New nanny needs advice on what activities to do :)

[daisy26]

Hi im a new unexperienced nanny i was just wondering what do people do with them in the day, iv'e worked in nurseries so you have a plan. I know u bake, creative, singing, read stories, play with the toys, take them out. What else can you do that's fun and maybe pass the day for a 1 year and a 3 year old. Advice plz

Hi Daisy, are you the nanny with the new job in Northampton?

If so how is it going? I'm so ...I'm doing call centre work at the mo because nanny work up here (Lancashire) has seriously dried up, even with 6 years experience under my belt.

Here is things you could do with the children;
bake
sing
stories
make playdoh
draw
paint
do sticky collages
fill a washing up bowl with water or sand and put on a the floor with lots of towels underneath and put some things in (like cups, bowls, spoons)
visit the library
go to the park
take a picnic somewhere nice and picturesque
go on a bus/train ride
play outside

A one and three year old is hard work.

When I was at home with my two at that age, we always went out in the morning and did something - park etc.. and then we would come home for lunch, one year old would have a sleep and then I would do something with 3 year old ( or sometimes have a sleep) whilst they watched TV - but then you are a nanny so are meant to be beyond that.

yeh it's me from npton sorry u cnt find a nanny job at mo Fairy. Well the 2 year old i meant nearly 3, very clever for her age and tlkative. She goes pre-school 4 mornings till like 1215 and 1yr old goes sleep at 935 till like 11. But the little girls been off this week, just weird im thinking r they avn fun etc, i mean i get loadsa toys for them, 2yr old will watch some tv,but not allowed in the afternoons. They seem happy enough, living room does look bit messy sometimes, so u can see they ave been playing

omg also they have 6 acres of land lol,lots of room to play in, but when one is asleep, obv dnt like going into the garden leavn the house incase a child woke up. Wen i check on the 2yr old her room is up two flights of stairs lol and im carryn a heavy 1yr old hehe that's tiring me out obv good exercise tho

Let them play. Rotate the toys a bit so they all get played with in turn.
I would vote for making sure that you go out somewhere each day - even if its just for a walk around the block.
If they have lots of land then lots of oudoor play as long as they are wrapped up well. bikes trikes etc.
Basically you just have to make your own plan up and then be prepared to vary it if they don't seem intersted in your activities or if you decide to take advantage of something that happens along.
That is the advantage of being at home - much more spontineity (spelling?)

yeh i know what u mean,obv what u do at nurseries, but they ave little toys dwnstairs, but tend to play in the bedroom where all toys r really, ill do like messy play n that also, bit of a shame this week as the little girl isn't really well to go out and this has been my first week lol. But obv one days it's freezing another day it's ok to go out etc

Swimming
Toddler group and Music Group
Playgrounds, feeding the ducks at the pond
Walks around neighbourhood
Train rides
Visiting the local craft backer (sometimes get to watch them making things)
Picnic
Playing in the garden
Painting (if you can face the mess)
Playdough - including making it
Sticking coloured shapes onto paper/card
Bricks
Wooden train
Dolls house
Dancing around to The Nutcracker

thanks for all the ideas anymore some different ones, where do u go to watch that bakery thing then, obv i dnt wanna do things everyweek where it's gonna cost, as obv parents want the money to last lol

check out netmums.co.uk and put in the area where you are and it will give you loads of things to do in your area.

daisy26, do the children sleep after lunch?

only 2yr old y?

well basically if 1 yr old is tired still l8r he will go down, the 2year old has to ave a sleep sometime in the afternoon, what her mum n dad want

Just wondering, so really you only have a couple of hours in the afternoon to fill.

I wouldn't worry about being out in the garden when one's sleeping, do you have a mobile monitor?

I have a 18 month old and 4(just) year old.

Each term time week typicaly goes like this:

Tues am, eldest charges music group
Tues pm, meet local nanny friend and her twin charges age 3

Wed am, occasionlay go to toddler group, but most wednesdays are 'reserved' for meeting another couple of nanny friends.... either 1 nanny or up to 3 of us!
(today for example 2 nannies (was going to be 3 but 1s charge was poorly) came round to ours! they had a play in the playroom, we went to the park, then all came back for sandwhich lunch (1 of us did fruit, 1 sandwiches and 1 yogurts ) then the babies slept, the eldest had a lovely play and this afternoon after a play in the garden and a bounce on the trampoline we all went to our local national trust property where they have a mini train and we all had a train ride (this cost £2 per family) Today was a 'cheap' week. Last week we all went for a BIG day out so we were saving the pennies on behalf of our bosses this week!

Thurs am: 4 year old at school. me and baby go to baby music

Thurs pm: ANYTHING. No plans. we may go for a walk, down to the beach, feed the ducks, to the woods STAY IN AND PLAY, bake cakes, do a 'big' arty crafty activity etc
(tomorrow we are making easter bonnets for the easter bonnet parade at school on friday)

Fri am: 4 year old at school. Baby and I have morning at home, i do a load of washing and change the beds etc, and have some one to one time AT HOME with baby! sometimes we visit the park on our walk home from school run etc

Fri pm: tumble tots (for 4 year old) baby watches reading books and eating raisens etc then we normally walk up to local library to do a book swap.

As for activites we do ANYTHING!
Im lucky i have lots of REALLY good nanny friends, all of us live within 15 mins of each other and all have similar age children who all get on really well! Meeting up regularly, REALLY makes my job SOOOO much happier, and we do loads of exciting things, and not all are expensive! Our babies are also all good at sleeping in travel cots at each otehrs hosues which help

we utilise each others 'activities' ("we" have the big playroom, perfect for rainy days), others have swimming pool (great in summer), others have tramploine, and others massive garden in middle of country etc!

I strongly suggest trying to meet a few nanny friends to share some fun with, makes life so much happier for the children, and some how itmakes tantrumy toddlers a bit easier to deal with! (me and my nanny friend were having this exact conversation today! )

Also my baby has a sleep for about 2 hours in the afternoon. I use this time to have some nice 1 to 1 time with the eldest! we often bake, practise writing, read stories together etc Things that are easier to do without a toddler around!

thing is they ave a very very big garden lol, dnt really wanna leave him in the house, as ure not rite next to the house

Do you have a monitor you can carry with you?

Otherwise you may find yourself stuck indoors for the majority of the day due to different nap times which isn't much fun in the summer!

i ave a friend who has got a 3yr old and she lives 5 mins away from where i am, as this house on a country road and u have to have a car for anywhere, family did say my friend cud come up, also another friend, whoes got 2 kids and they play with the 2yr old i ave at pre-school n she opens the mums n tots. Sometimes ill take the 1 yr out wen i haven't got the other one and vice versa, or take them both out etc

Not a nanny, but I agree about using a monitor so you're not house-bound. I used to do this with ds so I could do some gardening whilst he was asleep. With our ds, we like our au pair (who looks after him on Mondays) to take him to a toddler group in the morning and then to the park if the weather is nice in the afternoon. I think getting out into fresh air is very important, but it doesn't sound like you'll have too many problems there!!

yeh that's what i'll do ill take them out properly. Ill ask the parents and see if i can take the little girl out to their garden whilst other one is asleep, id like to check first. Not if there garden is on their front door step. It's like down a hill and over a stream, if it was like garden just outside, then i wouldnt worry so much

Daisy26, so what do they have outside the door?

lol well they ave a little patio lol so they could play out there, if one is asleep, but there isn't anything for them to do, besides kick a ball. If it's dry and not too cold then obv could do other activities. They live very on a country road, so i have to be wary of that aswell

are they any other ideas bt activities, different ones to what people have already suggested

Daisy there are lots of things a child can do on a patio...Sand/water play, for example.

thankyou thistle, that's true

How are you finding Nannying Daisy?