Clubs to do with 3 year old on WEEKENDS???

[MrsMohi]

My DD will be 3 beginning of next year. She currently is in nursery full time mon-fri as me and her dad both work full time.
I understand we are lucky to be able to send her to nursery and that she gets a lot of educational activities and enrichment there but I feel that my time with her on the weekend is wasted and tainted because I never know what to do with her.
I find most toddler groups are weekdays only and because of the vicious cycle of needing to pay for childcare to work and vice versa, we don't have a lot of money to be constantly going to soft play, farms, zoo's etc.

There is a possibility that she may go into public nursery next year but that's depending on several factors such as; if her school offers rising 3's, if we can get a child minder for additional care hours as there are no plans for either parent to go part time (due to financial needs) and if timings work out as there's a lot of traffic where we live (city centre) so trying to do drop off and get to work etc needs to be worth it.

Anyways, back to the point... currently on a Saturday morning we go to gymnastics 10-10:45. I have got her on the waiting list for swimming lessons as surprise surprise, most swimming lessons for kids her age are weekdays!
I take her to the local library which kills an hour but considering there's nothing on we exhaust that pretty quick. There's a hub a 5 min walk away from our local library that does free crafts on a Saturday also but it's one focus craft a week so that takes 45mins tops.
We currently don't do a whole lot on Sundays. Sometimes we might go for a walk around the local garden centre and it'll usually be Sundays that we go to soft play or a farm but I want to move away from doing that weekly as my bank account is crying, especially with xmas coming up!
I have looked into movies for juniors at our local cinema but the one that's currently on still looks to old for a 2 nearly 3 year old.

There is a play cafe nearby but I don't have any mum friends, maybe I'll make some there?

I don't even know what to type into google to bring up these events/clubs! Help please!

Rugbytots is amazing. DS also did tots tennis and kids’ yoga at various points, and of course there are a million dance classes. Or how about a music class? She’s still the right age for Hartbeeps etc.

Oh Hartbeeps 🤩.

This thread is making me slightly nostalgic.

Lots of sports clubs will do weekend lessons: swimming, rugby, football, tennis, basketball, gymnastics, dance, ballet, trampolining, martial arts - a lot do classes for young children.
Places like National Trust or English Heritage (or Welsh/Scottish variants) lots will do themed events throughout the year which are free or low cost.
Follow all the local attractions for cheap locals day or buy a year pass so you can go as often as you want; & then try a different one the following year. If you find one with soft play you can then use that as free soft play during the wet weather.
Some places like aquariums or historic sites might offer pay once get in free for 12months which again gives you the freedom to go as much as you like for as long as you like.
Look into any outdoor groups like forest schools that do weekend classes.
Libraries or museums often free or donations & will run events & trails.
Soft play
Cinema
Bowling
Swimming
Walks in the Forest or beach

Get annual pass to the farm or national trust or whichever is near .
They won't mind going every week
Set your routine it does not have to be an organised group she us only three you are enough
Soon she will be in the realm of kids birthday parties every week !

Nursery will provide what the toddler groups but a bit better normally so she's not missing out. Weekend classes for toddlers tend to be the starts of the things that will take up your weekends in the school years. We do toddler swimming and toddler football on Saturdays. There is also pre-school rugby, hockey, gym and ballet available round here also at the weekend. Most of them require parental participation at this age.

There are loads of toddler activities on weekends around here as we're in an affluent part of north London. I use Happity to find activities, and also look through free listings magazines like Primary Times, Families North London, which we get from school and libraries. There are some great blogs/insta which do monthly activity listings - use Google to see what mum blogs cover your area (and also just beyond - we travel all over London for activities).

My dcs do swimming and drama on weekends, but we've tried to keep the main part of Saturdays free from regular clubs as there are so many one-off activities to keep us busy at weekends. I find it's nicer to do fun trips out as a family when we can spend time together, rather than drop-off activities because we wouldn't actually spend that time with them, and the dcs wouldn't spend time with each other (eldest is in school).

We do tend to spend a fair bit on trips, but also do some free things - museums and galleries, big playgrounds, visiting different libraries, council soft play (cheap if you get a concessionary membership), city farms, splash fountains (in summer), historic properties, country parks, riverside/canal walks. Out local council opens some of the childrens centres once a month on a Saturday too (each Saturday there is one open, but in a different part of the borough).

There are often free events for families put on by the council, especially over Christmas (like light switch-ons and community fairs) or during school holidays. I'm on the council mailing list for all the nearby boroughs and between them, there's something free happening every weekend.

You don't need to take her to specific toddler activities. Take her wherever you fancy and she'll be happy to just hangout with you.
Exhibitions? A riverside or woodland walk? Day trip somewhere new? A wander around a local country park? A bookshop and cafe?
It's your weekend too. Do something you like.

This.
Why do you feel you need a structured activity led by someone else? Since you are all in structured activity/work 5 days a week I’m sure she would just love to spend time with you playing at home and exploring the outdoors (free stuff).

I think there's some cases where a lot of structured activities are good (I'm thinking of friends who have children with ADHD as for them helps burn off energy). But for the majority, I think this obsession with having to fill every minute of the day with something or an activity does more harm than good. Everyone needs down time, to decompress and to actually learn to fill their own time occupying themselves. I work full time too, and the thought of having to do a full weekend of clubs after nursery/work seems like a recipe for burnout for everyone.

It may sound very unpopular, but I'd really work on the 5am rising issue. I wonder if your DC is waking early as they are so conditioned to now starting their day then. There's plenty of articles on how to do this but if your child won't go back to sleep, I'd focus on quiet activities, books or audio books. You really don't have to start your day doing 1:1 play at 5am because your child demands you do.

I do empathise as I have a similarly energetic child who couldn't stay in all day and has zero interest in baking, jigsaws or arts and crafts. However I'd take the pressure off yourself in thinking you need to cram your day full of clubs and activities in order for it to be "special". Your child isn't going to have memories of this time and the most important thing for them is time with you.

We do one thing in the morning and one in the afternoon. I'd google free activities in your area. Even a lot of museums have interactive things for toddlers. We do a lot of parks, woods even open spaces where they can take their bike and ball. And when the weathers horrible (and like you I hate to be tramping about in the pouring rain), things like the supermarket, garden centres and pet shops are always a hit.

Also remember to take time to yourself. You don't need to spend every second being some sort of children's entertainer. It's healthy for everyone to set some boundaries and say "no mummy's having a rest for half an hour" and for them to watch some TV or play with toys.

Let her play by herself. You don't have to entertain her all the time.

My DDs used to "help" with the housework, cooking, shopping or whatever I was doing.

Life isn't one long ball of fun, and your DD needs to learn that.