Structuring the day with a toddler

[Wingingthis]

I have a 2.5 year old toddler & am due my second any day now. I’m really struggling with structuring our days during lockdown.
She’s so young so I’m not exactly homeschooling, but she does love going to preschool and her little toddler classes which she clearly misses! They were a great way to break up the day and she loved her little routine.
Any suggestions? Feel like I’m going stir crazy already and the days are dragging!

Mine are 4 and 22m. We are usually up around 6, and they go to sleep ideally at 7. We have breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, bath. This means there's really never more than 2-3hrs without them eating and drinking.

In between we play, read books, do colouring in, play in the garden, and watch a lot of tv! We don't have a fixed schedule but I try to do something every day that I feel they might have been doing at nursery - one day we made rockets from toilet rolls, another we did some water play with some cups and scoops.

Five Minute Mum is an excellent resource for kids aged 1-5. Just play with them, there's nothing else we can all do. It's exhausting and I've never been so grateful for nursery, but there's no other way at the moment.

In same boat minus expecting. We would normally be at a group or he be at creche every morning we would then spend afternoon out somewhere. Im obsessed with roitune and he us too (my fault!!)'so its hard. Ive been v losely been trying to do breakfast play, tv ,play/ snack,head out for exercise (which is impossible as he runs down every hill but won't walk back up!)
Then lunch,nap
Afternoon is tv snack then art ( ok it lasts 5min.max and we just produce a mess!) Then plsy in garden praying OH gets home quick from work! ( HSE worker,Ireland's NHS. Dinner bath bed then wine!

I feel you! I’m at home with a 2.5 year old and a 8 month old so it’s pretty much carnage without the groups and nursery. This last week has been hard, but for next week. I’ve picked a particular activity to do each day as a bit of a centre for the day, so something quite time consuming like painting or play doh. If you look on Pinterest there are loads of ideas some other ideas - Cleaning toys - giving a variety of different brushes or sponges, we did this last week outside some warm water a toothbrush, washing up sponges and a cloth and we washed all his trucks.
Play doh
Painting/drawing/crafting
Baking
I asked him to copy me last week and we did things like jump like a frog, hop on one leg, skip jump etc. (Appreciate this might be difficult being pregnant!)

I get outside for a walk everyday, pointing out lots of things along the way, he has a balance bike which tires him out normally guarantees me a nap for an hour after lunch.

My plan for next week is to have some set times for listening and singing nursery rhymes ones with actions, some time to snuggle and read books. I’m mostly utilising his toys to aid learning so asking him to give me specific colours, or counting outloud, building big towers and comparing them to small towers.
We built a den today which he loved - so will incorporate that next week, and maybe do some reading in there.
Have a picnic in the livingroom

Rough idea of next week

• 9:30 out the house for our daily walk
• 11 - small snack/daily focal activity
• 12 - lunch
• 12:30 - nap if I’m lucky
• 13:30 - half hour tv time to wake up
• 14:00 - listen to some nursery rhymes
• 14:30 - play with plenty of input from me to help the things he’s learnt at nursery

1530 - free play/input from me if he wants it 1600 - afternoon snack/tv time 16:30 - read together 17:00 - free play - plan to use tv as I’ll prep/cook dinner 18:00 dinner time and sign off for daddy to take over 🤣

Basically lots of play with input from you. There are lots of resources on twinkl and things if you want more structured learning - but I’ve found just talking and pointing out colours/numbers etc helps direct some learning - it’s all about play at this age