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Nurseries

Find nursery advice from other Mumsnetters on our Nursery forum. For more guidance on early years development, sign up for Mumsnet Ages & Stages emails.

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Original poster

Nursery for 1 year olds

25 replies

Roci · 08/02/2013 21:43

Am I expecting too much from my 1 year olds nursery?
He has been four times and 2 - 2.5 hours each time. I have never seen the children doing an activity, they are just sat on the floor with toys
What does your 1 year old do in nursery?
Thank you!!

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Original poster

Roci · 08/02/2013 21:52

P.S i was told that beween 9.30-11.30 they would be doing an activity so I usually take him in during that time. Today i asked the teacher what the activity was and she said "playing with recycling (rubbish ie yoghurt pots etc)
(they were sat on the floor with the yoghurt pots mixed in with other toys)

Looking forward to some advise

Thank you

OP posts:

ReallyTired · 08/02/2013 21:58

Welcome to the early years foundation stage.

The children are one years old. They are a too young for "activites". Playing about with yoghurt pots is what babies like to do.

What kind of "activites" do you do with your baby at home?

Children aren't really into activites until they are two years old.

When dd was at nursery, her key worker used to sing to her or played peek a boo while the other babies napped which she loved. Luckily for dd her key worker could sing fairly well.

fishybits · 08/02/2013 21:58

Play, read, sing, "dance", make cards, fat balls for birds, paint, taste different foods, experience different sensory things, play outside and loads of other things that if I could arsed to look in her school diary I'd tell you about.

Just sitting and playing is a very small part of her day at nursery.

ReallyTired · 08/02/2013 22:25

"Just sitting and playing is a very small part of her day at nursery. "

Playing is vitally important in the early years. Even reception classes spend most of their time playing. The art of good nursery is to give appriopate play opportunities. Frankly I think that playing with yoghurt pots is more appriopiate than making cards. Do you really want the art work of the nursery nurse?

I would be surprise if many one year olds are just sitting. Most one year olds are throughly mobile. However play is a child's work. My three year old daughter spends most of her day playing.

notcitrus · 08/02/2013 22:27

As one activity, that sounds fine. If all their activities in the day, most days were 'stuff to play with', not so good.
FOr comparison, dd is just 1, started at nursery, and there's about 4 activities a day around meals, and they are things like 'play with noisy toys', 'garden play', songs and rhymes, play-doh, water play, treasure basket, messy play, painting, books, toys, real objects play, etc.

After 5pm it's just playing a bit with toys and getting cuddled and winding down before going home, ditto before breakfast, so if I hadn't had a year taking ds in later in the day so could see what the babies are doing, I might worry.

VinegarDrinker · 08/02/2013 22:29

I would actively choose somewhere with free play and not too much structure. Even at almost 2 my DS enjoys painting/sticking/dancing etc for short bursts only. Play is what it should all be about imho.

gallicgirl · 08/02/2013 22:30

Playing with toys, story time, bit of art, play with different textures like shaving foam, rice crispies, play in garden, singing and actions, weird yoga type thing for babies but mostly lots if playing.

VinegarDrinker · 08/02/2013 22:31

And yes as ReallyTired says, 99% of 'your child's' art work at that age will be done/edited heavily by staff!

SamSmalaidh · 08/02/2013 22:33

When DS was under 2, they didn't really do "activities" at nursery but they did have things to do - sand and water trays, gloop, sensory play (eg. cold spaghetti), objects to play with (like raw veg, or a big box). Now he is 2 his group often have more structured activities available like baking, playdoh, painting, junk modelling - though they can choose whether or not to join in - and whole group singing/story time.

SamSmalaidh · 08/02/2013 22:35

I would have been deeply suspicious if DS came home with cards or artwork at 1!

FunnysInLaJardin · 08/02/2013 22:38

DS1 came home with 'artwork' from about 4 months from his CM. I was very I suspect she did it herself

VinegarDrinker · 08/02/2013 22:43

If I give DS paints (which he LOVES) he layers up all the colours on top of each other, mixes them to a lovely brown slop and smears his hands in it for ages til the paper falls apart He has a grand old time but it doesn't make a "pretty" end product.

Original poster

Roci · 08/02/2013 23:23

Thank you so much for your messages!!!! I am very grateful and appreciative!!!!
I am happy that he is playing just not so happy that I have not heard any singing or clapping or any other play type activities apart from the children just being on the floor with toys. There does not seem to be any variation or teacher interaction. I would love it if the teacher sung some songs or read a story (just simple things)
Yes some of them were crawling around a bit or standing/walking a little etc.
I would be very happy if he does some of the "activities/play" that your children do. I will give it another 2 weeks and if there is still no other "play activity" other than toys on the floor with no teacher interaction I will move him.
Thank you again for your time!!!!

OP posts:

SamSmalaidh · 08/02/2013 23:27

If the staff aren't interacting with the children at all, cut your losses and pull him out now - it's never going to be a good nursery. Adult attention and interaction is the most important thing for under 3s.

Did you ask much about the level of qualification or experience of staff in the room, or the staff turnover?

Original poster

Roci · 08/02/2013 23:34

Thank you for your help. Yes and yes, Interaction is good in terms of the teacher/s are very nice and she has been holding my son etc but stimulating interaction or any sort of educational interaction seems poor. I was expecting singing, clapping and simple stories and was not sure if i was expecting too much. I can put different toys for him on the floor at home but i wanted him to get used to being with other children and to do basic play type activities.

OP posts:

Original poster

Roci · 08/02/2013 23:34

Thank you for your help. Love your nickname.....i am really tired too! ha ha!

OP posts:

PoppyWearer · 08/02/2013 23:35

With both nurseries I've used and even a crèche I've used they had a sheet on the wall with planned activities. Which at 1yo is something like "9-10am Play with Yoghurt Pots, 10-11am Play with Mega Bloks", 11-12 Musical instruments" (I've made this up). mThen the room is full of labelled boxes of different toys and types of toys. Something different each day, and rotates so that kids coming in every Tuesday do different stuff.

Have you seem something like that, OP?

As I said, have used a crèche before and even they do this, rotate the toys around.

at 1yo artwork. My two DCs were more interested in eating the paint...

SamSmalaidh · 08/02/2013 23:39

Are you sending him to nursery because you are working?

To be honest, good nursery care for under 2s should be as home like as possible - toys, cuddles, free play, playing in the garden. There isn't much need for educational activities and children under 2 or 3 don't get anything from other children really.

fishybits · 09/02/2013 05:10

Oh FFS, OPs wording gave the impression that her child was just sat on the floor with yoghurt pots all day and not doing anything else. The only cards DD has come home with are a Christmas card and a Birthday card which clearly was made by the staff, it was just an example of something she's done.

The point I was trying to make clearly badly is that DD is busy at nursery doing all sorts of things. Her time there is spent learning through play, touch, sound, action and taste amongst other things. She also gets lots of cuddles which is something which was important for us when choosing. Her nursery is the Scottish equivalent of OFSTED outstanding and I have yet to hear or see a bad word said or written about it which in this day and age of quick to judge and crayon all over of the Internet or bad mouth in a community is unusual. No doubt someone will be along shortly to tell me that DD's nursery is getting it all wrong

OP with the additional information you gave, the nursery sounds fine.

fishybits · 09/02/2013 05:19

Apologies for badly written post, am on phone I need to go back to school and start again

Original poster

Roci · 09/02/2013 08:02

I do feel he is just sat on the floor with the same toys the only day it changed was when i saw yoghurt pots. However the lady is nice as i have seen her holding him a few times. I am happy with some amount of free play i just expected a few songs and stories etc which so far i have not seen.
Yes I work from home not a lot of hours which is why he does not need to go full time to nursery, I just cannot work properly with him in the house. I thought he would enjoy playing with different toys and maybe singing a little and hearing a story but so far i have only seen, free play with more or less the same toys each time

OP posts:

WorriedMary · 09/02/2013 08:23

Do you stay for the whole day or just a few minutes? Just wondering if they do other things when you are gone.

My DS 's (who were 3 & 2.2 when they started) went to a lovely pre school where they activities were totally child led. I didn't get Mother's Day cards, valentines crafts or even paintings! I don't think they did the craft stuff and my children didn't like to paint or draw at pre-school. They liked to at home though! There was obviously more exciting stuff to do.

The pre-school is run by a very passionate early years professional who obviously holds no truck with creating stuff just for the benefit of parents! Which usually ends up being done by the adults!

But I agree singing is a must!

Original poster

Roci · 09/02/2013 18:39

i stay for 10 mins at the beginning and 10 at the end covertly then 5 mins more when the teacher can see me
thank you for your messages everything is very helpful

OP posts:

SimLondon · 19/02/2013 21:01

At DD's nursery they used to seperate them into smaller babies to walkers and walkers to age two. Smaller babies and bigger babies :-) the bigger babies did more activities I think than the smaller ones who were learning to crawl and walk.

TinyTear · 22/02/2013 12:55

My daughter (13 months) goes on the sandpit, plays with toys and the 'home corner' they have a treasure basket, a paddling pool full of shredden paper, a ball pit, or just sit and play with toys or listen to stories.... also practising walking...

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