Toddler Summer

Staying at home with my three-year-old during the summer can be challenging, as we both go from daily schedules to freedom. After a few days filled with meltdowns and frustrations, I went to the source of all my Mom knowledge...my Mom. She witnessed firsthand my daughter's epic meltdown while we were shopping together.  She suggested that I bring us both back onto a schedule and post it for my daughter to see it. I mean,  planning my day and telling my students our schedule works for me in the classroom to keep 20 middle schoolers engaged during the day, so why did I not think of it at home?! So to the internet I went to find an age-appropriate schedule for my daughter. 

After gleaning some ideas, I wrote a schedule in my phone. The next day, I decided to lightly implement it to see if the timings and activities were things she was interested in. As the day went on, I made notes in my phone about her timings and the flow of activities. I could already see a change in her after one day of sticking to a schedule; the tantrums were less, and I was able to keep better track of things like screen time.  

The next step was creating the "concrete" daily schedule. The first thing was to decide the priorities of her schedule. I knew I wanted to add in skills that she learned at preschool last year, plus some she didn't quite master during the year. She loves to help me cook and prep food, so I knew meal times needed more time. I found that she worked best in 30-minute periods, so I wanted to make sure that I kept consistent with that time frame. So that I could keep her attention during activities without it becoming a power struggle.  

Let me just say...I am no expert, but this is the daily schedule that works best for my daughter. Will things come up? Sure! Just add them in!

Do what works best for you and your child! This should not be just another thing to completely alter everything, but should be a natural and flowing day. 

**Also, be prepared to shift the schedule due to weather. I like to do theme days when it rains. Here is our monster-themed rainy day schedule.

If you want to implement this. Here are some must-haves!

The most important thing with this is to have fun! Even my husband has become a fan of helping me write out the schedule each night and seeing what we will be doing.