OP here - thank you all for your feedback, especially the breakdown of the day. Definitely have a sense of what a “day with nanny” might look like!

Our nanny was a preschool teacher and has always taken the kids out for free play outside in the morning. Even during Covid, she would cart water and bowls or play dough or paints to a lovely green park within stroller distance. Lunch, nap, and back outside for playgroup nanny started.

That said, preschool is a good idea for a 2.5 yr old. Our nanny picks up our oldest at 12:30 every day.

We have a 2.5 year old (and an 8 month old, but I’ll focus on the toddler’s schedule).

9am - nanny arrives. Chat and say hello while she settles in.
9:15 - Parent starts work (one parent WFH every day). Quiet play, nanny gets settled in, she usually has a little coffee, kids play, she packs up to leave
10am - They leave. They either go to a playground or to library story time for the morning
Noon - They return. Nanny makes and serves lunch
1pm - They go to toddlers room for some quiet play and nap routine
1:30 - Toddler naps
3:30/3:45 - Toddler wakes.
4pm - snack time
4:30 - nanny straightens up, makes sure kids are in clean diapers and ready for a walk
4:50 - parent appears. Check in on the day, we all leave, nanny to go home, kids and parent for a walk.

Anonymous wrote:The schedule will look the same -- (i.e breakfast, snack, lunch, nap, snack) -- but the "everything else" part really be really dependent on the nanny and the expectations you set. Our nanny is very proactive and has a lot of nanny friends, so they spend 90% of nice days outside at a playground of some sort.

IMO - if you can make it work financially at 2.5 the ideal set up is half and half - part time preschool the rest with the nanny.

Co-sign. Our 3 year old is in a morning preschool program - just two days a week, from 9:00 - 12:00 at a local church program. It's pretty inexpensive. Our nanny does pick-up and drop off, and runs errands and gets kids stuff done during those time blocks. She grocery shops for us, and does all the kid laundry, handles clothing and toy purges, reorganizes the playroom and their bedrooms, etc. It's a great balance for our daughter, since she loves her nursery school friends and her teachers.

Beyond that, our nanny has a routine the revolves around being home for afternoon nap. On non-school mornings, they will go out and do a play date, hit a museum, go to the playground, etc. If it's raining, she'll set up crafts and activities at home. After nap, it's time to pick up big brother from school, and they'll either spend time at the playground, or come home and play. Our nanny handles bath time and dinner, so when we come to relieve her, the kids are in their pajamas eating dinner and we can jump in and join them.

I did daycare when my older child was younger, and didn't get a nanny until #2 came. My strong personal preference is a nanny, because it's so much more flexible and so much is taken off my plate. We have been really lucky and have had the same nanny for over three years now.

Parks
Playdates
Museums
Classes
Picnics
Crafts
Sensory play
Fort building
Cooking/baking
Libraries
Working on letters/numbers

The schedule will look the same -- (i.e breakfast, snack, lunch, nap, snack) -- but the "everything else" part really be really dependent on the nanny and the expectations you set. Our nanny is very proactive and has a lot of nanny friends, so they spend 90% of nice days outside at a playground of some sort.

IMO - if you can make it work financially at 2.5 the ideal set up is half and half - part time preschool the rest with the nanny.

We are debating preschool/daycare versus a nanny for a future 2.5 year old in the fall. The little has been home with us during the pandemic, but now older, definitely needs more attention and time than we can provide with balancing work. Preschools and daycare can visit and see what their routines are. But we have no idea what a typical day with a nanny would look like at this stage? Would love it if anyone would be able to share their schedule with their nanny (what time start and off, outdoor times, snack times, nap times, classes attend during week with toddler etc?).