Educators need to provide children with opportunities for sleep, rest and relaxation at child care. With younger children, there is a sleep routine at childcare and mats and cots will be ready for the children to have a sleep. With the older children (3-4 year olds) the children will usually not have a nap, but they still need to have the chance and a place to rest if they want to.
Even if children don't sleep, you still need to have "quiet times" during the day where children can take a break from being active and relax. It's like Kate's "chill time".
Here are some ways to provide chances to sleep, rest and relax for pre-school aged children:
Create a routine where the children know when "quiet time" will be
Dim the lights
Have places available where children can sleep if they feel tired like a couch, a little bed, a cubby, some other cosy place with cushions and perhaps blankets
Do meditation with the children
Put some quiet, sooting music on
Have some quiet activities out like storybooks, drawing or puzzles for children to do if they don't wish to lie down.
TASK: Create your own meditation with the help of your coach. Do you remember the Rainbow Meditation you did with Halley? Could you make one up that goes for maybe 5 minutes that you can do with the children? Write it down and then once you have practiced it, record your voice taking the meditation with some background music on your iPhone so you have it there always ready. You could also upload it on this Blog Page to keep.
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