Need a Curriculum

Have you seen those Nanny shows on TV? And they whip out these perfect daily schedules and suddenly there's TV harmony?

Do you have one that you stick to?

Does TS have any? I think with all the goings on here plus trying to educate and PT we all get a little scrambled.

I'm getting sick of using Disney as a backdrop in our house bc the 52 other 5 minute activites we've tried since 6am aren't working for me(to allow a shower for instance).

 

I never had a curriculum but more or less a weekly calendar of activities. For me, it helped to have some type of mid-morning outing when they were that age. I personally got too "stir crazy" to be at home all day. The boys also seemed to benefit from 1 - 1.5 hr change of scenery time.

At age 2, we were involved with 2 weekly playgroups and a mommy and me gymnastic class during the winter. It helped to have set outings, 3 days/week (especially in the winter lock down mode). I also joined a local "mom's club" that provided many nice group activities that we could pick and choose to do and still take advantage of. At that age, we also started doing library and story times. Of course, when spring breaks and you spend so much time outside...the days go by so much more quickly. Remember also that it all gets easier and EASIER as they mature and independently and interactively play together (big changes from age 3+)

I have always operated under a "schedule" with the boys. I do think kids thrive in an environment where they understand what comes next. Our days were basically organized into blocks of time..(not minute to minute). I think with young kids you have to encorporate loads of freeplay time to learn and explore. Set times for us were meals, bedtime and their afternoon nap. I always made sure that are activities were in the mornings so that we were home and in place for afternoon nap. I used that downtime for me! I often would shower then or after they went to bed.

 

When my kids were your age, they had a pretty consistent daily sleep/nap and feeding schedule, just because it was easier for me to handle them that way. I also took them to a toddler gym class twice a week and had play dates twice a week. It was really for me as much as for them. I looked forward to getting out of the house and talking to other adults.

 

We too have a general schedule that includes morning out, home for lunch, nap, dinner, bath, and bed. Mine are 2.5 and we still arrange "life" around the nap. We go out every morning -- some days story hours, other local events, playgroups, park, walks in the neighborhood, or errands. If we stay inside, they start to squabble over the smallest things. If we get out, they are ususally great. We usually leave the house between 9-10 and home by 11:30-12. Nap is 12:45. I am up early so shower before they get up.

 

We have a general daily schedule, too, but nothing that we totally stick to all the time. Pretty similar to what Frick and Frack said, only we are out earlier and nap earlier.

 

Well, I am no Super Nanny, but we do have a basic routine that we follow each day. I think I need it more than the kids. It helps me to keep them busy, and it also helps me to get chores done! I work part time and when DH is home with them he follows the same schedule.

So here is a sample of what a typical weekday looks like in our house:

7:00am - wake, play, breakfast (while they are eating I throw a load in the wash and empty the dishwasher)
8:00am - TV time; Mom showers (wipes down the bathrooms with cleaner), gets everyone ready
9:00am - Out the door for errands, Mommy and Me class, playdates (if we come home early, we just play something together)
12:00pm - lunch (throw the load of laundry into the dryer, start another load if needed but we can usually get by on one load a day)
12:30pm - books
1:00pm - nap (I take a break during this time; read, mess around on TS, do work stuff)
2:30pm - outside to play for a bit (bikes, trikes, or some other gross motor activity to get them MOVING, etc.); inside to play (usually some fine motor type activity, art, playdough, stickers, etc.) -- NOTE: During this chunk of playtime I do make an intentional effort to offer a variety of activities that rotate from gross motor (large muscles) to fine motor (think finger muscles). (On Mondays, I do I super quick cleaning of my house during this time. I vaccuum, dust, wipe down mirrors and windows, then mop. Takes about 90 min and they "help". So on Mondays, we may go outside to ride bikes at 4:30 instead of watching TV.)
4:30pm - Everybody cleans up so the house is neat when Daddy comes home (so lunch dishes are done at this time); kids then watch maybe a half hour of TV while I fold that load of laundry and start dinner.
5:30pm - Daddy home; he plays with them while I get the rest of dinner ready.
6:00pm - Dinner at the table
6:45pm - Daddy gives baths while I clean up dinner and wiped down kitchen; I also use this time to clean up any stray toys that came out after Daddy came home.
7:30pm - Jammies, teeth, books
8:00pm - Kids in bed; DH and I relax, read, hang out together!

SO there it is. I don't do anything specific with the kids curriculum-wise (i.e., this is when we work on shapes, this is when we work on letters). We learn so much on our daily outings in the morning. We read books twice a day for extended periods of time so that provides many opportunities to learn new things. The only thing I do try to do is give them a balance when it comes to running/jumping/pedaling AND drawing/molding/lacing, etc. So anyways, hope that made some sense.

 

Wow. That's pretty much what I do - but I have business interruptions throughout. Seeing it all written down kind of freaked me out - you look like Superwoman there Kate! But it put me back into perspective and showed me that I guess I do get things accomplished each day.

But one thing I don't get is how you are able to shower and get the three of you ready to leave the house so fast! That seems like it takes me a minimum two hrs

 

QUOTE(MEARA @ Jan 16 2008, 03:36 PM) [snapback]575703[/snapback]
Wow. That's pretty much what I do - but I have business interruptions throughout. Seeing it all written down kind of freaked me out - you look like Superwoman there Kate! But it put me back into perspective and showed me that I guess I do get things accomplished each day.

But one thing I don't get is how you are able to shower and get the three of you ready to leave the house so fast! That seems like it takes me a minimum two hrs


Oh my, I am so far from Superwoman! Come check out the cobwebs and dusty lampshades!

As for getting out of the house quickly, change their clothes when you do that first diaper change of the day. That always helps me! They usually fight me a lot less because they are still not fully awake and wild. And I always lay my clothes out the night before (and often theirs). I have done it since I was a kid!