Creating a daily daycare schedule is no small feat. As a daycare owner or childcare director, your day-to-day can be hectic. Daily routines are the key to maintaining order. This goes for daycare staff, children, and even families. In this guide, we'll teach you how to create a daily schedule for infants, toddlers and preschoolers that perfectly balances structure and flexibility. Building a daycare schedule can be a challenge. You’ll need to factor in available resources, licensing requirements, developmental needs, and space constraints. While every childcare provider has different rules and program offerings, there are some general guidelines to follow when building a daycare schedule. Regardless of age group, your daily schedule must incorporate ways to meet all of your children’s developmental milestones while ensuring the safety and well-being of your children and your staff. There are four key areas to consider as you craft a schedule that works for your center. Adhere to your state's daycare and childcare licensing regulations when creating a schedule for your center. These vary depending on your location and will provide you with a framework to start from. Are you required to provide 30 minutes of daily exercise for your three-year-olds? What are the rules regarding staff ratios for each age group at your daycare? Do you need to document health checks for your infants every morning? Are there regulations on cleaning tasks during the day? Do your due diligence to ensure that you build both the required and the recommended components into your daycare schedule template. Consider that 80% of brain development happens in the first three years of life. More than 1 million neural connections are formed every second during these years. Not to mention the rapid physical development that occurs during this stage of childhood. The good news is that there are easy-to-follow recommended guidelines for meeting the daily needs of each age group, whether it’s hours of exercise per day or types of play activities. As such, all daily daycare schedules should be built to support each age group's developmental milestones and prepare each child for the next developmental stage and classroom. Your schedule will contain blocks of time dedicated to supporting physical, social, and cognitive growth through structured routines and activities. It will also consider the necessary physical needs of each age group, such as naps, feedings/meals, and diapering/potty training. Depending on your daycare facility and available resources, daily scheduling can become a puzzle to piece together. Different age groups may need to use your outdoor facilities at staggered times. If you have a multipurpose room for special events or guest activities, you’ll need to work this space’s availability into your daycare schedule template. If the toddlers and preschoolers share a wall between their rooms, you may want to schedule some quiet activities while the toddlers are having their nap. If you offer flexible options, such as part-time mornings or afternoon schedules, you may have programs that share a room, so you’ll need to build transition time into your daily schedule. Another building block of your daily daycare schedule will be staffing needs. Your childcare staff will need regular breaks throughout their day. Will you schedule a floating staff member to provide these breaks throughout the day? Or will these be built into each classroom’s daily schedule, depending on the activity block? Staff will also need time to perform all other duties that don’t involve direct supervision in their rooms, from prep time and cleaning to record-keeping and assessments. Another common practice is consolidating classrooms at the end of the day as children are picked up at different times. This helps to maintain ratios while keeping staffing costs down. Some daycare centers plan to pull a teacher in the afternoon as students leave to perform non-supervisory administrative or cleaning duties. For example, you may want to schedule outdoor time at the end of the day for toddlers and preschoolers so that the groups can be combined as needed depending on the ratios each day. Creating daily lesson plans will help you organize and stick to your daycare schedule. Download our free daily lesson plan template and customize to suit your teaching style and children's needs. The infant daycare schedule is typically designed to meet the needs of children between the ages of six weeks to 18 months (or when they begin walking). Building opportunities to engage with infants one-on-one will help encourage their progress on all developmental milestones. To inform your schedule, you’ll need an understanding of benchmark behaviors and abilities in this age group. Reaching for toys Holding up their heads unsupported Starting to roll over Recognizing faces Returning smiles Imitating facial expressions Babbling and imitating sounds Sitting without support Pulling themselves up to stand Starting to crawl Playing “peek-a-boo” Showing preferences for favorite toys Exhibiting the beginnings of separation anxiety Understanding “no” Copying sounds/gestures Repeating words/trying to say words Waving goodbye Working at standing/walking Banging objects together Drinking from a cup Crying when a parent leaves Responding to simple requests Infants need as much interaction as possible as they are learning about the world around them. They also need plenty of exercise — even newborns! The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends several minutes of tummy time a day from when they come home from the hospital. Daily schedules for infants should contain a lot of flexibility and variation since you’ll likely deal with a range of needs throughout the day. Infant programs typically have a higher staff-to-child ratio to handle all of the physical tasks that accompany caring for a group of infants. You may also face some stringent licensing guidelines around documentation of naps, feedings, or diapering, so these activities may need more thorough planning than is provided in our sample below. Many centers opt not to post daily schedules for infants, given how varied the needs are and how rapidly they are changing. However, it is still best practice to have a guideline to work from to ensure they are getting the support and interaction they need to grow and learn. 8:00am - 9:00am Drop-off + bottles/breakfast 9:00am - 9:30am Diapers 9:30am - 10:00am Circle time (books + songs + puppets/finger plays) 10:00am - 10:15am Bottles/morning snack 10:15am - 10:30am Diapers/clean up 10:30am - 11:30am Naptime 11:30am - 12:00pm Bottles/lunch 12:00pm - 12:30pm Story time (books + songs) 12:30pm - 1:30pm Outside play/gross motor time 1:30pm - 2:30pm Naptime 2:30pm - 3:00pm Bottles/snack 3:00pm - 4:00pm Sensory or art activity 4:00pm - 5:00pm Individual play time The toddler daycare schedule is generally designed to meet the needs of children from 18 months to three years old. This group is newly mobile and working hard to communicate verbally. Plenty of time to work on language and gross motor skills will be the basis of the daily schedule for toddlers as you help them progress on all of their developmental milestones. Throwing a ball Holding a crayon Experimenting with defiance and independence Copying others Engaging in simple cooperative play Simple vocabulary of names, everyday objects, and body parts Speaking in two to four-word sentences Showing affection and concern for friends Taking turns in games Engaging in joint activities with a common goal Following multi-step instructions Starting to carry on conversations Can be understood by most adults Running Jumping Pedaling a tricycle Toddlers need plenty of group play time to explore the beginnings of cooperative play. Your schedule should encourage interactions during activities or at play centers in the classroom. The younger ones will benefit from observing the older toddlers as they begin to play and interact with each other. Imitation is key as they start to build a real understanding of how to work with others around them. 8:00am - 9:00am Drop-off + breakfast 9:00am - 9:30am Independent play/play centers 9:30am - 10:00am Circle time (morning routine + songs) 10:00am - 10:15am Morning snack 10:15am - 11:30am Outside play + physical activity 11:30am - 12:00pm Lunch 12:00pm - 1:00pm Sensory or art activity 1:00pm - 1:30pm Story time (books + songs) 1:30pm - 2:30pm Naptime 2:30pm - 3:00pm Afternoon snack 3:00pm - 4:00pm Group play (puzzles + games + center activities) 4:00pm - 4:30pm Closing circle 4:30pm - 5:00pm Choice time/outside play The preschool daily schedule will meet the needs of the oldest children at your center, typically three to five-year-olds. The shift for this age group will focus more on fine motor and language/cognition abilities and other kindergarten readiness skills. Building more structured activities with an increasing academic focus will encourage progress on this group’s developmental milestones. Catching and throwing a ball Walking backward Using scissors Copying shapes Dressing themselves Engaging in imaginative play Cooperating with others Having interests/likes/opinions Following some basic grammar rules (using “he/she” and “over/under” appropriately) Telling simple stories Singing songs such as “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “The Wheels on the Bus” Skipping Doing somersaults Using the swings Drawing shapes and people Telling the difference between what’s real and make-believe Exhibiting more independence Wanting to please their friends and be like them Speaking very clearly Using future/past tense and more sophisticated grammar Telling stories with full sentences Writing letters and numbers This is the age that the afternoon nap is starting to drop off, so naptime can also turn into quiet reading time for those who aren’t able to fall asleep. The other big shift will be towards more cognitive and literacy skills in preparation for kindergarten. Your daily preschool schedule should include more table and task-centered activity blocks to ensure they leave your center fully equipped to handle the transition to school. This age group still learns a lot through imaginative and fantasy play, as they build a stronger sense of self and cooperative relationships with each other. According to the AAP, they also need even more physical activity, up to two hours daily. This group will work on improving balance and coordination in both fine and gross motor activities. 8:00am - 9:00am Drop-off + breakfast 9:00am - 9:30am Circle time (morning routine + songs) 9:30am - 10:15am Activity center 10:15am - 10:30am Morning snack 10:30am - 11:00am Outside play + physical activity 11:00am - 11:30pm Table work (literacy/math) 11:30am - 12:00pm Lunch 12:00pm - 1:00pm Art or sensory/fine motor activity 1:00pm - 1:30pm Story time 1:30pm - 2:30pm Naptime/quiet time 2:30pm - 3:00pm Afternoon snack 3:00pm - 4:00pm Group play (puzzles + games + center activities) 4:00pm - 4:30pm Closing circle 4:30pm - 5:00pm Choice time Whatever your variation on these schedules is, it’s important to post your daily schedule in the classroom and share with your families to keep everyone informed. Following your daycare schedule framework will ensure that each age group’s developmental needs are met, which will help build trust with your families. Follow your daycare routine as much as possible and allow flexibility as special events or opportunities arise.The basics of a daily daycare schedule
1. Licensing requirements
2. Developmental needs
3. Facility logistics
4. Staff logistics
Infant schedule
Developmental milestones for four-month-olds
Developmental milestones for nine-month-olds
Developmental milestones for infants one year to 18 months old
Infant schedule guidelines
Sample infant daycare schedule
Toddler schedule
Developmental milestones for two-year-olds
Developmental milestones for three-year-olds
Toddler schedule guidelines
Once your children are mobile toddlers, their daily schedule will change some, with the biggest difference most likely being the absence of the morning nap. Daily schedules for toddlers will contain ample outdoor/gross motor time to foster the important physical development happening at this age. The AAP recommends 60 minutes of active play per day for toddlers, with at least half of that being led by adults.Sample toddler daily schedule
Daily preschool schedule
Developmental milestones for four-year-olds
Developmental milestones for five-year-olds
Preschooler schedule guidelines
Sample preschooler daily schedule
Final reflection
FAQs
What is an example of a daily routine in childcare? ›
6:30 - 9:00am | Children arriving and free indoor play |
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2:00pm | Story and sleep/rest time |
3:00pm | Afternoon tea |
3:30 - 5:00pm | Pick up and outside free play, late snack |
5:00pm - 6:00pm | Storytime and indoor play until close |
Care routines for infants and toddlers, such as diapering, feeding, washing, and sleeping, take up a lot of time each day. “Rituals and routines work together to create secure environments that nurture relationships between infants and their caregivers” (Gillespie & Peterson, 2012, p.
How do you set a routine in childcare? ›Keep routines consistent.
Doing the same things in the same order helps children know what to expect in child care. For example, toddlers may know that when the teacher says it's lunchtime, they need to put away their toys, go wash their hands, sit down at their place at the table, and wait for the teacher to sit down.
A developmentally appropriate schedule is a plan for your classroom that is based upon the understanding of a child's development. This approach to teaching takes into account the child's age and individual needs.