Let me tell you about our August, from the perspective of my preschooler:
* Our biblestudy group leaves for our annual beach trip in one week (between us there's now a total of 10 kids under 6-years-old, but who's counting!).
* We're meeting my parents (Grammy and Papa) in the mountains the week after that. They just moved about 1200 miles away from us, and Landon misses them terribly. He can't wait to see them!
* The week after that is Daddy's birthday.
*A few days later is Landon's birthday.
* Our first day of preschool is a couple weeks later (September).
Due to the nature of the above list, I've had the equivalent of the "Are we there yet?" conversation multiple times a day with a certain very excited little boy. I'm not usually one to get frustrated by repeated questions, but I realized that, though I understood his excitement, my patience was beginning to wear thin after the 28th time of trying to explain what 'two weeks' was to a three-year-old.
So, I scoured the internet for a calendar to help me show (and teach) days, weeks, and months visually to my kiddo. I found some good ones, but here's the one that he and I both liked the best: http://disney.go.com/preschool/printandcolor/html/calendar_maker/index. It allowed him to pick a character (there were many to choose from), and I was able to mark important days with fun icons.
Last night, as we were driving home from one of his beach buddies houses', he did ask, "Mama, how far away until we go to the beach?" Sweetly, without a hint of impatience, I simply said, "You know honey, we'll take a look at your calendar together when we get home." He was pleased with the answer (he's very proud of his big boy calendar), and
I was pleased to give it!
3 comments:
What a great idea - maybe I need one of those, for 'how long til I get to be with Landon and his parents?" Then one for 'how long til it stops being 100+ degrees'. Such a fun way for them to look and count off the days. I remember reading a book to Caiden, when he was about 5, and it had the numbers, 1-100 on two pages. He asked me which number I was, something like 50, and when he saw how many I'd already been he told me, 'wow Grammy, you're gonna die soon!'
That's hilarious! Made me laugh outloud! :)
I love that it's a way for kids to actually grasp the concept of time. One friend makes a paper chain when her husband travels (he's gone for long stretches) and they take one off every day until dad comes home. And of course, the Advent calendar is a great tool for counting down to Christmas morning. It takes a little extra time and creativity to connect those dots for kiddos, but it's so much nicer than just saying "two weeks, sweetie". It's also so much nicer than losing your patience. Call me guilty!
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