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Curriculum>Craft Daily?
athomemommy 12:07 AM 05-10-2012
I have been feeling guilty not sending home things they do during the day. They just play. We don't really get around to this and to be honest I hate the mess!

What do you do?
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Rachel 02:43 AM 05-10-2012
How old are your kids? I try to do one thing with mine every day, but it's often just coloring with crayons, sticking stickers, free painting, etc. It's rarely a "craft." Usually just free art. Also if we do some type of art or activity that doesn't get sent home (like playdough), I make sure to mention at pickup how much fun they had with it, so the parents know I did do things with them.
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DCP 04:54 AM 05-10-2012
IN our state we are mandated to have a curriculum - this does not mean we have to do a project every day but we have set subjects / times per week etc. that we must follow.

After a few years of purchasing a curriculum I now have my own which rotates every 4 years. We do not do it every single day - but close to it. Any child over 2 years of age participates in some way. Most of the time there are worksheets (even color pages I consider work sheets since they are educational based) This way almost every day the kids have "something" to take home.
I have found that half the parents do not care - but the other half do! The kids LOVE the curriculum so I do it for them!!! Crafts in general are a couple times per month..painting is several times per month as this is their absolute favorite activity. I feel extremely guilty if they do not have work to bring home several times per week! As I often wonder if the parents think we did nothing all day

I have found though - that a strong curriculum keeps your clientele longer! If they feel their child is getting an education - they will skip on switching them to a pre school. Years ago a year or two before K I would lose them to a local pre school...now they go from me to Kindergarten! So to me that is worth the extra effort and time spent on it
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SunshineMama 04:58 AM 05-10-2012
Originally Posted by athomemommy:
I have been feeling guilty not sending home things they do during the day. They just play. We don't really get around to this and to be honest I hate the mess!

What do you do?
I was big on craft daily, but now that I am potty training the kids and they are the weather is a bit nicer, I find that doing daily crafts is a big stressor on me. We spend all morning outside, making "crafts" out of the nature things we find, they just dont go home with the kids. Instead I text pictures to the parents so they can see we are busy at work.
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Blackcat31 06:31 AM 05-10-2012
Originally Posted by athomemommy:
I have been feeling guilty not sending home things they do during the day. They just play. We don't really get around to this and to be honest I hate the mess!

What do you do?
I take tons of picutres and send them home with the kids in daily, weekly and monthly basis in newsletters showing the parents the activites/stuff the kids do have going on during the day. I also post them online as well as send bits and pieces of documentation I have collected through out the week such as funny things their kids said or did.

I don't do any cookie cutter craft activities as I am the one who usually ends up doing all the work. I also think expecting the kids to produce a specific product is not at all developmentally appropriate for them. Heck we don't even allow coloring books/pages here.

Don't get me wrong, my kids all do a ton of art related activities as my art supplies are out and available at all times so they are definitely getting their share of art time however, they aren't always bringing something tangible home with them.

We follow a mixture of Montessori, Reggio and Creative Curriculum methods of education here and ALL my parents know that PLAY is how they learn best.
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lil angels 10:29 AM 05-10-2012
I know I have been thinking to same thing here to. During the winter months we have something almost daily to take home now that it is nice out we spend a lot of time outside. We have a lady come in that does tumbling with the kids and we stay busy playing and such I don't know I can't seem to get into doing a set curriculum we just kind of go with it. I do tell parents when they interview with me I am not a pre school teacher but we do work on colors numbers shapes ect. I don't know you can't please everyone I guess.
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Countrygal 12:46 PM 05-10-2012
Well, I was just told by my FCCERS lady that I shouldn't send the things home with parents but post them all over my house so the children could see their work. What I had been doing was putting up the posters we made as a group, but she wants me to have individual work hung around the house. In fact, she even said I should put it on my refrig - HEY!! That's where MY kiddo's work goes!!! Now I should take his down and put theirs up????

OK, this sorta turned into a vent, but my point is that sending it home isn't necessary. Having it where parents can see it is.

We do several crafts weekly. In the winter it's even more. I don't like free-play, so I'm sort of in the opposite frame as you! I don't like the mess and arguing of free-play so we have a lot of directed play, crafts and activities, but ONLY in the cold months. During the summer we're OUTSIDE!!! Then nothing much goes home with the kids other than dirty feet, faces, and clothes!
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cmama425 11:17 AM 05-16-2012
Hi! I started making my own craft kits....I ordered things like colored tissue paper, crinkle cut colored paper, colored ribbons, etc...then I got a bunch of hanging ziplock bags that I started hanging on the hooks for each child. I put other stuff in too like mini bags of crayons, glue, foam stuff.....basically, each child has their own little craft kit. Some days we do planned crafts with an example that I do and some days I just let them be creative with their craft kits.
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Michael 12:07 PM 05-16-2012
Originally Posted by cmama425:
Hi! I started making my own craft kits....I ordered things like colored tissue paper, crinkle cut colored paper, colored ribbons, etc...then I got a bunch of hanging ziplock bags that I started hanging on the hooks for each child. I put other stuff in too like mini bags of crayons, glue, foam stuff.....basically, each child has their own little craft kit. Some days we do planned crafts with an example that I do and some days I just let them be creative with their craft kits.
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LadyMacbeth 07:37 AM 09-01-2012
I wouldn't feel guilty about it, I work at a daycare center and we only have a craft project once a week. The rest of the week, we open up a free art area that they can use during center time. Simple tasks such as cutting, coloring, painting, gluing and even tearing up paper are easy ways to improve their fine motor development, so I would implement something into my weekly schedule if I were you, but I wouldnt stress about making it a daily thing. The kids will improve their fine motor skills through other activities as well
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melskids 03:28 PM 09-01-2012
I completely agree with blackcat.

There are no "crafts" at my house, just process art, and the kiddos don't always produce an end product to send home.

I try to post lots of pics and talk about what we do with the parents.

I saw a sign once, it went something like this....

They will sometimes come home with something in their hands,
They will usually come home with something in their heads,
but they will always come home with something in their hearts.
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