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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Structure of Your Week
Jenniferdawn 10:58 AM 05-03-2012
Do you guys structure out your week, like Monday is painting day, Tuesday is play dough, etc? Do you have a meal plan that you rotate each week or do you wing it? I've been winging it and I"m starting to feel crazy. i feel like if I was more structured I'd be a bit calmer. What works for you?
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Neekie 12:38 PM 05-03-2012
Yes, I do have a structured schedule of activities planned for the times of the day when the kids are getting bored and need something to do. I have a schedule that rotates every week such as play dough on Monday, puzzles on Tuesday ect. And I also have a rotating schedule for outdoor activities such as water play on Monday, sidewalk chalk on Tuesday, ect. But there is a catch to this and that is that I feel it is really important to stay flexible. Many time the kids ditch the activity that i had planned for them and go a completely different direction. For instance I may have the hoola hoops out for the kids and all of a sudden they throw a hoop on the ground and use it for a fire ring and have a pretend campfire. That's fine. I get out the play tent and some play picnic food and we have a camp out that day. So yes, I do have things on a schedule, but I also change my schedule and foillow the kids lead if I need to.
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spud912 02:22 PM 05-03-2012
As far as meals, I pre-plan all of my meals for the month (for daycare and my family) and make weekly grocery lists. I don't always stick to the days I have meals planned, but I generally stick to serving the meals I have planned at some point that week.

As far as activities, I keep trying to make schedules (like painting on Wednesdays, play tent on Mondays, parachute play on Fridays, etc.), but I find I NEVER stick to my schedule. I usually end up winging it. I keep my daily schedule, but wing the activities for outdoor play or indoor activities. We have so many activities we can do, I base it on the children's behavior and if I have things I need to tend to. For example, if I have a more-intensive lunch to make and the kids are playing nice together, I will set up the tent or take out all of the music equipment (we have a ton!) because it will occupy them while I need to get lunch going. If the kids are moody and I have spare time, I will pull out the parachute or I will set up to baby pool outside because it always lifts their spirits.
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WImom 04:01 PM 05-03-2012
I have a 4 week rotating menu which is working out great.

I do weekly themes and try to plan in advance about 2 weeks ahead. I don't have specific days for art stuff but we do theme stuff Mon, Wed, Fri and ABC/Shapes/Numbers Tues./Thurs.
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DaisyMamma 04:42 PM 05-03-2012
I wing it all!

BUT I only have 3 daytime kids. When I had 5 daytime kids I really needed structure.
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Mary Poppins 07:01 PM 05-03-2012
Originally Posted by DaisyMamma:
I wing it all!

BUT I only have 3 daytime kids. When I had 5 daytime kids I really needed structure.
Same! I really, really try to stay on my schedule but it changes so much depending on who is here, the weather, my mood, etc.

I finally stopped obsessing over it and just let the days flow naturally. Makes me much less stressed.
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Meeko 06:40 AM 05-04-2012
With 16 kids...I have to be VERY organized.

I use a five week rotating menu with the food program. I love it as I never have to THINK about the food. I just buy what I need from the list each week.

During the school year, we have a weekly theme that is broken down into a daily theme on M-W. Thursday and Friday are play days.

During the summer, (which I LOVE) I have the week broken down into days.

Monday = art day. Various arts and crafts
Tuesday = music day. All kinds of music from kids stuff to opera. Also dance etc.
Wednesday = Bake day. We cook all kinds of goodies for them to take home to their families.
Thursday = Movie day. This isn't a watch TV all day thing. We chose a theme....ie...Finding Nemo. During the day we learn about fish. We read ocean stories, look at ocean pictures. We may have fish for lunch! We make popcorn and put it in baggies. We print off movie tickets. The last couple hours of the afternoon, we set up a table and the kids "buy" their ticket and popcorn (or other treats...sometimes the parents will send things to share) and we lie on the floor with blankets and pillows and watch the movie. They LOVE this!! I don't allow much TV at all...so this is a special treat during the summer.

Friday is a relaxed play day. When the weather is really warm, we often have this day be water day. Run through the sprinklers etc.
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Kiki 07:31 AM 05-04-2012
Originally Posted by Meeko:
Thursday = Movie day. This isn't a watch TV all day thing. We chose a theme....ie...Finding Nemo. During the day we learn about fish. We read ocean stories, look at ocean pictures. We may have fish for lunch! We make popcorn and put it in baggies. We print off movie tickets. The last couple hours of the afternoon, we set up a table and the kids "buy" their ticket and popcorn (or other treats...sometimes the parents will send things to share) and we lie on the floor with blankets and pillows and watch the movie. They LOVE this!! I don't allow much TV at all...so this is a special treat during the summer.


What a great idea! Friday is movie day here, and it's for the last few hours of the day, we do a star system, and the person with the most gets to pick our special treat, and movie, but I think I like this idea a lot more!

Originally Posted by Meeko:
I use a five week rotating menu with the food program. I love it as I never have to THINK about the food. I just buy what I need from the list each week.
Where can I get this menu?! I hate trying to think about food, my mind always goes after the third day of the week when I'm planning menus.
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Meeko 08:30 AM 05-04-2012
Originally Posted by Kiki:


What a great idea! Friday is movie day here, and it's for the last few hours of the day, we do a star system, and the person with the most gets to pick our special treat, and movie, but I think I like this idea a lot more!


Where can I get this menu?! I hate trying to think about food, my mind always goes after the third day of the week when I'm planning menus.
I came up with my rotating menu over time and I change it when I get bored. I studied the Minute menu charts and figured out what I wanted to do and what the kids like. Then I made a block chart. M-F across the top and then five rows of meals. It takes time to figure out at first...but saves OODLES of time in the long-run. When I go shopping, I just grab the chart...write down what I need for that coming week. Very easy.

I then put my menu choices into MM and now I just click on the menu number and it automatically lists all the foods for me. Love it!
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Tags:routine, schedule, summer activities
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