Need advice for when kids get loud

[Mom2Two]

So Thursdays are my day when all the children are here all day. So that's seven children including my daughter. I have a 5 yo girl, three 4 yo boys, a 3 yo boy, and a 2 yo girl. Plus my 6 yo daughter.

The six daycare children get very loud together. 5 yo girl and her 3 yo brother are a little on the high-spirited side. They're great kids--very happy and usually well behaved--and the daycare children tend to follow the 5 yo girl as the leader, since she's very imaginative and verbal. But that means that they end up all wanting to play together all at the same time, with the same toys, in the same space.

All except my daughter, who is quiet, tender, sensitive, and gentle. She escapes to her room when things get raucous. The noise and raucousness are also bothering me.

I'm wondering if I should enforce them playing separately at least for part of each day. My daycare space is on my main floor, and it's the front living room, the dining room (pencils and paper always set out for use on the kids' table also linoleum for scooter boards etc), and also the sunken family room, which can be gated off.

At 2 pm the 3 yo and 2 yo go down for a long nap, and at that time I insist that the awake children watch a movie, or they are allowed to play with foam (quiet) blocks. This is my sanity break.

I feel kinda bad at thinking to try to control their play, but another problem is that when they're all trying to play together, fights happen more often and then my nerves start feeling a little frayed. Any advice?

[Mike]

Others will have better advice, but I'm thinking since the 2 and 3 yo's already have a separate time (nap time), it wouldn't be that unusual to also have a separate play time. Maybe a 1 hour period in the middle of the trouble where you split them into 2 groups.

[daycare]

How much outside time are you getting.

In my group loud voices are for outside and quiet voices inside. If they do get too loud I may decide to read to them, change what we are doing to a quiet activity, or go outside.

We are outside about 3 hours a day.

[Blackcat31]

So Thursdays are my day when all the children are here all day. So that's seven children including my daughter. I have a 5 yo girl, three 4 yo boys, a 3 yo boy, and a 2 yo girl. Plus my 6 yo daughter.

The six daycare children get very loud together. 5 yo girl and her 3 yo brother are a little on the high-spirited side. They're great kids--very happy and usually well behaved--and the daycare children tend to follow the 5 yo girl as the leader, since she's very imaginative and verbal. But that means that they end up all wanting to play together all at the same time, with the same toys, in the same space.

All except my daughter, who is quiet, tender, sensitive, and gentle. She escapes to her room when things get raucous. The noise and raucousness are also bothering me.

I'm wondering if I should enforce them playing separately at least for part of each day. My daycare space is on my main floor, and it's the front living room, the dining room (pencils and paper always set out for use on the kids' table also linoleum for scooter boards etc), and also the sunken family room, which can be gated off.

At 2 pm the 3 yo and 2 yo go down for a long nap, and at that time I insist that the awake children watch a movie, or they are allowed to play with foam (quiet) blocks. This is my sanity break.

I feel kinda bad at thinking to try to control their play, but another problem is that when they're all trying to play together, fights happen more often and then my nerves start feeling a little frayed. Any advice?

YES!!!

Different skills and traits happen in BOTH small and large groups! I think it hugely beneficial for kids to play in small groups as well as large groups but those small groups are fantastic for learning about their own personalities and abilities to lead or follow etc.

I make a point of pairing up kids that normally don't choose to play together into a small group. It makes a great opportunity for perhaps a shy child to speak up or for a loud/rowdy child to perhaps hone those calm and mellow skills.

My kiddos spend twice as much time in large group activities as they do in small groups activities but I know they learn more from those small groups so I would definitely plan small group time.

Oh, and it DOES cut down on the loudness levels... so win-win! happyface

[Mom2Two]

How much outside time are you getting.

In my group loud voices are for outside and quiet voices inside. If they do get too loud I may decide to read to them, change what we are doing to a quiet activity, or go outside.

We are outside about 3 hours a day.

That's awesome. I usually shoot for one hour a day of outside time. They get a bit tired after that. I think I would need to work on my outdoor space to have them want to be outdoors for three hours.

[Mom2Two]

YES!!!

Different skills and traits happen in BOTH small and large groups! I think it hugely beneficial for kids to play in small groups as well as large groups but those small groups are fantastic for learning about their own personalities and abilities to lead or follow etc.

I make a point of pairing up kids that normally don't choose to play together into a small group. It makes a great opportunity for perhaps a shy child to speak up or for a loud/rowdy child to perhaps hone those calm and mellow skills.

I hadn't even thought of that. I can see that it would be beneficial to the children to play in small groups and large groups. DD prefers small groups, but I would like her to at least be able to deal with the noise of a large group without getting scared of it, so yes, I can see that both would be good.

Also, I like to do kindergarten readiness with the four year olds, but it's almost impossible when there's a large, energetic group playing hard. They would much rather be with each other than doing lessons with me!

If I enforce small group time at that time, it will give me a change to work with one or two children at once. This would be especially helpful since I'm homeschooling DD.

[Mom2Two]

Last night I also realized that one of the things that was bothering me is the rate that they move from one activity to the next, til the whole main floor is tore up and all the toys are out! One thing I may do is gate off the family room and have them at least stick to one room for some time (while I sit in their with them) and then have them tidy it up before moving to the next room. I think that would help things feel a bit more sane.

[daycare]

I didn't answer your question about small groups, but just as BC said, it is a great idea.

I have large group first, which all kids do circle time. then we break down into two groups. I do have an assistant, but I also do have 12 kids.

I am sure to break the groups up so that kids I know go crazy together are separated. I often pair up the older with the younger so that the older child can help the younger child. It really helps the older child work on their patience and confidence skills. They love being able to show the little kids what they know.

[daycare]

Last night I also realized that one of the things that was bothering me is the rate that they move from one activity to the next, til the whole main floor is tore up and all the toys are out! One thing I may do is gate off the family room and have them at least stick to one room for some time (while I sit in their with them) and then have them tidy it up before moving to the next room. I think that would help things feel a bit more sane.

I have a rule of one "box" out at a time.

if you take out the magnatiles you can't take anything else until you are done putting it all away.

I have the really fun stuff out that I know that they like and there is not a ton of it out. I also rotate it out about every 2-3 weeks.

anything that kids fight over that item does straight to the garage and willl be brought back at a later time.

[MissAnn]

I have a rule of one "box" out at a time.

if you take out the magnatiles you can't take anything else until you are done putting it all away.

I have the really fun stuff out that I know that they like and there is not a ton of it out. I also rotate it out about every 2-3 weeks.

anything that kids fight over that item does straight to the garage and willl be brought back at a later time.

I do this too. Also....I used to let the kids do their activities on their rugs (rectangle carpet samples). They each had their own and was responsible to keep it picked up. Drama and blocks are in the playroom and I allow that to be a little messier/louder. Well, recently I got rid of the rugs and had all kids work all activities at a table. What a difference! The table seems to be a better boundary of where toys go. If something falls on the ground they pick it up. The rugs are out in the garage now! My kids are 3 and 4 though.

[Blackcat31]

Last night I also realized that one of the things that was bothering me is the rate that they move from one activity to the next, til the whole main floor is tore up and all the toys are out! One thing I may do is gate off the family room and have them at least stick to one room for some time (while I sit in their with them) and then have them tidy it up before moving to the next room. I think that would help things feel a bit more sane.

I have 2 strategies that address that...


First Strategy: Use a kitchen timer.

Offer a few choices (I have 3 choices) depending on the number of kids you have in care (I have 10-12 daily)

Once they make a choice, they may not move onto another activity until the timer goes off. They can stop playing the activity they chose but can't go onto anything else.

This helps kids make choices and stick with them.

Second Strategy: Timed Breaks

I don't care if the kids have more than one box, bin or set of toys out at one time when it's large group or free play.
I personally think it severely limits their creativity and forces them to play within preconceived ideas and "rules" when we limit them.

What I do when it gets a bit overwhelming or chaotic or I just feel like they've lost control/interest....I will ring the bell and say "Quick Pick Up Break" (mostly I just say "Quick Pick" because my kiddos are used to it now...)
When the bell is rung, the kids must do a quick survey of the room, decide what parts and pieces they are playing with and put the rest back. They do NOT have to clean up those toys, parts and/or pieces they are playing with.

The "quick pick" helps keep the mess to a certain size and eliminate the kids from getting too overwhelmed and the noise level as well as the behavior from getting to over the top.

Depending on what you are doing, what the kids are doing and if it's small or large group time, either of those two methods have helped. They are both easy to implement and all kids can quickly adapt to the simplicity of both methods.

HTH

[Febby]

I have 2 strategies that address that...


First Strategy: Use a kitchen timer.

Offer a few choices (I have 3 choices) depending on the number of kids you have in care (I have 10-12 daily)

Once they make a choice, they may not move onto another activity until the timer goes off. They can stop playing the activity they chose but can't go onto anything else.

This helps kids make choices and stick with them.

Second Strategy: Timed Breaks

I don't care if the kids have more than one box, bin or set of toys out at one time when it's large group or free play.
I personally think it severely limits their creativity and forces them to play within preconceived ideas and "rules" when we limit them.

What I do when it gets a bit overwhelming or chaotic or I just feel like they've lost control/interest....I will ring the bell and say "Quick Pick Up Break" (mostly I just say "Quick Pick" because my kiddos are used to it now...)
When the bell is rung, the kids must do a quick survey of the room, decide what parts and pieces they are playing with and put the rest back. They do NOT have to clean up those toys, parts and/or pieces they are playing with.

The "quick pick" helps keep the mess to a certain size and eliminate the kids from getting too overwhelmed and the noise level as well as the behavior from getting to over the top.

Depending on what you are doing, what the kids are doing and if it's small or large group time, either of those two methods have helped. They are both easy to implement and all kids can quickly adapt to the simplicity of both methods.

HTH

I like that idea. I've never actually tried it, but free play in my room can certainly get chaotic since we have 20+ kids and also do small group work (math/literacy/science/art/technology) during free play time. Technically, my aide is supposed monitor play and ensure that the children are putting things away when they're done with them, but that doesn't necessarily happen.

In the past, I've separated my group into smaller, manageable groups. I do groups of 3-6 and I have 20-24 children most days. I give them a designated play area, such as a rug or taped off area, and 1-2 bins of toys. Kitchen timer set ~10 minutes, though I'll stop slightly early or delay timer slightly, depending on how they're playing. Then clean up and rotate.

[knoxmomof2]

I care for a maximum of 4, so my group is smaller but I do somewhere between "1 set per child out at a time" and unlimited chaos.. Lol. If they're playing happily together and they've had a good history of cleaning up a bigger mess when it's time, I let them continue but remind them that they all will need to clean up when it's time. If the behavior has been less than dependable in that realm, I'll limit how much is allowed out at a time. If one child is clearly just going from item to item and not putting anything back, I'll oversee their clean up until they only have 1 left and then remind them "1 at a time". If I notice a set not getting played with, I'll ask if anyone is and expect them to clean it up if not. I would definitely struggle with having multiple rooms open. I have a large, dedicated room that we stay in (naptime is in a separate room) and it's next to the kitchen so I can supervise while cleaning up and such.

[MarinaVanessa]

One of my favorite ways to control noise and mess is to designate areas or "centers" then decide how many children you want to allow to play in that area at once. I made cards (I attached them to my post) which I printed onto photo paper, laminated them and then hung them in each area to show the kids how many kids could play there at once (1,2,3 etc). Then I took clothespins and colored them to match each child's color (in my daycare each child has a colored cubby to match their blanket, cup, utensils etc). The children would take their clothes pin and clip it inside the box on the card if there was an empty box, if the boxes were all full already then they could wait or go to another activity. They had to clean up their mess before moving on to the next area.

You'll still have to watch the younger kiddos that may not understand the concept yet but they'll learn eventually.