Taking Back Free-Play Time

[KIDZRMYBIZ]

I have 3:45-5:30 scheduled as free play time. I like to use this time to clean up from our daycare day so that I can be free when the last kid walks out the door to attend to my own family. The time frame is actually about 4:00 and usually everyone is gone by 5:10. This has always worked well for me...until now. These days, I spend this time making sure no babies or young toddlers are wailing for attention as parents come in for pick-ups. (Right now I am jostling the baby seat for a 8mo while a 17mo dives back and forth across my legs while I type!). These youngest DCK's just cannot entertain themselves/self-sooth! They finally seem to get it closer to age 2.

My pondering is, would it be appropriate to put a note out to DCFS stating this part of our schedule, with a brief description of what free play is, and that I expect to teach their young children this skill, so their may be an unhappy kid or two (maybe even yours!) until everyone acieves the goal to play independently. I think they should be able to play happily being rotated from one seat, swing, gate, jumper, etc. for an hour or so!

[heyhun77]

Have you tried letting the younger kids just be free? I don't use restrictive equipment in my program and my younger kids can move freely. I save special toys/activities/materials for those times of day when I need them to be most independent and it keeps their interest while I do what needs to be done.

[Play Care]

Playing independently is something I work towards with the kids but I always know that if I have any infants/younger toddlers in care, I will be the one who is busy. :: I would not send anything home to parents about free play, etc. If a parent comes in and baby is wailing, you can always say something like "poor thing! This is his "witching hour" for sure!" with a big, understanding smile. I find parents will take your cue - so if you behave like this is something baby is just going through and he's okay/everyone's okay, they'll be okay::

Right now thankfully the weather has been nice enough so that we go right from quiet time to snack to outside, which cuts down on inside clean up. I try to make it so we don't come back in until most of the kids are already gone for the day. When I do have 1-2 kids and we come in, it's table activity/homework, etc. Dinner is already either in the slow cooker or ready to go in the oven (I prep as much ahead of time as possible because I know I won't be able to with baby wailing at my feet ) When my now 18 month old was an infant, I had the stroller out and would pop him in it while chasing the older kids. He loved it, I got exercise, and no wailing By limiting the time in devices you may find the baby is fine for a few minutes while you do whatever.

All last year it was crazy because I had one infant. He is now 18 months and things have settled down nicely. But I also try not to take infants when I have a toddler because I find the toddlers tend to act like the youngest child in the group. But yeah, whenever I go back to having younger kids after having mostly older there is a month or two of "how come this isn't working anymore?!" and then it dawns that by prepping ahead of time I can cut down on the late afternoon craziness.
HTH!

[auntymimi]

Have you tried letting the younger kids just be free? I don't use restrictive equipment in my program and my younger kids can move freely. I save special toys/activities/materials for those times of day when I need them to be most independent and it keeps their interest while I do what needs to be done.

I do the same. I only have a pack n play that is only for sleeping for the under 1's. I will gate off an area for bigger kids to use blocks or whatever without babyzilla knocking them down, but my kiddos are all free range.

[KIDZRMYBIZ]

Have you tried letting the younger kids just be free? I don't use restrictive equipment in my program and my younger kids can move freely. I save special toys/activities/materials for those times of day when I need them to be most independent and it keeps their interest while I do what needs to be done.

They are "free-range" all day long (aside from the few minutes of me getting meals/snacks, or using the bathroom) as I sit with them on the floor and keep them from getting into the older kids' stuff or mauling one another.

It is only for this last hour of the day that I put them in something for longer than 5 minutes. I rotate them about every 15 min, and they immediately calm when they see me coming for them, but they just cry and hold their arms up when I set them back down. And that's how it goes for the last hour.

Didn't used to be like that. IDK if it's the longer days over all, being held too much at home, or what? Thinking maybe it is just a phase that I will have to get through till this group get a little older.

[KIDZRMYBIZ]

Playing independently is something I work towards with the kids but I always know that if I have any infants/younger toddlers in care, I will be the one who is busy. :: I would not send anything home to parents about free play, etc. If a parent comes in and baby is wailing, you can always say something like "poor thing! This is his "witching hour" for sure!" with a big, understanding smile. I find parents will take your cue - so if you behave like this is something baby is just going through and he's okay/everyone's okay, they'll be okay::

Right now thankfully the weather has been nice enough so that we go right from quiet time to snack to outside, which cuts down on inside clean up. I try to make it so we don't come back in until most of the kids are already gone for the day. When I do have 1-2 kids and we come in, it's table activity/homework, etc. Dinner is already either in the slow cooker or ready to go in the oven (I prep as much ahead of time as possible because I know I won't be able to with baby wailing at my feet ) When my now 18 month old was an infant, I had the stroller out and would pop him in it while chasing the older kids. He loved it, I got exercise, and no wailing By limiting the time in devices you may find the baby is fine for a few minutes while you do whatever.

All last year it was crazy because I had one infant. He is now 18 months and things have settled down nicely. But I also try not to take infants when I have a toddler because I find the toddlers tend to act like the youngest child in the group. But yeah, whenever I go back to having younger kids after having mostly older there is a month or two of "how come this isn't working anymore?!" and then it dawns that by prepping ahead of time I can cut down on the late afternoon craziness.
HTH!

I like the "witching hour" comment idea. I didn't send anything out, I let them fuss and just commented when parents came in that "we are learning to be patient" while I went about tidying and saying good-bye to their kid.

We are outside often, and are blessed by the mild autumn we've been having. I have learned not to be outside at pick-up time though. The kids REALLY don't want to leave then (or the parents, it seems), and quitting time gets to be 20-30 minutes later than need be. That's what I get for having a backyard made up like a neighborghood park.