My Class Is Out Of Control!

[Blackcat31]

I'm a center director, and frankly, I'm shocked. Please take control of the situation and DEMAND proper staffing. NOBODY can handle 14 one year old, its not just illegal, its a major safety concern. "Bad room"??? That's way out of line. This should be TWO classrooms, period.
"hey director, this situation is so bad, if I don't get full time help, I will report this immediately."

And parents pick up and see 14 kids of that age and say NOTHING?

I'M SO SORRY you have to deal with this.

I don't know, but as an employee already wouldn't she (OP) be considered a mandated reporter now?

If so, she HAS to report this...daily if necessary. ANY time the room is out of ratios.

[Heidi]

I don't know, but as an employee already wouldn't she (OP) be considered a mandated reporter now?

If so, she HAS to report this...daily if necessary. ANY time the room is out of ratios.

yeah...

It'd be one thing to be out of ratios if a teacher got suddenly sick (I wouldn't report that), but to set it up that way? It does sound like she has an assistant part of the day, though.

14 1-year old is simply too many children in one room. 7 one year olds in one room is already a lot, if they could be split.

At the very least, besides help ALL the hours you're there, they need to provide enough materials and equipment to keep the children occupied.

Assuming that you would now be in ratios, I would break the room up in smaller pieces, and try to add a bunch of soft fabrics and lower lighting to bring down the stimulation. For toys, without them spending a fortune, you could even use empty formula containers, scraps of fabric, blocks made from shoe boxes, soft balls from the dollar store, some dolls and books from Goodwill, a few hats, a mirror. I could gladly make a list for you. Think outside the box. YOU should not be investing your own money.

Art IS something that should be offered every day, but not under those conditions, and product-oriented art is not developmentally appropriate.

[craftymissbeth]

This situation reminds me of the post discussing daycares that include the words stockade or zoo in their names

[Blackcat31]

yeah...

It'd be one thing to be out of ratios if a teacher got suddenly sick (I wouldn't report that), but to set it up that way? It does sound like she has an assistant part of the day, though.

14 1-year old is simply too many children in one room. 7 one year olds in one room is already a lot.

At the very least, besides help ALL the hours you're there, they need to provide enough materials and equipment to keep the children occupied.

Assuming that you would now be in ratios, I would break the room up in smaller pieces, and try to add a bunch of soft fabrics and lower lighting to bring down the stimulation. For toys, without them spending a fortune, you could even use formula empty containers, scraps of fabric, blocks made from shoe boxes, soft balls from the dollar store, some dolls and books from Goodwill, a few hats, a mirror. I could gladly make a list for you. Think outside the box. YOU should not be investing your own money.

Art IS something that should be offered every day, but not under those conditions, and product-oriented art is not developmentally appropriate.

Some states have requirements about what type of equipment and how many of each they MUST have.

As far as being REQUIRED to do crafts, I would 100% skip that....

If the director doesn't care about ratios, why care about the crafts .

......and who exactly is going to come punish you for not doing a required craft when they don't do anything about the ratios??????

If I am not mistaken, the ratios for your area state 1:5.

Even having two adults in the room is not cutting it.

[Heidi]

Call the complaint hotline for your state. Don't give your name, if you don't want to. You visited the program, and are concerned because you saw that in the young toddler room, there was a teacher alone with what looked like 12-14 children, and it was chaos.

[Imagination's Creations]

I dont understand why any parent would pay to have their one year old with 13 other one year olds, in a class room with only one teacher and clearly not enough equipment and toys to accommodate all of them??? Im a mother, and that would NEVER happen! I agree, this is more than likely WAY illegal, you're a mandated reporter and have to report it. I would tell your director or boss that you need help and more equipment TODAY or you are reporting them and quitting! Not to mention, it is wrong for anyone to expect you to have to care for that many children by yourself!

[Heidi]

I dont understand why any parent would pay to have their one year old with 13 other one year olds, in a class room with only one teacher and clearly not enough equipment and toys to accommodate all of them??? Im a mother, and that would NEVER happen! I agree, this is more than likely WAY illegal, you're a mandated reporter and have to report it. I would tell your director or boss that you need help and more equipment TODAY or you are reporting them and quitting! Not to mention, it is wrong for anyone to expect you to have to care for that many children by yourself!

NO kidding!

Seriously, though, maybe the center has a large proportion of subsidized clients (presumably that no one else will take).

In WI, breaking ratios and providing CRAP care for subsidized clients will now get the center shut down and prosecuted for fraud. But, it went on for years before that happened. If it's private pay clients only, though, the state only does what it feels like doing. Manpower issues, you know...

[Sugar Magnolia]

I don't know, but as an employee already wouldn't she (OP) be considered a mandated reporter now?

If so, she HAS to report this...daily if necessary. ANY time the room is out of ratios.

Yep, totally agree she should report. Forget the Director, she likely won't do anything anyways. This is too dangerous of a situation to demand help.

[cheerfuldom]

I would quit and report the center immediately. I wouldn't even do it anonymously, thats just me though. There is no way I would be a part of a center that allows this treatment. There is no way that a few new activities is going to fix this problem. You are putting up with this class so the director does not really have to hire anyone because she knows they will quit and you will do the work of two people anyway and she is not getting caught for illegal ratios. Hold the director accountable, immediately.

[Bookworm]

NO kidding!

Seriously, though, maybe the center has a large proportion of subsidized clients (presumably that no one else will take).

In WI, breaking ratios and providing CRAP care for subsidized clients will now get the center shut down and prosecuted for fraud. But, it went on for years before that happened. If it's private pay clients only, though, the state only does what it feels like doing. Manpower issues, you know...

This is what I was thinking. It's an all to common problem. Your Director can not tell you to do something she knows is illegal. I'm with the other ladies, report ASAP and quit.

[nannyde]

I would quit and report the center immediately. I wouldn't even do it anonymously, thats just me though. There is no way I would be a part of a center that allows this treatment. There is no way that a few new activities is going to fix this problem. You are putting up with this class so the director does not really have to hire anyone because she knows they will quit and you will do the work of two people anyway and she is not getting caught for illegal ratios. Hold the director accountable, immediately.

THIS

It's illegal and immoral. STOP doing it.

[Unregistered]

I was just hired to take over a 3-4 yr old classroom that is having lots of problems! They are within state regs. for ratio, but the kids have no where enough to do. I've made some requests and have given them a list. We'll see if I make it for long! ;-)

I hope things improve for you! Take all this awesome advice seriously. These ladies know what they are talking about.

[SilverSabre25]

I'd quit. Walk--no RUN!--to the next job, hopefully in a better place. and I'd report.

Of course SOME of it is on the parents...who would leave their kid in that situation? i don't get it....

[14]

We have blocks, stuffed animals, toy cars, and a few hard toys that are really more for babies rather than one year olds.

They get bored very quickly. The toys are in a toy box, but I rotate them every 15-30 minutes. But it's just the same stuff over and over.

There's no organization but there's really not much to organize.. just the two tables for snack time and the toy box.

As for crafts, we do those one at a time.. mostly handprint type crafts. And I only do crafts when I have someone there, but it's still quite chaotic.

They don't get to go outside much because I normally don't have the help to take them outside. We have a gym that they go to for thirty minutes in the morning.

Let me add that this is one of the "nicer" daycares in our area.. or so people think. It's definitely one of the most expensive, yet it's in debt. It's a huge daycare, two floors, and it's in a church. If it weren't for the church backing it, it would have gone out of business already.

First of all, I don't mean anything I am going to say to be about you personally. You seem like a very caring teacher who is willing to go the extra mile for your kids. Your director and daycare center, however, have a lot of problems.

There is a reason the kids are acting up. It's not because they are bad. 14 1-year-olds to 1 adult is insane, illegal, and likely contributing to most of the problems. I seriously would report it. You can do that anonymously.

It also sounds like you have very few materials for the kids. 1-year-olds can't be expected to sit long and be on task. I can't imagine they will stay at those two tables long to do anything. What kind of toys do you have? Are they all just thrown into boxes? Are they easy for kids to find and play with? Is there any sort of organization in the room?

It also sounds like there are some inappropriate expectations for the kids. 1-year-olds can't do crafts. They can color, maybe finger paint... but I'd be wary to introduce any art materials if you are alone supervising 14. How can you be sure Jimmy isn't eating glue if you have his 13 hitting, biting classmates to supervise by yourself at the same time?

Are they getting outside? Do you have a gym or a large motor place for them to run around?

The first thing I'd address is the fact that you're illegally understaffed. Like others said, nothing will improve until you get the help you need.

[Unregistered]

Trying to ignore the icky feeling in my belly, thinking this is the better option for care in town

Toys/supplies: Any chance the church would be willing to set up a daycare supply donation drive ? Books, toys, craft items?

Staff: Any local high schools that require volunteer hours? Colleges that need student placements?

Low cost or nearly free items:

under the bed storage box, can become an on the floor sensory bin (when 2 adults in the room)

empty pop/water bottles: fill with water/oil/food coloring & small items for sensory bottles - google for many ideas

old flannel blanket - turn into a felt board

sock puppets

old hats & mitts