I wanted to do something different with this week's Calendar Days. Something hands on and unique. And then it hit me: BooBoo loves cooking... and he loves creating things. Why not do both? So we made sweet, sugary 'S's' and snakes out of sugar cookie dough. He had a blast! I wasn't sure how they'd end up looking after they came out of the oven, but I was pleasantly surprised when they came out.
My tips for turning a fun activity into a subtle learning experience:
-Play into your child's strengths. If they love something (like cooking and art) plan an activity using that and aim for your end goal (ie using cookie dough to make the letter 'S' and snakes and talking to him about the sounds they make as we shaped the cookies)
-No idea is too stupid. As long as you're having fun with your child and they're learning in the end- anything goes.
-Follow their cues. About halfway through BooBoo decided to make the letter 'C' and was saying "ca, ca C". I had a choice- go with it or try to force him to continue focusing on 'S'. We started making the letter 'C'. In the end, he was still learning and that was enough for me. That, and it meant that he remembered our lesson from months ago, so I was very excited.
-At the end of the day, it's about quality time. Learning just happens to come along with the end result.
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| "SSSSSSSS." |
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| Concentration to the extreme. |
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| Carefully forming the letter 'S'. |
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| The final result. Yummy and educational, all at the same time. |
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