Your daily schedule is a vital part of your curriculum. In fact, having a daily schedule is a indication that you have a plan for each day that the children are in your program.
In addition to having fun and enriching lesson plans in your childcare program, it is vital that you (the family home provider) or your childcare center staff think about creating a daily schedule with the following in mind:
- The hours that the children are in your program
- Planning for large blocks of time for play
- A Balanced day
- Time to meet individual needs
- Planning for transitions
- Consistency in events
In my childcare center, every classroom has a bulletin board that displays a daily schedule. The daily schedule in each classroom indicates how the children spend their time in my program.
Here is a sample daily schedule for a preschool classroom.
As a home provider, my daily schedule indicated what a day was like in my program for each age group.
Would you like to see what my schedule looked like when I cared for a mixed age group?
Here is an example of what a day was like in my home daycare:
6-8am- Children arriving, quiet play, preschoolers choosing center and infants resting or toddlers exploring environment.
8-8:15am- Cleaning-up, diapering, toileting, washing hands and older preschoolers helping set the table for breakfast.
8:30-9:00am- Breakfast time, children arriving, children that finish can look at books quietly.
9-9:15am- Clean-up, prepare for group time. Arrival cut-off time
9:15-9:30- Morning group time: Prayer, songs, movement, discuss activities with Toddlers/preschoolers. Infants were in play pens on back or resting quietly.
9:30-10:00- Outdoors, Infants/toddlers and preschoolers outdoors
10:00-10:15- wash hands, diapering, transition inside. Preschoolers choose centers. Assistant helped with diapering infants/toddlers/
10:15-11:15- Free Choice, Small group activities, Preschoolers choosing center. Reading to infants and encouraging large and fine motor skills.
11:15-11:30- Clean-up, wash hands, prepare for lunch. Preschoolers help set-up table for lunch. Assistant help to feed infants that are ready to eat.
11:30-12:00- Lunch time. Toddler and Preschoolers help serve food family style.
12:00-12:15- Clean-up, toileting, diapering, time for toddlers and preschoolers to get on cots. Look at books quietly for 10 minutes. Some infants may already be sleeping.
12:15-2:30- Nap time or Quiet time
2:30-2:45- wake-up children, put-away cots, diapering, washing hands. Prepare for snack.
2:45-3:00pm- Snack time
3:00-3:15pm- Clean-up, prepare to go outdoors
3:15-3:45pm- Outdoors, Games, Infant, toddlers and preschoolers outdoors
3:45-4:00- wash hands, story time
4:00-departure- Free choice activities/choose/explore center, Children departing. Age groups mixed together
I hope that the daily schedules above has inspired you to create a balanced consistent daily schedule that meets the individual needs of the children in your program and most importantly; create a schedule that helps you to plan for smooth transitions.
Most childcare centers and home day cares have interest or learning centers in their classrooms. If you would like to find out how to create centers in your home daycare or center, please leave a comment below.
With Curriculum in Mind!
Shiketa
The Child Care Business Owner Institute 
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