totally lost!

[lottie macfluff]

hi all, this is my first post on here and im lost! i started childminding in feb, at the min have 1 one year old,( soon to have a 7 month old and 5 year old) and my 18month old son!
my childminding advisor came todday and said my policies and observations were good but planning too complicated (ive come from being a nursery manager) i know that it must be child led, i just dont know how to set out any sheets!! aaaaaaaaaarrghhh!:(

[sarah707]

First of all if you are happy with what you are doing, remember that your advisor gives advice... she cannot tell you what to do because it's your business! If you are not happy with her advice and you think you are doing fine, then carry on as you are.

If you want to change things then you need to show...

what the child enjoys

what you have planned

How those things are supporting learning and development

Ideas for things to do next.

The most important thing is to show each child making progress .

hth :D

[Mrs M]

Tbh, I was told mine was too complex and to calm it down a bit. My weekly planning sheet now just says who will be in attendance, where we're going in the morning (toddler group, childminder drop in etc), usually we're at home in the afternoon so I just write 'home/naps/activities' whereas before I would write down which activities I was wanting to get out. As it's child led I can have an idea of which activities I'd like to get covered over the week but at the end of the day the children may not want to do any of them.
I now do bi-monthly planning (group and individual). I have the six areas of learning and development as headings and under each one I write down the activities I've planning which I've taken from next steps and things that are going on around the world.
As Sarah says, you have to do what's best for you and what works for you.
HTH and hope you're enjoying life as a childminder x