Hi folks

I'm trying to better balance out the activities I provide as at the moment it's very heavily child led. I have 3 little ones at 12 months, 21 months and 30 (with 2 older ones after school) and I just seem to bounce from nappy change to mealtime to nap time, with the seemingly constant toy disputes between the two older little ones and making sure the baby (who is just learning to walk) doesn't get caught in the crossfire and before I know it, it's school run time and another day has disappeared!

I'm hoping that a more structured day with some adult led and guided activities will help me to actually be able to better "play" with the children as opposed to simply referee and also allow me to more fully explore all the areas of L&D with them.

The eldest little one has recently become interested in story books (woohoo!) and I have seen other childminders say that they use stories as a theme for activities. Doing similar things, visiting similar places, associated crafts/baking/games etc. Do any of you guys do this? Have you tried it and hated it? Love it?

I'm sat here with my fairly large book collection and I'm still struggling a bit for activity ideas so I would be extremely grateful for story suggestions which have yielded lots of material for activities.

Also, is what I'm asking the same as a story sack or a bit different?

Many thanks in advance.

Vyx.