Go With The Flow - But Need More Structure

[Guest]

We are very much a "go with the flow" setting, we get a few bits out in the morning but more or less let the children do what they want and I like this but we now over the next year have new 2 year olds starting all the time and I feel that the 2 year olds need more structure - they seem more comfortable when I ask them to sit down and do something ( I think it's scary all these new toys/big children running around!!)

 

So how do we do this.... We only have 2 staff so can't have 1 member of staff doing an activity while the other watches the other chidren (we have tried this and doesn't work for us, a chid always need the loo/or the phne rings etc) so the only thing I can think of is to have a chunk of the sessions made up of structured activities and free play inbetween. Does anyone do this - does it work and keeo everyone happy??

[Rea]

To be honest, so long as there isnt a safety issue, I dont mind 2 year olds running around. What age do your children currently start with you? A 3 yr old could run round too I would assume, especially if its a big room with new equipment. You might find that the younger ones learn from the older ones and you can all model ways of behaving. Having structure might be going against their needs. If staffing is difficult can you have parents in during a session to help with activities?

[Guest]

To be honest, so long as there isnt a safety issue, I dont mind 2 year olds running around. What age do your children currently start with you? A 3 yr old could run round too I would assume, especially if its a big room with new equipment. You might find that the younger ones learn from the older ones and you can all model ways of behaving. Having structure might be going against their needs. If staffing is difficult can you have parents in during a session to help with activities?

 

 

Hi how many children do you have in your setting , have you correct number of adults for the ratio,.We do not allow children to run around in our setting in doors due to accidents may accure .

[Guest]

Hi all - we are a hall setting and we constantly battle with running inside, but our golden rule is walking inside and running outside - we also have 2 year olds starting all the time alongside our older ones - I find that they need support to move to different activities and I gently support them to achieve this - after a while they bocome more confident and follow the older children's lead - must be really hard with 2 staff though especially if you have deployed staff memeber outside - I would try to keep it as it is as free choice play is what EYFS is about. Good luck Dot

[Guest]

Hi how many children do you have in your setting , have you correct number of adults for the ratio,.We do not allow children to run around in our setting in doors due to accidents may accure .

 

We have between 5-9 children, so always in ratio (but having big problems due to only 2 staff - will start another post about that!!)

 

The problem I find is that the younger children seem almost scared of the older children, we have a few "boystrust" (sp?) older boys - we don't allow running inside but one esp likes to be a dragon and try to eat the others!!!! We try to make a game out of it but today for example a little boy came (his 3rd day) he was just starting to get settled after tears, we was standing around watching the others free play - he seemed like he didn't know where to do or what to do, we tried to encourage him to play but seemed very scared - then to top it off the "dragon" came and scared him so we had tears again for ages!!

[Hannah3756]

Hi,

i have worked in 2 very busy 2 -3 rooms (often with only 8 but feels like 20 children and 2 staff) and depending on what sort of a setting it is the easiest way to include structure whilst still maintaining free flow is to have clearly designated areas with a select amount of quality toys in ( they can ask for more if they need them but don;t spend hours emptying lots and lots of things out. if they enjoy tipping and emptying they can still do it with fewer things.) and all baskets and boxes are clearly labeled with pictures. we have found that if children know what to do in each area and where to get what it is they need, the environment becomes less scary and confusing, helping to prevent most of the aimless running up and down, up and down. working in small groups where possible to model appropriate play for the younger ones also helps as some children don;t know what to do in certain areas if they have never been shown.

we also have individual plans for each child, 3 points about them that are important and can inform planning, for example child A hates painting but loves cars, and needs to be supported to explore new activities, so when we do organise play experiances we can engage each child in them.

i hope this helps

Hannah