Day by day, as I move closer to my due date and Annabelle takes one step closer to meeting her baby brother, I hope that we’ll enjoy a beautiful and creative summer. As part of this desire, I’ve decided to document the next 30 days as 30 days of You and Me, a month of posts dedicated to my daughter Annabelle. Initially, my idea for this post was inspired by a few books I found at the Goodwill; the way my idea evolved though, was influenced a great deal by finally having read this book by Amanda Soule, which I had (rightfully so) heard great things about.
Organizing my ideas and making it something doable (for both myself and for Annabelle too) was made possible, though, by these ideas shared by Jean over at the Artful Parent. Setting up our chalkboard and keeping the ideas and plans for each activity were inspired even more by this idea that Jean’s friend Jennie shared with her and which is entitled “Doorway into Summer.”
Because we’re already in the midst of summer (or at least it’s felt that way here in Virginia anyway), and because my days of being one-on-one with Annabelle are coming to an end, I’ve decided to think of the following activities that I am about to share with you as “30 Days of You and Me.” Beginning on Sunday, Annabelle and I have selected one of the following activity cards (that are a border around our chalkboard) to inspire us to do something creative together; while I realize many of the ideas put together here are things that children may want to do daily, I’ve purposefully collected them together to remind us to try new things and to make it purposeful for us . . . meaningful for mom and daughter (and dad too) as we close in on baby brother’s due date and the coming time that will be our family of four. So, here’s what our board looks like:
Activities included among our 30 Days of You and Me include:
from Amanda Soule’s The Creative Family
Nature Spot (finding our centers, finding a place of quiet and connecting with Mother Nature)
Hiking and Bug Watch (because it’s summer and we live in Reston)
Garden Observations (either drawing, photographing, or listening in the garden)
Weather Record
Poetry (reading, listening, and making it up)
Gratitude (making an effort to notice and share what we are thankful for, especially at meal times)
Fire (a neat tradition for the sharing and ridding of fears . . . yes, we’ll light a real fire for this one)
Earth Care (we’ll trek over to our park for cleanup)
Baking
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from the Goodwill’s treasure of books entitled: Science Experiences for Young Children: Pets, Colors, and Water by Rosemary Althouse and Cecil Main
Care of Fish Bowl Log (similar to our weather record, we’ll create a chart together to document the feeding and care of our fish)
Primary Colors (mixing the primary colors, one pair on each day–this one will take a few days–to create our secondary colors)
Pet Art (using a variety of mediums to create representations of our family pets)
Pet Drama (a day of mask making, drama, and animal sounds . . . I can’t wait to do this one!)
Observe and Compare (our) Pets
“I Spy” Magazine Color Clipping Game
Water Painting (artfully creating with water on a dry surface and observing the evaporating properties of water)
Color-a-day Snack (making a snack together that matches up with whatever color Annabelle chooses . . . I’m thinking carrots or melon for an orange day and strawberries and punch for a red day)
Doll Bath and Clothes Washing (we’re going to set up bath and shop outside, wash our dolls, wash their clothes, and then let them all catch a few rays to dry off)
Ice (observe the properties of ice versus water)
Floats in Water
Soaks up Water
and a few more activites I’d like to do:
Thrifting (a great favorite of mine . . . I can’t wait to search for neat dress up clothes, pots and pans, books and fabric, and other odds and ends. And it warms my heart that Annabelle seems to enjoy rummaging through old treasures at the thrift shops too).
Sunflower Pot (we’re going to try try again and plant a few sunflower seeds in an empty pot that is just waiting to be filled up with dirt for some pretty yellow and pretty tall sunflowers).
Flower Arranging (a Montessori practical living activity that I’ve long wanted to try with Annabelle)
And so, I hope you’ll join Annabelle and me as we make our way through the coming 30 days. It should be fun,
Jessica
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Jessica,
What a lovely idea! Enjoy the “two of you” time, but don’t worry, there will still be lots of opportunities for you “girls” to continue bonding with the new baby around! I vividly remember my own little girl (almost 3) cuddling up close to me, nursing her favorite doll, while I was nursing her new baby brother.
We continue to enjoy “girl” time many years later, even with 2 brothers and 2 husbands in the picture!
Hugs,
Ruth
I have ‘The Creative Family’ and it’s next on my list to read. I cannot WAIT to get to it, I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed it.
And I think your 30 days sounds fabulous. :)
Ruth, that’s funny you mention how your little one’s doll joined you more often after baby #2 arrived; Annabelle has recently started pushing her baby doll around in a stroller, over and over, doing laps around the house. Last night, I caught her trying to shove the baby under her shirt so that she could have a baby in her tummy just like mommy, :-) She is too sweet.
Amber, it’s a fast read with great ideas and crafting projects; Amanda Soule is awesome. And thanks, I’m looking forward to these next 30 days.
you never cease to inspire. i almost wish i wasn’t about to go on vacation and we could join you. almost…
:)
robin, you’ll be missed . . . join us when you return from your travels, ok?
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