To ask for your help....

[Thatsnotapotato]

My eldest DC (I have 2) will start school next year (as in Sept 2018).

I've had a bit of a battle with PND since he was born and I'm really feeling very down at the moment about how it has affected these early years with my DCs ( I am having treatment for that). I have found making a timetable or a plan to focus on really helps me, which in turn, helps everyone around me, and I would really like to make the most of this next year before we're bound by the rules of the school timetable. So I need 52 activities to do, one for each week, for the year ahead that we can do together (and with DC2, aged 2) in tow.

I'm not thinking big massive trips etc, just activities/things I can do on one day every week. Forest walks/making things etc....

Any ideas?

*DC2, age 2, in tow)

I have found this website excellent for craft and activity ideas and very reasonably priced, they also sell seasonal products so you could relate them to the time of year

handsonaswegrow.com/50-toddler-activities/

www.bakerross.co.uk/ Forgot the link sorry

Flower spotting in the park - see how many different ones you can find / name

Making a pet rock - painting & googly eyes (if safe for your LO)

Nearer Xmas - making decorations, biscuits

That kind of thing?

Also I know this is pretty dull sounding but my ds thinks there's nothing more thrilling than building a den out of sheets in our living room and having a picnic on the floor inside. It really is the small stuff that kids enjoy the most.

Do you have both children alone all the time? Because planning in some 1:1 time would be lovely.

Can your oldest swim, or ride a bike? They're the right sort of age, and with a year ahead of you it could be a lovely thing to achieve in the coming year. Both very hands on together things too - especially the swimming!

When I nannies I used to try to do
A social activity (parent and toddler group or paid for activity like gym bored or visiting little friends)
Gross motor like swimming, soft play, walk in the woods, playground)
Fine motor like drawing in sand, glueing, bead threading
Cooking - sometimes just learning how to peel carrots, sometimes making playdough, always loved cakes or biscuit decoration
trip out each week- ie library, national Trust, seaside, local woods, sometimes just helping ship with their own little shopping list

Even if they can swim - swimming together every week is loads of fun!

Painting the pavement with water

Posted too soon - swimming is also very hands on, which might suit you if you feel you've missed out on touch.

Buy a pack of giant paper table clothes from £ shop and paint/stickers/chalk

Soft play

Ok- make your own playdough (lots of recipes online)- you can colour it and put glitter in the mix then get them to make handprints that you an dry and keep.

Local library will have toddler rhyme time each week. Makes a nice hours out.

Make an eye spy sheet- then take a walk in your neighbourhood and they can cross them all out.

Plant some cress seeds in cotton wool in an egg shell- and make a cress hair person (draw face on egg shell)

Have a cinema afternoon- make popcorn, close curtains, move sofa in front of the tv,and bring the duvet downstairs. Sit and snuggle on a rainy day.

Make a memory book- collect photos, tickets rubbings, leaflets etc from your weekly activity and make a scrap book.

If you have a garden you could make a project out of planting daffs and tulips in advance for next spring. Will also give you something to look forward to next year. Otherwise work together to plant some indoor plant seeds and take care of them, it'll give them an opportunity to be responsible in keeping it well lit and watered

Oooooh yes to cinema afternoons! Nice and cuddly 👍🏻

Hand and footprints in paint. I sometimes photocopy their hands too.

Buy a colour in cardboard play house. You can get them for less than a tenner and it gave mine hours and hours of fun at that sort of age.

Take a trip to the library and pick a book to read together at bed time.

A walk in the park in autumn, kicking leaves and collecting sticks and chestnuts. Take some photos of you both in the lovely autumn colours. Make leaf angels.

Bake biscuits together and decorate them, then make hot chocolate and dunk them in.

My DD starts this September. I also had PND so massvely sympathise. I felt guilt for her older brother when she was born and he had to share my attention , then I felt guilt for her as I felt that I hadn't 'made the most' of her being little. I now know that no-one really 'makes the most' of their children's early childhoods. We all make mistakes and are sometimes too tired or feeling too low too appreciate things, its such a useless and depressing phrase which just makes us all feel useless!

Your idea is lovely and I hope you get your 52 things list but please don''t beat yourself up for the ones you don't do. My DS is already in school (going into year 2)I dreaded it but was actually surprised by how much time I still spend with him evenings and weekends. 3.30 really isn't that late and we do things together in the evenings plus we have the holidays so anything you don't get to do this year you can do in future years. Reception children are still very little and will still love doing things with mummy.

some ideas....
strawberry picking,
camping a night in the garden
welly walk - in muddy puddles
feeding the ducks
outdoor splash parks/paddling pools
making your own puppet show
baking
making jam
library challenge |( next summer assuming no time left this summer)
paddling in the sea
crabbing in a rock pool
make a treasure hunt in the house ( I draw a picture of an item in the house for example a lamp - they search for the next clue by looking under/next to/behind all the lamps)
christmas decoration making
visiting santa somewhere magical
a miniature railway
crazy golf
a bug hunt

what a lovely thread!
trots off to camp in the garden, feed ducks and build a den *

Such a lovely idea and well done for tackling things!
I now have older DC (5 and 10) some suggestions are:
Have a tent in the garden for tea parties / sleepovers / fun
Make a rock garden / plant pot / flowers
Make flour angels (so you don't have to wait for snow)
Bake
If you can afford it join the national trust - wonderful days out that are chilled and often child focused activity
On subject of national trust they have a list of 50 things to do before you're 11 3/4. Check that out.

If you have camped before... go camping! You can put a pop up tent in your own garden, with a proper mattress hauled out of the house - for full comfort!

One night, my 6yo wanted to sleep out but it was late and I didn't... so we lifted the whole pop up tent onto my super king size bed, and slept in the tent anyway.

Kind of relates to my next tip
Have a conscious go at changing any "no" to a "why not" - he'll come up with loads of ideas himself (or herself) - make a conscious decision to run with as many as you can. Silly things you didn't expect to do bring the biggest laughs 👍🏻

Have you tried geocaching? Download the app and put in your local details. It will show a map of all geocaches in your area and then the hunt is on to find them! Sometimes there are clues of it's a tricky find. Sometimes a notebook to write name and date found or a toy swap. So many things! You could explain to dc that it's a treasure hunt and throw in some geography for directions, map reading and left/right etc