My Toddler & Me: Weekly Schedule

After losing my job, we had to make some tough financial decisions, which meant that my son’s daily routine and learning along with all of the household responsibilities became my responsibility. Just thinking of all the activities and variety of play he was exposed to had me feeling another level of anxiety.

I was worried that if I didn’t continue to actively work on teaching him and kept the relaxed routine we had on the weekends he would lose out on the progress he was making. I was also worried that without a schedule and plan to motivate me, negative thinking and pity could creep in and take over my day. There was no time for that! I have the sweetest little boy who wants nothing but to spend time with me and play! So, I made a schedule for us which incorporates learning, creativity and games, plus allows me to space my chores and projects throughout the week.

Now, do I get everything done on the schedule everyday? NO. This schedule is a baseline for how we spend our day and gives me a sense of structure and purpose. However, this is also a time that I am trying to take advantage of and enjoy spending time with my son, so, if he adamantly opposes an activity, we skip it and try again later. If he is loving an activity and engaged, we might keep on going and skip the next one or shorten it. This is not meant to be another stressor in our already stressful lives right now, it is meant to be a guide for what we would like to accomplish each day.

The most important thing to remember is there is always tomorrow to try again.
This is how our schedule goes and what works for us (most days anyways). At the end of this post, you can download my schedule along with a blank version to customize with what works for you.

Kinedu Learning Activity for the day – practicing using a spoon and moving beans from the bowl to the cup.

Our Typical Day

We start our day off slow and relaxed. My son LOVES cheerios – I think he could survive on these alone if it really came down to it. So, he gets some cheerios with his morning milk. This calms his hunger a bit so that we can follow with a little bit of tv time and morning snuggles. While he finishes up, I get breakfast started and enjoy a cup of coffee.

I space out independent play planned throughout the day to give me a chance to clean and reset (perfect after a meal time). Also, a great way for me to mix in some of my regular daily cleaning like wiping door handles/countertops, etc. Then, we start with the days’ learning activity which I usually find in the Kinedu App.

Fitness is also an important part of our daily routine so we follow our learning activity with some Zumbini or other mommy & me style workouts. This is actually helping me stay active and lose weight during all of this craziness, plus, my toddler actually really enjoys this!

After our exercise routine, we do a mix of reading and other indoor play until lunch time. One of my favorite parts of our day is arts & crafts, I tend to mix this with simple creative activities and art related learning activities.

Today’s Arts & Craft Time – Baby Shark coloring book!

Now, finally, it’s nap time! I use this to get my main cleaning for the day done. I try to space this out throughout the week so I am not squeezing in too much in one day. Also, I try to use this time for some of my own creative projects a couple of days a week.

After nap time, we finish out our afternoon with some outdoor play and music time! Luckily, we have a pool so a lot of our outdoor play is spent in the pool. A water table/wall or even a bubble wand are also some fun ways to keep the little ones entertained and cool outside. For music time, we do a mix of some simple songs and dances on youtube with our own toy instruments like drums, xylophone and keyboard.

We finish out the day with some family activities once my husband is finished with his work day. A nice walk is a must for him after being locked in our home office all day and is another great way to get us all some fresh air and exercise.

Like I said above, this is what is working for us. Maybe all of these activities don’t make sense for you to try to fit in everyday and you’d rather spend more time on an activity and mix them up throughout the week, alternating between art, music and exercise? That’s perfectly ok.