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daycare 12:51 PM 01-03-2014
Originally Posted by Cat Herder:
I use a pre-packaged because my life is a bit over tasked for the next few years. At first the boxes were a huge relief and time saver...

Now???

I resent even opening the boxes, doing all the punch-outs and having to plan something for the other 9.45 hours a day we have left after completing their guides.

The projects are mostly all beige, bland, boring and >>>flame suit zipped<<< the activities and themes seem almost condescending to the average intelligence of the age group it is said to be created for....

We are BORED. Mind numbingly b.o.r.e.d..... I bring down the bins and the moaning starts kind of bored.

I know there are some great ones out there, but my budget took a hit buying a full year of the one we have (through next Sept.) and most of those are out of my financial reach.

Any ideas for a supplemental that is fun, bright, fresh and includes enrichment opportunities for those who may catch on quicker than others???

Thank you in advance!!!
I do my own. I have some prepackage that like you we dreaded for a time so we put them up. Now I just find ways to add them in.

I have been doing the same curriculum for the last 3 years it has only slightly changed do to the age of my kids or the fact that I could not find something.

What I have found is that once you have written your own, you dont have to plan, read, prep and do it all over again. I sit and create enough for 2 years at a time. Right now I am doing March. I will follow my directions from last year. I bought books from the mailbox.com a few years back when they were close out cost of $2.00 each.

I also love to do quick center that take almost no prep time at all. I will have all of the kids rotate through the centers when we are done with the lessons/arts/crafts etc.

In the start of my curriculum I spent many hours on it. I have weekly news letters that I wrote years ago and save in a file. when the next year comes, we do the same exact thing. Children love repetition, it is awesome to see what they remember from year to year.

Currently we have the learning box, which again is a premade kit, but I found that it worked best with the type of program I teach.

I do a 5 day read out loud the same book. Each day we do a different activity based on the book, different craft, writing project, dramatic play and so on.

I say that you just need to find what works best for you and stick to it.
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