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December Theme: Christmas

Well, no surprise here, December's theme is Christmas! I am saving the snow theme for January so it will strictly be Christmas without an emphasis on snow. Jake did experience snow last year but I am certain that he does not remember! We will wait until we get some first hand experience to explore the snow theme.
A few notes before you download the plans:
*Because Jacob is so young we will not be getting into other religious holidays this year. I do think this is very important and we will explore other holidays in the coming years. I feel this is an important way to help instill tolerance and understanding of others.
*We are going to attempt gift making. These are simple activities that Jacob can do alone for the most part. I want him to make and then pass out the gifts to experience the joy of gift giving.
*I have decided to make another mobile for this month. Jake loved the leaf mobile last month and walked under it allowing it to brush against his head daily. This month I decided that we would use stars and moon. This is only because Jake has shown recent interest in the sky and the moon and stars in the sky.

I want to reiterate:
1. My plans are not meant to be completed in any specific order. Each day is different and Structured Play time should be a fun learning experience. Pick an activity or activities that fit the mood of your child for that day.
2. Practice activities more than once because repetition is key to gaining new skills.
3. READ, READ, READ- Read everyday and reread stories to allows your child to 'read' the books themselves. This is the first step in literacy.
4. Walk Away- Try to keep Structured Play time 'fun'. If things get frustrating to you or your child, walk away and pick up where you left off the next day. Remember it is Structured PLAY, you are not preparing for SAT Exams. Enjoy every minute!








I will Post about each activity as we complete them to give further descriptions and pictures.
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Comments

  1. SamanthaDecember 3, 2010 at 12:39 PM

    Hi! Me and my son are following your plans and are having a blast! He's 19 months, so a little bit older than Jake, but he's kind of a late talker. Im happy to say that he definitely knows and added the words "star (and moon)" "leaves" and "brown" to his vocab, among a few others. We've been having fun and cant wait to start Christmas and to see how and what you guys do!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jess-December 3, 2010 at 6:51 PM

    Samantha,
    I am so glad you are able to use the plans and that you are having a good time doing it!! Thanks for the comment. If you want you can send pictures of some of the activities you are doing and I will showcase you and your son!

    ReplyDelete
  3. SamanthaDecember 4, 2010 at 7:34 PM

    I'd love to! I'll just have to remember put my camera in the room or else I'll probably forget. Don't judge my messy office though, things get crazy over here with 3 kids :) What are you doing for your story board this month? Do you have a template I could copy? My 3 1/2 year old daughter loves playing on the felt board and "helping" Quentin.

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