Default Style Register
Daycare.com Forum
Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Put A Fork In Me I Am Done...
MrsB 12:18 PM 04-03-2012
Ugggh why didnt I post on this when I wasn't thinking clearly!!!

3 of my greatest kiddos ever graduated to kindergarden last year so when their parents asked if I would watch them this week for spring break. I thought how bad can it be? I told them sure but gave them a pretty high drop in rate. They all agreed. They all know the rules, the parents are great, they were just plain wonderful kids!

Now fast forward to Wednesday! I am spent!! I am so sick of the tattling, them trying to help the little ones with things that they already know how to do on their own. The "I'm Bored" every 2.5 secs. Even my 16 mos DD is working overtime. (She is the chief of the complaint department) I miss my nice quiet nap time!

By the time I get a project out and get everyone situated. Someone is done and then we are working on cleanup!

I promise! Next time, NO SCHOOLAGERS!!
Reply
Unregistered 12:22 PM 04-03-2012
I have had this experience ... knowing that now ... I avoid at ALL costs!!!
Reply
Crystal 12:24 PM 04-03-2012
Originally Posted by MrsB:
Ugggh why didnt I post on this when I wasn't thinking clearly!!!

3 of my greatest kiddos ever graduated to kindergarden last year so when their parents asked if I would watch them this week for spring break. I thought how bad can it be? I told them sure but gave them a pretty high drop in rate. They all agreed. They all know the rules, the parents are great, they were just plain wonderful kids!

Now fast forward to Wednesday!
I am spent!! I am so sick of the tattling, them trying to help the little ones with things that they already know how to do on their own. The "I'm Bored" every 2.5 secs. Even my 16 mos DD is working overtime. (She is the chief of the complaint department) I miss my nice quiet nap time!

By the time I get a project out and get everyone situated. Someone is done and then we are working on cleanup!

I promise! Next time, NO SCHOOLAGERS!!
Oh, bummer. And, I hate to tell ya, but it is only Tuesday
Reply
MrsB 12:31 PM 04-03-2012
Originally Posted by Crystal:
Oh, bummer. And, I hate to tell ya, but it is only Tuesday
Ahhh Shucks!!!
Reply
momma2girls 12:59 PM 04-03-2012
Yes, I have been there, not again!! Not fun at all!!!! I don't do school aged children any longer, nope!! I have learned the hard way, I think we all have!!
You have to find them something to do all the time. They care constantly loud, even during naptime for the other, wake up babies,won't eat what you make for snacks, and dinner, go back and forth outside. Won't just sit and watch a movie,do an activity, play a game, etc...... too much for me!!!
Reply
SunshineMama 02:02 PM 04-03-2012
Every thread I read on here about S/A is like some kind of warning siren screaming, "Don't do it!!!" LOL!

I will never take S/A thanks to this forum. I have a feeling I just saved myself a lot of stress and headaches.
Reply
Christian Mother 02:16 PM 04-03-2012
I got prepared bc my daughter who starts Kindy...just started with the "I'm Bored"...so over it already!!

Good Friday for us is going to be rough bc both my children will be home and I can tell they are not going to be happy unless they are out side playing. My fear...the parents all send their kids to me knowing that I'll be home..
Reply
Live and Learn 02:43 PM 04-03-2012
When my own kids used to say "I'm bored" I would give them a big chore to do to keep them from dying from boredom. They learned to not say that to me. Good luck.
Reply
MarinaVanessa 03:07 PM 04-03-2012
Originally Posted by Live and Learn:
When my own kids used to say "I'm bored" I would give them a big chore to do to keep them from dying from boredom. They learned to not say that to me. Good luck.
My SA too. They'll alphabatize the books, clean out cubbies, sort toys ... you name it.

As far as the tattling goes ... that's my personal pet peeve. I now use the term "In or Out". Each time that someone comes in to tattle (which is mainly my DD ) I say "In or Out" and they have to stop and think about whether they are trying to get someone into trouble or trying to keep someone out of trouble. If it's a safety issue then they can tell me and I'll intervene, if they're tattling just to tattle then (I learned this in the forum I think) they get sent to the table and have to draw me a picture about what happened so that I can "look at it later". Most of the time they don't even want to bother with drawing the picture and just give up and go back to playing .
Reply
harperluu 03:46 PM 04-03-2012
School agers can be a handful. Mostly I feel like it's because they disrupt my routine with the little ones, that makes it feel so exhausting. I have to switch gears to make things run like the well oiled machine it normally does.

If they say I'm bored, I say "okay." If they tattle, I say "okay." It usually loses its appeal after the first morning.

They are also my runners for the week. Go grab diapers from the pantry, or get the milk out of the fridge. Bring these paper towels up to the bathroom or set up the cots for naptime. One thing I can say about school agers is they like to please most of the time. They want to feel "adult" in a room full of toddlers. So I let them, as long as they don't abuse it.

I try my best to keep them low maintenance by setting boundaries right at the beginning of the day. I let them know what they can and can't do. Mostly what they can do. I have a fully loaded art cabinet that they can use freely as long as they are respectful of these treasured items, and put things back the way they found them.

They can play board games right at the table under my supervision or work on a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle I have set up for our family upstairs in an alcove. They are welcome to play outside in my backyard. I have lots of really cool maze, mad libs, comic books, sticker, paper dolls, seek-and-find books for nap times. They are expected to be quiet during nap time and are welcome to bring a Nintendo DS from home for an hour of screen time.

I also usually do a trip to the library right before they come to stock up on lots of different kinds of reading material, an educational DVD or two, some graphic novels (Boxcar Kids is great) and lots of non-ficton about crazy things like hurricanes and pirates, Star Wars and fashion design. Things they might not normally have access to, but appeals to the interest of each child. Audio books are also great (I have some headsets), and something they don't normally encounter at home.

I have a large marble run and magnet science kit they can use downstairs (which is open to the upstairs, so I can keep an eye on things).

I usually do feel more exhausted after a week with school agers because they like to chit chat with me about things I normally wouldn't talk with the little ones about.

So for the most part, we just throw out the normalcy of our regular week, and go with the flow. It is definately more hectic, they are bigger and take up more space so things can seem louder and more crowded, but by allowing them to spread out more in my house and giving them lots of quieter activities to use, we tend to have a pretty successful go of it.
Reply
Mary Poppins 03:56 PM 04-03-2012
Originally Posted by SunshineMama:
Every thread I read on here about S/A is like some kind of warning siren screaming, "Don't do it!!!" LOL!

I will never take S/A thanks to this forum. I have a feeling I just saved myself a lot of stress and headaches.
I thought that after a particularly bad experience but changed my mind. I actually like my current SAer. He is really smart and can talk with me on a higher level and he even "gets" my jokes. Plus, he loves Mr. Bean so.. ya know. He also knows most of the words to Bohemian Rhapsody.

He's way cool and pretty much changed my mind about them.
Reply
emmajo 04:37 PM 04-03-2012
Love love love my 2 SA girls. I'm feeling sad that they'll be out of town for a couple of days of break next week because I like having them here. They're great w/ the little ones, fun to visit with, interesting, respectful and just perfect. Great parents too. I've had the family for 8 years now, so maybe that makes the difference, having them from infancy and 3 years old.
Reply
Tags:schoolage, vent
Reply Up