Approach

Like I mentioned on my About page (you read that, right?), I'm not an expert on early childhood education.  But that being said, I do consider myself the expert on my children's early childhood education.  It's my responsibility.  In late 2013, I started doing a little research on the science of childhood learning and I kept coming back to what I already knew from my own childhood -- kids learn from playing.  My siblings and I have a zest for learning.  It's fun, we enjoy it.  And we played hard as kids.  Like "from breakfast straight through to dinner but hose off first before you come in the house because you are dirrrrrrty" play.    I guess you could attribute all this to genetics but I don't think so.  I credit my parents and their support of lots and lots of good old fashioned, unstructured play.

I know you're thinking, "Did she just say unstructured play?  These themes seem structured."  Think of the themes as a jumping off point.  A place to get the imagination (yours & theirs) going.  Who knows where it will lead, because all kids are different.  That's what makes this fun.  You get to learn more about your kid and their likes & dislikes through exposure to new things.

Ideally, you'll cover all these big areas of learning just by participating in this year's weekly toddler themes:

PERSONAL CARE - grooming, covering coughs, emergency procedures, religion, clothing

ENVIRONMENTAL CARE - cleaning up spills, putting laundry in the hamper, other chores

ETIQUETTE - please, thank you, greetings, I'm sorry

FINE MOTOR - pouring, twisting, rolling, stringing, peeling

GROSS MOTOR - jumping, hiking, building, throwing, swimming, balance, sports

SOCIAL - recognizing feelings, expressions, listening to directions, family, culture

MATHEMATICS - counting, shapes, sorting

ART - colors, gluing, painting, cutting, drawing, music

SCIENCE - under the sea, up in the air, animals, bugs, textures, senses, dinosaurs, weather, night

LANGUAGE - body parts, opposites, ABCs, rhyming

Each week, I'll explain the theme and give ideas for art projects, activities, outings, relevant books, and maybe even a cool themed snack idea.  We're in the early stages of teaching the abstract concept of religion here so I'll also try to suggest a Bible story each week.  And lastly, I might include a baby bonus activity for those of you with multiple kids.  My personal target audience is 2.5 years old.  You may have to scale your activities up or down depending on your child's age, but I'll include any ideas I have.  Can you do me one favor?  Please, please post your ideas for activities, books, etc in the comments.  I'd personally love to hear other ideas, but I bet the others reading will appreciate it, too.  I'll update the posts as needed.

Okay?  Let's do this!