Monday, July 27, 2009

The Calendar Thing

A number of you have expressed interest in Ben's calendar; see for example this post. First of all, it goes without saying that you're all more than welcome to use and adapt this idea however you like! Second, some of you said you weren't sure how to fit it into a busy schedule. It actually doesn't take much time. Every evening, right before toothbrush and bath, Ben and I "do calendar," which means we talk for a couple of minutes about what he did that day, and we figure out what to write or draw. If he's having trouble staying on task, then I kind've lead the discussion and make the decisions -- I want to keep it a positive experience for him. He often wants to talk about other dates that we've already filled in, which is great -- reflecting on past experiences is actually one of his IFSP goals for the next six months. We always start off by pointing to today's square, and discussing the date and day of the week. The first few times it took longer, but it soon became a pretty quick little routine.

Our calendar is one we write on with dry-erase markers. At the end of the month I take a picture for posterity, then erase and we start over with the new month. You could of course use paper. Leah suggested a feltboard approach, which sounds like a cool idea.

5 comments:

leah said...

I needed a kick in the pants to start working on that idea! We always "talk about our day" before bed, but I like the calendar for cementing ideas like "today, tomorrow, yesterday." Plus, it is something both boys can do together, which is always a good thing!!

tammy said...

I've decided to start one myself and that it would be good to have Aiden's sister work with us on it too. Even though Aiden's only 16 mths, I figure it's a perfect time to get him in this routine and like you said, such a language opportunity to recapture the day and incorporate "time" vocab. I like the idea of making it part of the bedtime ritual! Thanks for sharing!

Melanie said...

Thanks for the explanation. I am trying to figure out how to incorporate this but am afraid I may need to make three calendars! :)

Julia said...

It would definitely be trickier with more than one kid. I wonder if you could get large quantities of stickers representing typical activities (went to daycare, doctor's visit, shovel and pail, etc.). Maybe it would take less time to slap a sticker on than to draw and write, and that's something that maybe Mia is old enough to do on her own, and to help the twins with.

leah said...

I've been thinking about it, and I might make a calendar that is only 1 week long. That way I could put the various preschool days/library days for each boy, and have enough room to put in the information! With the feltboard idea, I think I'll make some plain white felt scraps that can be written on for the events that don't fit into our normal activity pattern. Hmm... a trip to JoAnne's is in order!