Shapes Month, Museum of Math, and Winter Days

January kicked off our preschool homeschooling. It was pretty informal. But I wanted to be intentional about creating opportunities to learn and about raising life-long learners. I could see how our days might turn into a never ending rotation of the same old and uninspired. So I put together a plan of activities and outings for the weekdays throughout the month.

January's theme was shapes. The idea was to incorporate the theme and concepts into stuff we might already do and find fun. So lots of art projects, music, puzzles, books, etc.

We also did just the regular old tot school stuff like painting pasta noodles, tons of play dough, threading those painted noodles onto pipe cleaners, pretend play, building forts, and learning to play nice (ie share, take turns). We were regulars at the library, often going twice a week. My kids adore library visits.

We also regulary (I think every week) went to free music classes downtown. I became an expert at navigating the city by myself with the kids. I needed to get out of our small apartment and my budget was non-existent so  I maximized the amazing number of free events and activities but that meant getting out of our neighborhood (they were scattered around but we spent a lot of time in the Financial District, specifically the South Street Seaport).

And there is the just regular old goofiness that comes from being with a 1 year old and 2.5 year old.

January was pretty decent weather. We were able to get out to the playgrounds and on other outings pretty regularly. We were often the only people at the playgrounds but if it was above freezing and my kids were actually wearing their cold weather gear (mittens were a never ending battle, lol) then some outside playtime was good for all of us. If it was very cold our outside adventure might be limited to the library, walking to the Macaroon Parlour, or lunch at Whole Foods after getting groceries.

And of course, getting out meant dealing with my desire for a calm, easy, quiet walk at my speed to get directly to my destination at efficiently as possible versus the 2.5 year old desire to walk like a big kid, toss mittens and hats at me as we cross the street, stop and sit on a stoop to take in the beauty of the neighborhood, and basically not go as efficiently as possible. Ah, we (meaning I) sometimes struggled to keep our mouths shut and enjoy the moment/season but we did. We enjoyed it - the two toddlers point in time as well as the snow is still fresh and fun season.

We closed out Shapes Month with a trip to the Museum of Mathematics. It was so fun. It sounds dorky, but really it is cool. It was very interactive and while our kids were little they still found it engaging and interesting and had a complete blast.

At the end of the month both kids were better with their shapes and other developmental growth goals so I thought it was a win and was encouraged for planning the next month.