Planning - can't get my head round it!

[lau]

Hi everyone, everytime I think I have cracked it, it all goes wrong in my head!!

This is my first month up and running and I have 2 mindees at the moment, a 10 month old and a 20 month old.

What plans should I have in place as at the moment I am taking each day as it comes as they are both just into anything and everything.

I did try and do a plan for my 20 month old this week with what toys I would have out and an activity every day but I wondered whether having a general weekly plan maybe for everyone split into am/pm would be better? Or maybe just a list of activities which we might do. Or maybe it should be monthly. It seems quite difficult as they change every day and both are part time. I do plan around who I have every day but I just cant get my head straight as to what exactly I should be planning, what needs to be included and how in depth they need to be.:(

I do have an annual plan which has birthdays/celebrations and festivals on which is on my parent's noticeboard but I have left this pretty general as they are both so small.

Any guidance would be appreciated. I know its a boring question!

[sarah707]

I wrote this reply in an email to someone who was asking me a similar question.

I hope it helps you :D

Planning for under 3s...

Things I have done... make a note of a few of the activities the child has enjoyed and been interested in this week;

Things Sarah has planned for me... make a note of some of the activities you have planned for the child such as making playdough, singing songs, reading books, visiting the park. Look back at the ‘things I might like doing next’ from previous weeks and include some notes about those too;

Things I might like doing next... from the activities the child has enjoyed doing, pick out one or at the most 2 ideas for the future.

For example...

Things I have done... at home mum says I am enjoying some new threading toys / at Sarah’s house I have played with the playdough;

Things Sarah has planned for me... I have joined in with activities about spring. I have grown seeds, looked at books about spring and learned a new song about a caterpillar;

Things I might like doing next... I really enjoyed planting my seeds and might enjoy measuring them to see how fast they grow.

THEN next week in the ‘things I have done’ you can mention the child measuring the seedlings and maybe making a rain trap to measure how much rain is falling to follow his interest... or you might have made a threading toy together to continue the home interest.

So you are following up the child’s interests, including ideas from home, helping the child to develop, showing how the child’s learning is progressing...

Ask if anything doesn’t make sense. :D

[mumto3]

I dont get any of that :rolleyes: seems very complicated and seems too grown up for an under 3 yr old

I dont think I will get this whole planning thing either

[sarah707]

I dont get any of that :rolleyes: seems very complicated and seems too grown up for an under 3 yr old

I dont think I will get this whole planning thing either

At my recent inspection the inspector advised me to make the next steps much clearer for all age groups so I am currently looking at how I can do that (I wrote this advice pre-inspection).

However I write them though the principles are the same...

Watch and listen... note what the child enjoys, likes doing, uses, says, does, what parents say etc.

Link it to the Eyfs, think about what the observation tells you about the child and consider ideas for what the child might enjoy next.

Write next steps... what you plan to do with the child to encourage further learning and development or how you consolidate a child's learning and development by doing more of the same thing.

:D

[lau]

Thanks Sarah, I think I understand the theory behind it all from that reply but think it might just be the putting it into practice that I might struggle with! Keep trying to sit down and get it done but then my head goes blank. Hopefully once I have my forms designed it might all become a bit clearer and then I can tweak the forms as I need.

If I do a general am/pm plan weekly maybe that would be easier? At the moment I have started using a weekly plan for the children individually which is split into adult led activities, child led activities, links to EYFS, observations and then next steps which seems to be ok but think I would struggle to fill this every day, every week for my 10 month old especially as she is very static and just wants to be held all day.

Every time I get an idea in my head I seem to talk myself out of it! :panic:

[miffy]

If you look here there are some weekly planning sheets that might give you a few ideas

http://www.bromleycma.org.uk/eyfs/planning.html

Miffy xx

[miss mopple]

I find with under 3's that advance written planning is a total waste of time. I type up their routine, as this is obviously a big part of their development and other than that I write things up as they happen rather than planning in advance. It still show I am following their interests and planning, its just more free flow and instantaneous than structured and formal.

[Louise1981]

I am currently in the pre-reg stage of regstration. I have worked in pre-schools and nuseries for the past eight years before deciding to become a childminder. I have found the book Practical EYFS Handbook by Penny Tassoni's really helpful. It provides weekly planning ideas and also observation planning ideas.

What I plan to do with regards to planning is create a weekly plan with planned activites on but leave blank spaces for the child chosen activies. At the bottom I will make notes on who has enjoyed what and implement this into the following weekly plan. The planned activites will be either from the notes I gathered the week before on what each child has enjoyed or the next steps that I will do from my observation of that child.

I highly recommened the book has it also provides ideas for activites of all ages and development stages.

[lau]

Thank you so much for all of your replies.

Louise, I have this book but hadnt made it as far as the planning at the back and had totally forgotten it was there! I have just had a look and the weekly and monthly plans there look a lot easier to keep up with than the plans I have. At the moment I have a plan for each child and I am finding it difficult to tie it all up together.

I think I might scrap the plans I am using and maybe just take a more laid back approach like the one in the book!

Thanks for reminding me it was there! :clapping:

[Louise1981]

Your welcome Lau, I have created my own observation sheets which I have a seperate sheet for all areas of development, in the next section I have put what I have assessed on the child, Then in the next section I have put next steps. This will also be backed up with photo's, I will use these next steps to plan for the next month for the child, Each month I will use the review template in the book to share with parents and also let them add their omw comments.

The weekly plan template in the book is great and simple to use, it's also flexible so your planned activites can be put on aswell has plenty of room for your child chosen activites. Notes can then be made at the bottom to summarise the day which child enjoyes what activity, but it also enavles you to reflect on your own planned activites.

Hope it all helps.

[lau]

It is so much simpler that the template I was using which I think was shared by someone on here. It is great but I think when you have children of varying ages it becomes quite difficult to keep with with individual plans for them all.

I gave my first parent their monthly review sheet last night and she was really pleased with it. Hopefully she will bring it back with some feedback on it.

I think it is way too easy to overdo the paperwork. I have been panicing about this for weeks but do actually feel like I am starting to get my head straight with it all. I have my observation sheet done and now I just need to get some of my photos printed off and see if it all comes together!

Thanks xxx:clapping:

[soz65]

So pleased I have just read this thread. I am getting ready for my first inspection and feeling rather overwhelmed. I bought the Penny Tassoni book and also hadnt got to the bit about planning at the back - phew! This makes it seem much easier and possibly achievable! This forum is great!

[Louise1981]

Hope your inspection goes well Soz, I too love the book. I have had many years of working in school settings and private day nurseries. All I felt like I did was paperwork(This is not why I went into childcare). I know paperwork has to be done, but I would like when I am childminding the easiest I can do so I dont feel like all I do is paperwork, I want to play, make noise and mess with the children.

I think already I am going to make more work for myself doing the paperwork as I feel like it is going on forever I am hoping to narrow things down a little.

[MaryE]

Hi I too have that book and never got as far as the planning section at the back!
What a godsend!!

Cheers Mary

x
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