CM club: Can anyone run through an average day?

[mumbomama]

I have only been cminding 6 mths and I really feel I'm not doing enough.

I have a 11 mth old and my dd who is 2 during the day. Apart from outings most mornings to soft play centre, toddlers + music all we do is play toys. I don't do specific activities with them.

Also I have a 4 year old in the afternoon who only wants to watch tv. I collect him at 12 then we have lunch, he plays toys until 1:30ish then I allow him the tv until we pick up the others up at 3pm.

Then after school the older ones tend to disappear upstairs with my 2 boys to play. Sometimes I do set out painting or junk modelling for them to do but I have to leave them to it as the little ones need supervising in the lounge and my table is in the kitchen. I don't feel I actually do anything useful except keeping an eye on them.

I have visions of other cminders doing endless activities and educational games while I'm drinking coffee while the kids entertain themselves.

Can anyone tell me honestly what you do while cminding ( even if you change your name )

Am I just stressing for no reason or should I make more of an effort?

i tend to go out one a day with the under 5's this can be to toddler group (2 days), park, library etc
i do 2 art activitys per week but this includes baking (as it is an art)
the rest of the time we play

parents dont get alot of time to just sit and play with the children so i think the children value this

i am lucky as my under 5's do 9 till 3 so after school i only have older children

i play on the pc with them, do their homework with them, stand on the front to let them play with other children who live near, at mo its christmas so i am doing 1 art activity a week

I have an 11mth old, 14mth old, 3.5 yr old and 7 yr old.

typical day here includes
Breakfast
school run
toddler group
lunch then naps
play with toys
tv
school run
come back have snack
Freeplay - they can do craft activity or watch tv or have play dough (i don't push them to do activities, they know i have the stuff available and if they feel like doing something they know they can ask and i will get it out for them to play with as long as they help clear up afterwards)
dinner

i usually save days out or baking for holidays.
sometimes i will take them to the park or soft play after school or maybe walk into town.
sometimes we have play dates.

tbh if they want to chill out depending on what else we have done in the day i usually let them as long i think they have been active enough.

i open for 11 hours a day and i think when we have quiet times i deserve to enjoy it to be quite honest. we work very hard for little pay. i know this job is very rewarding but it is also hard work. you say you feel like all you're doing is watching them - isn't that what a large part of our job is? to make sure they are safe, fed, in an hygienic enviroment with nice things/ lots of activities surrounding them?

i spend a good chunk of my day cleaning up, getting them all in and out of the car, preparing food, getting activities out and putting them back again, playing, talking, cuddling, reading, thinking of things we can do etc

I think I would do what you do in school hours - I take my hat off to you for managing!.

I have just started having one planned activity each day after school and then everything else is child led including in school time. The reason I started doing this is most of my mindees are age 5-13 so I find once I have actually set them up doing something I reap the benefits as they are engrossed!I try and do one art, one food, one craft, etc mon-fri.

Day starts at 7.30, and go from there

First mindee arrives 7.30
Give everyone breackfast at 7.45
Next mindee at 8.15
school run at 8.30
Depending on morning - Mon/Tue/Thur toddler group
Wed - soft play
Fri - creative activity
Snack 10.30
school run 11.30
lunch 12
naps 12.30/1
story/quiet time after lunch
creative play 2 ish
snack and after school mindees come in 3.30
tea 5ish
home time for latest one 6

Pretty much the same every day, just mornings that change! Sometimes get an extra one in the morning as well.

I usually have three under 5s each day, plus older children before/after school.

We go out each morning (toddler group, soft play, music group). We try to do at least one "arty" activity each day - and babies join in too and sit in high chairs playing with brushes, sponges, or anything else that the older children are using (just no actual glue or paint!) I don't beat myself up about it if we don't do something which produces a piece of artwork to go home.

Every day, we have a sing-song, and look at books or have stories. The children have access to lots of different toys at all times. And we usually have the odd few mad moments which seem to involve lots of tickling or ragging about!

I certainly don't stick to any rigid schedule (apart from school runs).

On paper (and mostly for Ofsted's benefit), I do lots of planning. In the real world, we just have lots of fun. None of it is set in stone, I can have bad days (just like any other working person) but, at the end of the day, as long as the children go home happy and want to come back the next day, then that's that.

I wouldn't worry about not sending 'works of art' home. IMHO these are 'parent appeasers' anyway. The fun is in the doing as far as little ones are concerned, not what they've produced. My days sound similar to most others here, a lot of us are governed by the school run times.
As The Prisoner says, if they go home happy and want to come back the next day, then the parents are happy and I'm happy!