Holiday timetables

The holidays are I imagine a period of missed emotions. It’s wonderful that you can spend all this time with your children and do all the fun things you can’t do during term time. But at the same time there might be an element of dread or worry that things are going to more difficult than normal (and normal is generally difficult).

If you are feeling all those different feelings then imagine what your little one might be feeling:
– change in normal routine
– Different structure to the day
– More tired because of late nights
– Anxiety due to travelling and staying in different places
– Being unsettled because they don’t have their normal stuff around them.

I often find that the main frustrations come from my little one not knowing what is happening each day. With school they know what is happening each moment of the day, with some changes, but they know what is happening and how long roughly each thing is going to last. Then the holidays happen and all of a sudden there is anxiety about how each moment will be filled.

So to combat this we make a plan for everyday and write it out so it is accessible and seen by all. Even if your plan is to have a lazy day – write it down. Our days definitely go better when everyone knows the plan.

Your timetables can be as simple as write out or draw a picture for what is happening in the morning, afternoon and evening or you can go into more detail.

You can either just put one day up at a time using a white board or you can present the whole week. It just depends on what is best for your child. Also don’t be worried if the plan changes just simply cross it out, explain the change and rewrite the new plan on your chart.

I have made a weekly timetable chart, which you can download above and print out. Print out as many as you need for your holiday or if you have multiple children doing different things and hopefully it will slightly help towards having a smooth holiday.