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-   -   Daily Sheets (https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20807)

BentleysBands 10-12-2010 03:52 AM

Daily Sheets
 
who does them? for what ages?

i do them for all kids under 4yrs old. but someone awesome just shared her monthly menu chart so i will be making a monthly menu to post at daycare and send home for parents. hoping this will cut back on daily sheets which for most kids just details foods eaten and activities. which i verbally say at p/u's anyways LOL....what do u do?

Unregistered 10-12-2010 04:35 AM

I do them for infants. When they get to where they are on the same schedule every day, I stop them. I have everything on my "parents wall" for the older ones-menu, schedule, lesson plan, etc, so the parents can see what the older ones are doing. I do the daily sheets mostly so the parents can keep track of diapers and bottles-that type of thing.

mac60 10-12-2010 04:49 AM

I used to, but not anymore. I just found them crumbled up in the bags and parents never read them. I used to write down on a board what we had for lunch, quit doing that too, and there were days that no parent ever looked at it, just more work for me so I quit. For infants, I will write down when had bottle and dirty diapers, and that is it.

momma2girls 10-12-2010 04:56 AM

I don't do them any longer either!! If it is something out of the usual for the child, fussiness, etc. I verbally tell them everything- last bottle , BM's, etc...

SilverSabre25 10-12-2010 05:55 AM

I did Google Calendars for awhile...I've since stopped. My parents really, really liked those, but everyone is older than 1 now and it just seems kind of pointless. For little bitty infants, I'll probably still do it, but for now, I've just stopped.

MommyMuffin 10-12-2010 06:12 AM

I have found that a few parents on interview said that daily sheets are something that they want that they were not getting at their current daycare.
I am going to use them to write what we learned and if they ate all of their food. I am posting the menu on the bulletin board. For infants I will record what they ate and amounts though.
I think I will do it for my parents unless they tell me not to or when they become school age.

tenderhearts 10-12-2010 06:32 AM

I use a daily sheet from infant only to 12 mo. UNLESS they request it.

misol 10-12-2010 06:58 AM

I do it for infants up to 12 months or "until a regular pattern" is established. My daily reports include type and amount of foods eaten, diaper changes, and naps and supplies needed. After a year old, they go on the food program and are ususally on our regular nap schedule by then so I don't see a need to continue doing them.

DBug 10-12-2010 12:09 PM

I do them for all of my kids, even my dc kid that was 6 (she's since moved). I have one or two parents who don't care, but the rest REALLY appreciate them. As in, they look for it the minute they step in the door (after saying hello to their child, of course!). It's a big deal around here :D. And, since by about 4pm, my brain is mush. I never remember all of the things I meant to tell them through the day, so the fact that I can write it down when it happens really helps. I also have a few dads who pick up that couldn't care less about diapers and time-outs, but the moms really want to know. This way they can take the sheet home and not have to discuss the nitty-gritties with me :lol:.

marniewon 10-12-2010 01:18 PM

I used to do them, but like others have said, found numerous notes in the bag daily - like they aren't reading them. I do have one mom who has asked me to continue with her son, so she can see what/how much her son has eaten, but he's the only one I do one for now.

kitkat 10-12-2010 02:58 PM

Originally Posted by DBug:
I do them for all of my kids, even my dc kid that was 6 (she's since moved). I have one or two parents who don't care, but the rest REALLY appreciate them. As in, they look for it the minute they step in the door (after saying hello to their child, of course!). It's a big deal around here :D. And, since by about 4pm, my brain is mush. I never remember all of the things I meant to tell them through the day, so the fact that I can write it down when it happens really helps. I also have a few dads who pick up that couldn't care less about diapers and time-outs, but the moms really want to know. This way they can take the sheet home and not have to discuss the nitty-gritties with me :lol:.

Exactly why I do them, also and for all ages!!! I keep track of eating, diapers, nap, and have a comments section where I write down cute/funny things said during the day, something special we worked on, need more diapers/wipes, etc.

Unregistered 11-30-2010 05:59 AM

MsKathy50
 
I feel it is so important to use a daily sheet for Infants, parents love the idea of knowing what their precious little ones did for the day. It eases the parents minds knowing that you take the time as a day care provider to record all of their babies activities for the day. My parents love it! I also have toddler forms. It is part of your business so take the time to fill those daily sheets out.

Unregistered 11-30-2010 10:49 AM

Daily sheets
 
I don't do daily sheets because I always give the parents a verbal rundown of their kids day. Also, it's a hassle to do without a kid trying to take the pen out of my hand! I know that when I worked at a center and was required to do them daily, I watched parents just throw them in the garbage on the way out.

WImom 11-30-2010 11:37 AM

I do a monthly menu for lunches and a sample of the snacks and breakfasts I serve.

(I care for ages 2-5y)
I do daily sheets and can fit three forms per peice of paper. I just include how much they ate (I circle choices), nap times, if I need more diapers, wipes, etc (I circle choice) and write down one or two of their favorite activies they did for the day.

safechner 11-30-2010 11:49 AM

This is not first time but there are so many parents don't ever read the newsletters or homework or anything in their kids' backpack from school. I had parents conference and one teacher told me how amazed I was since I checked my daughters' backpacks and I sign their daily sheets everyday. Truth is, that is sad.

VTMom 11-30-2010 03:09 PM

I loved getting daily sheets when my kids were in daycare. It helped me feel connected to them and to what was going on. Before I started my own daycare we had to change to a different daycare which did not provide sheets. We felt so out of the loop and uninformed.

I do do the daily sheets and most of my families LOVE them. There were some that couldn't have cared less and that's fine with me. I know it's a great thing and if some parents don't want to utilize it, then that's their issue.

Abigail 11-30-2010 04:33 PM

I want to keep records for infants, but I think I would state in my policies that I will do this until they turn 12 months of age. I still write down everyday when someone takes a bathroom break and if it's a child in diapers I write down dry, wet, or bm on a sheet for my own records as proof of when and how often diapers are changed and bathroom breaks. I certainly can't remember specifics unless I write it down. I would only hand out sheets for infants up to 12 months of age unless the parent requested it. Our menu for breakfast, lunch, and snack is going to be typed, printed, and posted on our bulletin board and one copy is sent home for the month. Oh yeah, infant papers will have the diaper changes and also feeding on them. That is about it. Anything else like funny moments, behavior--good or bad, or anything else is just written at the bottom. This way I save on ink for things that are not written regularly!

I think I will try to make one real quick and see if I like it using pictures of bottles, diapers, and maybe clocks or just leave it blank to fill in the time. I would rather fit 4-6 on a sheet and make them cute for parents to easily look at without looking too much.

I'm still working on making a cute and simple one and changed my mind. I found one (after the fact I spent an hour on mine) and like it so I will keep tinkering with mine. http://tiny-tales.com/blog/wp-conten...filled-out.jpg

SimpleMom 12-01-2010 06:25 AM

I used to as well. I recently switched to using Communication Books ( sprial notebooks purchased in the Fall). They need to keep them in the daycare bags and there is a $1.00 fee is it is lost.
I found the same thing where they were not looked at very often and also, I was taking up time to write the same things down for 8-10 kids. I now have a wipe-off board that I put the days activities on, meals, reminders dates, etc. I have a parent board and a posted schedule of the Pre-K lesson plans.
This has been working really well.

SunflowerMama 12-01-2010 08:40 AM

I do a weekly sheet, to save paper, with the menu on the back. Some of the parents like it sent home daily others just want it on Friday. The parents really like it. Typical things...how much they ate, when they slept, how they were feeling, favorite activities, notes for the following week, etc.

jen 12-01-2010 08:52 AM

Infants under 12 months have a spiral notebook, nothing for the older kids.

However, I do talk to all of my parents at pick up. I have a split entry and parents stay in the entryway and I bring the child to them. I also send out very regular emails with curriculum updates and digital phots. I think keeping parents up to date on the great services we offer is the best thing we can do for ourselves business wise.

Abigail 12-01-2010 11:33 PM

1 Attachment(s)
I created my own sheet by looking at the one I posted from a web site before. They charged $8.00 for a pack of 50 which were half a sheet of paper in size and had lots of details with space to write about each infants day. I didn't find all that information necessary since I will only a few infants and can spend a minute talking to the parents if they want to know vs. wasting lots of time writing the same things over and over everyday. LOL.

Here is a picture of what I did. I can fit four to a sheet, they are about post card size. The black line you see above the name Kate is my computer curser so it's not actually a line. Everything is colored and set up nicely, but please tell me what you think. I don't want to add if the child needs something because that is not a daily or even a weekly thing in some cases(wipes/diapers/clothes). Behind the name is an open area to write the date. I can preprint these with each child's name a few weeks ahead of time. The back side will be blank, but I can always write a note or something on this if needed.

I'll wait to hear what you guys think about this setup before making these four to a page. I created this in word by creating shapes and putting text within the shapes and adding shading. It will become a little messy if I start copying and pasting then want to edit it. Let me know if I have too many or too little spaces. Thanks!

mac60 12-02-2010 02:34 AM

That's looks very nice, but I can't imagine paying for the ink to do it, let alone finding the time each and every day to fill it out for each kid. I do write down for infants bottle and poos and that is it.


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