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Zoe 07:29 AM 10-27-2011
in the afternoon? For over a year I've had kids from 8 to 4. Now I've got one from 6:30 to 5:30 3 days a week. I've gotten used to getting up so early, that's not the problem. What do you do with the kids after nap time?! I've got 3 hours to kill, and to be honest, it's all free time right now because I don't have the motivation to do anything else. That's how it's always been around here. But the afternoons just DRAG ON!

We have circle time in the mornings. We go outside after lunch and then again after afternoon snack but it gets to be that we're outside for too long for this crowd. They get bored after an hour. Maybe I'm just tired and not being a fun-enough provider, but I need ideas for how to kill time until 5:30.

TIA!
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melskids 10:19 AM 10-27-2011
do you have school agers to add to the mix, or just the littles?


we get back from the bus stop at 3:30. we go outside for about an hour, or do a special project with the SAgers. then i just open the "centers" up again for the last hour, (except for the messy ones...lol)

i get that 330 lull too, where i just want to take a nap. sometimes it helps to put a CD in and dance around with the kiddos for a few minutes.
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dEHmom 10:22 AM 10-27-2011
mine are all young, under 7 yrs.

after school, the older ones like to color and stuff. The younger ones like reading books. I usually throw on some kids music and some dance, others just like to listen while reading/coloring.


It usually works to kill the time. Then when dh gets home around 4, he usually sugars them up. Lots of times too, I find going outside until 10 minutes before parents get here helps them get off the energy from being in the classrooms at school, then we come in, tidy up, wash up, maybe have a cookie or something, and then they go out the door.
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Zoe 10:36 AM 10-27-2011
The only school ager is my own DD5 who gets home at 4. She has her snack then watches tv because she's very tired from all-day kindy. It's not helping either that DH is getting home later because of his new route at work. He used to get home between 4 and 5, but now he doesn't get home until after 6. NOT helping!

I'll try getting out centers, because like I said, the whole going outside thing doesn't last longer than an hour and they're ready to go back in. Especially now that it's getting colder. Thanks!
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mismatchedsocks 10:39 AM 10-27-2011
From 4-5 is my LULL time. Its also free time here. Anything but arts/crafts unless its coloring. I basically just observe, and get dinner ready in that time. We will go outside until 4pm during nice weather.
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Preschool/daycare teacher 03:37 PM 10-27-2011
What time are they getting up from nap, and what time is pm snack? Our afternoons seem to speed by (although it's really hectic between 3-4 until some of them are picked up, so that could be part of it). They wake up at 3:00, and we put cots away, potty breaks, shoes on, getting ready to get the schoolagers off the bus. 3:30 we walk out to get them, and then come in to wash hands for snack. By the time everyone's actually sat down and finished eating it's almost 4:00.
If the weather allows it, we go outside for about 50 mintutes and then come back in until the last children leave (5:15). If it's rainy we free play for that 50 minutes, but I'm usually letting them do things we don't do very often, or during the day (when there's more children). I love when things are calm enough (in other words, fewer children) and I can sit down with a little group and read some stories. The writing center is also used a lot during the last part of the day. Sometimes I'll get out the paint and paint brushes and let them paint (they don't have free access to paint during the day, although I wish we could trust them enough for that, so paint is always a big deal to them).
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Tags:activities, burnt out, motivation, nap - after play, tired of daycare, unmotivated
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