Nights

[Guest]

Hello

Is there anyone on this list who works nights? I have had my hour switched to nights ~ 3 in the afternoon until midnight.

I am looking for ideas or suggestions regarding activities and schedules

Thanks

Diane

San Diego, California

[Beau]

Diane,

I am not sure I have welcomed you in before so welcome now! What sort of setting is it you work in that you have to work nights? I think most of us here work in schools, nurseries and playgroups etc so would only work during the daytime. Perhaps if you let us know the sort of thing you had in mind and the age group of the children we could come up with some ideas for you.

[Guest]

yes- where is it that you work- do you provide overnight care for children in your setting?

[hali]

ohhh now theres a thought!!!!!

 

Welcome to the site Dianne

[Guest]

well Tony blair wants setttings to care for chidlren from 8- to 6 pm freeing parents to work so i wonder if this can be his next election manifesto-

 

"VOTE FOR US AND CHECK IN YOUR KIDS AT THE OVERNIGHT CENTER_ SO YOU CAN WORK MORE FLEXIBLE HOURS""

 

ONly joking

[Guest]

Hello

Thank you for the warm welcome. While I am not new to the forum, I have decided to become a full member because of all the great advice and for me, a different perspective of our work. Before working in California (my home), I worked in the Swedish pre-school system.

 

I now work in a program called "Head Start" ~this is a U.S. funded program for families who are either low-income or have a child with special needs. The ages range from 3 to 5 years old. Most parents are attending classes at night or working evening hours. There is no fee for the services. Many of our children come from homes where English is not spoken. Our families are from Vietnam, Mexico, Morocco, Ethiopia and Afganistan.

 

The evening program begins at 3 pm and closes at midnight. At 3:30, the children have a snack and supper at 6:00 pm, napping is from 8:30 until parents arrive to pick up their child.

 

At present there are few night programs in the U.S. Any suggestions will be very much appreciated.

Diane ~ San Diego, California

[Helen]

Hi Diane,

Thanks for telling us about your work. Do you have to plan educational activities for the children, and make assessments about their levels of development, or is it more like a drop-in creche, perhaps where you don't get to know the children over a long period of time? Do they often go to other preschool settings in the mornings? Sorry for all these questions! I'm really interested, and willing to offer some suggestions when I know how your place works.

[Susan]

hi Diane & welcome.

We are really pleased to have you on board. Hope you dont mind the night work then, its not very family friendly if you have your own!?

[Guest]

Yes, Helen, we are required to:

1) plan educational activities for all children based on the “Head Start Outcomes Framework” or on a child’s “ special needs”

2)We have two software programs to assess and track the outcomes.

3)We visit homes three times during a school year

4)Meet and discuss children’s progress with parents three times in the school year.

5)We do have two field trip during the school year (besides local walks)

We have an enormous and ever increasing amount of paperwork.

 

The children are enrolled for the entire school year and attend daily, Monday –Friday night.

 

As to what the children are doing during the day, well, that is a good question. I think I will conduct a survey among the parents.

Thanks for asking,

Diane

I wanted to post pictures of my classroom (without kids). How if theat done?

[Beau]

It really does depend upon what they have done during the day! I know that my own 5 and 3 yr old are really starting to get tired by 3pm but then we tend to do many things during the day. If the children who come to you have tended not to attend other settings and maybe have spent a lot of their day sat around watching tv or not being particularly stimulated then it may be a different matter.

 

I would be really interested to hear more about your "Head start outcomes framework" Is this similar to out Foundation Curriculum?? I would definately try to take my cue from the children in terms of their energy levels and develop any areas of interest they might have working within this. At this time of day you're not going to see them at their best and it would be best to keep your expectations of what they will be likely to achieve fairly low!

 

I hope you get back to us and let us know more about your work - it sounds really interesting.

[Sue R]

Hello Diane,

Sorry not to have welcomed you before - been really busy ( ) and just popped in quick so there aren't too many posts to catch up on later in the week.

 

Your set up sounds really interesting!

 

Sue

[Guest]

Carol

Yes, I think our Head Start Outcomes is similar to the Foundation Curriculum but it is used a guide rather than a curriculum. Here is a link if you want to check it out.

http://www.co.contra-costa.ca.us/depart/se...tcomespub02.pdf

 

“Head Start” does work but now thanks to George W. Bush, we have more emphasis on academics and less on social skills; our children are tested at the end of the school year.

 

Diane

San Diego, California

[Beau]

Thank you Diane,

 

It's always interesting to find out how other people around the world are operating and swap ideas etc. I have saved the link you provided and will read through it when I have a little more time to do it justice. At first glance it certainly looks like an informative guide. It is a shame that the children's social skills are not given the same importance as the other more academic skills. After all, as a species we all rely very heavily upon our social interactions. But then again, maybe that's not one of George's strong points!