As childcare businesses, large or small, are forced to reduce capacity to address better staff-to-child ratio and space requirements, daycare centers have seemed to shrink not only in capacity but also size.
As each child needs a minimum amount of space, a relatively spacious room pre-pandemic can now feel cramped, if not suffocating.
To address this space issue, let’s think outside the box and discover untapped space resources around your community and push the boundaries of your classrooms.
1. Public parks
If there’s a public park near your center that has either meandering walks and various trees and flowers or a better equipped playground, it’s another interesting place for kids to explore.
From breathing fresh air to observing nature’s elements interact,
Before going, contact local authorities and secure permission from parents for the outings.
2. Gardens and outdoor spaces of nearby business areas
These beautifully designed spaces are a great opportunity to take your little ones for a mini-field trip, albeit just right around the corner.
If you spot a nearby business whose outdoor space seems a great spot for kids’ activities, consider submitting a proposal to the business.
It will not only add an exciting new activity to your cooped-up kids, the business staff can also get a refreshing sight from seeing kids enjoying their outdoor spaces.
3. Imaginarium
Next in our list of daycare activities–the imaginarium!
This next one doesn’t require anyone to go out of the classroom.
A little bit of prompts and questions and let your kids’ imagination run wild.
Next thing you know, the classroom is either a safari park, a beach, or a laboratory for breakthrough experiments.
To help kids jumpstart their imagination wheel or bring them back to the topic, visual aids are a great way to start them on the right way.
4. Classroom Maze
Adding more props to an imagination activity, transform an empty room into a maze.
Rearrange the area with paths and roadblocks where kids can come in pairs.
Decorate it with cutouts or posters and dress up kids as adventurers to discover what’s out there.
It’ll even be better if there are treasure trinkets and loot bags to take for each pair which makes the maze more amazing.
5. Story Trails
Given rules on physical distancing, make daycare activities more bearable and turn it into an exciting adventure for kids by leaving foot trails on the floors.
Have detours, multiple paths, and roadblocks that encourage kids to explore and decide which way to go and what to do based on a story.
For example, have a modern retelling of Hansel and Gretel but instead of leading to the witch’s house which may be too scary for young ones, have it lead to different fun areas.
The endpoints can be a sweet factory, Santa Claus’ workshop, jungle safari, or secret garden.
Multiple endpoints for your story trails also allow children to explore a different path every day.
And with a child’s imagination as your ally, it’s not that hard to transform your limited space into somewhere full of adventures.
These are just some daycare activities on how to make the most out of spaces and resources available to your daycare center without having to add any operating costs.
If you’re keen on using public resources, make sure to contact relevant authorities and secure permission. Also, always keep updated about the newest pandemic guidelines from your community, area, or state.
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