CM Club : Art activites, how to stop it turning into a stressful experience

[saltire]

I currently mind 3 under 5s, the 7 year old sister of one of the under 5s and of course my 2 ds.
I also live in an MQ, which has small kitchen so everything - eating, craft etc all done at table in living room.
So i tend to do a craft activity in the morning with the three little ones, then let the older one do the same activity when they get home from school. However, it's not working out. Mindee 1, who has just turned 2, wants to sit at the table - every time he sees someone sitting at the table, even if they are eating, he assumes they are doing a craft activity and screams to get up.
Mindee 3 wants to sit at the table as well, because her big sister is. They both also want to do what the older ones are doing, despite having already done it in the morning. Then of course mindee 2 sees the other two younger ones at the table and wants up as well.
So I end up having to pull the table out to fit 6 around it, which then limits floor space. I have tried giving mindee 1 and 3 pencils and paper or printed pictures to colour while the older ones are doing their activity. This is ok with mindee 3, but mindee 1 just won't have it, he pulls at the others pictures, cries and carries on to do what they are doing. It's actually getting very stressful, he will not come and sit with me and do another activity on the floor, like a jigsaw or trains etc. Mindee 2, who is almost 3 can often be persuaded to get down and do something else with me, but the other 2 just won't budge.
So, how do those of you with mixed age groups deal with this

If the younger ones want to join in with the older ones then why not change your daily rountine a little and let them all do the activity together at the same time?
I sometimes have six round my table too and tend to set it up before I go to pick up from school so they can all do it when we get in, older ones tend to finish last as have longer concentration spans . When the younger ones are losing interest thats when I get out something appealing for them without pleading with them to play with it - if my 2yr old thought I wanted him to play with something he wouldn't be interested (wooden trains set seems to work), then let them come to that and leave the older ones to carry on in peace.
It doesn't matter what the activity is, I tend to find kids will adapt an activity to there own wants and needs anyway but usually set the older ones something or give them an idea and let the younger ones just enjoy whatever materials are out.
hth

I have mixed age groups before/after-school (and school holidays). Ages currently range from 6months - 9 years. I think that I must just scare the children because the little ones seem to accept that they don't necessarily do the same things as the older ones.

If it really looks like there might be a problem (if I have a very big houseful), then I probably wouldn't offer the messy activity for the afterschoolers. We had that situation today, so just made a huge camp, using the whole dining room, and all the children played together.

The younger ones can also get easily bribed by the offer of something to play with on the floor that they wouldn't normally play with, preferably something with small pieces (obviously needs supervision!)

If they do all do something at the same time, I've sometimes put younger ones in high chairs if there isn't space at the table for everyone.

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