When my eldest started preschool in 2018, she was nearly 3-years-old but made the age cut-off for the 2-year-old program. Her program then was two days per week, Tuesdays and Thursdays. This, her second year, we had the option for a 2-day-per-week or a 3-day-per-week program. We moved her into the 3-day; Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Around the same time, her newest sibling (totaling 3 kids under the age of 4), started daycare full-time. Where the previous year, our eldest went to daycare full-time on the days with no preschool and also the afternoons of the two days she did go, this year, we scaled her back. She’s only at daycare full-time on the days with no preschool. This allows me the ability to work remotely from home two full days per week and three half days, for approximately 25 guaranteed hours of work time. And, be her chauffeur to / from school.
A couple of weeks into the school year, it was clear to me that she was rather confused what “day of the week” it was. Not necessarily if it was Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and so forth. But rather: Was tomorrow a school day? A daycare day? A work day? A weekend day?
So, I went in search of a week calendar view in Google Image search and came up short for what I was looking for. That lead me into Google Slides where I created a custom week-view that I knew would satisfy her needs. Once created, I added wire-drawings (add visual components of your liking to yours) to the days of the week with consistent events (school, daycare, bath nights). I then used my Swingline Guillotine Paper Cutter, AmazonBasics Thermal Laminator Machine, and 5 mil Scotch Thermal Laminating Pouches to make the week-view somewhat child-resistant.
We hung it using magnets on the side of the fridge, down low where it was eye-level for her. And, I pulled a clothespin out of our laundry room for her use to denote the current, and sometimes upcoming, day. She’s so enthralled with this simple solution, if you happen to mention “tomorrow” in conversation at all, she will run over to it and slide the clothespin over a day. Note: you could also hole-punch the top two corners and use small, damage-free, Command Wire Hooks to accomplish the hanging.
You’ll note that I used capital letters, since she’s more familiar with those at age 3. I numbered the days, so we can start to educate about the number of days in the week and what day of the week it is based on the week starting on Sunday. I also show the day prior and the day after a full week, slightly grayed out, so we can teach the repetition.
If your child has different activities or events that repeat on the same days each week, you may find this useful for you too.
This embedded Google Slides file is best seen when viewed on a desktop browser.
Download Free Week-View Calendar Template
Should you follow my template, I want to see your finished work! Tag me on social media using @savingamyblog or #savingamyblog. Thank you in advance for sharing!
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If you missed it (mainly on my Instagram feed: savingamyblog), I’m newly off of my 10w maternity leave with kid 3. Here’s my first new piece of content for the blog since leave ended! Enjoy: https://t.co/qeOozwdlGK #freeprintable #preschool
— Saving Amy (@savingamyblog) October 18, 2019
