Planned Activities

[mamamanda]

How much time do you spend doing planned activities/crafts each day versus encouraging free play? I always end up with kids that prefer adult led activities & here lately my own son is doing the same. I love baking/crafts/games, but I worry that too much of that limits their creativity & independent play skills. Plus I get tired. Just trying to figure out how to balance it.

[Thriftylady]

I would say mine is about half and half. But I have school aged kids and they get wild if free pay goes on to long at a time.

[Controlled Chaos]

I have a guided sensory/science activity and craft at the ready always and typically actually do 2-3 guided art and 2 science/sensory activities a week. So we average 1 guided activity a day (15 min tops) and then 15min ish of circle time and me reading to them a day. My program is mainly play based. I am big up on setting up exciting and interesting play opportunities and then stepping back. By opportunities I mean toys set up in an interesting way, maybe a table set up with creative materials, or magna tiles and little people figures. Maybe the blocks are out in little piles and the bucket of dinosaurs is next to it with a few position among the blocks. Other than that - they're on their own

[childcaremom]

I have a guided sensory/science activity and craft at the ready always and typically actually do 2-3 guided art and 2 science/sensory activities a week. So we average 1 guided activity a day (15 min tops) and then 15min ish of circle time and me reading to them a day. My program is mainly play based. I am big up on setting up exciting and interesting play opportunities and then stepping back. By opportunities I mean toys set up in an interesting way, maybe a table set up with creative materials, or magna tiles and little people figures. Maybe the blocks are out in little piles and the bucket of dinosaurs is next to it with a few position among the blocks. Other than that - they're on their own

Exactly how I am, too.

[midaycare]

I do preschool for 3 hours in the morning and divide my time about equally.

[kendallina]

I run a preschool and I do about 15 minutes (morning meeting), then 20 minutes (small group), then circle/storytime (20 minutes). So...a total of 55 minutes for the day. Some days is slightly more or less. The rest of our day is free play and outside time and meals, snacks and nap.

I feel that for 3-5 year olds doing around an hour a day or less of ''structured" activities (most of that is actually singing, dancing and open ended art) is more than enough. Free play is where it's at.

[mamamanda]

I run a preschool and I do about 15 minutes (morning meeting), then 20 minutes (small group), then circle/storytime (20 minutes). So...a total of 55 minutes for the day. Some days is slightly more or less. The rest of our day is free play and outside time and meals, snacks and nap.

I feel that for 3-5 year olds doing around an hour a day or less of ''structured" activities (most of that is actually singing, dancing and open ended art) is more than enough. Free play is where it's at.

That's how I feel, but I worry that I'm not being involved enough/giving enough attention/etc. Probably more so b/c I work from home for the purpose of being with my children. I fear I've become so involved though that they can't play/function without me. Man, finding the balance for everything is hard. Childcare is hard, and parenting full time even harder.

[auntymimi]

I have a guided sensory/science activity and craft at the ready always and typically actually do 2-3 guided art and 2 science/sensory activities a week. So we average 1 guided activity a day (15 min tops) and then 15min ish of circle time and me reading to them a day. My program is mainly play based. I am big up on setting up exciting and interesting play opportunities and then stepping back. By opportunities I mean toys set up in an interesting way, maybe a table set up with creative materials, or magna tiles and little people figures. Maybe the blocks are out in little piles and the bucket of dinosaurs is next to it with a few position among the blocks. Other than that - they're on their own

I do this as well. We have an activity of the day (today was decorating Christmas cookies but it could be a sensory bin, science project, manipulatives/ playdoh, music and movement, kid yoga, ect) art of the day, usually process though we've done a few more crafts for Christmas, and we read stories before nap and pick up. Oh, and daily outdoors time. Wow, I think I'm a little more structured than I thought. We do a lot of free play too. Like Thrifty I have a couple of school avers too, and they seem to need having "something to do" otherwise it turns to fighting/rough housing /chaos pretty quickly.

[Unregistered]

5-10 minute circle time with songs, stories, flannel board stories/activities, etc. each day.

planned creative art that is usually as long as they are interested two/three times per week.

If we can't get outside a second group time around 10:30 that focuses on large motor music fun...rhythm ribbons, follow the action songs on c.d., bubbles, dancing, etc.

I have lots of interest areas and lots of free choice.