Happy Fall Y'all! (If you're in a place with four seasons :). I'm super excited to share October's Month in Moments calendar. Our family is moving to Hawaii soon, so we're enjoying our last little bit of fall for about four years! In that vein, I decided to make this month's calendar themed loosely around all things fall - textures, cozy clothes, acorns, pumpkins, longer nights, migrating animals, spooky monsters, and more :). It's also election season here in the USA, and y'all, that is SO IMPORTANT (head here and make your voting plan today if you haven't voted yet!)- you'll see a few activities related to that in an age-appropriate way for preschoolers and younger elementary aged kiddos. Finally, last November our little family did the Young Writers Program from NaNoWriMo and invited readers to join us with November's Month in Moments calendar. I plan to do the same thing again. This month will help build some excitement for developing stories to launch even the littlest ones into story telling next month! One change, I didn't include Tea Time Tuesday this month, yet I think a calm moment together at least once a week is SO key to well-being always, and especially during this nutty time, so please, take the time to have those calm, mindful moments too! I will share some mindful moments ideas via my Instagram throughout the month so follow along at @watchwonderbloom! So lets dig into this month's activities a little more:
Download October's Month in Moments Calendar here.
Week 1: Listen and Raise your Voice - I was working on October's Month in Moments calendar during the first presidential debates last night, and y'all. The teacher in me was screaming. What happened on that stage is NOT what I expected or accepted from learners in my classroom and is not what most of us want to see during discussions in our family. SO, the first few days of the month offer two of my favorite strategies for boosting confidence in public speaking while also focusing on how we listen to each other. The first Saturday of the month invites you to use random art supplies or nature treasures you find outside to create a poster that says, "VOTE" for your front window.
Week 2: Fall Textures - Dive into fall by collecting treasures with different textures. Create leaf rubbings, apple paintings, and paper people dressed for fall. If you live in a place that doesn't have four seasons, you can switch this to noticing the weather in your area. We'll post some of our fall art if we get to make some before moving so you can compare what is growing here to where you live! Follow along on IG at @watchwonderbloom to see what we create.
Week 3: Shining Lights - As our days get shorter and nights get longer in most places, break out
your flashlights for some fun play. I remember disliking shorter days as a teacher, sometimes I wouldn't leave my classroom with one dinky little window until it was already dark outside. When I had HG and started walking more, even at night, I realized how lovely it is to be out even in the dark. We love walking our doggo after sunset and playing HG's version of tag in our backyard. If flashlight play can get us outside just a little more, then that is AWESOME! Nighttime play has the additional benefit of less people outside if you live in a more crowded area. Make constellation tubes, search for glow in the dark rocks, look at how light bounces, and more!
Week 4-5: Fall Treats and Friends - Make a fall treat together. Carve a pumpkin and turn it into a...house?! Make mini people to live in and then float in your pumpkin. Tell stories about the friends you create. Explore parts of speech by making adjective monsters. These weeks are designed to gently launch learners into feeling confident about character development for NaNoWriMo in November (a month when kiddos are invited to share their stories, even if they scribble them!). If you're interested in taking part in NaNoWriMo, you can make an account and then join my classroom, named Bloom Classroom, by using this code: LTDGYHKZ. Also, let me know if you join and want me to mail you some writer stickers!
I hope these activities bring some meaningful and mindful moments to your family! I started these calendars when I found out that the average family has only 37 minutes together a day. During this pandemic we may have wayyyy more time together, but often our attention may be pulled between 30992 different things - so these activities are a tool you can use when you have time to simply be together. If you're looking for more personalized resources or need help launching your family into creating these moments together, email me or DM me on IG and we'll set your family up with a free coaching call!
Download October's Month in Moments Calendar here.
I hope your family has time to #watchwonderbloom this month! And, don't forget to tag me in photos! @watchwonderbloom :)