Weekend activities for kids in full time nursery?

[Lasvegas]

I have no friends with children so am interested to hear from other mums who have or had their child in nursery full time ie approx 50 hours a week. What outside activities do your kids do at weekends? I worry that I don't do enough with my DD.
My DD is 3.3 and average week end is as follows. Sat buggy dash to ballet class, afterwards library to choose new books, walk home maybe buying fruit from market on way home. This outing can take 2.5 hours as DD picks berries / stones etc on way home. Sunday play ground or walk to feed ducks or buy paper.
I have tried in vain to find other activities, eg music, swimming or gymnastics but nothing is open at the weekend. On other hand DD likes pottering around at home and watching TV. She has no time to play with her toys in the week and watches TV for about an hour before bed in the week. She naps for 2 hours, wakes at 8am and goes to bed at 7pm so the day goes pretty fast.

There's no need to do any other activities at all! Just involve her in anything you are doing - 'helping' with cooking, etc etc. Just have relaxed family time. read, make a b'day card for someone, play her games with her, etc etc.

Sounds plenty tbh , she may well not need a strcitured activity after all that time at nursery just chilling at home with her toys . Sometimes things like Gymboree or Fittots do weekend sessions or sports centres do swimming or trampolining /gymnastics for when they are a bit older(usually around school age).

i would have thought the main thing would be to have some time just hanging out with you.

Lasvegas my dd is in nursery 4 days a week 8.30 til 3.30 and has a nanny afterwards. On Fridays we do almost nothing, I think of it as her unwinding day after her week, if she wants to watch a dvd or cook some cakes or something we do that. In the afternoons we sometimes see friends.

Saturdays and sundays we have nothing fixed but always go for walks with the dog and her on trike, go shopping, cook etc and sometimes one of her friends comes round to play and vice versa.

I think pottering is great

lasvegas I wouldn't worry about trying to fit in anything more, as others say, let her help you with cooking, craft etc.
Swimming is good fun tho, are yr local sports centres really not open? We go every Sat am to a special toddler session for under 4s, and the baby pool is also open on a Sunday morning for general family swimming.

Sounds fine to me. You have an activity in the ballet, you are taking her out and about on the way home, you are allowing the opportunity to play with her toys, she has plenty of group activity at nursery anyway. Maybe you could take her on an outing to a kid friendly museum or the seaside every few weeks. You probably do anyway.

Maybe when she is a bit older get her swimming lessons but wouldn't bother with any more activities.

agree just hanging out in the house/garden is fine. just doing normal family stuff like a walk to the shop, cooking is something i find 3 yr olds love. 'helping mummy' etc

Agree with the others here - dd gets to spend quality time scribbling on her own furniture at weekends. We do family stuff together like church on Sunday and ds and dh go off and do swimming on Sat am, leaving dd and me to potter. Think it is really important to let them have their veg out at home time when they are out so much during the week,

With full time nursery your daughter will have probably had enough organised activities during the week, so personally I would be trying to give her some relaxation time with you at the weekend. What you have described as a typical weekend sounds ideal. My 3 year old DD only goes to nursery two days a week. We have one organised activity on two other days (music and toddler group),and on Fridays we tend to meet up with friends with children and have lunch, or just let the kids play together. She also has ballet on Saturdays - the rest of the weekend she just mooches and joins in with whatever we are doing. Sunday is dominated by rugby with DS1 in season, and we try to give DS2 some one to one time - I am a firm believer in letting children learn to amuse themselves from an early age, it pays off in the end

Yes definitely lots of pottering and chilling and enjoying each other's company, I would say.

DS has just started nursery mornings only but he has 2 hours nap when he gets home so it seems like almost all day!

In teh afternoon after he wakes up we potter at home, he helps get supper etc, then we play or do some drawing. When teh weather's better we will probably go down to the park.

At weekends DH takes him swimming on Saturday morning, then usually we're at home pottering on sat pm, and we try to have a family day out on Sunday (not always child orientated!).

we do bugger all

she wrecks the house while I read the papers

Agree with all the others, you don't need a formal agenda.

My dd2 (3yo) is in nursery 4 days and on Friday, we just do 'stuff'. In fact we have a number of other mums (who work 3 days or less) who are always asking to meet up and I know it sounds ungrateful, but I'm really happy to spend the day with my DD so I limit the meet ups.

Enid are you my dh?

my dd1 is 3 nad a half and she gets excited about things such as helping daddy take stuff to the recycling, cleaning her bike, washing the car, helping make the sunday roast, etc

Hey enid did you know P was 40 on Sunday? (sorry off topic)

Thanks. My view was that pottering was fine as Mon - fri really rushed to get to and from nursery. But doubting myself & getting paranoid about school entrance exams. DD is very good at entertaining herself & pottering about so I don't really have to make much of an effort.

Every 6 weeks or so we have a day out such as farm, visit relatives, children's theatre. Each weekend ee do crafts, puzzles and baking, reading book.

I wish I could actually see how DD is with other kids we don't have play dates as I don't know anyone else with children. How do you meet other parents? Impossible to do so at nursery as everyone rushing.

Enid you are officially my role model!

Enid - you're funny!! I'm reading this thread thinking I am such a terrible mum. I am sahm - 6 yr old dd at school and 2 yr (nearly) ds at home all day. I will do ANYTHING to get out and not have to entertain my kids myself at home - it's ridiculous. Sometimes I find my self drinking tea from a dirty cup, talking to someone I don't know, with ds playing with the same toy he has at home (only dirtier), just so I can get out. How mad am I?! Must try this chilling out and cooking with my kids mallarky - you guys seem to think it's OK!

Enid - you're funny!! I'm reading this thread thinking I am such a terrible mum. I am sahm - 6 yr old dd at school and 2 yr (nearly) ds at home all day. I will do ANYTHING to get out and not have to entertain my kids myself at home - it's ridiculous. Sometimes I find my self drinking tea from a dirty cup, talking to someone I don't know, with ds playing with the same toy he has at home (only dirtier), just so I can get out. How mad am I?! Must try this chilling out and cooking with my kids mallarky - you guys seem to think it's OK!

Enid - you're funny!! I'm reading this thread thinking I am such a terrible mum. I am sahm - 6 yr old dd at school and 2 yr (nearly) ds at home all day. I will do ANYTHING to get out and not have to entertain my kids myself at home - it's ridiculous. Sometimes I find my self drinking tea from a dirty cup, talking to someone I don't know, with ds playing with the same toy he has at home (only dirtier), just so I can get out. How mad am I?! Must try this chilling out and cooking with my kids mallarky - you guys seem to think it's OK!

Enid - you're funny!! I'm reading this thread thinking I am such a terrible mum. I am sahm - 6 yr old dd at school and 2 yr (nearly) ds at home all day. I will do ANYTHING to get out and not have to entertain my kids myself at home - it's ridiculous. Sometimes I find my self drinking tea from a dirty cup, talking to someone I don't know, with ds playing with the same toy he has at home (only dirtier), just so I can get out. How mad am I?! Must try this chilling out and cooking with my kids mallarky - you guys seem to think it's OK!

Enid - you're funny!! I'm reading this thread thinking I am such a terrible mum. I am sahm - 6 yr old dd at school and 2 yr (nearly) ds at home all day. I will do ANYTHING to get out and not have to entertain my kids myself at home - it's ridiculous. Sometimes I find my self drinking tea from a dirty cup, talking to someone I don't know, with ds playing with the same toy he has at home (only dirtier), just so I can get out. How mad am I?! Must try this chilling out and cooking with my kids mallarky - you guys seem to think it's OK!

Lasvegas - where are you? maybe you can start an MN thread meet-up for working mums. Sorry about my post appearing 4 times - think my computer is on the blink!

Do you meet other children at ballet - is there anywhere for you to have a drink or something to eat afterwards so you and another mum/dad could do a joint outing. Also you might run into some regulars at the swimming pool if you went at the same time each week.