Scheduling

I'm here again, and it hasn't even been a week.  Things are looking up!

After several revisions, I think I've finally developed a perfect schedule.  Now, if there were some perfect people implementing it, we'd have a perfect year.  Ha!

I won't post our schedule here, but if there is anyone who struggles with scheduling issues and would like to see how we are hoping to make it work this year, I can email it to you as an attachment.  Just go to the 'contact me' tab and let me know.

A few changes this year include having some of the older ones take turns caring for the youngest three so that when I am not scheduled to work with the littles they will be kept busy for the entire morning in another room or outside instead of bouncing on my lap, climbing up the back of my chair, having a shoot-out around the corner or sitting on the table where we are working.  It's sure to be an improvement.

To make things a little easier for the caregivers, I have come up with lists of games, crafts and other activities.  Things like :

• paint with water
• magnetic letters on a cookie sheet
• colour on the chalk board (or as Thomas calls it, the chocolate board :)
• tea party
• play house on the porch
• float boats in the sink (keep a towel handy)
• build a fort with chairs and blankets in the playroom
• play dough
• lay a large blanket out to catch spills, then fill a bucket with rice and give them scoops and funnels 
• make music with play instruments OUTSIDE (we have triangles, mini cymbals, plastic recorders and various other noise makers) 
• cut and colour craft
• cut and paste from old magazines to make a collage
• use beads to make a necklace
• Alphabet Bingo
• Memory
• I Spy with My Little Eye
• Snakes and Ladders
• Trouble
• Animal Dominoes
• puzzles
• dress-ups (this is somewhat distracting since they like to parade around us to show us the funny ways they've dressed up)
• colouring books
• stories

 A friend and I were discussing the matter of what to do with all the crafts they produce and she suggested making something they could eat.  What a great idea!  I did a google search  for edible crafts and came up with several things that should work.  I could pass on ideas here, but if you're interested you'd probably be better off doing a search yourself because most sites post pictures so you can have an idea what it's supposed to look like.

It's after 9:30, and the schedule says it's time for bed. (See, I told you it was perfect. :)

Good night!

P.S. Check out Justine's blog, Running the Race.  :)