Chapter 1- Make a master list.

   Index cards, a new notebook, a blank sheet of paper.  Whatever your style,  make a list!  It makes the future of your table of contents so much easier.  I used index cards.  I felt that they would be easier to flip through and made each day seem like it was organized better.

 
   Think about the activities your child loves.  My Bird loves artsy things, she loves to read, and she loves to learn.  So I thought of those things when it came to her table.  I would recommend Color Wonder anything, and one big learning project.  A project that takes a while to get through.  We chose to have her learn the States.  We made a game of it and she loves it! Check out Grasping for Objectivity for more great things little kids should learn.

  Write down 3 art projects down, then pick 3 books your child will love, then 3 big learning projects you want to accomplish this year.  My recommendations for the books are:  Anything by Tedd Arnold, or Dr. Seuss.  We also love the Bugg Books by Stephen Cosgrove.  Those are kinda hard to find though and a little pricey.  They were a favorite of mine growing up and now they are a part of Bird's.  (Did this spark your imagination?)

  Next, write down 3 toys that captivate your child's attention.  G-Bird loves her giant dollhouse, magnetic paper dolls, and her magnadoodle.  She also loves her Barbies and Legos.  I add one of these things to the table every day.  It is something to not have to think about. A given.

  We do a daily Bible story as well.  The Hubs and I got her a 365 day Bedtime Bible for Christmas.  She loves it.  It also has questions at the bottom of each page to help all of that information stick.  I really like the style and there are some pictures.  We bought it on Amazon for less than five bucks.

  Then we have snacks that she is able to get herself or can sit right on the table.  I usually put things like carrots, raisins, cherry tomatoes, apple slices. nuts. & goldfish crackers in little baggies.  I also like juice boxes or pouches for the same reason.  They are quick and she can do them independently.  I think it really helps her learn.

 I am not saying that these are all unsupervised activities, but I believe there needs to be some independent play for kids at age four.  In addition to these things Gracie does play with other things and she does get physical activity and fresh air.  I am not saying that you should just bottle a child up, make them do everything for themselves and schedule every waking moment.  We love to be spontaneous and we love to have fun.  I just decided that our family could use a little more structure.

 How does your list look? Keep it close all throughout the day so you can write down your ideas. Next up in the series we will look at how to combine everything.

Until then...
Wen