playtime-curriculum

Playtime curriculum reference

This skill maps a kid's age (in months under 3yr, in years over 3yr) to:

• What they're working on developmentally
• What they typically can / can't do
• What activities will land at that stage
• What learning goals to nudge toward

How to use

When generating an activity for a kid:

1. Compute their age in months: (target_date - birthday).days / 30.4
2. Read the matching reference file:

Age range	File
0-6 months	references/age-0-6mo.md
6-12 months	references/age-6-12mo.md
12-18 months	references/age-12-18mo.md
18-24 months	references/age-18-24mo.md
2-3 years	references/age-2-3yr.md
3-4 years	references/age-3-4yr.md
4-5 years	references/age-4-5yr.md
5-6 years	references/age-5-6yr.md
6-8 years	references/age-6-8yr.md
8-10 years	references/age-8-10yr.md
10-12 years	references/age-10-12yr.md

3. Use the file's "what works" / "skip these" sections to filter activity choices.
4. Use the "developmental targets" section to weight learning goals.

Domains

Every reference covers these domains so you can balance variety across days:

• Cognitive — problem-solving, attention, memory, reasoning
• Language & literacy — speech, vocabulary, reading, writing
• Math & numeracy — counting, quantity, patterns, operations
• Fine motor — hand control, scissors, drawing, writing
• Gross motor — whole-body coordination, balance
• Social-emotional — feelings, regulation, relationships, identity
• Creative arts — music, visual art, dramatic play, dance
• Science & STEM — observation, hypothesis, classification
• Practical life — self-care, household tasks, real tools
• Cultural / world awareness — geography, cultures, history (older kids)

A good week of packets touches several of these. A great month touches all of them.

Important notes

• Every kid is different. These bands are typical, not prescriptive. If the parent's notes say "advanced for age" or "delayed in X", weight to that, not the chart.
• Don't pathologize variance. Materials should celebrate where the kid IS, not chase milestones.
• Months matter under 3. A 16-month-old and a 23-month-old are different humans. Don't lump them.
• Years matter under 6. Bigger gaps OK after that.
• Sensory and emotional load grows non-linearly. A 4yr-old can handle scary themes a 3yr-old cannot.