This is a guide for staff working in the T1 room in Toddlers.

ALL DAY – staff need to ‘Zone’ and ‘re-zone’ the materials and equipment. Everything should be on a mat, in a basket or in a drawer… NO TOYS AT ALL should be on the black and white floor – the children need this space to move around freely in an ordered way. This approach will keep a calm and ordered playroom.

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The 7:00 person should complete the writing on the white board, before they unlock and enter the unit.

 The White board

This must be written in your NEATEST handwriting. The day of the week should be in the TOP right, and on Sundays it should be written “Welcome to a new Rainbow week”; the next sentence should say “Today in toddlers we will be…” and there should follow a list of 5 – 8 activities that are planned across T1 and T2 with mini explanations where possible. The last sentence should say “Today working in Toddlers Is (T1) Monika, Lital and… and in T2 Mia, Ellie… If someone is sick or on holiday, please state that explicitly

The 7:00 starter should ensure that lights are on, doors (including the garden door) are unlocked, and all chairs, tables and rugs and other furniture items are set out. This should be done within the first 5 – 7 minutes of opening the unit. There is then a full list of jobs to embark on, as listed below; the person should comes at 7:00 should direct other staff as they arrive in relation to the jobs that still need to be completed from the list:

1. Boil kettle
2. Turn on Aircon/heating (if needed)
3. Set up garden; 3 mats; with baskets/equip as per plan & Fill Large frog play tray
4. Take Chairs of all tables
5. Set out rugs
6. Remove any cleaning materials or equipment from rooms
7. Check there are no plastic bags anywhere
8. Pour water into jugs and re-boil kettles
9. Set out inside play spaces, rugs and tables
10. Empty dishwasher and make up water bottles/cups and put on table
11. Make up a tray of bottles for milk, and leave on kitchen top on tray
12. Empty washing machine and put away items
13. Hang clean towels in the hand washing zone, kitchen areas, staff toilet and at the children’s sinks
14. Replace changing table mat covers
15. Run another wash if there is anything in the basket
16. Put clean bin liners in all bins

Parent Drop off

When opening the door to parents, check on the white board if they have anything on the list of things to bring. If they do – please ask them for it, and wipe off the item from the board. If the parent has forgotten the item/s, then please check the child’s drawer to ensure that they have sufficient supplies for the day (before the parent leaves), if they do not, then please ask the parent to come back with additional supplies before they go to work.

Please write the child’s name on everything, including packets of wipes and on disposable changing mats write the child’s name and the DATE it was brought in. A new mat should be requested every 7 – 10 days.

Welcoming parents will usually be the person who started at 7:00.

 

• 7:30 –             Focused Activity
• 8:00 –               Craft Skills
• 8:15 –               Activity 1
• 8:45 –               Tidy Up time
• 8:50 –               Circle Time
• 9:00 –               Snack Time
• 9:25 –               Outside Play time
• 9:40-                Painting
• 10:25 –             Nappies
• 10:55 –             Activity 3   OUTSIDE – T1 and T2 Together
• 11:20 –             Tidy up time & Wash hands
• 11:30 –             Lunch and sleepy time…
• 2:00 –               Nappies as children wake…
• 2:15 –               Activity 4
• 3:00 –               Snack
• 3:30 –               Activity 5
• 4:05 –               Goodbye Circle, story, Music

 7:30 – The focused activity

This will usually be the team member who started at 7:30 (7:15). Sitting on the rug furthest the entrance door (not where the books are). Remain on the focused activity, and try not move from the rug for any other reason than to bring over a child/ren or to re-zone the area around you. Engage the children as they are coming in – on the focused task you are doing.

The 7:00 starter welcomes parents, registers children and takes bags, coats, bedding and drawer supplies as required – naming everything as it comes in.

 8:00 – Next person arrives…

 On arrival, the 8:00 immediately sets up the sleep room for the children who need to sleep, and takes them in, and settles them to sleep. This should take no longer than 15 minutes on a usual day (20 on a Sunday). Children who sleep in the morning, should sleep for 30 – 45 minutes. This needs to be noted in the book. (See sleep instructions below, the same process should be followed).

The 7:00 starter, sets up the craft table, and sits with the children, answering the door, as required, leaving the children to independently continue with the craft. The 7:30 starter remains on the focused carpet area and supports children who are upset, or finding it difficult to engage.

8:15 – 8:20 – Activity 1

 The 8:00 starter leads activity 1; sets it up, and takes 3 or 4 children at a time to do this. The 7:30 starter, winds up the focused activity, and supports the children to go-it-alone, and zones and rezones the space… and maybe goes outside. Craft table continues…

8:30 – Craft table finishes..

It is cleared up, The 7:00 starter plays with children on rug, and zones, and re-zones. The Activity 1 continues, cycling with groups of children…

8:45 – Tidy up time

Activity 1 finishes, The 7:00 starter goes to the kitchen to bring fruit, and comes and sits at the children’s tables and starts to prepare it (tables must be washed thoroughly after the activities). All staff need to provide VERY clear and specific instructions to the children to support them in tidying up “Itamar – put the phone in the green drawer over there…” – you may have to repeat your instructions a number of times, and point, and help the child. Slowly they will begin to understand the tidy up routines, over the coming weeks even months.

8:50 – Circle time

This should be led by the two staff not cutting and preparing fruit (this person should join ASAP). A rug should be taken from the sleep room and placed in the middle of the floor. Children are all encouraged to sit around the edge of the carpet. Some children may need to hold things (small objects, toys, balls) in their hands to help them focus. Children who are upset, distressed or cannot sit still can sit on laps or beside staff with arms around them. Staff sing together the good morning song, introduce the children to any new staff, and then invite the children (youngest or those find it most challenging to sit first).

9:00 – Fruit time

Fruit should already be on the table before children are seated. Three tables laid out with up to 15 places. One member of staff washes hands and seats the children, two members of staff on the rug, once about half the children have been sent, one of the staff must move from the rug, and sit on the floor by the tables, and support children to eat. This is a time for lots of language, counting songs and time to tell the children your news. This should be a Hebrew speaker one day, followed by an English speaker the next day. This person ‘controls’ the snack… and sends children to wash their hands with another team member when the children have had enough

Whilst the children are eating, one team member re-zones the room and garden and the other prepares the next set of activity (all those which will occur before lunch).

9:25 onwards…

As children finish their snack – they should have outside time, unless they prefer to play inside. Children should leave the table as soon as they wish, they do not have to wait for others to finish. One team member should be outside, and one at the table [starting to clean as the last few still eat, then blitzing as they finish and setting up the tables for painting]…. and one team member facilitating the inside area.

9:40 – Painting

One member of staff on the painting table, one outside, and one inside (on a rug, playing and talking to children). The painting activity should last until 10:15 – 10:20. The children should be encouraged to take their time, and the activity is suitable for 2 – 4 children at once, depending on their age, stage of development and experience with paint (ie – if they are new to T1 for the first few weeks paint only in pairs; one less experienced child, painting alongside one of the most experienced). All children (or most) should be encouraged to access the painting activity during this time. Other staff should try their hardest to minimise interruptions to the team member who is painting, and meet the needs of the rest of the children. Children should wear aprons whilst painting, and should wash and dry their hands with the team member before going to play. This takes skill and practice for the team member to effectively manage the table, and co-ordinate hand washing for children who are finishing. Keep numbers low – until you get very good at doing this.

10:25 – Nappies

Nappy time is the BEST time to give 1:1 attention to children, and talk to them! Discuss their progress with them! For example you might say “Wow Itamar, I was so happy to see you put your blanket down when you came in today, and you have been playing very well without it all morning, lets hang it up again when you have finished your afternoon sleep..” Spend time telling them all the things that you have noticed them doing, try to get feedback if the child is starting to use verbal communication.

Wash your hands before and after every nappy change, and use the child’s own cover to put over the changing mat.

Take children one by one, starting with those that are less engaged. Try hard not to disrupt or disturb a child’s play flow just to change their nappy; find the ‘right’ moment to change children. However, you must work at speed to get through all the changes in time. Remember to note in the book after EACH change. This way other staff can glance at the book to see how far along you are, without having to ask, and interrupt your conversations with the children.

10:55 – Activity (outside)

This should go ahead BANG on 10:55 whether or not nappies have finished. This is a shared activity with T2. If the outside is wet, find another space (maybe the T1 sleep room) where the activity can be held. This should be a large scale activity with a team member for T1 and from T2 jointly running the activity. Try to talk to your colleague about HOW you will do the activity and who will do what BEFORE you start (ie – the day before!). Children should be free to come and go as they wish, but team members should try to encourage each child to have a go!

11:20 – Tidy up time and washing hands

Tidy up time, as before. By 11:25 one team member should be washing hands with children, one team member should be putting food on the table (so its already there as children sit down) and the third team member supporting tidy up time.

The Sleep room

Before and after sleep times, the window should be opened to ventilate the space.

We need to make full use of the sleep room when children are not sleeping in it. Beds must be piled up to one side, the floor clean, with a rug laid out in the middle.

First thing in the morning, only the beds of the children who take a morning nap should be laid out.

The room must serve as a quiet space for children who are upset or overwhelmed. The sleep room will be a calm and tranquil place, where children can have 1:1 or small group attention.

The sleep room can also be used for focused activities throughout the day, where its important to hold children’s attention for a set period without them wandering in and out.

At the end of the day, the ‘story time’ will be in the sleep room. The rug must be rolled up, and the children will all sit on a chair in a circle, with their cracker and listen to a story in English and a story in Hebrew.

Be aware that there is a door to the foyer from the sleep room, which is covered by the curtain, however it is not sound proofed, so parents and passing visitors on the other side of the door, can hear almost everything that goes on inside.

Lunch

The team member who started at 7:30 (or 7:15) must sit with the children whilst they are eating. Before each child leaves the table, record in the note book how much and of what foods the child ate.

Setting up for sleep

During lunchtime, one staff member is responsible for setting up the sleep room. This means setting out each bed (on Sundays putting sheets on the bed) and ensuring that there are 15 – 30 cm between each bed. Children’s names should be added to the underside of the bed, once their sheets have been put on.

Some children have a bottle of milk prior to sleeping, these bottles must be made up and placed on the bed, so when the children come in, they are able to go straight to bed, and begin their feed independently.

Sleep time

Children need to learn to sleep independently, those that have been with us a long time will already be able to do this well. Those transferring from babies may need some additional support to adjust to their surroundings. Where children are new, they may need ‘touch’ to help them sleep. The worker supporting sleep time should firmly pat the middle of the child’s back 7 times in a rhythmic way, and then rest their hand on the child’s back for a few seconds. This may be repeated at intervals to help the children sleep.

One staff member should be seated in the sleep room only. The staff member should be the person who has set up the beds, and knows where each child is to sleep. The staff member should wait in the sleep room for the co-workers to send or bring the children in, one at a time when they have finished eating (and have been properly cleaned off, including brushing any food off of their clothes or changing them to clean clothes if needed (no child should come to bed dirty).

If children rear their head the staff member should gently, but firmly put their hand on the child’s head and say ‘Lishon’ (sleep in Hebrew). No other words should be spoken inside the sleep room. A gentle and rhythmic lullaby should be sung or hummed by the team member supervising sleep. The same team member should stay in the room until all children are asleep. The team member assigned to the sleep room, will usually be the person who started work at 8:00.

Once the children are all asleep, the team member should take a nappy from each child’s drawer and lay it on their bed, for changing when they wake. All children should be changed immediately when they wake up, before going to play.

Staff Breaks and lunchtime routine and jobs

The team member who starts at 7:00 should clean the children from their lunch, and shuttle all the children one by one into the sleep room. Hands AND faces should be washed, and clothes cleaned, and changed if needed. Once all children are inside the sleep room, this team member should go to their 30 minute break. This will usually be by 12:10. They MUST take the nappy bag with them (empty the nappy bin from the morning’s festivities).

The team member who starts at 7:30 (or 7:15) will sit with the children whilst they are eating, engaging in rich language, and supporting them to eat. As children finish, the team member should prepare them to leave the table and pass them to their (7:00) colleague who will wash them and take them to the sleep room. Try to arrange the tables so that the children who generally take longer are all on the same table. The team member should have a dustpan and brush with them and collate food from the floor whilst children are still eating. This is especially important for pathways and areas that staff or children may stand. This approach will minimise food that is trailed across the nursery. Once the children have all headed off to the sleep room, this team member is responsible for cleaning the eating area. All food should be brushed on to the floor. The tables (including legs, and the underside) should be cleaned thoroughly with hop soapy water (not disposable wipes) and each child should be wiped down before being stacked onto the table. The whole area must be cleaned, including the floor and walls to ensure that all food has been properly put away. This thorough cleaning job is likely to take at least 30 minutes. Once finished, the team member should wash round the sinks to ensure that they are clean and hygienic for the afternoon. Finally, lift up the changing mat and wipe the changing table. Once the clean has been completed, and the 7;00 colleague is back from break, this team member should go to their break, this will usually be at 12:45

The team member who begins work at 8:00 will be with the children in the sleep room, noting down the time each child fell asleep (exact minute please) – once all children are sleeping, the team member should come out of the sleep room, but continue to monitor. The team member should systematically arrange the room ready for the afternoon. The team member should put a large container in the middle of the room, and collect all items which are not in their correct places, or are found around the nursery, this includes from shelves, floors and underneath the units:

• The relaxing basket cover should be changed
• All books put the right way around, and 3 – 4 books displayed nicely on the top of the case
• All furniture straightened and restored to its set place
• Each drawer should be checked to ensure that it contains the correct toys or resources, and they should be resorted to their correct assignments
• Small wicker baskets should be placed on each rug area with a selection of equipment and resources inside, there should be a good mix of natural materials as well as manufactured toys across all the baskets
• The role-play kitchen should be checked, any inappropriate items removed from it, and the metal bowl (sink) returned to the correct place. There should be small pots and pans hanging from the hooks around it
• All equipment and resources collected from around the room should be returned to its assigned position, and taken into T2 if it belongs there.

By 1:15 and when everything is organised inside the 8:00 team member will go to lunch.

<<<AFTERNOON TO BE ADDED TOMORROW! SORRY!>>>

When the 7:00 team member returns from break, they must clear up the garden, collect any misplaced items, and add these to ‘sorting’ container. The garden must be laid out and well organised for the afternoon. Any birds droppings from doors, floors, surfaces or equipment must be cleaned with HOT and SOAPY water (not disposalable wipes) by the 7:00 team member. A challenging (physical) environment must be set out, with wheels, different heights and levels and an additional play area. An activity should also be set up on the picnic table.

Then, the 7:00 team members takes any dry work down from the line, and files all of the children’s working into their folders. Ensuring that there is a FOLDER for every child (make a new folder if there is one missing – children cannot ‘share’ folders)

The 7:30 team member (on return from lunch) must go through every child’s drawer, TIDY each drawer and make a list of anything missing, (ensure drawers are in alphabetical order so that they can be easily located) and write it on the white board for parents. THEN… wipe off the details from the white board in the entrance and write the title “What we ate for lunch” – You need to write what the children ate.

Other jobs to do whilst children are sleeping

• Clean and organise kitchen
• Take all fruit and veg out of cartons and unpack any shopping orders
• Remove all rubbish from the building
• Tidy the ‘staff drawer’
• Make nice signs for the walls and update displays
• Take wet wipes and clean inside of boxes and bottom of the drawer units
• Wash up from snack and lunch
• Run the washing machine
• Organise the garden
• File your observations

End of the day

 The team member who started at 7:30 (or 7:15) must collect all the dummies together at 4:35 and pour boiling water over them in a bowl. THEN… before they leave, must remove them from the water and hang each one on the child’s dummy peg, ensuring that their name is clearly visible (re-writing where required). (They must NOT be left in water over night).

Closing Checklist

1. Turn the red round swing upside down
2. EVERYTHING must come inside from the garden
3. Empty anything in the large frog play tray
4. All toys/equipment away
5. Leave carpets/rugs out for vacuuming
6. Remove covers for changing tables and put them in the wash
7. Put washing machine on
8. Run or empty dishwasher/s
9. Ensure all surfaces are clear of toys and equipment
10. Ensure all toys/equipment are back in the correct places
11. Check the gutter of leaves for toys and equipment (outside)
12. Check all drawers are facing the correct way
13. Turn off Aircon/heaters

General Points and things to note:

1. Any disposable changing mats that have any traces of poo on – throw away! (Ask parents to bring a new one)
2. Write children’s names on EVERYTHING – every time you take something from a parent – re-write the name!
3. Empty and run washing machine throughout the day if needed
4. Do not leave chairs on the tables at any time when gan is operational
5. Keep brooms and mops tucked away OUT of the play spaces
6. ZONE, ZONE and REZONE (Are the books the right way up!?, Are drawers facing the right way)
7. Empty out any of your OWN staff food from the fridge each Thursday
8. Watch out for ‘dumping grounds’ – do not let clutter build up
9. Send Whatsapp feedback to the cleaner/cook if needed (was there enough, too much or the wrong/right kind of food)
10. Try to organise the puzzels whenever you can
11. When people are in for interviews – Stand back and let them shine… BUT give LOTS of CLEAR directions, tell them EXACTLY what to do
12. Keep everything in baskets when they are out, don’t pull out the plastic trays
13. Use the round wicker spots to HIGHLIGHT things
14. Visit the other groups in the building with the children and borrow and share resources and equipment
15. Collect interesting things from nature when you’re out and about! Large shells, pine cones…
16. Bring in cool things that could be used in the gan that you find in the street
17. Spend 1^st hour in the morning with the children sorting and organising the drawers, making sure everything is properly stocked
18. Sock Boxes – They are in each room – use them!
19. Tissue and Wipe Boxes/Baskets: 1 in each room, and 1 outside. Empty used tissues to the bin immediately
20. Pills, tablets and staff medication, cannot be kept in the play rooms; these items must be stored in the staff kitchen areas
21. Plastic bags must be kept in the plastic bag tower, and no where else (on the window sill)

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Staff times:

Start 7:00, Lunch 12:10 Finish 4:30

Start 7:15 or 7:30, Lunch 12:45, Finish 4:45 or 5:00

Start 8:00, Lunch 1:15, Finish 5:30