Hello, my name is Jaci! I recently was hired as a teacher at a local daycare for 1 year olds, eeekkk! Anyone have any tips on how to manage them? I've been with Pre-K but never this young! Just needing some advice on lesson plans, meals/snacks, playtime, books, etc.

Thank you!

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Welcome to the Daycare.com Forum! I've upgraded your status. You can post freely now.

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Ok how would I change that?

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What username would you like? I will change it for you.

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texasgal, something similar

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Hi Jaci! Congrats on your new job! I just left a center where I was the lead toddler teacher which was the 1-2 year olds. That age group is definitely challenging, but I loved it! Where I worked we had meal/snacks that were already planned by the co. so I didn't have to worry about that, but I did do my own lesson plans. I just did early educational themes like shapes, colors, animals, numbers, ABC's, etc. and would do them by the week. I had a weekly theme and then every day I would do something that had to do with the theme. We did reading/language, counting/math, art/sensory, science, etc. and I would relate each area to a theme. You just have to remember that it's mostly an introduction for them. Repetition goes a long way, from repeating activities, songs, routines etc... Repeat songs, repeat the alphabet, count throughout the day, etc. I also realized that even though the children are young, they learn pretty fast! In a couple of months they will tell you what they want to sing, what books to read, etc... Also make sure to put things eye level if possible. For example, I took pictures of the kids in the class on the wall to count. I took a pic of one child, then another of two children, up to five and put them eye level on the wall. I did circle time everyday (they do get used to it and most of them will sit as long as you keep it interesting for them) and would point to each pic and count the children. That helped them count and also they learned eachothers names too! As for books, I would make sure they are board books, unless you are sitting right there! Sorry this is so long. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it is going to be different teaching the 1 year olds from the 3 year olds. It is possible to have a schedule, but things are not always going to go as planned. They are just learning to talk so a lot of the time they will use their hands, or even teeth...lol to get what they want. Just remember to be patient and that repetition goes a long way!

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