Schedules for 2-3 Year Olds

(You can download this blog post from our SCHEDULE section. The links to the crafts original sources are in the SCHEDULE section's copy. This one just has a JPEG of our schedule.)

Welcome!

Below you will find three important resources for you to begin. First, you will find an example of a daily schedule. You are welcome to change it so it fits your child’s needs. Second, you will find more detailed instructions about how the lessons and times will work. Lastly, you will find a breakdown of what lessons will be taught when.

Daily Schedule (Example)

Note we tried to keep each activity around 2-5 minutes. If the group is more interested in one subject than another feel free to lengthen or shorten as needed.

8 am- Begin Circle Time

8:05 am- Craft Time

8:10 am- Story Time

8:15 am- Music Time

8:20 am- Free Play

9 am- Finish

What does it all mean?

Circle Time will involve a homemade board that you can customize to your own preferences. Ours includes a monthly calendar, letters, shapes, numbers, colors, and 5/100 of the most commonly used sight words (later updated to Weather). During Circle Time you will ask the children what each letter, shape, number, color, date, or etc is. If they cannot answer, tell them the answer. Have them repeat the answer and then move on to the next part. Remember that at this stage we are just trying to get those less familiar with these object to be more comfortable. They don’t need to be perfect yet!

Here is a picture of my board:

Almost everything can be purchased at the Dollar Tree. The only thing I made were the laminate pouches, so I could exchange things easily, and the sight words, which they do have at the Dollar Tree but it looks different.

We later replaced our sight word section with a weather section. I pick out the "weather" for the day (rainy, snowy, foggy, sunny, etc) and the kids can tell me what our Weather Bear should wear and what it looks like outside. To see our updated board check it out on our blog here.

Craft Time will be coloring with marker, pencils, or crayons the majority of the time. Every other Thursday, we will be doing a basic craft to introduce cutting, gluing, stamping, and painting skills. Be prepared to get messy and have some fun! There are some suggestions below but you are welcome to exchange them for whatever you would like to do. Be prepared to premake some pieces for the kids to use. And don’t be shy about adding in holiday crafts too, as appropriate.

Story Time will consist of picking out a story book or two and reading it to the children. The more interactive you can make it, the better your story time will be. You can also use this time to distribute snacks or water if you would like.

Music Time will consist of singing nursery rhymes a majority of the time. (Later updated so every day we listen to a new instrument in the background during free play too. We pick an instrument, go online, and check out youtube videos and pictures of it. Show them what it looks like, how it sounds, and what kind of music it can be used in). Every other Thursday we will learn about volume (softer vs. louder), beats and rhythms, and making music by playing with our own instruments. You can purchase kazoos, whistles, flutes, tambourines, harmonicas, maracas, clackers, and noise makers from Party City (25 cent-60 cents a piece) or the Dollar Tree. You can also use pots and pans as a drum set. Easter Eggs filled with rice makes great maracas. Get creative with it! If you have other instruments at home that you don’t mind the kids banging on, feel free to pull it out and let the kids play.

Free Play is letting the kids use their own creativity. Whether you pull out a box of toys inside, go to the park, or even hit up the zoo, let the kids be kids and have fun together. The whole point of this preschool is to learn AND play!

Lesson Schedule

Original (Simplified) Version