Playgroup suggestions.

amother

Sun, Mar 26 2023, 1:23 am

Hi! I am a morah with 4+ years of experience with newborns and toddlers. I am devoted to helping others and am really organized. Currently I am an assistant in a playgroup and one day I hope to start my own playgroup with someone, with a small group within the next two years.
However before I set out to find a place for the playgroup, I would like to know if you have any suggestions.

Thank you in advance!

amother

Violet

Sun, Mar 26 2023, 1:39 am

As a toddler teacher with almost a decade of experience have found to make many mistakes along the way. I learned to set rules with parents and follow thru with policies cuz I found that otherwise mothers take advantage..
to sum it up... U need to make clear to parents b4 school year starts that these are your rules and if they don't comply then you'll need to take action...

amother

Sun, Mar 26 2023, 2:01 am

amother Violet wrote:

Thank you! I would like a sample of rules as I am new to this. Right now I am planning and I’m looking for ideas how to make the playgroup experience better for their children re tidiness, care, etc before I can get started.

amother

Violet

Sun, Mar 26 2023, 2:50 am

u should say till what time cld be drop off in the morning- mothers took advantage and brought kid 1045am when naptime is half hr later...
Pickup u need a time frame of 15 min. if u want to be done by 300pm then pickup is between 245 and 3pm..
Give them a schedule on paper when you're being closed for Yom tov, fast days and mid winter vacation..

amother

Sun, Mar 26 2023, 8:31 am

amother Violet wrote:

Greatly appreciated!

dena613

Sun, Mar 26 2023, 8:40 am

amother OP wrote:

Re tidiness and care

You can have routines (but I wouldn't call them rules) about where the kids eat, how many toys they can take out at a time, how often we cleanup,

There are morahs who only allow certain toys in certain nooks. There's a kitchen area, there's a car or building toy area, etc. Areas are designated by area rugs
Makes cleanup easier when toys are in centers

Be very loving
Don't be punitive
If you're finding yourself frustrated with certain kids, ask the other morah to take over. Sometimes certain kids who trigger you will respond better to the other morah.
Don't stand on ceremony that you're the morah and she's the assistant. Each morah should work with kidswho they work better with.

Have a curriculum. Every few weeks should be another unit, whether it's animals, colors, shapes, brachos, etc. Parents want to see their kids are learning.

Read up (take books out of library) about multisensory learning, how to teach and handle sensory kids, how to handle behavioral issues,
How to help kids develop vocabulary, do good OT things like crossing over midline, etc...