Happy fall! I am SO thrilled to post this calendar because a) it is actually early! b) I made changes that I'm excited about (read on to find out more!), and c) these take a while to do especially when our little one doesn't nap, so I'm excited to hit "publish"! So, let's dig in!
What are the topics of A Month in Moments this month?
A Taste of Fall: Fall is a season rich in family traditions and a season of harvest - so it's no surprise there are fall flavors we love! Smell and taste some fall flavors. Additionally, this week will focus on just noticing fall through things like leaf and acorn collecting for a fun craft.
Kind Moments: October is Mental Health Awareness, Breast Cancer Awareness, and Diversity Awareness Month... that's a lot to focus on. One small thing we can do is focus on remembering the idea that "Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always" (which is attributed to many people...), so this week your family is invited to focus on small, kind acts to improve your community and deepen family connections.
Pumpkins: It's fall. This is unavoidable. Enjoy. Also, I got a cool new recipe for pumpkin playdough from a friend and got the idea to use pumpkins to make boats from #Tinkergarten (which apparently is a thing people do... they race in pumpkin boats...).
Sensory Surprises: Halloween is fast approaching and so is colder weather. For little ones, this can mean some sensory overload between earlier sunsets, creepy costumes, spooky sounds, itchier layers and more - so this week is designed to ease into that by engaging all of our senses and discussing what we notice.
Hodge Podge: These activities wrap up earlier activities and celebrate different fall things!
What's changed?
In the past, I planned these calendar activities to be easy to scaffold up or down. This month, I focused on things I could realistically do with my little one, so you'll see lots of pictures of our family doing these activities all month long! Stepping out of my role as a beginning teacher support-person after our move has given me much more time with our little one, which I LOVE, but it's also reminded me why I love these Month in Moments posts. On a normal day, I follow HG's lead. If she's energetic, we play outside. When she's tired, we come in for a snuggle, snack, and story. When it rains, we hop in puddles. AND, my adult brain sometimes needs a different type of engagement. The Month in Moments calendars mean I've done the leg work in advance. I don't have to come up with things for HG and I to do on the fly - as a result - we can spend more time playing and learning together. Additionally, some of these are HARD for a little one but are things I enjoy - HG can watch me wind embroidery floss to make a pipe cleaner doll as she bends her own creation and that's great! I have reasons to try new recipes as she helps me shake marinades and stir ingredients. After HG and I have dug in to some really rich play, there is more time for us to each do our own thing - I am more likely to get to read a few pages of a book while she flips through her own or scribbles nearby. Feel free to used my Month in Moments calendar exactly as is OR use it as a jumping off point for creating your own :). In teaching, we say that "proper prior planning prevents poor performance". As a parent, I think it might be "proper prior planning prevents pintresting during playtime" - and that lets us be more present with our kiddos :). Enjoy the fall! Share wonderful moments with your family! If you want to share them wider, please do with #watchwonderbloom.
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