Remove Free Play for Awhile? Good Idea or Not?

[Tdhmom]

Has anyone done this? I'm thinking of putting covers on all my bins of toys including items in the kitchen center and have them play with me only as a group for a few weeks. Right now I have two 4 year olds, Two 3y olds (One almost 4y) and a 27m old. The 27 month old is constantly taking things from the other kids and the other kids seem to be arguing a lot. I'm hating Free Play right now.

I was thinking of having it be my choice who plays with what or putting just two kids together at a time or they all play with me. Slowly bringing back free play.

Anyone do this before? How did it work and how did you go about doing it?

I don't close up the other toys but every morning, I have a set of 4 yr olds that take EVERYTHING out and then in turn everyone has to help pick it all up because everyone else thinks it's ok to do that. And then the fighting/arguing starts. Toys all over covering the floors unable to walk through gives me anxiety! By that time I've had enough crying/whining then they all have to clean up early and then I designate stations. I usually do Lincoln logs, Legos, puzzles and lace and trace cards. I used to put 2 on each, but now I let them choose as long as there's no arguing and it is the longest they can all play together peacefully! I do it almost everyday now. I just don't have a good group that gets along. Too many bossy pants.

[Neekie]

I hear ya on that one!! I think it's going to be a BAD winter here.

I think so, too. I think will experience a lot of cabin fever this year.

[Play Care]

I don't close up the other toys but every morning, I have a set of 4 yr olds that take EVERYTHING out and then in turn everyone has to help pick it all up because everyone else thinks it's ok to do that. And then the fighting/arguing starts. Toys all over covering the floors unable to walk through gives me anxiety! By that time I've had enough crying/whining then they all have to clean up early and then I designate stations. I usually do Lincoln logs, Legos, puzzles and lace and trace cards. I used to put 2 on each, but now I let them choose as long as there's no arguing and it is the longest they can all play together peacefully! I do it almost everyday now. I just don't have a good group that gets along. Too many bossy pants.

My group is incredibly strong-willed and, at times, defiant. I still have free play, but I make sure that I am right *there* and my attention is on the kids when it's free play time. When I'm prepping a meal, changing diapers/assisting with toileting, they are doing a set table/carpet activity. Because unless I am *right there* my kids are the ones who "forget" to not run in the house, jump on furniture, swat at friends (even the 3 and 4 yo ) take everything out and try to refuse to clean up, etc.

In nine years I've usually had one-two "spirited" kids while the rest were more laid back. The last two years it seems all of my kids are "spirited" I'm not sure if this is just the trend (a long time provider friend of mine retired last year because she had similar issues and it seemed to her to be getting worse ) or I just got "lucky" ::

It may not be "best practice" but it saves my sanity and right now, that is more important.::

[JoseyJo]

Above is what I do also. I was having the same types of problems and MORE ft, not less seemed to help a lot. I think kids these days don't have to use their brains enough and that is why the act so out of control when they aren't being directed or entertained. More later, first kid us arriving!

[JoseyJo]

Thanks for the suggestions....Right now free play is from 7:30-8:30 (That one is usually okay since not everyone is here the whole time). We then have circle time and then 9:10-9:30ish free play, then art, then free play again for 30 minutes or so and I attempt to do some small groups at the table with me during this time, outside, lunch, nap. Then after nap 3:30-4:10. 4:10 until pick up is games or puzzles time with me until 4:30, my closing time.

It is mostly the 27m old and my two 4 year olds - One is super bossy and needs everything her way and the other is very stubborn and makes a lot of bad choices daily (I've written about his behavior many times). The 27m is the one I've also written about that wrecks everything here and mouths everything. If I only had the other kids not listed I could have free play all day and be fine minus the occasional squabble.

I don't have centers right now because of the 27m old. I need to see EVERYTHING and EVERYWHERE he is because he likes to mouth and break things, peel of stickers, etc. I have moved everything against the walls and that does seem to be giving them more space to spread out.

I do have a way to split them up by "Table Toy/Reading Area" and "Play Area" the way my room is set up. Maybe dividing them into two groups during one or two free plays would help for awhile.

I do observe them and if it seems like they are not going to resolve it on their own I will intervene by them helping me think of a solution with a few ideas from me. My two 4y olds are so stubborn it rarely works with them and I end up removing the item or separating them. They just seem to get on each other's nerves. I really wish I'd get more kids since before I lost 5 to school this fall they had others their age to play with so it wasn't as bad.

Not that I am an expert by ANY means but I did learn some pretty awesome stuff about 6 months ago- actually starting w/ a post I read here, then doing research from there.


We have been doing daycare for about 5 years and started pretty scheduled and have gotten more so to "control" behavior issues. They couldn't play on their own, made bad choices often, didn't engage their brains and seemed like they were on auto-pilot most of the time!

A completely unrelated post on this forum linked out to a website about NOT using a letter of the week curriculum and why (I used one so that was VERY interesting!) Then that article mentioned Denita Dinger and I found her website playcounts. On the first blog post I came to on the website she asked what would you do if a car was out of gas? - you would give it more. Same for an out of control child- give them more

That was a very scary thought for me!! I read more, contacted her on FB and got some really great tips and ideas. I GRADUALLY changed my program to more child-led (I didn't think I wanted that, but turns out I didn't really understand what it meant!) A free-for-all is not at all what we want, but what we do want is for kids to make their own RIGHT choices. If we take away the choice they will never learn how to make right ones, they will always revert to wrong choices when they aren't told what to do. By letting them make choices (again GRADUALLY!) while I am activity present, but not involved they are learning how to make good choices on their own. A wonderful side effect is that there is SO much more creativity, true learning, and joy in our daycare

[AcornMama]

Thanks for the suggestions....Right now free play is from 7:30-8:30 (That one is usually okay since not everyone is here the whole time). We then have circle time and then 9:10-9:30ish free play, then art, then free play again for 30 minutes or so and I attempt to do some small groups at the table with me during this time, outside, lunch, nap. Then after nap 3:30-4:10. 4:10 until pick up is games or puzzles time with me until 4:30, my closing time.

I've enjoyed reading the responses in this thread. With my disclaimer of I'm still new to child care, but have been a mom of many for a long time now, I wonder if going outside earlier would help. Based on the schedule you shared, the kiddos aren't getting outside to run around until after multiple free play sessions in addition to circle time and art. Maybe you could take them outside earlier/more. It's still "free play" but without all the dumping.

In my program, it's free play until about 9:00, just to get through the different arrival times. Then am snack, circle/story time, some kind of art or hands-on project, and then we're outside pretty much until lunch. I don't think I would enjoy it as much if the majority of the morning time were free play indoors, but taking it outdoors is so much better. For me anyway.

Just my thoughts.

Oops...just realized I didn't completely read all the posts, and others already addressed outside time. So just count mine as another vote for more outside time.

[Heidi]

Not that I am an expert by ANY means but I did learn some pretty awesome stuff about 6 months ago- actually starting w/ a post I read here, then doing research from there.


We have been doing daycare for about 5 years and started pretty scheduled and have gotten more so to "control" behavior issues. They couldn't play on their own, made bad choices often, didn't engage their brains and seemed like they were on auto-pilot most of the time!

A completely unrelated post on this forum linked out to a website about NOT using a letter of the week curriculum and why (I used one so that was VERY interesting!) Then that article mentioned Denita Dinger and I found her website playcounts. On the first blog post I came to on the website she asked what would you do if a car was out of gas? - you would give it more. Same for an out of control child- give them more

That was a very scary thought for me!! I read more, contacted her on FB and got some really great tips and ideas. I GRADUALLY changed my program to more child-led (I didn't think I wanted that, but turns out I didn't really understand what it meant!) A free-for-all is not at all what we want, but what we do want is for kids to make their own RIGHT choices. If we take away the choice they will never learn how to make right ones, they will always revert to wrong choices when they aren't told what to do. By letting them make choices (again GRADUALLY!) while I am activity present, but not involved they are learning how to make good choices on their own. A wonderful side effect is that there is SO much more creativity, true learning, and joy in our daycare

can you add some links? please?

[MarinaVanessa]

Has anyone done this? I'm thinking of putting covers on all my bins of toys including items in the kitchen center and have them play with me only as a group for a few weeks. Right now I have two 4 year olds, Two 3y olds (One almost 4y) and a 27m old. The 27 month old is constantly taking things from the other kids and the other kids seem to be arguing a lot. I'm hating Free Play right now.

I was thinking of having it be my choice who plays with what or putting just two kids together at a time or they all play with me. Slowly bringing back free play.

Anyone do this before? How did it work and how did you go about doing it?

I wouldn't do it. I know it's a nuisance to you and it's probably driving you crazy but children need conflict in order to learn communication and conflict resolution. When children argue it's an opportunity for you to teach them about impulse control.

The first thing that I would do would be to observe the group as a whole while they play. Is it one child or several children that argue? When does the most fighting happen? In the morning? In the middle of the day? In the evening? Are the children tired? When was the last time that they woke up? Did they rest well or not? When was their last meal? Could they be hungry? Do you have picky eaters that don't eat much and are they often involved in the arguing? Which area of the daycare has the most arguments? What is it about that particular "center" that seems to create conflict? Are they bored? Are there enough toys in that center for the amount of children that play there? Are there favorite toys that the children seem to fight over? Are there too many choices? Are the areas kept clean and free of clutter? Do the children create a big mess and then possibly feel overwhelmed with the clutter? Do they just have too much energy? Can you take a break in what you are doing and do either outside or inside active play? There are so many things that you could be happening.

At the same time I would be observing each child to identify their individual temperament. I'd make a list of all of the children and see whether they were slow to warm, high energy etc. There's a great tool online that I like to use called the Infant Toddler Temperament Tool (IT3). It's a set of questions that you answer about infants (0-18 months) and toddlers (18-36 months) personalities and then you also answer the same questions about yourself. It considers Activity level, Distractibility, Intensity, Regularity, Sensitivity, Approachability, Adaptability, Persistence and Mood. It was meant as a parenting tool but I've used it for myself and my daycare children and it has helped out a lot. At the end it helps identify what type of temperament the child has and compares it with yours then gives you ideas on what you can do with that child that works for that temperament. It also compares you to the child to identify the "goodness of fit", as in how well you and that child fit together. If you are quiet and reserved for example, children that are loud and high energy will most likely test your patience.
Infant Toddler Temperament Tool (IT3) Scroll down to the near bottom to where the gray box.

I would also look at the toys and materials themselves. Are there enough toys challenging enough for all of the children? Are there many that are too difficult? etc. Often times children get bored if they aren't stimulated enough and that can be a trigger for arguments. If the toys are too difficult for a child's skill level but the child still wants to play with it then they can become agitated and frustrated which can also cause the child to lash out on the other children.

At ages 3 & 4 they are just starting to learn how to regulate their impulses. Arguments are normal, they'll just need a lot of help with appropriate ways to deal with their emotions. When my crowd gets feisty I'll do quiet activities (memory, dominoes, yoga etc) to focus and calm them or do active play with high levels of activities (relay races, dancing etc). A weird thing that works for us is that I encourage the children to talk to themselves while they play. Talking out what they are doing helps them organize their thoughts better. It was a trick I was taught with my ADHD DD and it rubbed off on the other children too. Good luck!

[JoseyJo]

I can't find the post that I originally came across on here but the website I went to about LOTW was

http://www.pre-kpages.com/lotw/

From there I started looking at other posts she has and ended up finding a reference to playcounts and Denita Dinger:

http://www.playcountsdenitadinger.blogspot.com/

and

http://prekandksharing.blogspot.com/2012/06/just-plop-it.html

She also has a FB page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Play-Counts/141352815884541

I definitely don't do our program as child-led as she does. Right now I could call it more Reggio: "Instead of using a curriculum that outlines a predetermined set of academic goals, the Reggio curriculum evolves directly from children's interests. Teachers facilitate children's projects and assist in their learning efforts. However, the curriculum at its core is child-driven. " (that pretty well defines what we are doing!)

For example- at CT our first song is A ah alligator, today the children started to clap along to it and were really getting into making the rhythm. So after the song I started singing Down by the Bay and clapping to that rhythm. They giggled and clapped along and when I got to the first rhyme I said goose kissing a moose. DCB5 asked why a goose would kiss a moose? I say because it's silly and it rhymes. Then EVERYONE wanted to make up a silly rhyme. We made them up and sang them in the song for at least 15 min then when I saw they had explored it as much as they wanted we went on to the next part of our CT routine. Because we learned about rhythm and rhyme when they were already mentally there they probably learned more about them in that 15 min than they would have in 2 weeks of structured "classes" on the subjects

In order to allow time for all these little bunny trails of learning I switched my schedule to larger more open blocks of time
7-8:30 creative play
8:30-9 breakfast
9-10 CT
10-11 art/learning activities
11-12 outside time
12-1 lunch/getting ready for nap (includes story time, teeth brushing, etc)
1-3:15 nap
3:15-3:45 snack
3:45-5:30 creative play

creative play is all child-led, but not "free time"- we are actively there but not as teachers but as facilitators and consultants.

9-11 we do CT and art/learning but it isn't totally structured. We start with CT and end with art, in the middle we have lots of time for bunny trails

[Heidi]

I can't find the post that I originally came across on here but the website I went to about LOTW was

http://www.pre-kpages.com/lotw/

From there I started looking at other posts she has and ended up finding a reference to playcounts and Denita Dinger:

http://www.playcountsdenitadinger.blogspot.com/

and

http://prekandksharing.blogspot.com/2012/06/just-plop-it.html

She also has a FB page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Play-Counts/141352815884541

I definitely don't do our program as child-led as she does. Right now I could call it more Reggio: "Instead of using a curriculum that outlines a predetermined set of academic goals, the Reggio curriculum evolves directly from children's interests. Teachers facilitate children's projects and assist in their learning efforts. However, the curriculum at its core is child-driven. " (that pretty well defines what we are doing!)

For example- at CT our first song is A ah alligator, today the children started to clap along to it and were really getting into making the rhythm. So after the song I started singing Down by the Bay and clapping to that rhythm. They giggled and clapped along and when I got to the first rhyme I said goose kissing a moose. DCB5 asked why a goose would kiss a moose? I say because it's silly and it rhymes. Then EVERYONE wanted to make up a silly rhyme. We made them up and sang them in the song for at least 15 min then when I saw they had explored it as much as they wanted we went on to the next part of our CT routine. Because we learned about rhythm and rhyme when they were already mentally there they probably learned more about them in that 15 min than they would have in 2 weeks of structured "classes" on the subjects

In order to allow time for all these little bunny trails of learning I switched my schedule to larger more open blocks of time
7-8:30 creative play
8:30-9 breakfast
9-10 CT
10-11 art/learning activities
11-12 outside time
12-1 lunch/getting ready for nap (includes story time, teeth brushing, etc)
1-3:15 nap
3:15-3:45 snack
3:45-5:30 creative play

creative play is all child-led, but not "free time"- we are actively there but not as teachers but as facilitators and consultants.

9-11 we do CT and art/learning but it isn't totally structured. We start with CT and end with art, in the middle we have lots of time for bunny trails

I don't do circle time at all, but we have a family breakfast and lunch that serves as such. My oldest dcb is 2 today, and the others are 11m. 11m, and 4m. The oldest one used to love "art", but has recently lost interest when I offer it (probably because there are no older kids to model it), so I set it up for a while. Will try again in a few weeks.

[WImom]

I think I may try outside time after snack for a week and see what happens. It gets pretty cold here which is why I wait until 10:30 (In summer we go out at 8-9am and then 10:00-11:15, and 3:30-4:30).

I will go check out those links as well. Thanks.