We will give the children a 10 minute warning that clean up time is coming, set an egg timer, when it goes off they know they have to start cleaning up. We will sing a song or two while cleaning up and it goes much faster.

CLEAN UP SONG ( Tune of twinkle twinkle little star)

It is time to clean up now,
clean up, clean up, we know how.
We can clean up, you will see,
Just how clean our room can be.
It is time to clean up now.
clean up, clean up, clean up WOW!

EVERYONE, CLEAN UP - (tune to Farmer in the Dell)

Everyone, clean up.
Everyone, Clean up.
Heigh-ho, way to go.
Everyone, clean up.

The blocks go on the shelf.
The blocks go on the shelf.
Heigh-ho, way to go.
The blocks go on the shelf.

(use the verse above for other areas of your room)

Now the room is clean.
Now the room is clean.
Heigh-ho, way to go.
Now the room is clean.

Joannie Netlzer - Three-year-olds A Special Place
San Jose, CA

If you have kids like I do, they love to dump out the toys, buckets, bins, etc.. BUT when asked who did it, if you did not personally see, you will get the answer NOT ME. To solve this problem I made a clean up chart. (see picture below). I took a picture of ALL the areas in our playroom, had doubles printed out. Then I laminated one set for a basket, and glued one set on tag board., and labeled the area. Cut a slit behind the picture so we could slide a jumbo craft stick in there. Each child has a stick painted his assigned color. On Monday mornings in our circle time we take down the basket of pictures, each child draws one out, and then puts their stick into the slot of the matching picture. That will become their clean up area for the week. This way everyone is cleaning up some area. If a child is not here that day, I will clean up that area they were assigned. Clean up goes much faster this way. And every week we change areas, they love it.

Below are some great ideas for good communication. You may copy these and put in your handbook or use as a handout for the parents.

What Your Provider Wants You to Know: But is Afraid to Tell You

~~~by Joni Levine~~~

Here is an open letter to parents written from the perspective of a daycare provider or preschool teacher.

I am a professional. I may have chosen this line of work because I love children and I enjoy my job, but this is still my job/business. I have received specialized education and/or training to be a caregiver and educator for young children. I am not a babysitter; I am a professional.

I am not getting rich. In many places child care workers make less then public sanitation workers, secretaries and other jobs that require a lot less education and experience. I do get paid in smiles, hugs and recognition of appreciation from families.

I need you to read all material and notices. I am counting on you to know the information I send to you in writing. This includes newsletters, notes and contract material.

It is important that you communicate with me. Let me know in advance if there will be a change in your child’s schedule, or the services you will need.

If I ask you to bring in supplies for your child, please do. And make sure supplies are replenished as needed. This may include extra clothes, art supplies, diapers etc.

Remember your child is not the only child in my care. Although I do my best to provide individualized attention at times, I am often unable to change polices or disrupt plans to accommodate the needs of one family.

Please do not send your child if they are ill. If they are too ill to participate in the day’s activities they are too ill to be in care. I need to protect the health of other children as well. If your child is or was ill, please notify me.

I recognize that you are the most important person in the child’s life. I hope that we can work as a partnership for what is best for the child. Please share with me any concerns or questions about your child’s care and development. Work with me in helping your child learn, grow and develop.

* While expectations will differ somewhat, depending on whether your child is cared for in your home, in the home of a family day care provider or in a child care center, your provider or providers should be able to expect certain things from you.

* Open communication. Explain clearly and carefully your wishes and expectations about how your child will be cared for. Also provide updates on problems and progress that your child is making. Give the provider information about your child's routine, activities and preferences. Good communication helps parents and providers work together in the best interest of children.

* Agreement on terms or arrangements. You should fully understand the expectations of the provider and what you as a parent are agreeing to. A written agreement between the provider and parents is usually helpful for both parties.

* Honesty and trust. This includes being honest about how you believe the arrangement is working, whether your child is happy with the provider and whether you are. Although you need to be vigilant in order to safeguard your child, you should still trust your child care provider to do the best for your child. Show your trust by asking questions rather than jumping to conclusions when apparent problems develop.

* Advance notice of and agreement to any changes. Providers have to earn a living, too, so they deserve advance notice if you are going to stop using their services, take a vacation during which they will receive no pay or change their hours.

* Pick up on time and follow through on all agreements. Providers have personal lives, too, and they should be able to expect that you will pick up your child at the agreed upon time. If it takes you 15 minutes a night longer to get home than you expected or if you find it more convenient to stop at the grocery store before picking up your child which makes you 30 minutes late three times a week you need to work out a new agreement with the provider or find a way to abide by the original one. If you agree to provide diapers, formula or other supplies, you should bring them before they are needed.

* Not to send sick, hungry or overly tired kids. Agree with your child care provider in advance about when you can and cannot bring a sick child. Never bring a child whom you know is not feeling well enough to be away from home and family. Likewise you shouldn't expect your child care provider to cope with a child who has not had breakfast or who went to bed four hours late last night.

* Payment on time and no "rubber" checks. Child care providers have to pay the rent and buy food, too, so make arrangements to see that they get their pay on time.

* Respect. Realize that taking care of children is a job and the child care provider is a worker, often a working parent, just as you are. Recognize also that this is not an easy job. A child care provider is not "just a baby sitter". She is one of the most important people in your child's life and in yours, too.

* No jealousy. Try not to be jealous of your child's attachment to child care providers. Children who spend hours every day with a baby sitter or day care worker come to love that person. That love, though, doesn't diminish the love the child feels for you. Don't feel that you have to compete with your child care provider for your child's affection.

* No surprises. Your baby sitter shouldn't learn on Friday that you have decided to take next week off from work so you won't need her or pay her, either. Your family day care provider shouldn't learn that you now expect her to pick up your kindergartner after school because the car pool you have been using has dissolved. child care providers don't like surprises any better than parents do.

~~~Source unknown~~~

* Whether your child is cared for by a baby-sitter in your home, a family day-care provider in her home or a number of people in a child-care center, you should be able to expect certain things.

* Open communication. Providers should give you frequent and full updates on your child’s progress and problems. They should welcome your questions and ask you questions about how they can help your child. If they let you know what is happening with your child during the day, you can develop ways to deal with problems and to build on activities and accomplishments of the day.

* Open access to their home or center. Parents must be welcome to drop in any time, even without calling. Providers also should allow parents to make a reasonable number of phone calls to check on their children’s well-being, in case of illness or if there’s a special problem such as separation anxiety. You and the provider should work out the best times for such phone calls and determine how many calls are reasonable.

* Safety for your child. Providers should take all possible precautions to keep children safe. This includes plugging light sockets, putting away knives and other sharp objects, closing off stairways and using only safe and well-maintained equipment, among other basic safety measures. It also includes always using child-safety seats and seat belts when transporting children in cars.

* Honesty and confidence. Providers shouldn’t make commitments that they can’t or don’t intend to keep. They shouldn’t cover up problems or accidents that occur. They shouldn’t expect parents to help them avoid income taxes by slipping them money on the side. They also shouldn’t gossip about your child or your family to friends or coworkers.

* Acceptance of parents’ wishes. Providers should abide by parents’ wishes on matters such as discipline, TV watching, food, adult smoking and toilet training. If parents do not want their children spanked, providers should not spank them. If parents don’t want anyone smoking around their child, the provider needs to see that no one smokes in the house when the child is present. If providers feel that they can’t abide by parents’ wishes, they need to tell parents before agreeing to care for the children and parents should look for other care.

* Advance notice of any changes. Since it is often very difficult to find adequate care, providers should tell parents well in advance if they are going to change their hours or prices or if they are going to stop or limit the time of caring for a child. Parents need at least a month or, better yet, six weeks’ notice if a provider is no longer going to care for a child. Except in the case of an emergency, parents should be given at least two weeks notice even if the provider won’t be available for just one day.

* No interference in the child’s family or family problems. Providers shouldn’t talk to children about their families’ problems, lifestyle or values. Likewise, the provider should be careful not to take sides in any family disputes such as custody battles. Providers should not try to impose their religious or other beliefs on the children they care for. This includes not taking children to religious services unless asked to by the parents.

* No advice offered unless asked for and no judging of parenting practices. Providers shouldn’t criticize or advise parents on child rearing unless their advice is asked for by the parents. They shouldn’t set themselves up as experts on parenting. If parents ask for advice, providers should offer it in a noncritical way. Of course, if providers see something that is seriously wrong with how parents are raising their children, such as if they fear child abuse or see a child apparently suffering from malnutrition, they should discuss the problem with the parents and, if needed, contact legal authorities.

* Assurance that everyone in contact with the child is trustworthy and properly trained and supervised. Providers must be responsible for everyone who enters, visits and works at their home or center. This includes screening custodial help, not admitting strangers to the home, seeing that all transportation workers are properly trained and that all visitors, including friends or relatives of the provider, are trustworthy and supervised and will not harm the children.

* No surprises. This means that your family day-care provider won’t suddenly tell you that since she has taken a part-time job, her teenage daughter will watch your child three afternoons a week or that your child’s favorite teacher at the center just disappears without warning or comment. Surprises are probably what parents fear the most from their child-care providers.

~~~Source unknown~~~