Hi there. I've been doing childcare for over 18 years now. I've had burn-out moments before and I'm having one of those days today. I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas that might help me get though this one. I could use some new ideas! I'm a little burnt out from my old burn-out busters

I think the time change and the full moon are playing with the moods of myself and my youngsters today. They are all so off beat and of course everyone of them is asleep right at the moment. That's a good thing though. I was getting a little worn out from the morning. They kept me on my toes and then some.

Thanks in advance for any advice and ideas!

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I have had those burn out days too, what I like to do is either get out and do some errands when all the kids leave or we will go out to dinner, that helps me alot to just get out of the house.

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Same. When I have a really awful day I take the family out for dinner or go shopping. Those are the days when I can't stand to be around my house. Otherwise I pop on a disney movie, pull out a book of word searches, plop my butt on the couch and let the little ones choose whether they want to chill out or play. Either way I have very little to do with them, and they always seem to know and are VERY good on those days.

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Don't forget that the little demons got an overdose of sugar this last weekend with halloween.

I have a tendency to go hide in the shop and find something that needs my desperate attention at times like that, but then again, it's not my name on the DC License....it's the wife's.

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I have been feeling like things need to be shaken up a bit myself...

Here is what I have done to give myself a bit of a break...

Early Childhood Education offers a free service to daycare providers! A teacher is coming in one Wednesday per month and leading an art project with the kids...and its free! (it lasts about an hour)

Also, I contacted a group called travel-tots. A group leader will come in and lead a class 2x per month. That service is $35 per class. I'm paying for one class and the parents are each paying 6$ a month to pay for the other!

I don't know what resources you have available in your area, but it may be worth checking out!

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The kids drove me crazy yesterday, too! My son's 4k bus was wild and a friend's 4k class was the same. For us it was a combination of halloween excitement, full moon, a long weekend from teacher's convention, and the time change. Monday is Movie Monday, so that helped for a bit. We went for a walk, but couldn't play outside b/c it was pretty windy. Everyone had early nap and had much better spirits afterwards. Today is my day off, which really helps If it's one-of-those-days, we usually go out for supper. Just getting out of the house helps. Hang in there and I hope today is better.

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Jen where did you get the info. for the Early Childhood Education class?

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I heard about ECFE through another provider and gave them a call. You should be able to find your local ECFE through your school districts website. For travel-tots I saw a link on a provider site and followed up on it!

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Great ideas! Thanks everyone. Jen, I'll have to look into the ECFE here and see if they offer that where I live. That would be fun for the kids!

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Hi,,, I believe Going for a holiday would be the best burn out for your children..

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I take a week of to refresh my mind and think about why I love my job so much most of the time..... Usually works.

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