How much planning and activities?

[samkeddy]

For a fulltime child do i have to plan 2 activities for each day (morning and afternoon) making them all different? Now iv got my 1st mindee coming im terrified im not going to know what to do with her!!!

[beccas]

i have a yearly plan that i follow then i have a weekly plan i do then then i plan for individual children round that. for example we planting seeds this week so mon we made rain catches but only my older 2 lo could do it with min supervision 1 need a lot of supervison the baby just played, so i planned what they would get out of doing this activity, using sissors , learning about weather, etc hope that helps a bit

i dont have planned structered activities all day i have lots of free activities as well.

[Mrs M]

We do some sort of group every morning (toddler or childminder drop in) and then I plan an activity for the afternoon. Therefore, yesterday we went to toddler group, in the afternoon we had the water table outside and put shells and sea creatures in it. We talked about the creatures; their names, their colours etc. The children then wanted bubbles and whisks so we extended the activity to suit their needs/requirements. After that it was free play in the garden and in the house. I have certain toys out in boxes with a book/s to go with each box so the children can have a story and we can use props to make it all more interesting.
I have a monthly plan and plan to do six activities/observations (each one covering one area of the learning and development). I then choose which ones I'll put out on which days in my weekly plan to suit weather, children's interests etc. So this week we've done St David's Day crafts, water play, shaving foam and building blocks. I haven't done an observation for each, only the ones I've planned to do them for (for children's individual planning needs).
I used to get very stressed about "activities" but found that if you follow the children's interests, it's actually quite easy. Use your EYFS practice guidance and it will help you to plan.
I hope I haven't waffled on too much and it helps.