The dreaded school agers and nap time

[spud912]

So....the quick gist is that I will have several non-nappers in July. They are 5 and 6 years old. Does anyone have any ideas or Pinterest pages you can direct me to for busy activities?

I want to limit screen time, but the older kids tend to be my loudest of the bunch hands down so I worry that free time will be too loud and wake those who are napping. Nap time is usually my first opportunity to eat. I also use it to feed my baby. Any extra time is devoted to planning and preparing activities for the next day and prepping snack. So I would rather not have to hound on them every second to be quiet or give them directions on how to do an activity. I just need activities to keep them busy and quiet while I do things in the same room.

I live in a very hot climate so outside is definitely not possible. Thanks in advance!

[Thriftylady]

This is the one time I allow the older kiddos to watch some educational cartoons or something. It is just so hard to keep the school age ones entertained AND quiet.

[daycarediva]

Are they boys? girls?

I have SA for the 2 weeks before camp starts and for the 2 weeks before school starts.

Today they built fairy houses. I bought scrap fabric, tons of scrap wood, wood glue, and let them collect sticks, bark, acorns and lots of little outdoor trinkets to add to their houses. they each had a large piece of cardboard to build on. They really want to keep working on these, so it's rain-checked for Monday. They wanted something for fake grass (felt?). Dcg wants to bring her little doll house dolls to play with them. It kept them entertained (almost 5, 5, 6, 7, 9) for almost two hours. Only 1 girl- the rest were boys.

Tomorrow/every Friday they are here. they are having a late lunch, making their own pizzas, and having a PJ and movie afternoon (after a field trip)

I bought little model racing cars to build/paint next week. I got them journals. I will have photos done of the things they did today, so they can put them in their summer journals and write about it daily at nap.

I have a summer reading challenge going on. For each book they read here (or chapter for the 9 year old). They earn a sticker and a gummy worm. The 'winner' at the end of summer, earns an ice cream party (they get to chose the flavor) they have done a LOT of reading the last two days.

[TheNestDaycare]

When I worked in a preschool, the non-napping children would lay down and rest their bodies for at least a little bit of time at which point they would usually do one of two things: "read" silently or color in their notebook that was specifically for rest time.

Afterward, while the other children were napping, they could play silently with manipulative materials.... kinex, lincoln logs, puzzles, ect. These things were only available to them at rest time, which made it special. I think SA children would enjoy things like that.

As far as printables, I really like the blog: Picklebums. It has great printables! Especially love the art prompts/play dough mat prompts! She also has a blog post about a daily art journal, and giving the children prompts for drawing each day. Oh--- which reminds me, there are also story cubes that kids can "roll" to generate ideas for writing. I've seen wooden story cubes for sale around $20, but you could probably make your own dice out of paper, if you wanted.

Good luck!

[spud912]

Originally Posted by daycarediva

Are they boys? girls?

I have SA for the 2 weeks before camp starts and for the 2 weeks before school starts.

Today they built fairy houses. I bought scrap fabric, tons of scrap wood, wood glue, and let them collect sticks, bark, acorns and lots of little outdoor trinkets to add to their houses. they each had a large piece of cardboard to build on. They really want to keep working on these, so it's rain-checked for Monday. They wanted something for fake grass (felt?). Dcg wants to bring her little doll house dolls to play with them. It kept them entertained (almost 5, 5, 6, 7, 9) for almost two hours. Only 1 girl- the rest were boys.

Tomorrow/every Friday they are here. they are having a late lunch, making their own pizzas, and having a PJ and movie afternoon (after a field trip)

I bought little model racing cars to build/paint next week. I got them journals. I will have photos done of the things they did today, so they can put them in their summer journals and write about it daily at nap.

I have a summer reading challenge going on. For each book they read here (or chapter for the 9 year old). They earn a sticker and a gummy worm. The 'winner' at the end of summer, earns an ice cream party (they get to chose the flavor) they have done a LOT of reading the last two days.

Awesome suggestions! I think I will definitely do the reading challenge and journals for sure! We are doing ocean themes in July so maybe some ongoing craft project along those lines.

I will have all girls and one boy. The boy I have has a LOT of energy and quickly burns through tasks without much focus on one particular thing, so the challenge really lies with him. The older girls feed off of his energy.

[spud912]

Originally Posted by TheNestDaycare

When I worked in a preschool, the non-napping children would lay down and rest their bodies for at least a little bit of time at which point they would usually do one of two things: "read" silently or color in their notebook that was specifically for rest time.

Afterward, while the other children were napping, they could play silently with manipulative materials.... kinex, lincoln logs, puzzles, ect. These things were only available to them at rest time, which made it special. I think SA children would enjoy things like that.

As far as printables, I really like the blog: Picklebums. It has great printables! Especially love the art prompts/play dough mat prompts! She also has a blog post about a daily art journal, and giving the children prompts for drawing each day. Oh--- which reminds me, there are also story cubes that kids can "roll" to generate ideas for writing. I've seen wooden story cubes for sale around $20, but you could probably make your own dice out of paper, if you wanted.

Good luck!

Hmmm, I'm feeling the need to get some cheap manipulatives all of a sudden . Thanks for the Picklebums suggestions, will definitely check it out

[Thriftylady]

Originally Posted by spud912

Hmmm, I'm feeling the need to get some cheap manipulatives all of a sudden . Thanks for the Picklebums suggestions, will definitely check it out

Manipulatives are a must have here all the kids love them. I look for them every time I go to the thrift store or garage sales. I love the site shared also.

[Pepperth]

Audiobooks and legos.

[nothingwithoutjoy]

Here, 5 year olds are still expected to nap. If they don't, after I've tried to get them to sleep for a good while, I leave them on their mats and they may read. (They bring in a big pile of books before nap.)

Once they're in school, they may be up at nap time. Their choice is to "read, write, or draw." They should be quiet and not require my help. Most of the time, that works fine. If it doesn't, they must sit separately. Often times (because they're in the art studio), "drawing" morphs into collage, construction, sewing... I don't really care as long as it's quiet and they don't need me to fetch or help, but I crack down if it gets out of hand.

In the past, I offered many more choices at nap time. Eventually, I narrowed it down to these, and it works much better for us.

Sometimes, I put something interesting on the table for them. Two favorites last year were blank comic-strip pages, and blank faces. (Here's my pinterest board I once started of those things.)

I also have a mini ipod for audiobooks. It has a splitter so several headphones can plug in, and I have several pairs of headphones for the kids. That's worked very well at times for certain groups. They listen and draw.

The kids also developed their own tradition that has carried on for many years. Before nap, the younger ones place their orders for drawings: "I want a princess with brown hair," "I want my family," "I want Laura Ingalls Wilder in a wagon." Then, during nap, the big kids draw those pictures as gifts for them. Last week, one of the big kids brought in embroidery floss and told the little ones that instead of pictures, she was going to make them all bracelets. Then she took orders for color combos. Worked great.

[spud912]

Originally Posted by nothingwithoutjoy

Here, 5 year olds are still expected to nap. If they don't, after I've tried to get them to sleep for a good while, I leave them on their mats and they may read. (They bring in a big pile of books before nap.)

Once they're in school, they may be up at nap time. Their choice is to "read, write, or draw." They should be quiet and not require my help. Most of the time, that works fine. If it doesn't, they must sit separately. Often times (because they're in the art studio), "drawing" morphs into collage, construction, sewing... I don't really care as long as it's quiet and they don't need me to fetch or help, but I crack down if it gets out of hand.

In the past, I offered many more choices at nap time. Eventually, I narrowed it down to these, and it works much better for us.

Sometimes, I put something interesting on the table for them. Two favorites last year were blank comic-strip pages, and blank faces. (Here's my pinterest board I once started of those things.)

I also have a mini ipod for audiobooks. It has a splitter so several headphones can plug in, and I have several pairs of headphones for the kids. That's worked very well at times for certain groups. They listen and draw.

The kids also developed their own tradition that has carried on for many years. Before nap, the younger ones place their orders for drawings: "I want a princess with brown hair," "I want my family," "I want Laura Ingalls Wilder in a wagon." Then, during nap, the big kids draw those pictures as gifts for them. Last week, one of the big kids brought in embroidery floss and told the little ones that instead of pictures, she was going to make them all bracelets. Then she took orders for color combos. Worked great.

Yes, all of the non nappers are on summer break from school. I guess my main issue is the noise when they are together. The boy I have gets "bored" within 5-10 minutes of every activity and then I spend the rest of the time redirecting him back to whatever they are doing. He also talks/argues with everyone else and gets them really riled up. He always tries to "help" them, which is annoying to them and then they yell at him to stop.

I'm hoping the library has some audio books on CD and that I can find some manipulatives for cheap on Craigslist. I have a bunch already but they are always available so it's not as engaging as something new and different.

[Rachel]

Perler beads (http://www.amazon.com/Perler-Beads-0.../dp/B0000AW5SU) will keep my kids boys and girls busy for hours. I get them at ikea. The only thing is they have to do it at a table, and you have to be really, really, really, careful when moving them to iron them because if you drop it or shake it and they lose their work be ready for a huge meltdown. Also with girls don't forget all the cheap stuff they love. My girls love making necklaces, coloring with colored pencils and intricate designs, whiteboards and markers, etc. I agree have special activities just for nap and good luck!

[childcaremom]

These are all great ideas.

I've only got one non-napper but my girls are home for the summer, too, so these will all get used

[Josiegirl]

If you have the time, money and want to, you could make busy boxes that they're only allowed at quiet time. Hit the dollar store for different things. Switch the items from time to time so they don't get bored. I did it for awhile and the dcgs loved it. I have to admit I didn't keep up with it because they got bored(or maybe I got lazy) but it might work for even a couple days or so a week. You could even buy some of those cheapie long-handled dusters and let them clean. Just make sure it's a different room.
Yard sales and dollar stores are your friend! Stock up on a whole buncha stuff and keep rotating to keep it interesting.
Some things that might work: magnets, weaving, sensory bottles, those packages of dollar store animals, bugs, dinosaurs, army men, etc.. You could make erasable writing/drawing pages by covering with contact paper. Puzzles with 24-48 pieces(again dollar store). If you have big pieces of cardboard or old board games you could have them each create their own new board game.
Some kids would be perfectly content doing these for awhile, then others take 2 minutes and they're bored again.

[Blackcat31]

Originally Posted by spud912

Yes, all of the non nappers are on summer break from school. I guess my main issue is the noise when they are together. The boy I have gets "bored" within 5-10 minutes of every activity and then I spend the rest of the time redirecting him back to whatever they are doing. He also talks/argues with everyone else and gets them really riled up. He always tries to "help" them, which is annoying to them and then they yell at him to stop.

I'm hoping the library has some audio books on CD and that I can find some manipulatives for cheap on Craigslist. I have a bunch already but they are always available so it's not as engaging as something new and different.

The sure fix to that is to tell him that he has 2 choices. Participate in the activity provided or SLEEP/NAP. That's it. No arguing, discussing, negotiating.

You do X or you sleep/nap. If you attempt to argue, discuss or negotiate then X no longer is an option and sleep/nap is the ONLY choice.

If you do that FIRMLY for a few days, I guarantee he will change his tune.

[AnythingsPossible]

Even my older group has quiet time. 30 to 45 minutes depending on the day. When the littles lay down, the older kids get a blanket and find floor space to relax for awhile. Depending on the group, they either pick activities to take back to their spot or color at the table till nap is over. We have pencil boxes with lego's, puzzles, magnet books
, items with small pieces to choose from as they generally can't use them much when our younger friends are up.