CM CLUB How do days end in your house?

[OFSTEDoutstanding]

Mine usually end with me running around like a headless chicken trying to ensure that all babies and toddlers have been fed, older ones have been dropped at activities and the oldest mindee is doing something he is enjoying. Never have everyone ready and waiting at collection time, was just wondering do anyone of you have children waiting for parents and ready for the exact time they say they are coming. The older ones are ready and just have to do coat and shoes but the younger ones are sometimes finishing off their meal, parents don't mind but was wondering if you think this is ok?

Never ready, they are always here another 30 minutes. Sometimes very difficult to get them out the door.

I have it easy, as I serve breakfast and lunch and after school snack but I dont do evening meal, so my children are usually ready (but not always)

I was, initially, going to say that the days end in my house in absolute bedlam - parents in and out, children trying to get out, toys strewn everywhere, cushions dotted around on the floor ... but that's not what you meant!

I certainly don't have children actually ready - they don't have shoes and coats on, for instance. My mindees don't have an evening meal here, so it's just making sure that their bags are packed (their cups, diaries, etc) and ready, including lunch boxes, which I will have washed.

There's always a hunt for odd shoes or any toys they may have brought!

when homework is done i run round putting jumpers in bookbags with shoes next to bag and make sure coats are hung up
children are sort of ready but playing so it depends on the child if they need to finish what they are doing or if they can just leave

oh and then its beer time

I was going to say "in chaos"!!

My parents don't usually pick up when they're supposed to anyway! Mindee1's mum is often met at the front door with mindee ready to leave but that's because she's often late! Mindee2 goes home anywhere between 5 and 6 and she will usually phone and collect at a time to suit me.

I don't usually have more than 2 mindees at a time so it's a lot less manic than it would be if I had 6 of the little darlings!!

All my parents don't seem bothered if their child isn't ready to leave straight away and often stay for a bit of a chat while we get them ready to go.

Sorry, haven't been much help have I!!

Thats great everyone thankds for all your comments I was starting to worry that I was the only one that never had everyone ready to leave as soon as parents arrived.
Don't know what sort of set up it would be at a nursery offering full day care with lots of pick ups at different times the only one I have evr had any dealings with was one in my vbillage that put children in their jackets 5 mins before collection and expected you to take them away as soon as you arrived

Some parents come regularly at the same time - in which case their child is wearing shoes and has everything by the door ready to go. Unless i couldn't find it all because they've hidden their socks in the pirate ship and their best teddy in the dolls house etc.

Others come at different times. Usually when i'm dishing up tea, nipped to the loo or changing a nappy. Whichever time of day I end up doing any of these things.

So, when parents arrive, i usually have between 50-95% of their stuff ready and I am frantically wondering what i've forgotten to pack.

Then commonly by 6:30-7pm i've fallen asleep on sofa. Except yesterday when dd dragged me out for a practice run (we're doing Race For Life in July for cancer research).

when I start back after mat leave this is something I want to get right as it can extend my working day and cause disruption to my family. it's a hard one though because the parents come back from work and see a nice comfy sofa and it's probably hard to get back up again too quickly as they have to go off to start the next part of their day-the bath/bed rush. but if they don't go home promptly then it leaves our bath/bed time in chaos!

my plan is to get tea over and done with maybe a bit earlier and have something very calm going on at pick up time.
organisation is always the answer to my problems!

I often bath my ds and have him ready for bed before mindees go home. He's big enough to bath himself and by that time of day mindees and ds need to be seperated!