Planning With the Kids Activity Planner
One of my favorite ways to plan our homeschool activities for the week is this amazing activity planner from handsoneaswegrow.com. I love how it is broken down into catagories, like small and gross motor. I also add two categories they don't list, music and cooking.
I use the page titled "My Planner Activity Idea List" to make a running list of activities I like (usually found on Pinterest) under each category. I turn "Sensory" into "Sensory/Music" and put cooking activities under "Just For Fun" with our adventure ideas. Many activities can fit under more than one category, and that's fine. I put it under whatever category has less listed.
Next I use the "Activities to Do This Week" page to pick one activity from each category to do over the week. Monday might be a gross motor activity, Tuesday a craft, Wednesday sensory play and so on. I use the supplies column to list all the supplies I will need. I list supplies I have already at the top and supplies I will need to go buy or find towards the bottom.
Each activity usually involves something else we are learning like colors, letters, or shapes.
I keep the activity idea list in a binder where I can reference when I need it and the activities to do this week page on the fridge where I can look at it daily.
Finn an I usually do our planned lesson after nap, around 3. He's rested and happy and it works well since we usually have busy mornings. Find a time that works best for you, a half hour your child is more cooperative. Not all activities will last half an hour, in fact most don't. I give myself that much time so I have time to get things ready, go through the lesson (sometimes slowly with lots of distraction), and clean up!
You can find a link to this activity planner under the "Links" tab