Plans for the Week #1

In addition to the puzzles and activities that are on the shelves already, I want to introduce a few things each week. I am not unreasonable, and I don’t want to push things that aren’t interesting. But without a plan or a goal, we won’t ever move forward! I’m using some of the scope and sequence terms (see “useful links” at the top of the page!) to help guide me. For now, I just want to explore lots of things and take note of what Alexander does and doesn’t enjoy. It could be that we scoop rice all week, and if so, that’s fine with me!

I’m going to read more about each scope and sequence, but it’s a lot of information! And each S&S is lengthy. So I haven’t got them memorized. I’m just using my brain to come up with ideas right now, and soon, I’ll start going in the “right” order. (As long as he’s learning and having fun, that’s what matters right?)

I decided not to organize this by days of the week because that will cause me some anxiety. If I have a plan to get something done on Monday, and it doesn’t get done, I add it to Tuesday. Then Tuesday has extra things to do, and I end up falling behind. Ultimately, the goal of this weekly plan is NOT to get a certain number of tasks done each day. The goal is to expose Alexander to as many different topics as possible so that he can decide what he finds interesting.

This week….

• I want to play with play-do again. We have played with it several times in the past, but it always turns into something different. Some days, he just pinches it into tiny pieces. Other days, he flattens it with his hands. This week, I want to print some shapes onto a sheet of paper, laminate it, and see if we can turn the play-do into various shapes. I’ll probably share the link/PDF of the shapes here, especially if it’s successful. (I’ll try to take pictures of this activity and share what worked and what didn’t.)

• I’m expecting another baby, and I keep meaning to do yoga here at home. My husband Cameron has been doing Crossfit for a while, and Alexander has started to mimic some of the movements (like pushups and situps). I figured we can try doing yoga together, even for just 5 minutes. He might like trying some of the movements with me. He can even have his own mat, which he may like!

• We’ve got a giant floor puzzle of the USA. Alexander has gotten very good at jigsaw puzzles, so this could be fun for us to put together. And I have a feeling he will want to do it again and again and again. While we’re putting them together, I can point out where we live, where he was born, where his grandparents live, and so on.

• I figure that mountains are easier to build than some other natural structures. We can build mountains with play-do, blocks, pillows, and so on. Maybe this week, he will learn the word mountain! We also live near a small mountain. If the weather is nice, we can go for a hike and talk about the things we see on the mountain.

• I’ve gotten lazy about reading to him. I should make it a point to read several books, at least 20 minutes each day.

• Since we started backwards (with print letters instead of cursive), I want to introduce cursive letters this week. I might try to make some cursive flash cards, unless I can find them online. Eventually I want to purchase the sandpaper letters for lowercase cursive. I’m not sure when he will be able to write letters anyway.

• I stated in an earlier post that he likes putting nesting dolls together, but he only puts the tops with the bottoms (and doesn’t nest them). I want to demonstrate the nesting aspect and see if he can figure that part out as well.

• He can count to 13 already. When I say 14, 15, 16, and so on, he’ll copy me, but after 13, they all sound the same! We can try counting to 20, during diaper changes, while we climb the stairs, etc.

• In the back yard, I want to hunt for sticks and rocks. He loves finding sticks and telling me which letter it looks like. So we can find a Y-shaped stick and an L-shaped stick and so on.

• Finally, I want to set up a rice-scooping station and a water-pouring station. I don’t think I’ll keep them out at all times because they’ll be messy. But it would be a fun activity for him, just to practice scooping/pouring from one container to another. It takes a lot of concentration! He has been helping me with cooking more, and he’s gotten better and dumping flour and milk into the bowl without making a mess. This will just help to strengthen that skill.