Many people are under the impression that child minders just stick the children in their care in front of the television and then get on with whatever they like, whether it’s housework or chatting on the phone to friends.

Hopefully my telling of a typical day when I was working as a registered child minder, will helpm to set the record straight.

Take a Monday, for example; before my first child arrived at 8 a.m. I would take my dog for a walk and get my own children up and ready for school.

We would then take my youngest to school in the car, as he attended a village school in the countryside we often saw tractors and other farm machinery on the journey that we would talk about.

The little boy who I was minding also liked to see the cows and sheep in the fields from his car seat in the back of my car.

Back at my house my second child arrived at 8.45.

We then went off to the child minder’s drop-in that I ran from the children’s centre: If the weather was wet we went in my car and when it was fine we walked, with the youngest child sat in a buggy and the older child walking alongside holding onto the buggy handle.

I let this child push the button at the peliucan crossing while I taught the children how to cross the road safely more on that here

At the drop-in the children would free play with other minded children who had come along with their child minders; they would learn to take turns and how to socialise with other children.

The adults would give each other support and share any vacancies while watching the children play.

Half way through the session we would pack away the toys and have refreshments, the children had fresh fruit, a biscuit and milk to drink, while I made hot drinks for the adults.

After eating the children would paint, play with the dough or use the sand pit.

After the drop-in was finished we got back into the car and drove to collect my third child from the nursery he attended.

Then it was back to my house for lunch.

The children brought a pack lunch from home with them, which I found worked best for my setting.

Should child minders provide food here

The afternoon was be spent depending on the weather, if it was sunny we would visit the local park, or play in my garden where the children would develop gross motor skills here

If the weather was not suitable for being outside we would stay in doing arts and crafts, or jigsaw puzzles and maybe reading books together.

I always had ideas up my sleeve for keeping children entertained indoors.

I have written an e book on this available to download from Amazon only 99p

here

Any children who needed a nap would do so upstairs in my bedroom using a travel cot, while I supplied a quiet activity, such as play dough or gloop for the other children.

Obviously I would also be changing nappies, wiping noses and helping children in the bathroom throughout the day too.

At three o’clock we would all go to collect my children from school sometimes singing or playing eye-spy as I drove.

The children’s parents collected them between 4 and 5 when I would get my own families meal prepared and walk my dog again.

This is just a typical Monday, I did different things with the children every day, including making sure that I covered all the early learning goals needed to accept the nursery education grant and attending different local toddler groups and family workshops.

Benefits of toddler groups here

The school holidays were different again as I took over the care of a few older children too ( these were children that I had cared for as toddlers).

As always questions and comments are welcome.

Until next time.

Karen

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