How Many Sprinkler Days A Week?

[nannyde]

I agree. And there is nothing wrong with teaching children about responsibility and doing chores. They have lots of play time too. I NEVER clean up the toys at my day care. The kids made the mess. The kids clean it up. Same in real life. Sooner they learn that the better. Part of the problem with older kids today is that they have been catered to and pampered to the point of silliness.

My kids clean up all the toys themselves. They are expected to clean their own place after meals. They are expected to put their own blanket down for nap and put it away after.

I do not believe that my job as a day care provider is to provide fun, fun, fun and nothing else. I work as a partner with the parents and my job entails raising these little ones to be productive, self-confident adults one day. That's not going to happen if I cater to their every whim. We have lots of fun, but we do chores too.

I believe in balance and folding laundry is just as important as playing and I bet the kids enjoy it too! They love to do "grown up" stuff!

I have it my handbook that we are FAMILY day care. And just like a real family, everyone is expected to pitch in with the running of the place. I expect my own children to do chores and I expect nothing less from the day care kids. The parents I have now LIKE that about my day care. They don't want to take home a totally spoiled child who then balks at making their bed and helping pick up around the house.

Bottom line...I am their day care provider...not their maid or cruise director. I teach them about LIFE and life isn't all water play and field trips. Those are great, but not the be all and end all of summer at day care.

My motto is: If you can walk you can work.

I think I'll have t-shirts made



They are shucking corn.... but they don't know it's actually work. I'm thinking about starting a fourth business where I have the kids shuck corn for a dollar an ear. Hmmm I'll have to math that one. Might be able to contract with Birdseye.

[Meeko]

Love it!!! ::::::

[mommyneedsadayoff]

Or...

You can pick and choose what services you offer and offer what YOU enjoy doing. You can put your resources into what YOU think are valuable.

Of course you have to do things you don't want to like clean puke or change a blow out diaper. You DON'T have to do activites you don't want to do.

So many providers feel trapped in this job and hate it because they don't feel powerful enough to decide for themselves what they will and won't offer. If it's not the state telling them they HAVE to do this activity or that .. it's the parents upset because you don't go to the pool every day.

Providers have parents, the state, and even other providers telling them they MUST do this and that for the kids in order to be good. Beyond fundamental health and safety, we should be able to decide for ourselves what services we offer.

If you want to be successful in this for the long haul.. protect your OWN happiness. A happy provider will have happy kids and happy customers.

You were right that someone would bump this thread up! Me!::

This post says so much to me. I think it would be great to give to new providers when they are feeling pressured and questioning themselves. Truer words have never been said!

[Leigh]

REALLY? How did I not notice that this thread was 4 years old! ::

If my children were small and I was paying $120.00 per week (per child) for child care, would I choose the child care provider that put out the extra effort to give my children the greatest summer experience possible, or would I choose the child care provider that had an "over it" or "don't want to" attitude? With all due respect to your 32 years experience, I would choose the one who would put out the extra effort - regardless of the bottom line.

Additionally, you stated that working parents bring their children home to hours of outdoor/water play. Um, I disagree. Working parents are tired. They come home, make dinner, do laundry, clean house, play with their children a bit, bathe them, read to them, and put them to bed. Since my DP's are paying ME to give their child a fun day - I feel it is MY responsibility to do so.

Here's the thing about that: Your parents are paying you for one thing, my parents are paying me for another.

I have a couple who chose me because of SAFETY. They've had a tragic experience with a child in daycare in the past (child died at daycare). They don't care what goes on here as long as their child is safe. They read my handbook section on safety, asked about my philosophy at the interview, and told me flat out that they chose me because they trusted me to send their child home alive.

I have another couple whose child was removed involuntarily from parents. This one had some issues adjusting. They chose me for my experience with this situation and my willingness to work with CPS and therapists.

I have another couple who chose me because of personal references, nutrition, and safety. Those were the things important to them.

Not one of these parents would care if I never took their kids outside (honestly, they wouldn't leave over it). I did have a parent in the past, however, who complained that I wouldn't let her 3 yo & 4 yo play outside in -25 windchills. I told her it wasn't safe to send them out in it, and even if I did think so, that the parents of my infant would kill me if I took her out in temps that cold. I gave her my chart of temps/windchills that I am willing to take out children. She was with me because her 2 kids had been kicked out of every other daycare they had been in (they were kicked out of mine, too).

I have a provider friend who was told at an interview that she spends too much time outside, and the parent didn't want her kid outside that much!

There are parents like the ones you have, but there are parents who care about other things, as well. None of my parents are paying me to make sure their kids get sprinkler time, and all of my kids get it with their parents. One goes to the public pool 3-5 times a week after daycare pickup.

[Josiegirl]

I was wondering what sprinkler thread Nannyde was referring to in the other water play thread. I'm glad it was brought back up, I found it very enlightening and agreed with points from both sides of the fence.
I've spent years(33 now to be exact) trying to be the provider that all my dcps have wanted to bring their child to. Hmmm, maybe that explains the burn-out I've been attempting to avoid the past 25 years. ::

Nanny's right, if you're in this for the long haul, you need to make it work for you. The right dcps will find you because you'll love doing what you do and it will shine through.

Truthfully, every time someone mentions themes, teaching phonics, doing this, doing that, etc., etc., I'm thinking to myself wow, *I* should be doing all those things too. I get so down on myself for not being *the* perfect provider, thinking I must be screwing up bad somewhere. Do it this way. That way. Montessori. Reggio. Curriculum. It's enough to make my head spin.
But it was all summed up perfectly with 'do what works for you'. Been said a million times by all of us probably but I get it.
Tomorrow, I'm giving all my dcks cleaning rags, and putting my feet up. ::
And after that I'm going to fill up my water table outside.

[Blackcat31]

I was wondering what sprinkler thread Nannyde was referring to in the other water play thread. I'm glad it was brought back up, I found it very enlightening and agreed with points from both sides of the fence.
I've spent years(33 now to be exact) trying to be the provider that all my dcps have wanted to bring their child to. Hmmm, maybe that explains the burn-out I've been attempting to avoid the past 25 years. ::

Nanny's right, if you're in this for the long haul, you need to make it work for you. The right dcps will find you because you'll love doing what you do and it will shine through.

Truthfully, every time someone mentions themes, teaching phonics, doing this, doing that, etc., etc., I'm thinking to myself wow, *I* should be doing all those things too. I get so down on myself for not being *the* perfect provider, thinking I must be screwing up bad somewhere. Do it this way. That way. Montessori. Reggio. Curriculum. It's enough to make my head spin.
But it was all summed up perfectly with 'do what works for you'. Been said a million times by all of us probably but I get it.
Tomorrow, I'm giving all my dcks cleaning rags, and putting my feet up. ::
And after that I'm going to fill up my water table outside.

:: That's awesome!!

[Thriftylady]

I'm so glad I got to the end of this thread and didn't feel bad for not doing sprinkler play at all. We do have spray bottles for water play, but no way am I paying the crazy water bill for sprinkler play. My water bill is already $75 a month as it is.

[midaycare]

So we're in TX so rarely have a day that's not in the triple digits.

The kids of course LOVE sprinkler days but it takes 30-45 mins just to get them dressed and sunscreened. And then getting them dressed takes another 30-45 mins. I know I should do it everyday b/c otherwise our outdoor time is so short because of the heat.

Just wondering how many times a week you do sprinklers or water play that involves getting them in swimsuits? I feel awful not doing it everyday but just dread the prep and cleanup...but I do love the post nap.

I see there are 111 answers already, so probably there is a debate going on. But without reading anything else I would say: as many times as you are comfortable with. This completely depends on you and your group. I don't do sprinkler play, but I live in Michigan and it's fairly cold here most of the year. However, I do snow play and this includes snowpants, hats, gloves, boots, and can take me a looooooong time to get kids ready (10-25 minutes, I have 3's and under).

We just make going outside a part of our day. If that means dressing for weather, that is what it means.

But if you aren't comfortable with it, don't worry about it. When it gets too cold here, we don't go out. Likewise, if it is too hot there, I imagine you wouldn't go out.

[midaycare]

Oh my word, an old thread.

[Josiegirl]

Oh my word, an old thread.

Yeh but...a lot of us missed it the first time around and we're a nosy bunch(okay, maybe just one of us is nosy)

[Blackcat31]

Probably THE best read on this forum ever.

[Josiegirl]

Oh I remember now. ::

I love this place!!

[WAHMderful_Life]

as often as we can

didn't read all responses to many

We do sprinklers as often as we can in the summer months as it doesn't last long. The kids love it, it entertains them so why wouldn't I want to do something that they love as their behaviour is better when they are having fun.

That being said I don't do crafts in the summer or plan extra stuff like that we just play play play.

For me it maybe takes 30 min to get them ready but that includes waiting 20 min for the sunscreen to soak in. My 3 older kids dress themselves and the younger ones need help but takes like 1 minute to change a kid. 1-2min to sunscreen each kid I'm guessing. then we head out i clean up after dogs and then pick one of our sprinklers and turn it on until they stop playing it. Ill warn them a couple times that I'm going to turn it off if they are done in it as it wastes water to keep it going.

As for going back inside they usually have time to play around and dry off and for the most part are clean. If they are dirty they get a quick hose off and dry in the sun with their towel before going in. the older kids again change themselves (3-5yr olds) I change the 2s and they use the potty before lunch again doesn't take much time at all. After the older ones take their own swim stuff out to dry on the deck. I usually strip the younger ones bathing suit off before going in and put them in a towel. I have a laundry basket I keep all the swim stuff in.

Now if I had all younger kids it would be different I would probably just stick with the water tables as I find the younger ones don't tend to go in the sprinklers. they don't seem to like it.

Also all children have to wear a T-shirt or the T-shirt style bathing suit. So what I do is parents have to send an extra T every day and the wet one dries and gets sent home. This saves on sunscreen as you don't have the whole torso of a boy to cover and it protects them better anyways.

I didn't use to do it this way but have changed to summer is summer its a break from crafts, circle time ect. but we live in Manitoba so we only get a few months of this. Obviously there is rain days or days that are to cold or windy but if its nice we are in water. Like today its colder and a cold wind so no water today.

Oh Parents also Pay $30 to cover 2 bottles sunscreen and 1 bottle bug spray for the summer. (not sure if that is enough to cover the summer as i just started doing it that way but should be) use to get them to send sunscreen and send another if we run out but this way I can buy the kind I like to use. No stinky sprays or really thick harder to spread types

[cassiesue]

Yes I know it is an old thread

I love water play!!! I have a kiddie pool set up that is about 3 feet deep and 10 feet long. I also have a smaller kiddie pool for anyone in diapers.

During the summer I had several children between 3 - 6 and about 2 that were in diapers. I also have an assistant. Often after lunch clean up we'd go outside for water play. The kids loved it and I always found that it tired them out for nap. We'd stay out there sometimes for 2 hours. I had both pools housed on a covered carport. I had parents keep a swimsuit at the house. Transitions back inside took about 15 minutes only.

However, if I did not have a covered area for water play it would not happen as much as personally I DETEST the heat!

[LostMyMarbles]

The beauty of owning our own business, is that we can decide what works for our group. Some love to paint, others hate the mess. Some love play dough, other had that mess. Water sports, again, your preference. Freezing winter months and outdoor play, if that's your thing ENJOY.

We all get to decide what works in our program. It is our choice. You want to sever nuggets ever day, knock your self out.

There are NO rules or regulations , in my area anyway, that dictate what activities you NEED to do. It is all up to the owners disgression.

So, if you want to do water stuff, have fun, if you want to teach science, enjoy, if you want to sit under a tree and read, knock yourself out.

Personally, I feel that if your parents and children are happy, you are doing a GREAT JOB!

:hug: