Naptime Ritual? -- Help!

[momneedscoffee]

Hey everyone! So I am new to daycare - have been doing it for about 1 month now. I have my own 2 kids - 3 year old boy and 4 month old girl + 2 daycare kids - 3 year old boy and 1 year old girl.
My question is: what are everyone's nap time/quiet time routines? I feel like this is a struggle for me almost every day and I crave some alone time or I lose my $*** haha! I am having a hard time getting the kids to all sleep and would very much appreciate some professional guidance I try to keep them active and tire them out as much as possible but I am still getting resistance.
So I have been resorting to letting the 3 year old boys watch tv which I would really rather not do. The 1 year old is hit and miss with the afternoon nap. Also, where do you have your kids sleep? Right now I have my son upstairs in one of our bedrooms, dcb downstairs in the living room, dcg in a spare room in a pack n play & my baby just hangs out with me.
Thanks for the help! [Sorry for the lengthy post ]

[Thriftylady]

I make sure I have a place to sleep for every child. For me that means pack and plays are in the same room together and the cots are in the same room together. For me, that just makes easier supervision. We have lunch and have some time clean up, diaper changes, etc. Then a story and off to bed. Right now my only DCG is one and doesn't want to nap. But she still gets put in her PNP and eventually goes to sleep. Stay consistent. I personally won't use TV for that, because I am striving to be a pretty close to screen free environment. You are still so new at it you have to find what works for you. When I first did daycare it took me two years to figure it all out!

ETA: I didn't have internet then sites like this make things so much better. We don't all agree on everything or all do things the same but it is nice to have a sounding board.

[Controlled Chaos]

Lunch
Potty
Books
Night Night Song
Lights Out

Nap is 2 hours, all in 1 room, I sit with them for 15-20 min while they settle.
It works because there is no other option, its just what happens

[AuntTami]

Lunch
Potty
Books
Night Night Song
Lights Out

Nap is 2 hours, all in 1 room, I sit with them for 15-20 min while they settle.
It works because there is no other option, its just what happens

Yes same here. They don't get any other choice. It's nap time and it's time to sleep. The baby obviously is different, but the other 3 should be able to nap at the same time for afternoon nap. I have my 6 month old DCB on the same schedule as the rest of the kids so on the days he comes, he naps from 11-2ish while my older ones nap 12-2

[mommiebookworm]

Same as the others. Lunch, potty, books, and lights out. I run a small fan for white noise. And, I think they feel comforted sleeping all in the same room.

[Unregistered]

Lunch @ noon
Sleeping bags out
Book on cd or goodnight cd
Shades pulled
Lights out-12:30
Everyone in same room ( no one under 1 yr)

[momneedscoffee]

Okay, thanks! So... next question! How do you get them to all be quiet & keep to themselves when they are in the same room?! I give the 3 year old boys one chance to nap together in the living room, but it never fails, they get up off their mats and start messing around as soon as I leave the room. I sit with them for awhile, but don't feel that I should have to sit there for 30-40 minutes until they fall asleep. So when they start messing around, I will send my son upstairs to his room. Once he is out of the picture, the dcb usually falls asleep pretty quickly.

[spedmommy4]

Room arrangement. I know which kids are buddies and put them on opposite sides of the room. All cots are at least 2 feet apart so there is no way they can touch each other. I supervise until the kis settle down And nap time chatters get my stern teacher look and a warning. If the stern teacher look fails, I have a second nap room for kids who keep their friends awake.

[momneedscoffee]

Thanks for the input everyone!

[Controlled Chaos]

Okay, thanks! So... next question! How do you get them to all be quiet & keep to themselves when they are in the same room?! I give the 3 year old boys one chance to nap together in the living room, but it never fails, they get up off their mats and start messing around as soon as I leave the room. I sit with them for awhile, but don't feel that I should have to sit there for 30-40 minutes until they fall asleep. So when they start messing around, I will send my son upstairs to his room. Once he is out of the picture, the dcb usually falls asleep pretty quickly.

Don't leave the room. Once they are trained you will be able to leave, but for while, I would sit on a chair between them or use furniture to block their view of each other.