Nanny Agency Jobs How-to / checklist

A useful nanny activity plan turns a few appropriate ideas into something you can actually run: a chosen activity, available materials, a workable time, necessary approvals and an alternative. Start with the family’s existing preferences and the children’s interests, then propose a small week you can adjust.

The plan below is an original example of ordinary activity planning. It is not an age-based curriculum. Choose materials and activities the family has confirmed are appropriate for the children in your care.

Establish what you can choose yourself

Distinguish between choosing from existing home activities, proposing something new and arranging an outing or paid booking. These need not have the same approval process. A family might welcome independent choices from its book collection while wanting to review new materials before purchase.

TrustLine’s sample asks families to identify expected activity types and clarify the nanny’s authority to arrange activities, including the communication the family expects. TrustLine-hosted sample, PDF page 4.

Translate the discussion into specific boundaries: which existing supplies you may use, where activities can happen, whether purchases need approval and who confirms anything involving another household or venue. Write down a default for unanswered requests. An unapproved proposal can stay pending while you use an already approved option.

Build a short list from what is available

Make an inventory before searching for ideas. Choose a few books, familiar games and art materials already approved for use. Ask which activities the children currently request and which supplies the family prefers to reserve.

For each idea, consider the work around it. Drawing might require setting out paper, using a designated surface and putting materials away afterward. A book activity may need no additional equipment. Those differences help you choose what fits the available part of the day.

Keep repeat choices in the plan. An activity does not become unusable because you offered it last week. You can change the prompt or let the child choose another familiar book without inventing an elaborate theme.

Propose one flexible week

Fictional example: Alex cares for two children whose parents have approved the listed home materials. The family wants one optional planned activity each afternoon, fitted around its existing routine. Alex proposes the following week, using supplies already present. These are illustrative choices, not recommendations for a particular age or ability.

  • Monday, choose a story: Offer two approved books and let the children select one to share. Materials: those books. Approval: no new request within this fictional family’s agreed collection. Alternative: revisit a familiar favorite without an extra activity afterward.
  • Tuesday, draw an imaginary place: Set out the family-approved paper and drawing materials for pictures of an invented place. Materials: existing supplies at the agreed work surface. Approval: confirm which materials may be used. Alternative: describe the place together without making a picture.
  • Wednesday, make a story together: Begin with an imaginary character and invite each child to contribute an idea. Materials: none required. Approval: within the family’s agreed home activities. Alternative: the nanny tells a short invented story while the children listen or suggest a character.
  • Thursday, return to a familiar game: Offer a game the family has already introduced and approved. Materials: the existing game. Approval: check that its pieces and instructions are available. Alternative: choose another approved familiar activity rather than buying a replacement.
  • Friday, choose a repeat: Let the children choose between two activities from earlier in the week. Materials: whichever existing supplies the choice needs. Approval: no new purchase planned. Alternative: leave the slot open for their usual approved play.

The proposal leaves room to decline, shorten or repeat an activity. It does not depend on completing five projects or producing something to show the parents every day.

Use an activity proposal worksheet

Copy this original labelled list for a new idea, especially one involving supplies or a booking.

  • Idea and interest: What will you offer, and what current interest prompted it?
  • Time and place: Which part of the existing day could accommodate it, including setup and putting things away?
  • Materials: What is already available, and what would need to be purchased or borrowed?
  • Decision needed: What exactly must the family approve, and by when?
  • Cost and organizer: Is there a proposed expense or booking, and who would authorize and arrange it?
  • Alternative: Which already approved option works if the proposal cannot go ahead?
  • Review note: What would you change next time based on what actually happened?

A clear request might be: “Could we use the unused drawing pad for Tuesday’s activity? If you prefer to keep it, we can tell the imaginary-place story without drawing.” The request identifies the choice and avoids making the whole afternoon depend on a reply.

Review the plan without grading the children

At the end of the week, note what helped you organize the work. Perhaps the drawing materials took longer to put away than expected, or both children repeatedly chose the same book. Those observations can inform next week’s selection without becoming claims about development or performance.

Discuss recurring obstacles as planning questions. If activities keep colliding with another commitment, move or remove the proposed slot. If you are regularly buying materials, revisit the budget and approval process. If the family wants a more structured educational program, clarify that separate expectation before treating an ordinary weekly activity plan as a teaching assignment.

Bring the next proposal back to the same practical test: can you explain what is offered, what it needs and what you will do if the plan changes?

Sources

Agreements, Contracts, and Expectations, hosted by TrustLine, PDF page 4, activity expectations and scheduling. The weekly proposal and worksheet are original illustrations, not a developmental program or detailed safety guidance.