Running into an issue because now my pickups begin at 445 and the last one is not picked up till 530. our playroom is downstairs so i cant hear the door upstairs when parents come by (and I certainly cant hear anything if we are out in the backyard). I dont feel comfortable leaving the door unlocked for parents to come downstairs because of 1. safety 2. there is one parent in particular that I do not trust unsupervised in my house. Previously, i was letting the kids have some free play upstairs and it was never a problem before....but now it is. My 3 year old DCK does not play well upstairs and really cant handle roaming at this point....gets on the couch, jumps on the bed, cries and fights. She is fine the rest of the day but cant handle the free play upstairs. I have a 2 year old DCK that has just recently been a pill and I cant let her out of my site either. The other 3 DCKs do fine upstairs for short periods.


Anyway.....our options upstairs are a movie (doesnt always keep their attention) or an activity at the table (which works for everyone but the babies but I do need ideas that are non messy and require minimal supervision on my part...no paint, etc.).

Anyone have ideas? especially regarding table activities? We do arts and crafts earlier in the day, as well as playdoh so I would like it to be something else....that keeps their attention and is reserved for that time period. I am open to buying something if that is what it takes!

The parents generally each come at their own specific time each day, its just not all at the same time as the other families like it used to be. I dont think there is any wiggle room regarding the pickup schedule.

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you can buy an alarm that every time the door opens it chimes, its about 30 dollars at home depot, so this way you can hear when the parents open the door (I have a storm door so I can lock the other door, its attatched to the storm door)

I would do movie time or reading a book.

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How about those tot trays? The trays that you put different activities on?

I use cookie sheets (thank you dollar tree) for mine.

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I will add that previously we could play in the front yard with no problem but again, the same two kids cannot handle that anymore.....they cry and fight. One of them is special needs and she is just challenging all the time to be honest but the other i think is just a temporary issue....testing every rule, etc. So between those two kids, I need something that keeps the kids occupied and seated because that is all the group can handle for the moment! The chaos has reached an unacceptable level and its time to revamp this part of the day for sure.

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Crayons and coloring sheets/plain paper
Mr Potato Heads
Plain paper and stickers
lacing cards
lacing beads
any kind of sorting/math manipulative kind of thing
watercolors

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felt boards
individual busy bags

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One of our favorite end of day activities is listening to songs that have dance moves. For example, "Slippery Fish" (the FAVORITE!), "I'm a Little Teapot", "Five Little Monkeys", "Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes", "The Skeleton Dance". You can also look up Super Simple Songs on YouTube, and they have tons of childrens songs that have dance moves. All of the children LOVE it, even the babies. And the parents always have big smiles when they pick up because they see their little one dancing and enjoying themselves.

You could also try a game of "Simon Says", have coloring time, perhaps a sensory bin or two, or puzzles & books.

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Table activities-

Stickers
Math mats (I have several that have pictures and then foam shapes that go on them)
popsicle sticks (We count them, they build with them, lay them out flat. Tape some together on the back side let them draw a picture take them apart and they are a puzzle)
Pom poms and giant tweezers or tongs
collages- I save all odds and ends in my collage bucket and I offer that up at the end of the day. I put glue on construction paper, collage items on a paper plate and let them have at it!
Puzzles
Coloring
magnetic letters on cookie sheets.
stinging beads or cut straws. Dollar Tree has shoe laces in big packages! Great because they have aglets and are easy for little hands. Dollar General had shake straws that were big and made great "beads" Beads on pipecleaners work well too.
Seasonal "decorations. trace around cookie cutters to make shapes and let them decorate. So apples, pumpkins, cats etc for fall. Christmas time they make cute little ornaments.
Sorting bags. buttons that can be sorted or small objects.
counting bears
file folder games.
Packing peanuts and glue.
Cooperative games. Tossing bean bags into a laundry basket, dropping clothes pins into a bucket.
Wet ones and the front of kitchen cupboards Ok a little sneaky but they love "cleaning" my cupboard fronts and the sliding glass window!!
A special box of books.
A feely box with scraps of fabric in it to feel.
dancing to music with or without instruments
I use blue painters tape and make a path for them to walk on.
Snack? Sometimes something simple like cheerios and some water will occupy my kidlets for a while

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I would have them all at the table with some of the ideas that people already gave you. All ages like to color or play with magnetic pieces with a cookie sheet. I used to have the doorbell that plugged into the wall. The actual doorbell that goes outside is just taped on and then the inside chime you can plug in anywhere, so you can take it in the basement, outside plug etc.

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This group definitely would use dance time as "lets get rowdy!" time....I have to be very careful about when I offer up stimulating activities like dancing to music.

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Thank you!!! this is exactly what I was looking for. I actually have my own kids clean with wipes....even the 15 month old will wipe down a few things I love the rest of your ideas. But what is a file folder game?

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love the doorbell idea. I think I have seen that before but never considered it for here....might have to talk to the hubby about making that change.

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Here is a link to file folders. Also 1+1+1 is a good site for them-

Whoops forgot to add earlier-www.filefolderfun.com

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I know that 1+1 site...we get a lot of our worksheets there.

link to the other?

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I should have added before that I only used this doorbell during daycare hours. All you do is peel the tape on the back of the doorbell button and it sticks on the outside of your house (I put a note by it saying it was for daycare only) and the other chime part you plug into an outlet anywhere in your house. Like I said, you can plug it and unplug it and put it anywhere you want throughout the day. I always unplugged it during non-daycare hours and that way people used my regular doorbell too. From memory, I think it was around $10 - $15.

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I have a couple of smaller size portable sensory bins that I use at this time. It's easy to change up the contents to keep their interest.

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I do an end of the day circle time. We sing read and dance. When I say dancing it's not out of control craziness. It's stuff like wheels on the bus.

As I'm doing it parents are picking up. We do this about 15 min. The. Move on to individual rugs to read. 15 min

I do a puppet show, kids love this. Not every day though. They do it on their own some days. About 15 minutes

I know when most of my kids are going home, so it's only about 20-30 min of afternoon activities.

Coloring at a table is good for those who can.

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Can I ask you what you put in yours and for what ages? Thanks

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I use a couple of different fillers - rice, beans, popcorn so far.

Right now I have summer/beach things in them: Sea shells, starfish, little umbrellas, small beach balls, sand shovels, small pails, a couple of small pieces of material that are beach towels.

I usually do holiday themed ones for various holidays.

Right now I'm picking up things to make a back-to-school set. So far I've got some little chalkboards, chalk, erasers, pencils, and magnetic numbers.

My 2 year and up kids usually are most interested in using these, but it wouldn't be difficult to make something for younger kids, too.

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I am working on an assortment of sensory bins but I only use them when I can directly supervise very closely. I have a 15 month old that would eat everything in sight as well as my special needs girl that cannot be left unsupervised at all at this point.....so even walking away from the table to answer the door, would mean that the sensory bin would not be a good option for her.

Really I do have to alter many small things throughout the day for this one child but I just cant bear to term her....I have had her for three years. She recently started part time specialized preschool and I do think that will help assist in working out some of these issues with her, plus give me a break from all the "extra" that comes as part of her care.

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This is a weird one but I swear by it for babies. They LOVE barrel of monkeys. Any baby will play with those monkeys from 10 minutes to an hour depending on the baby. I have 3 sets because I use them that much for keeping them busy. Mostly before meals here.

Other (non messy) things my babies like at the table are:

color wonder markers and paper (the paper sticks to the table)
Sensory bottles
busy bags (filled with rice and little objects)
slinkies (another weird one but OMG they love them)
play phones (I have several with no batteries that they "use" at the table)

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