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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Daily Routine for 2 Year Olds?
Abigail 01:44 PM 09-22-2012
I'm trying to come up with a good morning routine for my 2-almost 3 year olds. I'm going to be participating in an enhancement program soon where someone comes in to watch me half the day too and want to start something now that is more structured.

Arrival until 8 just free play until everyone is here and for a few minutes after they're here.

Breakfast about 8:15-8:40

Then it's usually free play for an hour or least half hour which this is the time kids want more structure since it's morning. Then we're either go outside if it's warm enough or else we'll sit down for a craft.

10 am snack then outside if we didn't get outside yet or else free play or craft.


See my issue is not having a set time for crafts (which we kind of do a curriculum, but I hate it so it's pretty much just a craft a few days a week). We usually go outside around 9:30 or 10 am when my helper comes to work so if someone has to go potty one of us can go inside with the child instead of bringing everyone inside.

I want to add music and circle time and "preschool time" but I can't do preschool time until my helper comes at 10 since I don't take the 1 year old in to do crafts they just play in the other room and I check often on that child. I don't know what to do.
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Beach Baby 05:51 AM 09-24-2012
I was going to suggest circle time but I see you've already thought of that. I think 2 (and 3) year olds still need lots of free play. BUT, I'm not big on planned curriculum for the younger crowd. Is it possible to do circle time with the 1 yr old? I know they don't sit still, but if you have safe, quiet activities they would be able to play and listen in while you do circle time with the bigger kids. Maybe you can plan some preschool activities that fit into the free play time? My kids all LOVE sensory stuff, so maybe you could incorporate learning time that way? You could even make one that is appropriate for the 1 yr old so they can participate during that time as well. For example, my kids love our rice bin. If you are teaching about the letter A and the number 2, you can add things that start with A and also the letter A, and add 2 of each item. They can do matching and sorting, etc with things like that. That way, you have something that is more structured, but that all kids can participate in. Hope that helps!
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Oneluckymom 08:17 AM 09-24-2012
My crowd here are all under 3. I have two 2.5 year olds. We do lots of free play inside and out. They really enjoy playing on there own, enjoy circle time with songs and weather most days. We have only JUST begun doing a currciculum...mostly things that involve glueing and coloring. I place the glue (or they use the glue stick) and they stick together what ever we are glueing. They LOVE this.
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Lilbutterflie 08:32 AM 09-24-2012
For the 2 crowd, free play and outdoor play are the best things for them! I wouldn't really worry about a curriculum. I incorporate learning (colors, shapes, body parts, self help skills, learning to share, etc...) into their free play. Our morning routine is much like yours except that our morning is breakfast, free play, and outside time until lunch. Occasionally if the weather doesn't cooperate we will stay indoors and color or do a short craft. But mostly free play for them. My group also LOVES music and dancing, so I incorporate lots of children's songs with movements, too.
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Abigail 08:11 PM 10-10-2012
OK so our observation is done for now, but we are still trying to make a better schedule. I do let the 1 year old in on what we're doing just not the crafts. He can be in the room in a highchair with a wooden puzzle or plastic toy he can mouth while we do the craft, but everything in the main room for circle time he can do. I am practicing the "if you want to join us and participate you can, but you don't have too".....even if they're old enough to.

I originally for two weeks was practicing it in this order:
1. Calendar
2. Weather W/Weather Watcher song w/actions
3. Flashcards either ABCs or those Preschool sets
4. Book......so we add more reading to the kids time into our day
5. Music w/movement which really is a song like wheels on the bus or hokey-pokey, but also it could be small motor movement like the eensy weensy spider with just hand movements.

So those five in that order for official "preschool" time all taking about 15 minutes. We did have art as #6 and final, but it was just to much "go go go" and rush rush rush for us to do the art project then get the kids out of the craft area to clean and sanitize properly before snack so when should I do art with the kids?

Arrival
Breakfast
Free Play for 30 minutes give or take
Preschool
Morning Snack

Now my helper arrives and it's 10 am. We have from 10 am-noon to be flexible as lunch is at 12:00 then it's reading and nap until snack again then it's already 3:30/3:45 when we get ready to go outside again.

From 10-noon I want to add time for outside. Art/Craft/Sensory Time, and possibly music. We don't do official music like instruments but we honestly don't have much for music. I'm not sure what kind of category you would even consider this. Right now from 11:30-noon is "Group Time" which is a way to have the room cleaned up before lunch instead of having the kids snail along and asked over and over to clean or your food will be cold. It's a time for my helper to encourage quicker cleanup by offer a special or supervised activity that doesn't require the kitchen table like playing with magnetic blocks or potato heads. So when do I add extra things into our day?
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cheerfuldom 08:23 PM 10-10-2012
This is just a thought but do you really need a morning snack? The kids are having breakfast till after 830 yes? and then lunch is at 12. I might consider cutting out the morning snack and moving lunch/nap/afternoon activities up by 30 minutes and then you have a larger chunk of time in the afternoon to do a longer circle time/curriculum. This is what I have done with my group and it works out better. We have an afternoon snack only.

Of course this only works if you are not required to offer a morning snack.

As for the struggles with the rest of the schedule, you dont have to do every thing every day. In fact, its fun to mix it up. You could do arts/crafts on M/W/F and then do sensory bins on T/Th or something like that. you dont have to fit everything in to every day.
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MrsSteinel'sHouse 03:44 PM 10-11-2012
I have had 2's and younger now for the past two years (I have a 3 yr old now and a 4 yr old 2 days a week.. all my others are 2 and under!)

Arrival between 6:30 - 8:30 breakfast varies during that time frame depending on kids and drop off. Breakfast is done by 9. They have free play up to that point. I control what toys are available on and day. So, they have a variety of different experiences even in free play.
Clean up. I have started turning the toy shelf around and only keeping a couple things.. a few board books, maybe stacking cups for little ones.
Fall/ Winter we read a story or stories at 9:30ish. I don't do a calendar at this age. Then we do a craft or activity related to the theme. Example, we read "Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf" Then we painted leaves (we used pinecones)
10:00 we go out for a walk. Depending on the weather we may play outside.
10:40 come back in and I plop down sensory bin on kitchen floor where I can keep an eye on them. Right now it has nature stuff in it. while I pull together lunch. This way I am not trying to pick up and get lunch. I might set them at table with crayons or play doh. 1 yr may be in high chair with some vegies to start.
11:00 ish Lunch.
Immediately after lunch I lay them down for naps. They nap from 12 to almost 3 most days.
play for a bit. snack around 3:30- 4:00 ish
then back outside if we can. If not then music or free art.
5:00 free play with limited toys until pick up.
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Abigail 10:44 AM 10-15-2012
I need a place to have arts/crafts/sensory bins and another time for dance/music. Should I do certain days for something? I have from 10-noon that I still need to find a solid routine. We do go outside right now.

So 10 am snack, then helper gets here and they go from snack to getting dressed for outside. They're normally inside by 11 am since it's colder weather. So technically I have 11-noon where we could do art or sensory or music. My afternoons are filled with random pickups so I don't want to do any scheduled one on one activities as we always do those randomly throughout the late afternoon.

My issue is if we're doing art just before lunch I still need the kids to be out of the room for 10 minutes prior to lunch so we can clean the tables and prep the food. Should I do art/crafts/sensory DAILY at 11 am when we get back inside then have them do free play or music in the main room while the other adult does the mealtime prep?
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Tags:daily routine, toddlers, two year olds routine
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