activities to do with ofsted here

[debbie]

hi i have hopefully my inspection on wednesday this week absolutely dreading it always do. does anyone have any ideas of activities i could do with a 10 month . 2 yr old and a 4 year old. 4 year old just started with me last week and when i had my network dev officer round 4 yr old cried the whole time but was fine when she went, i have a feeling this is going to happen when ofsted turn up also baby can be quite tearful when strangers in house. i'm now racking my brain whats left of it for ideas. i dont have much for lj's as 10 mth joined me in oct , 2 yr old in sept. thanks for your help in advance:panic::panic:

[candy cat]

I would just have lots of back ups ie art,stories, free play etc......nothing to complicated.....good luck x

[debbie]

thanks think i need all the luck i can get

[Rosy Days]

Hi, I agree, nothing too complicated or that you haven't tried before. What about messy play with spaghetti? Not too messy and usually play for a while with it. Bubbles? Usually a favourite. Make a den? Cover a big box and get a couple little torches for them to shine inside, the 4 year old might quite like that especially if she isn't too sure of strangers, she might feel happier in a little space of her own. If you have some spare lining paper, stick a big piece down on the floor and give them crayons to colour/make marks etc. Play dough? Just trying to think what mine enjoy doing that isn't too complicated/messy. Hope it goes okay. Good luck. :) x

[CC77]

Firstly, I would explain to the inspector that the 4 year old is quite new to your setting and also that they are unsure of new people. This is not an excuse it is a fact and it will help the inspector to see how good you are even when the children are challenging. They will be looking at how you react to the children's behavior, not how the children behave.
I had a very shy child at my inspection, she wouldn't even look at the inspector at first but letting the child know that we thought the inspector was an ok person, they were ok after a bit. The inspector was very respectful of this child's shyness and only interacted with the child when the child initiated it.
As for activities, keep it very simple, avoid thing which require lots of setting up or clearing away. Puzzles are good, try and get the kids to share an activity. During my inspection 1 child was building towers with stacking cups for the baby to knock down, the inspector thought this was great!
As much as possible pretend the inspector isn't there while at the same time drawing attention to the amazing things you do with the kids and how they have responded to them. Remember the inspector can only judge you on what they see and what you tell them.
I managed to get a good overall with 5 outstanding areas!

[nipper]

Hi I was lucky enough to have my water tray set up in the utility as continuous provision so the the children could dip into that as well. One of my mindees had only started the previous week as well, but the inspector was quite accomodating when she first called up and said 'Oh I couldn't possibly come on her first day could I? I thought that was quite nice of her, because she was subliminally telling me when my inspection day was!

I must admit I was worried how much space she would take up on the kitchen table, leaving us space to do painting. As it was valentines day, I did cards with a 22 month old and 14 month old in two stages as we had to wait for the paint to dry...luckily she saw us do both parts as well. it was mayhem and halfway through I decide to let the 22 month old paint MY hands, which was a really daft thing to do but I thought what the ****, they're having fun and do you know what she even mentioned it on my report which was nice.

Just remember be your usual brilliant self with the children. Inspectors can spot falseness a mile off, just talk, talk , talk all the time to the children, to the inspector, to yourself ( keep muttering under your breath I am BRILLIANT) AND YOU WILL BE FINE!!!

[guest3]

Hi how did it go Debbie?
I had my inspection yesterday and it went fine....I got a good :so happy:

[debbie]

hi inspection went ok. had a 4 year old and a 2 1/2 year old. 2 1/2 threw a tantrum when mum brought him . inspector had turned up early was sitting outside when this happened but quickly came in to ask mum questions. i had small play people out for them to play with and the train set but there was also the opportunity for them to do chalk pictures which they also enjoyed. inspector was on the floor quite a bit playing with them asking me questions. she made a thorough look through the attendance books checking dates of births etc. then she looked through the policy folder and risk assessment folder. then asked to go outside to look around. left the lo's with my daughter whilst i showed her around. witnessed lo washing hands before lunch etc. however she only wanted to lj for ones i had on day and as only had one for a week and the other a couple of months there was not much there so showed one that had recently left so was able to evidence. now just the wait hovering between sat and good not bothered either way. things not set as they would be normally as most in garage we've only been in the house 8 weeks so basics out only.