Every weekend I try to make a plan of activities for the coming week to start on Monday.
I start with the gauging what my child is interested in (using the “My Child” sheet of the free weekly planner). I fill one out for each of my kids and what they’re into at the moment. I use this as my guide to plan our activities accordingly.
With each of my kids’ interests, I brainstorm 7 activities to do that week. I jot them down on the simple ‘Activities To Do This Week’ planner.
Below is a sample week of activities for preschoolers.
For preschoolers, I try to include the following in each week:
- gross motor activity
- fine motor activity
- craft
- art project
- outdoor activity
- family activity for Sunday
Monday: Go on a spy hunt! Tape diagonally between walls down a hallway, stick pom poms to it randomly. Have the kids crawl through, over and under, to collect the pom poms. Supplies: painter’s tape, pom poms or cotton balls
Tuesday: Write a secret note in white crayon! Have kids paint over with colored water. It magically appears! Supplies: paper, white crayon, food coloring & water or watercolors, paintbrushes
Wednesday: Float a boat! Stick the straw in the side of a juice box, add a sail with paper. Float it in a tub of water. Supplies: empty juice box, scissors, scrap paper
Thursday: Keep kids busy with rubber bands, or hair bands. Slide them on and off a can of food, one at a time. Supplies: canned food, rubber bands
Friday: Draw a target on the driveway or sidewalk in chalk. Make, or gather, mud to throw at the target. Supplies: sidewalk or pavement, sidewalk chalk, mud or dirt and water
Saturday: Experiment with milk. Pour whole milk into a shallow dish. Drop in food coloring. Dip a cotton swab in dish soap and hold it in the milk. Watch it swirl! Supplies: shallow dish, whole milk, food coloring, cotton swab (q-tip), dish soap
Sunday: Play a new-to-you game together as a family.
Family Time Tip! Leave Saturday and Sunday open for things to do as a family (like a movie night or cuddles).