[amoral lemur]

When my kids were pre schoolers my general plan was.

Morning - wear them out with a phyical activity

Lunch

Pray for nap so I can get work done

Dinner / bed

More work

PS I tried with various success to turn housework into a fun activity to eb shgared with the kids.

[Earth-Angel]

I have a policy of usually the mornings being our outside the house time until it's near naptime when we come home and do the lunch/books/sleep thing. Since DS usually wakes around 3pm the arvos are always spent around home which is the time he plays with his toys, plays outdoors etc while I cook dinner.

Mon/Tues we do different playgroups from 930-1130
Wed we have swimming in the morning
Thurs is our 1 home day and I try and organize a playdate every other week for this day
Fri is our open day so have playdates/go to play centres/go to the science centre/zoo etc

Children do get bored very easily and are often learning things as such a fast rate they move from activity to activity very quickly. I think most ppl underestimate just how many toys/craft/outdoor things children need if you're going to stay at home with them.

Personally I think if you're going to be either a SAHM/WAHM you need to have these things are home as a minimum:

paints/crayons/markers/glue/stickers/paper bags etc for making things
puzzles - at least 5 but more would be better
puppets for putting on puppet shows
dress ups (a large variety)
dolls house (whether you have boys or girls)
playdough
child friendly recipes for doing cooking together at least once a week
a 5 in 1 Easel for chalk/magnetic letters/white board/felt board and painting
100s of books
tea set/cooking,pretend food things
sorting games (can be done cheaply with buttons or similar and a muffin tin)
things for them to help you with chores (mini brooms, their own spray bottles and chux for dusting and wiping etc)
A large variety of different tectured/sized balls for kicking/throwing etc

Outdoors they should have access to a sandpit, somewhere to play with water (when weather permits), rocking toys, ways to practice balance and to challenge themselves physically.

I also think some sort of cubbyhouse/pop up tent is pretty important and you can get the pop up variety from discount stores pretty cheaply (I got a castle 1 for less than $10 on clearance for example) and they dont take up space when not used. You can also find plently of ppl online at places like www.madeit.com.au and www.etsy.com.au that make special themed playhouses that are meant to be put over a card table (so everything can be folded and stored away when not in use) if your budget allows (they are usually $200-400).