What Projects To Do?

So, I opened my in home daycare recently thinking I would get lucky I guess and have ages 3 to 5 year olds only. What was I thinking? I guess I was just hoping. I have 4 years experience as a preschool teacher but moved and thought I would take that opportunity to start an in home daycare. I have a 3 month, 14 month, 19 month, 2 year old and 3 year old in care. My question is...... what do I do with this age group? What cheap but fun projects can they do? My house is all carpet also so what do you do to prevent major messes when trying to do fun things? Any ideas would be great!!! Thanks :-)

[Daycare Mommy]

This may not be what you were referring to, but I hate pre-packaged craft projects. For arts and crafts I put a few supplies on the table in front of them and let them do what they want. Aside from maybe the 3 year old no one would really follow the directions to a step by step craft anyway. I'll model the basics like how to pour the glue without using the whole bottle in one go and how to hold the crayons and scissors with a proper grip but other than that I let them do their own thing. Gets them to use their imaginations.

I let them color with washable crayons a lot and another fun one is finger painting with shaving cream or whipped cream. I throw down a king sized flat sheet and give them each an art tray (you could use plates if you don't have trays darker color is better as a contrast against the white though) and let them fingerpaint in it without having to worry about them staining the carpet. They can practice shapes and letters in the shaving cream too. Also making Fruit Loop or Cheerio necklaces by lacing them onto a string.

In the early years I think the very best thing is snuggling and reading to them though. Minimal TV and getting them to LOVE being read to is much better than having a craft to send home.

[Carole's Daycare]

If your younger ones take morning naps, that provides some time to do small quick things with the 2-3 yr old- free art w/ a variety of materials is best- but we do pre-packaged crafts also- they learn to follow directions etc. Our main "messy" activities happen in the kitchen- play doh, paints etc at the table, at least until summer when we do a lot of that outside at the picnic table. just keep a gate so small objects like blocks etc can be played with then put away before little ones can get to them and choke.
In the summer I mount clear plexi to my fenceline and let them all fingerpaint in swimsuits, then just hose them off.

[TGT09]

I am completely in the same boat but on a smaller scale. I'm all the time trying to figure out something to do with 2,5, and 7 year olds!

I have fallen victim to the pre-packaged crafts (because they are cheap) but after doing 1...they all seem the same. I buy them now for holiday's and do them once a month instead of every week. I actually go to the library A LOT and they have tons of books on activities of all ages.

Next week, we will be making bird feeders out of:
Sugar ice cream cones covered in peanut butter.
Putting birdseed and cheerios all over it.
Before you put anything on it though, you poke a hole in the tip of the cone with a pencil and put a pipe cleaner through (for hanging). *This is a variation to the old pinecone bird feeder.*

[Daycare Mommy]

I never did like the crafts where there is a right and wrong way to do them. I did one craft (the first time I ordered Mother Goose Time) where I tried to get everyone to do it "right". It wasn't fun for them. They started out excited, but even my gentle suggestions of how to put the craft together made a difference and they slipped from free creative mode to obedience mode. Their eyes change. After that I'd make a model one and show them how I did it. If they were interested in getting it similar to mine that was fine, but if they wanted to do their own thing that was fine too. Later in college in a class on arts and crafts for early childhood I was really happy to discover that they didn't think the "cookie-cutter" crafts were a good idea either. They get told what to do and how to do it a lot being young. Arts and crafts is a time where they can cut loose, use their imaginations, and decide what to do here.

[melskids]

i do free art everyday for everone, but the older school age tend to like the prepackaged project type too, so we do those when the little ones are sleeping.

for free art, i just put out stuff at the table and let them have at it. they seem to like watercolors the best right now, but they also like these wacky tool things i got from discount school supply. theyre brush handles with wacky tops like hair, plastic, mesh, etc. theyr really neat! but we use all kinds or stuff to paint with. toilet plungers (new of course) , fly swatters, you name it.