guilty about curriculum?

[MommyMuffin]

I have tried doing curriculum but it always ends up stressing me out and has cost me a lot.

Does anyone else not do a curriculum? Just let them play, color, puzzles, sing songs.

I am feeling guilty about not doing anything lately but a lot less stressed.

[SandeeAR]

Originally Posted by MommyMuffin

I have tried doing curriculum but it always ends up stressing me out and has cost me a lot.

Does anyone else not do a curriculum? Just let them play, color, puzzles, sing songs.

I am feeling guilty about not doing anything lately but a lot less stressed.

I don't. I'm not a preschool teacher. I'm a babysitter, while you are at work. I love the kids, and treat them like I did my own when I was a SAHM. We play, they play. I play silly songs. Mine are all under 18 mos, so no color and puzzles just yet.

When they get old enough to learn, colors, numbers, shapes, I will work on those things withtoys and flash cards,etc. But it will just get worked into the day as we can.

[youretooloud]

I don't do a curriculum anymore either. We do projects.. but, we just do the projects they love doing. Then, we do them over and over til they get tired of it.

[momma2girls]

This is what I do- I have a monthly activity calendar with all our monthly activites on it. Alot of these are focused on preschool aged children- 3 and up
ONce a month- we do a letter a month- we practice that letter, and all the children bring something that starts with that letter we have been practicing.
We do once a month, art and crafts, game day, pajama day, movie day, bring your own movie day to share, spa day, show and tell, nursery rhyme day, dancing day, fingerplay day, sprinkler day,baking day,flashcards, coloring, stencils, parachute, balls, puzzles, basketball, pool day, practice abc's day, practice names, etc... etc...
We also have monthly birthday parties,worksheets, reading, circletime, weather, and Holiday parties as well. I think this is plenty of fun activities for all- we also go try and go outside in the am every day, or a walk, or something like that.
Granted I have all 2 and under now, but my own child. There are only a few of all these items, I do with my daycare children right now, because of their ages.

[Sugar Magnolia]

Depends on the ages of the children. If you are caring for 4 or 5 year olds, you really should be doing school-readiness activities to prepare them for kindergarten. If its all two and under, then a play-based curriculum is fine. The ENVIRONMENT is way more important. Older kids need to be learning letters, phonics, numbers, basic math.

[blueclouds29]

I don't do one either. But i feel guilty on not doing one cause i was a preschool teacher. But i do have younger kids and i will have a newborn starting Jan. I feel a lot better that there are some of you that don't.

[SilverSabre25]

No curriculum here, either. Just lots of playing.

My sister and I are probably going to start doing a home-school cooperative preschool program over the summer, but that will just be a couple mornings a week for a couple of hours, and will be mostly geared for my 3.5 yo and her 4 yo, with my 3 yo dcb and two 2 yo dcks throw in for good measure (but I won't expect much out of the youngest two).

[Live and Learn]

Originally Posted by Sugar Magnolia

If you are caring for 4 or 5 year olds, you really should be doing school-readiness activities to prepare them for kindergarten.

Unless the daycare advertises a curriculum I don't think the daycare providers "should be doing school- readiness" anything.

Let the parents drill them with flash cards if they want. We just play, play play!

This is the same system I used with my own many children and each is at least 1 year advanced in math and/or reading. None have ever had to visit the principle's office either.....so far!

I think most kinder teachers will tell you that they want kids who know how to sit still and pay attention and follow instructions more than they want kids who have had lots of prekindergarten academic schooling.

[melskids]

i use a play based curriculum, and we do LOTS of learning through hands on activities, projects, and most importantly...PLAY.

i don't use a prepackaged curriculum, or sit and drill them with rote memorization. heck, i dont even use worksheets.

and i'm proud to say, all of my kiddos leave MORE than ready for kindy.

i even had one leave this year for a...*ahem*..."real preschool"....and the poor girl is bored to death there. they sit and do worksheets for hours, all about stuff she already learned from "playing" with me the year before.

the only reason mom put her there is because pre-k is free here...and i cant compete with that.

[sharlan]

I never did before. I just let the kids play and do their own thing.

I am trying to incorporate a curriculum now, though. I probably spend about 30 mins a day on it, not a lot of time.

[lil angels]

I have kids from 6 month to 8 yrs and we do not have a curriculum either. We also do a lot of playing around here. We do random crafts and we do sing songs and talk about the weather things like that but we don't sit every day and say this is what we have to do. If they are having a day that they are board we will do coloring, puzzles, and things more. I am not a teacher and don't tell people that I am.

[Mom_of_two]

I don't. I am not a teacher, am not patient enough to be a teacher and don't want to be a teacher! Lol.

I do want my girls to know their alphabet and numbers before pre school so do things to work with them on that- was doing a letter a week but now my oldest knows them might do numbers. If they are interested in a topic do some of that. Art and crafts, puzzles, worksheets. If it is nice outside I don't do anything but that. Holiday crafts, etc. So learning, but very relaxed.

I only care for kids til about age 4, preschool age.

[boysx5]

I use to do one and stopped we play do puzzles sing songs and just do normal stuff that is hands on learning. I got tired of spending money and finding our art projects on my driveway or seeing it all out of the car at pickup from things we made weeks ago. Plus they all end up leaving and go to preschool at four so I don't see the need to stress over it since they all seem to like the brick building and think thats where they will learn everything

[momma2girls]

Originally Posted by boysx5

I use to do one and stopped we play do puzzles sing songs and just do normal stuff that is hands on learning. I got tired of spending money and finding our art projects on my driveway or seeing it all out of the car at pickup from things we made weeks ago. Plus they all end up leaving and go to preschool at four so I don't see the need to stress over it since they all seem to like the brick building and think thats where they will learn everything

I used one as well, until everything has gone up in price. There are very, very few parents, that really care about doing all of the curriculum anyways. Even art projects and crafts- nonappreciative of the time, money, etc. that has gone into these!!
When I had older children, age 3 and over- one art project or craft would be all we do in the month, besides alot of other things. Alot of months, we tied them into the Holidays. I would order from Oriental trading for everyone.
Now that I only have age 2 and under, we do not do much of the older preschool things at all.

It's just my opinion, but paying for a curriculum seems like a waste of money. I priced them out before and it just seemed way too expensive and the material that's contained in the curriculum could be taught for much less than what some places charge.

[DaisyMamma]

I feel like I can't do one. I've given it a lot of thought and I will offer some crafts and games and ABCs and 123s, but even the thought of trying to get all the ages to cooperate stresses me out. I think it really depends on the kids you have.

[DaisyMamma]

Something like this is much easier to follow: http://www.pammshouse.com/themeplanb.html

[morgan24]

I don't do one and never have, I don't feel guilty. If I wanted to be a teacher I would of went to school. I provide art, I offer lots of crafts for them to use how ever they want. I have puzzles of the alphabet and numbers, plus a ton of other puzzles. We learn through play mostly. All the kids that have left to go to preschool have been ready. I even had two that graduated at the top of their class last year. They did okay with out having a curriculum in daycare.

[Meeko]

Originally Posted by Live and Learn

Unless the daycare advertises a curriculum I don't think the daycare providers "should be doing school- readiness" anything.

Let the parents drill them with flash cards if they want. We just play, play play!

This is the same system I used with my own many children and each is at least 1 year advanced in math and/or reading. None have ever had to visit the principle's off either.....so far!

I think most kinder teachers will tell you that they want kids who know how to sit still and pay attention and follow instructions more than they want kids who have had lots of prekindergarten academic schooling.

One of my best friends is a Kindy teacher. She gets so tired of kids who's gloating parents want to prove that Johnny can read and write like a second grader......because 9 times out of ten, Johnny can't share, can't sit still, can't take turns and gets so bored in her class that he ends up in trouble every day. He eventually ends up BEHIND the other kids because school is no longer fun and he's in trouble all the time. She actually begged me NOT to try and do an acedemic pre-school program!

I have a theme of the week. Manners. Community helpers. Farm. Zoo. Fire safety. Home safety. etc etc. Our play-based activities help teach the kids about the world around them so they are ready socially and emotionally to participate in kindy when they go. It's HER job to deal with the academics.

[momma2girls]

There are so many great activities, color sheets, preschool things on line that you can copy off for preschool aged children.

[MG&Lsmom]

Originally Posted by Meeko60

I have a theme of the week. Manners. Community helpers. Farm. Zoo. Fire safety. Home safety. etc etc. Our play-based activities help teach the kids about the world around them so they are ready socially and emotionally to participate in kindy when they go.

This exactly! Themed week. We do coloring pages on our theme, maybe a craft if it's easy for my 2yos. And I'll find a book to go along with it at the library if I don't have one. Sometimes we have a book a day, like our weeks on the zoo or pets. This week, we don't even have one since I have nothing appropriate for 2yos on Memorial Day. Not that we don't read before nap time or whenever someone wants me to read to them, but it's not themed.

[skittles]

I have themes as well. For Memorial Day we are doing "stars" we cut out a star shape on a piece of construction paper, then we filled it with melted wax crayons that I Ironed (in between wax paper). We made stained glass pics out of them. Just an idea because the kids don't understand Memorial Day.

[E Daycare]

Originally Posted by lymemomma

Something like this is much easier to follow: http://www.pammshouse.com/themeplanb.html

EXACTLY what I use. I tweak it and get rid of the stuff I dont want to use but for the most part it has great ideas. This week is transportation week and today I had the boys do the "Toy wash". They loved playing in soapy water and the toys got a much needed bath. WIN WIN

I dont follow it strictly as my kids all come various days but its nice to have a outline. We made a white collage today with their suggestions of things youd have around the house like marshmallows and qtips. I added white tissue paper and felt like I did my duty lol.