soap, or even just share photos of dcks with parents.
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If you do preschool and don't already do a graduation ceremony, one thing the daycare families loved at my old job was the preschool graduations. A few weeks before graduation the providers daughter (my ex roommate) would teach the children simple dances and have a huge graduation where the kids would dress up and sing and dance followed by a diploma/trinket ceremony. There's also usually a theme (50s, 80's, western, Hawaiian, camp, renaissance). It would also serve as an end of the school year celebration for all the daycare kids (jump start summer program) and a pot luck afterwards; parents sign up to bring food, drinks, and help prepare or clean. She started doing this in her back yard, then at a park (may require permit), then asked her church that had a stage if they could rent out the space every year to have the party. The parents and the kids loved it! We all looked forward to it every year.
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Well, this isn't so much about the parent involvement but my ex-roommate and I would occasionally offer night/over night care ("date night") for the children 4+ at her mom's daycare and have pizza, watch a Disney movie, and a bunch of games and activities. We would charge about $25 a child (small discount for siblings) on Friday nights and the parents would pick up by 10AM the next morning. The kids loved it because they had fun and the parents loved it because they got to either go on a date, hang out late with their friends, or just have time to themselves without having to spend a fortune on a babysitter ($10/hour for up to 16 hours when sleeping for about 8 hours would be a lot for one night!)

[melilley]

For Mother's Day you could do a Muffins With Mom where the mom and child/ren have a muffin and coffee/milk together when they are either dropped off or picked up.

For Father's Day you could do Donuts With Dad, same as above.

We did this at a center I worked at and we always had a good turn out!

I lovethis the bonfire idea!

[melilley]

Smores and storytime by a campfire sounds awesome right now.... lovethis

[Unregistered]

Mother's day brunch (either the Friday before or Monday after)
Father's Day picnic
Grandparents Story Time
Swing into Summer day at the park
Fall Fling mini carnival where the kids run the games such as ring toss, coin drop, ball bounce and they can invite family and friends.

[Stepping]

Does it have to involve all families at once?
We invited parents in for our musicians theme. They came on different days to play instruments to the kids. We had a violin is, saxophonist, guitarist and drummer in the bunch. It was great!

I have also done 'mystery reader' in the past. A 'mystery' parent comes near the end of the day on a Friday and reads a story to the group. They take their own little one home with them when they are done. Every one gets a turn at their parent being the mystery reader. The kids love it!

[JLH]

Wow! I'm jealous. I once tried to hold a Halloween party for the families. I spent $400 and countless hours shopping, cooking, and decorating. I had only 1 of about 10 families show up and they dropped their 3 year old off and left for a few hours, and then returned to pick him up. What a slap in the face! I tried to hold a mandatory contract renewal meeting one weekend and every single family backed out at the last minute so I cancelled. I closed and reopened a new daycare a few years later after I moved. I tried testing the waters on parent involvement this time around, so right before Thanksgiving we made a box for a food drive, set it next to the sign in/out sheets, and sent home a newsletter about it. All food donated was to be given to our local elementary school to help their needy. Not one single family out of the 12 kids enrolled donated anything besides mine. Very saddening! An even bigger slap in the face was that half the families returned saying they had never even seen or read the newsletter that I spent hours typing out and placing in each child's cubby regarding our November events. It makes me sad that no one cares enough to be involved in their child's "school" or daily activities. How do you get your parents involved? Any tips for me, pretty please?

[melskids]

January~ sleigh riding Saturday w/ a bonfire and Chili contest
February~ Cabin Fever Fest
March~ pancake breakfast with our homemade maple sryup
April~ Easter Egg Hunt
May~ Muffins with mom
June~ trip to zoo or water park
July~Chicken BBQ
August~ ice cream social
September~ grandparents lunch
October~ Fall fest
November and December~ (one event because everyone is so busy) our holiday potluck.

[jenboo]

I guess i just got really lucky with most of my families! I only have four right now and once i get licensed ill have up to 6. 3 of the 4 are really involved and talk about how we are a team and stuff. I love it!