11. [Parent Corner] Creating a Balanced After-School Schedule for Preschoolers

Chantal 0:02

preschoolers don't really come with a manual, do they? You want to spend your day helping them grow and enjoying the magic of learning through the eyes of a preschooler. You also want to help them deal with all the big feelings that come with being three or four. But real talk, you don't have a lot of time. We need to prep for the day with confidence, and ditch the stress that sometimes comes along the way. I got you. Welcome to the preschool Made Easy podcast. I'm your host, Chantal, a kinder teacher turned curriculum designer, and preschool consultant, and I'm here to help you make this school year. The best one yet. Let's get to the show.

Do you ever feel like Rush hour traffic is not only on the streets, but in your home too. Like your routine when you get home is just nuts and could maybe use a little work? Yeah, me too. Welcome to another episode of our parent corner segment. In these episodes, I share my experiences and expertise as a teacher and a parent to help you learn what to expect, what you can do, and how this preschool journey will fulfill you in ways you never imagined.

Hey, my friend, you're listening to Episode 11. And we're going to create a balanced after school schedule for your preschooler. For this episode, we're going to split it into two parts. Part one is half day preschoolers and part two is full day preschoolers. Each part will give you ideas on what to do with your child, how long each activity should take, and some helpful routines for you. If you're looking for ideas on how you can prepare your kiddo for kindergarten, my Kinder readiness checklist has every skill they need, and will help you keep track of how they are progressing. So grab your free copy in the show notes today. Let's get to it.

Before we start with part one, I want to tell you about my friend ISIS and her daughter Leah. ISIS worked a full time job at a pediatric office and her daughter Leah was three years old and went to a preschool close to their house. Leah was enrolled in a full day program because ISIS worked from around 830 to 4:30pm every day, Monday through Friday. And by the time they both got home, they were exhausted. And ISIS was really starting to feel overwhelmed. She still had to make dinner, bathe Lea play with her read to her do laundry, attend to her husband and take care of the house. Like I'm sure you can relate to how never ending the list can be because I know I can. When ISIS tried to do learning activities with her daughter, Leah, she would just get really cranky and not want to do anything with her mom.

So then at that point, ISIS reached out to her daughter's teacher and asked me what she should do. We both ironically told her pretty much the same thing. We told her that giving Leah some downtime and letting her free play would help keep Leah calm, and pretty much help her feel happier. Right? It will also give mom a break and time to do her chores. You know what happened within a few days, she started to see a transformation in Leah. And they really started enjoying their afternoons more together, but still doing their independent activities. It really helped and she was just so happy.

Look, the way I see it is creating a balance after school schedule can really help both you and your preschooler. It sets the tone for a nurturing home life where each person is valued, and given the space to do what they need to do. We already know that preschoolers thrive on routine, and predictability. So let's make a well structured after school routine. That also gives us all a sense of security and stability. It allows parents to ensure their kiddo has a good amount of time for rest, play and learning, but it also promotes healthy physical, emotional and cognitive growth. Did you know that a balanced schedule empowers parents to manage their own responsibilities? Well, of course, because if they have one in place, they can plan for quality time not only for themselves, but with their children too. They'll be able to create strong bonds and keep open lines of communication. This is so important. Listen, if you tell me that with a well thought out schedule, I can encourage exploration and creativity for my child, while also giving me the reassurance that I'm providing the best possible environment for my kids overall well being. I say, Where do I sign?

Alright, let's start part one half day preschoolers. For parents whose children attend half day preschool. Let's outline an example of what an after school schedule and routine could look like. With a half day program. The children usually end school Between 1130 and 12pm in the afternoon. So, this is where pickup and transportation comes into play. You can either get them transportation with a bus or a private van or someone else or you can go and pick up your child from school. You'll then move on to providing them a nutritious and enjoyable lunch together. If you pick them up yourself, you can do this together. If someone else does, make sure that you're sending your child with a lunchbox or making sure that wherever they're going, whether it be an after school program, or someone's house, or even your home, that they have lunch available. If they're with you, you can use this time to chat about their day at school. If your child is then enrolled in an aftercare program, this is when you'll drop them off. So this can be like I said, a preschool itself or nearby daycare center, someone's house, whatever works best for you. Make sure that it offers age appropriate activities and is a safe environment. I don't really need to tell you this, but I like to just make sure that it is out there, they're going back home with you. You can then have some creative playtime, and supervise social interaction maybe with other kids or even just with you encourage them to engage in numerous arts and crafts projects, or even just some playtime. If you are picking them up. And you don't necessarily have to go back home for this, I would recommend maybe taking them to the library, or maybe like a jumping jamboree place somewhere where they can play with other children that they're not used to seeing, especially if they like my daughter doesn't have a sibling, you can take them to a place where they can play with other kids. Then you'll have snack time, you can either take them back home for snack time, or give them a snack there. While you're at it. Just make sure that it's something healthy, that helps keep their energy up. When you go home, this will be the time to do an educational activity, you're going to incorporate something short, sweet and simple. Maybe choose a fun book to read together or engagements in an interactive learning game. Then around 2:45pm, you can start your outdoor play. This means going outside and spending some quality time there together, get some fresh air, let them get their physical activities going. Let them run around like crazy children that they are and just let them have fun. Okay, we have a backyard. Go for it too. All right, next comes rest and relaxation, which is around 330. So keep in mind, we're giving them about 45 minutes to play outside, when they come inside. This is a time to wind down with a quiet activity, like coloring or puzzles, just to kind of help them relax. The next thing you're going to do about a half hour later, or an hour depending if you know they want to take a nap or whatever your schedule is, comes quality time with parents. So this is otherwise known as family time. Once you're reunited, after work, let's say this could also be a time when you're leaving your job and you're going to pick them up at the aftercare place. You're going to come home and you're going to be reunited with your child, you're going to dedicate some quality time to bonding with them. Have conversations, ask them about their day. Let them ask you about yours. Share your experiences together that way they feel valued, and you do too, then comes dinnertime around 5:30pm You can prepare and have dinner as a family together and just encourage open communication and connection. Then around 7pm You'll want to start your bedtime routine with a calming bath, maybe storytime and then getting them in to bed so they can go to sleep.

Now let's take a look at an after school schedule for children attending full day preschool. If you pick them up around 3pm, which is typically when a full day preschool ends, you're going to pick them up from their preschool and offer them a healthy snack and hydrate them right same as the other schedule, then you're going to go ahead and allow for some downtime for free play. Now this could be at home unless they take a bus or some form of transportation to an aftercare place, and you're not reunited with them until later. If you have them at home with you, you want to allow for some free play, just like my friend ISIS did with Leah. This will help decompress after a long day at school and a long day at work for you. Then comes homework and or learning. Now typically, children at this age won't get homework assigned. But maybe you can ask the teacher if you're interested in for some recommendations on maybe some learning apps or games or maybe some activities that you could do with your child at home. If your child has homework or assignments, you want to make sure that you allocate time for them to complete it. And obviously offer support and guidance as needed. Then comes the enrichment activities around a half hour later, because homework should not be more than half an hour. Regardless of what grade they're in, at least up until second grade. That's just my take on it. All right. So the enrichment activities means you're considering enrolling your child and extracurricular activities like art classes, music lessons, or even sports. Make sure that it aligns with their interests and their abilities. If not move on to snack and social time, you're going to provide a light snack before they go ahead and play with their friends or their siblings or even just by themselves. Then around 6pm is family time. If your child went to an aftercare program, this is the time when you pick them up, and you bring them home, and you share this quality time together. Right? engage in conversations, share your stories and have fun together. This could even just look like playing and throwing pillows at each other. I mean, it's very casual, and just fun with them. Then you move on to dinner time where you sit down together, and you foster a sense of togetherness. And the last part is obviously bedtime routine. They're going to brush your teeth, you're going to read some bedtime stories, have a calm environment, put some little light music on if you want, and ensure a good night's sleep.

Listen, if there's one piece of advice that I can give you from being a preschool mama, and teaching these gorgeous babies is to be flexible. Remember that every day may not look the same. But if you want to find a good routine that works for you and your family, try to be consistent with it. But know that some days it'll all be thrown up in the air and that's okay. If you're looking for permission to customize this schedule to make it fit your needs permission granted, as long as it provides stability and balance and supports their growth and everyone's happiness. You are good to go my friend. Tell me a little bit about your after school routine in our Facebook group so we can share it with other parents just like you. It's also the best place to ask questions. If you need a little help. You can find the link to our Facebook group in the show notes. I can't wait to see you there. Thank you so much for hanging out with me today. I love creating content to support you on your preschool journey. So if you enjoyed this episode, reach out to me on Instagram and let me know what resonated or any questions you may have. Let's keep the conversation going. So we can support more preschool teachers and parents, just like you see in the next episode.