communication books

[maggie]

Hi, the centre dd(15m) goes to(an independent one!!) , up til 2weeks ago, they wer filling out a book, too let the parents know, what they eat furing the day and how long sleeps are for etc.. they have stopped htis and just have a tick sheet in their room for their reference., i loved this, reading it when i got home at night, and of course i want to know what he has done during the day.. Does anyone else get books like this, or is it something u dont think important.. i have been told the ABC centres complete books,

[Lilly-Pilly]

Hey Maggie, When I worked at a child care centre we wrote in each child's book each day like you are descsribing, but to be honest with you it was ALOT of work to do each day when you are in a room full of babies. Finding the time to do this for each individual child became a lot of work with all the other paper work you are required to fill out during the day. In the end our time was better spent with the babies than filling in extra books.
As we provided all the food for the children rather than them bringing their own we had a daily menu so the parents could see what food was offered and we always made sure we had a chat with the parents at the end of the day to fill them in on their childs day.
We had one communication book where parents could leave the staff any messages for the day regarding their child etc.
ABC centres do write down the sleep times, or ticks for sleeping etc and write down the foods eaten but that is out of the childs lunch box, usually in a folder all together for all the children, not so much individual books

[Mother Goose]

Hi Maggie,

Yes, we get this information at my DD's centre - but she goes to an ABC. I find this information to be really helpful because it gives me an idea of when she will want her next feed at home, an idea about how her routine is going (and if it is changing), how hungry she is, if she's getting sick (she loses her appetite when really sick) etc. Plus, I don't feel like I'm missing so much when I know what kind of a day she has had and what she's been up to IYKWIM.

MG

[Beckibee]

When Maddy was in the babies/nursery room, we got an individual piece of paper letting us know what she'd done, what she'd eaten, nappy changes, any messages etc. When she moved up to the toddler room we didn't get that anymore (as they have 2-3 times the number of children) but they do up a sheet on the wall every day and let us know what activities the children did, whether they ate all their meals and their nap times. Time allowing they try to put individual comments about each child. I do miss the individual sheets but look forward to getting to daycare each day to read on the wall what Madeline has been doing.

They also put up their week's work plan for the kids at the start to each week outlining all of the different areas of the children's development. I find it a great way (especially as I studied teaching at uni) to ensure that my child is at a daycare centre where there is proper planning etc in place for her.

ETA - There is a communication book for everyone to use in the room too, so you can leave messages for the group leaders/assistants about your child and they can leave messages for you as well. I am very much looking forward to the end of the year when Maddy will bring home her scrapbook filled with the little activities she's done this year.

[Lucy]

My 3 are in an ABC centre. Lexie is in the nursery and she has a folder that the girls fill in.

Charlie is the toddler room and the info is more tick box style on a sheet on the wall, and Olivia is in Kindy, where there is a clipboard arrangement)

To be honest, I glean all of my info from the pick-up chat with the carers. (Pick up for us takes ages, LOL!)

Particularly with lexie they gfive me a full verbal run down of what she has been up to in terms of sleeps, feeds poos etc....

Less so with Charlie. (but they always tell me what he has eaten & whioch new words he has mastered.....important stage at the moment for us...he is 50% deaf, so new words are a biggie for us, LOL!)

Extensively with Olivia in relation to learning outcomes and her readiness for school and her social interactions etc.

The verbal method works best for me....

[maggie]

Thanks, i have orientation at an ABC ctr near where i live.. curr in an independent one, which i am not happy with at the moment... My friends think i am crazy having a look at ABC centres...

[Lucy]

Maggie, I get raised eyebrows at my choice of child care too. Don't let it bother you: just pick the centre that feels right for you and your family.

There was a thread about it a while back:

independent VS ABC Centres - BellyBelly Forums ~ Pregnancy, Birth & Baby