Need ideas.

I work, after school, at a child care center in the school age program. Many of the kids are K-2 grades. Usually, we rotate to different centers for an hour or more each afternoon.

Centers often include things like legos, blocks, coloring (I'm suprprised they still enjoy those things are their age, but they do).

A 12 y.o. boy started today; he is older than many of the kids, and I expect that he will be bored very quickly. Another thing that we do is play board games, or card games, and he might enjoy that. He might also be able to be a helper, role model with the building kinds of toys for the younger kids.

But, does anyone have any suggestions about other ideas for things that he could do, indedpendently, in a center of his own. Or, other center ideas that I could plan that might interest him, as well as the younger school age kids? He's a cool kid, and I don't want him to dislike coming there.

~ Faith

It would be wonderful if he would read to the younger kids! Does he like to read? Start him on the classics and he will be hooked for life.

I could try that. We have a "Books and Quiet Games" center every day. I could see if he'd be interested in reading to other kids while he is in there.

Another possible time for him to read would be during the "Teacher Reading" center that I have once a week. We are currently reading Stuart Little. He might be interested in doing that for me.

Both of those things would depend on the cooperation and behavior of the other kids. I wouldn't want to stick him with a task that would require him to be a disciplinarian.

Thanks for the idea! Someone else suggested that he might like to make his own comic book.

Any other ideas out there?

~ Faith

See if he was a girl I would have all kinds of fun craft ideas for you. I know nothing about boys! (other than they are mean, smell like boys and like to make messes). Decoupage maybe?

My 14 yr old nephew is really into science. He also still loves legos. But most days you can find him in front of a video game or outside playing football. What if he is kind of the ring leader for the smaller kids? Like playing red light green light? He can be the one calling the shots?

Or... you know Uno is a wonderful game I don't care how old you are!

Thanks, Legz. Yeah, he might be interested in being a helper.

He might have some good lego building ideas that he could share with younger kids.

And, I do sometimes do group games during center time, such as Mother May I, Duck Duck Goose, etc. I haven't tried Red Light, Green Light. We don't have a gym, or a very big area of floor space for a running game indoors. That might be something we could do outside, during recess. I don't generally offer anything structured during that time, but, I can see that he might be bored there, too.

Indoors (your post has me "thinking out loud" here, using your ideas, and Doydie's:
- Your lego idea

- Some group games

- Reading to kids

- Maybe he could also help conduct a science experiment that I plan.

I usually have 4 centers going at a time (15 minutes each). with no more than 4 kids per center. When 15 minutes is up, they rotate to the next center. Often, in 3 of the centers, the kids play pretty independently. I try to plan one center, most days, that requires more teacher assistance.

I'm not sure if he'd be interested in the helper thing, or not. But, I can do some brainstorming with him, and see what he thinks.

Being a helper might also be a good idea for one of my 4th graders, who would probably do well with that too. She sometimes requests to just go to an independent 5th center, and read a book or do homework. Maybe I could think of some independent ideas for him too.

~ Faith

I like the idea of having the boy helpout with the younger children - I'm sure that would help both you and him and would probably give him a lot of skills for later on in life. I know at one of the Youth Clubs I used to go to here in the UK, they used to pick the older children to help out with re younger children if they were doing something like cooking etc.

I too have lots of ideas for girls seeing as I am one and of a similar age but I don't have that many ideas for boys unfortunately!! I have seen boys play at my school and they tend to like the games consoles etc so that might be something to look into if you haven't already got any!! Do you have any of re paper models that you could build? A lot f the younger boys round here like to build wooden paper airoplanes from kits that they have and they are quite practical also!! A lot of the boys that I know like making cards or something crafty with lots of different things so that might be something to look into also!

A lot of the teachers ad child minders here also like to run projects with the older kids so it might be an idea to do a project on drugs and alcohol, relationships, growing up etc. I have done one of those projects before and I really enjoyed it and the teachers made it fun as well as interesting so it didn't feel like school work!!

Hope this helps a little and if you need anything, feel free to PM me as I am a teen and might be able to help!!

He may wish to get his homework done so he is free when he gets home. Also - there will be all the adults there to help him should he get stuck on something.

Thanks, Ali and Jaspar.

Ali -- Yeah; we have one computer that 16 kids can take turns on. Sort of a reward for good behavior. But, that gives them, maybe, one 15 minute turn per week.

I'm hopeful that the helping with younger children thing can work. I'd need to be careful about who I matched him with, and how many kids, because I don't want him to have to deal with their behavior problems. I've only been working there about a month. I've been told that, in less than 2 years, they've had 5-7 different lead teachers in that classromm; so, not much consistency. They have also not had much structure in that classroom before, and the director put me in there, hoping that I could provide that by using the center idea. The first few weeks were more chaotic, but, as we seem to be getting into a routine, discipline problems seem to be decreasing, and the flow seems to be going better.

I've never heard of wooden paper airplanes. Not sure that we have the budget for major craft supplies, or, that it would be fair to purchase something just for him and not others. You could tell me more about "re paper models" (what's that?). And, making cards -- are you talking about greeting cards? We have construction paper available.

I don't really know who he'd present a project to. As I said, most kids are K-2. I have one third grader and fourth grader, but he's the only one in his age group. His mom works out of town, in the next county, and is just not comfortable leaving him home alone if something should happen.

Ali, it's good to hear from someone a similar age. Thanks for your input.

Jaspar -- Yeah; doing homework is always an option. Could mean he'd have more time for fun at home. I'd still like to offer some fun things at the after school program too.

MY DS17 has a magnet shape construction toy that he used to enjoy when he was younger that he says I could take. I'm considering it, but it has so many small pieces; and sometimes the kids aren't careful about that. Maybe, if I let him play with it together with just one other kid, by themselves, and had to have an older kid playing, because of the small pieces, and because it does not belong to the child care center, that might work.

~ Faith

Update -- on my day care job in general, etc.

12 y.o. boy sometimes seems bored, and frustrated with the sometimes annoying behavior of some of the younger kids. But, other times, he enjoys building blocks with younger kids, or spends his time reading books that he brings from home, doing his art work, etc. He enjoyed playing "Mother May I?" one day, which I thought would be too little-kiddish for him. We're doing "Duck, Duck, Goose" later this week (I haven't done that yet, while he's been there). I'll see if he wants to participate in that. Sometimes, it just feels good to be able to act like a little kid again. He seems to vary, though, from day to day. Some days, he enjoys helping and participating with them. Other days, he just feels annoyed by them.

A couple of times, I've made homemade stuff to use in one of the centers (homemade silly putty, homemade playdough). He asked for the recipe for the silly putty, and said that he made it at home, and that it turned out well. He might make the playdough at home too; it was a no-cook recipe. I'm glad when he enjoys something enough to take the idea home with home and do it again.

He has also enjoyed the magnet construction set that I brought from home. Still waiting on the center to purchase origami supplies.

In other day care news, it's good to be working in a child care setting again. That's something that I did years ago (early to mid '80's). In the 90's, I did mostly social work. I left that job to open my own licensed day care home (because I really wanted to get out of administration kinds of things, and back with kids) in 2002-2003, but, had to close, due to my MS.

Following that, I'd been working in the school system with kids, as a para, and I enjoyed that. But, not being in an academic setting now, and being the lead teacher (the only teacher) in the school age room gives me lots of flexibility to do stuff that I enjoy with the kids; it's fun to plan center times, teach them board games and card games, play old-time playground games (we play them indoors), teach social skills in getting along with each other (it's only fun when I feel successful), etc.

Sometimes, I think that my heart is really with younger kids (infants through preschoolers), but I find that I'm also enjoying the older kids that I currently work with.

I've just been working there since the end of December, and it's very part time (2-3 hrs per day, after school). If I wasn't on disability, I would not be able to take such a low paying job, but, the income that I earn from it is adequate to supplement my disability income. I struggle with being "disabled", and needing to be on disability, but, in my head, I know that there are a lot of blessings that come with it. (The income, the flexibility, etc.)

I grieve giving up my social work career, because I always expected to return to it, but I also recognize that child care was a field that I loved, prior to getting into social work, and, in the past, I managed to find a job that incorporated the two fields (worked with pregnant women and new moms, and I licensed child care facilities, preschools and day care homes in the county). I just don't think that I could find a social work job that would involve few enough hours to work around my MS fatigue issues. Absences, due to MS flares would be an issue again, as in my past jobs. (I work in a large enough child care center, and few enough hours, that the director feels like she can cover my absences, when necessary.) And, the stress in a social work job would also be higher.

Thanks for letting me ramble.

~ Faith

Thanks for the update. When God closes a door, He opens a window!