I knew that my days would be different with the new group of daycare kiddos, but boy, I was so not prepared for this!

I thought the challenge was going to be having 2 infants at the same time- hungry at the same time, crying at the same time, not napping at the same time, whatever…..  that’s all going smoothly THANK GOODNESS!!  Obviously there are times like that, but it’s not all day long.

Instead, the challenge is a group of uber-active three year old boys!

I used to have super calm mornings- my crowd of 3-4 kids would arrive in a partial zombie-like state and rest on the couch in the front room watching cartoons for their first hour (or usually less), then they’d make their way to the playroom and start their morning playing quietly, and slowly the energy would build up and usually our afternoons are crazy loud.

This new crowd darts through the door and heads straight for the playroom constantly running at a 100% energy level!  No quiet half-zombie state, no gradual increase in activity- they are go go go!

I like to have the kids free play a lot of the time because that is what teaches them how to share, get along, treat each other with respect, take turns, and most importantly- it fosters imagination and creativity.  I’m learning that I need to provide a lot more direction with this group and free play ain’t so free now.  My days are now pre-planned with a variety of activities lined up to keep control of the crowd.

Right now they love puzzles, tracing their names, coloring, doing worksheets, playdough, finding dinosaurs in our sensory bucket….and running laps outside.  Yep!  As soon as I identify the energy buildup getting ready to explode- I send them outside to race eachother around the grass- pushing plastic lawnmowers!  Ha!

They are always asking me, “what are we doing next?” instead of just heading for the bucket of blocks or playing with the toys cars. They are looking for direction, looking for structure. It sure makes the time go fast, that’s for sure!

It’s very fun- and crazy, too!

That’s one thing I love about my job.  It’s never boring and it is constantly changing.