As someone who has had a Day Care, I know what it’s like to run out of things to do. Children are impatient so you need to have a game plan each day when your children arrive. Therefore, I have made a list of things to do with your Day Care children. Rain or shine, there is always fun activities that will make your children smile.
[#1.] BAKING
Baking is always a fun activities that kids can help with. Whether you’re making cookies, cupcakes, cakes, or pies, there is always something for everyone to do. Before starting to bake, assign each child positions. Ex. One child could add the eggs, another could add the flour, another could add the vanilla and another could stir. That way, there will be no arguing on who is doing what and everyone has a job. At the end of the day, put your home made treats into baggies and send each child home with their treat.
[#2.] CRAFTS
Grab a few craft books, some colored construction paper, glue, safety scissors, glitter, googly eyes, pipe cleaners and other fun craft items. Let your children make whatever they want or pick a certain page from the craft book, show them how to make it and let them go at it. Helping them along the way of course.
[#3] COLORING
Print out your kid’s favorite characters as coloring sheets. There are tons of online websites that have free printable coloring sheets for just about any topic you can think of. Fill the table with a bucket of markers, crayons, colored pencils and stickers and let them create their own pages to bring him.
[#4] NATURE WALK
Give each child a bag, bucket or container. On a nice, warm day, take the children out for a walk around the neighborhood. Let them collect things such as pine cones, leaves, stones, twigs and whatever else they may find. Bring them back to the Day Care and let all the children share what they have found. After sharing, grab a piece of poster board, create an outside scene and place the things that the children found in nature in the picture.
[#5] MAKE A CITY
With a piece of poster board, let the children create a city of their very own. They can draw roads, houses, businesses, stop signs, trees, parks and that’s only a start. Let them draw and color in their city before sitting down and discussing what a good name would be for the city. After deciding, write the name of the city at the top of the page.
[#6] GAMES
Games such as red rover, catch, duck duck goose, hot potato, mother may i and simon says are great ways to get your children up and moving. Pick games that most kids already know how to play and that are simple and to the point.
[#7] MUSIC amp; DANCE
Turn up the volume and watch as the kids start dancing to their favorite music. The Hokey Pokey is a great song and it’s great exercise for children. Dancing gets their energy level up and allows children to interact with one another.
[#8] GO TO THE PARK
Bring your kids to a nearby park and let them play. Give help by pushing them on the swings and catching them at the end of the slide. They’ll love being out side and getting to play with one another.
[#9] GET A DAY CARE PET
Go to the pet store and purchase a pet such as a hamster, Guinea pig, fish, mouse, or bird. Get a cage, some food and accessories. Each day, let your children take turns feeding their new Day Care pet and helping clean out it’s cage and the end of every week.
[#10] START A GARDEN
Kids love to help out and a garden is a great idea to have them help out. Plant a small vegetable or flower garden in the backyard. Give each child their own bulb to plant and let them water their plant each day. They’ll love watching something they did grow.
Written by Janice Warren from Infantcore.com
