Inspirational and Empowering Child Care Business Owners To Build Successful Child Care Businesses

Archive for the ‘Family Child Care’ Category

Ideas for a Fun and Safe Playground Experience

Children love to play outdoors and your role is to provide children with  a fun and enriching experience  while on the playground. Moreover, I believe that the playground is an extension of your indoor environment.

In fact, going outdoors is a great way to take indoor activities outdoors; enjoy some fresh air; explore the items that are on the playground and explore nature.

Furthermore,  going outdoors for at least one-hour a day is a great way to encourage gross motor development, such as: running, jumping, climbing, skipping, paddling, digging and so much more.

There are a variety of  ways to encourage gross motor play and outdoor exploration by simply providing a playground experience that the children in your care will enjoy.

Check out the fun & enriching  playground activity ideas below :

Gardening Tools

Children love to dig! Having gardening tools will encourage the children to dig for worms, explore or to start an outdoor garden. Be sure to establish safety rules for the gardening tools and that the children are closely supervised while digging with gardening tools.

Water Play

Along with having a water table outdoors, bring out some pails of water with sponges and encourage the children to wash the playground equipment or bikes; this will keep the children very busy!

Side Walk Chalk

If you have a black top or patio area, having chalk outdoors is a great way to promote handwriting and creativity. So the next time that you go outdoors, don’t forget the chalk.

Outdoor Spray Art

Ahead of time, fill some small spray bottles with water and paint; hang large pieces of paper along the fence with clothes line pins.  Encourage the children to spray the paper with the water bottles. The children will love this colorful outdoor art experience. *This activity will be messy, so request that parents send a shirt for painting.

Sea Shells in the Sand

Adding sea shells to the sandbox will provide the children with a beach like experience. Sea Shells can be purchased at the local Walmart or arts & craft store.

Bring Dramatic Play Outdoors

Do you have a picnic table on your playground? This will be a great place to promote picnic fun or simply pretending to enjoy a meal outdoors.

Outdoor Construction Play

As the children are playing with the gardening tools, you may have some children that may want to move the soil to another area of the playground. Adding toy dump trucks will be great way for the children to role play as construction workers.

Don’t forget the Bubbles!

Children love to blow, chase and play with bubbles. So be sure to always take the bubbles outdoors with you!

Playground Rules

To assure a fun and safe outdoor experience you must develop a set of safety rules for the children and review them before going outdoors. Here is short list of playground safety rules:

  • Go down the slide on our bottom
  • The sand stays in the sandbox
  • The bikes are for the black top or patio area
  • We do not climb on the fence, we climb on the climbers
  • The gardening tools are for digging

Before going outdoors, conduct a playground safety checklist. Also, be sure to conduct a head count before going outdoors and before going back inside the home or building.

With a Fun Playground Experience in mind,

Shiketa

Resources Created With Your Success in Mind:

Family Home Child Care Empowerment eClub

Art of Owning a Child Care Center

Weekly Child Care Business eNewsletter

Category:

Child Care Center, Curriculum, Family Child Care, Health/Safety, Playground

Tagged with:

How to Be a More Energized Child Care Business Owner

energized

Photo Credit

There is one thing that I know for sure and that is….IT TAKES A TON OF ENERGY TO OWN A CHILD CARE BUSINESS!

The first time that I discovered how emotionally draining the business could be was in 1999. I was changing a babies diaper and while she was crying, I felt like crying too. I was new to the business and did not realize how much energy it took to care for children.

Thank God…today I have discovered how to be more energized, so that I am emotionally able to handle what comes with the business. In fact, I must say it has taken me 14 years to discover how to be more energized and my hope is that it will not take you that long.

Are you drained at the end of your day? Do you find that you just do not have the energy anymore to handle issues with parents, staff or even deal with fluctuating enrollment?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above, I want to share with you 4 ways to be a more energized Child Care Business Owner.

1. Focus

If your focus is on too many things at one time, this will drain you mentally. Try to focus on one thing at a time and refrain from multi- tasking. A focused mind is an energized mind.

2. Drink Plenty of Water

Water energizes the body! According to Live Strong.com, ” Have a glass of water early in the morning, as soon as possible after you wake up. Spend a few minutes meditating or doing breathing exercises as you sip your water. This will help you clear your mind and energize you for the rest of the day. Do the same before you’re going to bed as a ritual to clear your mind and body of the tensions of the day.”

3. Don’t Let small issues Steal Your Energy
When you intensely focus on an issue for a long period of time, it has the ability to steal your energy. For example, a parent may decide to withdraw a child from your program without giving a notice. If you get upset, you have given that situation too much energy. Simply, stop, focus, call the parent and figure out how you can solve this problem with out getting upset.
4. Think Positive
Positive thoughts + positive energy and feelings. I am reading a book called: The Power of positive thoughts by Normal Peale. In  the book, there is a chapter titled: How to have constant energy and I want to share an excerpt from that chapter of the book:
  ” How we think we feel has a definite effect on how we actually feel physically. If your mind tells you that you are tired, the body mechanism, the nerves and the muscles accept the fact. If your mind is intensely interested, you can keep on at an activity indefinitely.” ~Norman Peale
In summary, think energized thoughts, relax more, practice being centered, enjoy each day in your business, pay attention to your emotions and strive to be more positive!
I hope that I have empowered you to Be an Energized Child Care Business Owner!  I look forward to reading your thoughts about this blog post.
Shiketa
Resources You May Love

Category:

Business Management, Child Care Center, Family Child Care, Self Care/Personal Development, Stress management

Tagged with:

Tag Cloud