A day in the life of a family day care educator

I think people often wonder what I do all day now that I’m at home for most of the week running my family day care. So I thought I’d share a bit of insight on my typical daily working routine…

6.45-7.15am Wake up, wash and get dressed for the day.

7.00-7.30am My own kids start waking up. Get them dressed and fed.

7.30-8.30am Day care kids start arriving. Free play (outdoor/indoor)

8.30-9.00am Mat time and story time. First round of nappy changes.

9.00-9.30am Morning tea.

9.30-10.00am Put babies down for morning nap. Older kids have some TV time.

10.00-10.30am Structured activity or learning experience for older kids.

10.30-11.30am Babies wake up from morning nap. Free play (outdoor/indoor).

11.30-12.15pm Second round of nappy changes. Lunch time.

12.15-12.30pm Pack up toys together.

12.30-1.00pm Story time. Get ready for afternoon nap/rest time.

1.00-1.30pm Wash dishes and clean up table, kitchen and play area. Prepare afternoon tea for kids.

1.30-2.00pm Eat my lunch.

2.00-3.00pm Work on documentation and admin stuff, record children’s learning observations, jot down notes in parent communication books, upload photos of children’s activities onto private Facebook page for parents.

3.00-3.30pm Some kids start waking up from nap. Story time or quiet activities (books, puzzles, colouring, drawing) to transition from nap to wake time.

3.30-4.00pm All kids usually up by this time. Third round of nappy changes. Afternoon tea.

4.00-5.00pm Free play (indoor/outdoor). Sometimes we might head to the nearby park together.

5.00-5.30pm Parents start arriving for pick-up. Pack bags. Chat to parents about their child’s day.

5.30-6.15pm Clean up and prepare dinner for my own family.

6.15-6.45pm Family dinner time.

6.45-7.00pm Kids bath time and get ready for bed.

7.00-7.15pm Nurse baby Grace and put her down to sleep.

7.15-7.45pm Nathan usually has a little bit of TV time before bed.

7.45-8.00pm Bedtime story for Nathan and kiss goodnight.

8.00-9.00pm Laundry or preparations for meal or activities for the next day

9.00pm onwards I have a little wind down time with some blogging, reading, watching a little telly before starting work on my Early Childhood Education assignments and outstanding paperwork for my Family Day Care. I try to hit the sack by 11.00pm but often don’t get to sleep until around midnight or 1.00am.

And that’s a glimpse into my typical day in my family day care! Hope you found this interesting and insightful.

P.S. This routine has now completely changed over the years; Our routine is always evolving according to changes in the age dynamics and the growth and development of the various children in my care. You can refer to our current daily routine here.

More information about my family day care >>here<<

This is an exciting new venture I am embarking on to set up my own family day care. Throughout this journey, I will be sharing about this project, my home set up, craft and activity ideas and other related bits and pieces. Through this, I hope to support and connect with other fellow day care educators and also perhaps provide a little more awareness and insight for parents (and parents-to-be) on the set up and running of a family day care. You can follow along my updates on my blog under the family day care tag.

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