Planned Activities

[Tinkerbell1979]

How many planned activities do you do a week?

[toddlers896]

None, I follow childrens interests and go to toddler groups every morning.i will do arts and crafts for different occasions and baking etc but I don't plan anything.

[mrs robbie williams]

I'm the same as toddlers above we just go with the flow now we have playgroup twice a week then go to the park, play in the garden, go to the zoo xx

[sarah707]

A number of childminders have been picked up on this one recently by Ofsted.

Children's time with you must be a balance of adult-led and child initiated activities with some adult guided play when you notice something you can support them with.

You don't necessarily need to write it down but you must be ready to explain your adult-led planning to Ofsted if you want a higher grade at inspection.

Hope this helps

[twise]

I run off themes during the month, so for this month we are learning about the jungle. I have 1 or 2 planned activities during the day every day which cover certain parts of the EYFS so for example today we made our own binoculars using toilet rolls and then went and on a jungle safari looking for the jungle animals I had hid in the garden. I do this ASWELL as childled activites.

tracy

[watgem]

Hi Sarah would retrospective planning count? I often end up doing this

[sarah707]

Hi Sarah would retrospective planning count? I often end up doing this

Yes if it's adult led and linked to children's interests then it counts just fine!

Ofsted inspection reports recently are commenting on the lack of balance of play - especially with childminders who follow a free play / free flow curriculum where children are in charge of their learning.

If you don't 'do' written planning because you feel it isn't needed then fine but it's still important to find a balance between free play and adult led activities because they broaden the mind and teach children new things which, if they just follow their interests, they will never learn.

And of course it's important to be able to evidence it to an inspector.

Hth

[lisa1968]

I do written planning every week-mainly for my own reference to remind me what I have planned each day-but it changes all the time depending on a million different things!
I do like to have things written down though-makes me feel better!

[Tinkerbell1979]

Thanks!


Basically we tend to be out every morning from the park, the farm, feeding ducks, playgroups

[Tinkerbell1979]

Sorry not finished....


Music classes, story& rhyme time and I find after school impossible as get home at 4pm and a gone by 5.15.

[Nicola Carlyle]

I do roughly 2 hours of planned activities in the mornings and the rest if the day is based around school pick ups, drop offs, nap times, snack times, lunch, dinner etc. I never really plan anything for after schoolies unless its for occasions etc. C

[hulahooper]

I do the same as Lisa mentioned. :-) I do.a quick reflection on planned sheet what happenedtoo.

[littlemiss60561]

i stopped doing specific weekly planning as it rarely got followed so had no benefit other than to please ofsted (although my last inspector said why are you wasting your time writing things down? ) I now do it retrospectively , but have an ideas for actiities sheet with every childs plods activities on that i can pick and choose from depending on whats going on. this may happen over a few months. i hope this is enough.
I have alot of part timers during the week so some only here for 4 hours.
My planned adult led may have only been planned 2 mins prior, and i aim for atleast one adult led activity per session a child is here. so if all day i aim for min of 2. Adult guided is more than that, but sometimes not. we go with the flow, and sometimes that means very little play input from me all day as the play is so lovely it would be rude of me to interrupt it!

[mrs robbie williams]

mine are all under three and only interested in playing - so for example yesterday had lo who loves dolls so she played (child led) we went in garden and i took the dolls highchair and said lets make dolly some lunch (adult led) is that the kind of thing? although there is no link to eyfs for it ? just follwing her interests?

but on the other hand my do said there has to be a reason linked to eyfs and the individual childs dev age why im doing things and why resources are available - arrrrrggggghhhhhhh its driving me nuts so ive stopped doing it as i cant think how to do it

[hectors house]

but on the other hand my do said there has to be a reason linked to eyfs and the individual childs dev age why im doing things and why resources are available - arrrrrggggghhhhhhh its driving me nuts so ive stopped doing it as i cant think how to do it

On Monday I went for a walk with another childminder to local woods - we had 6 children between us, the children explored under the rhododendrum bushes, climbed on fallen logs, picked up sticks for supervised play fighting and then used the sticks to explore how deep the mud was in few remaining puddles - on the way back I said to the other Childminder "What did the children get out of today and it is impossible to plan things like that in advance"? She agreed that sometimes children are allowed to just have "fresh air, fun, freedom to explore for themselves" why should it always have to "mean" something.

I aim to give my mindees a taste of the childhood I had before Sunday trading and home improvement programmes which now means lots of kids spend their Sundays walking round shops and DIY stores.

[TraceyC]

I am heartened to read all these replies as this is what I mostly do - the eldest child I look after is 20 months. Ofsted said I needed to do a mixture of adult and child led activities but understood at this young age that it is hard to stick to a plan.

However I am in the middle of CYPW level 3 in childcare where I am being observed and they think I must run as a pre school doing lots of planning and adult led activities. It is a nightmare - even the corn flour activity I planning during my assessors last visit got ignored by the toddlers - I spent hours writing down planning and directing the activity and it's all a waste of time.

I must say I am finding the Level 3 must stricter that Ofsted were when they inpsected me back in Feb 13. Has anyone else had experience of this? I'm off to a music toddler group this morning, followed by coffee in our local library!!! x

[singingcactus]

I have a completely child led setting. There are no planned adult led activities. The children demonstrate their interests, I enhance the environment to extend their interest and learning, we talk lots and play lots. Kids learn best when they have the lead. I document their learning, their progress is obvious to see when you look at and chat to the kids, and obvious to see in the documentation around the house.
I am well able to prove the kids progress and development to ofsted, without the need for me directing their learning. They also learn from each other, that is the main benefit of a mixed age setting. The little kids adore the big kids and want to be like them, and the big kids love to show off their knowledge and skills.

[karen m]

I am with singing cactus, I feel if children are permanately being shown what the must do this does not help when they are older children need to learn through play, they learn to share with a bit of help, yes I help when putting paints , play dough craft out but THEY decide if they want to use a brush or hands or cutters for shapes all my parents have stated they want child led play . Yes we do have stories which obviously I read but again hey often make the stories as we go along

[VeggieSausage]

I do at least one planned activity each week per child that will be tailored to their next steps - eg if we are working with a child who has poor fine motor skills I will ensure I have planned something to help their development. I also plan other general activities but what I mean by planning is thinking about what we will do and get it out....just really thinking about what we will do each day to keep everyone interested.....

[Jods]

I do plan loosely for the week, listing my outings and what I have planned for each child individually inc. adult led - I also do child led planing, where we have a Velcro board of activities and at the start of the week they stick up what they want to do (and if I need a child to vary their activity choice then I will limit/omit their popular choices gradually and offer more of the other options) I also retrospective plan at the end of the week as things just happen ad hoc, but this is my way of record/evidence keeping x