September is a season of new beginnings, so we’re taking the opportunity to make some mid-year commitments that will help us stay organized and crafty all year long:
- Have the kids set goals and track them throughout the year: this is something many teachers do with their students (even the wee ones) at the beginning of the school year, and we think it’s a wonderful idea. If your child has set goals at their preschool or elementary school, you can support them at home by making time for them to work towards the goal, asking them questions, and praising effort. If your child doesn’t set goals in the classroom, have them set goals at home. This could be anything from learning how to ride a bike to putting their face in the water, taking care of houseplants, or learning to paint. The goals should be realistic (riding your bike around the block, not across Canada!) measurable (did I do it? Yes or no), and include a timeline. The point is to have the kids reach for something and celebrate success when they accomplish it, or to talk about what to do differently (change the goal, change the effort) the next time they set a goal.
- Keep a ‘Look at Me Now’ Journal with Each Child: though the school year seems to fly by, it’s amazing how much they grow and learn in the span of a year. Make or buy a booklet or binder to act as a journal for the year – have your child fill it with little details about themselves – like their favourite colour, a drawing, a tracing of their handprint, a drawing of your family, their favourite food, etc. Preschoolers will do drawings that parent or caregiver can help caption. Do an ‘About Me’ journal session with your child again halfway through the school year, and then at the end of the year. Compare how much has changed – can they write their name now? Do they have a different favourite colour? how many numbers can they write? What do their scribbles mean now?
- Decorate a Box or large folder for art projects: hopefully the kids will be coming home with lots of art and craft projects, so plan to store their favourites (and yours!) before they pile up around the house. For projects that are too big, consider taking pictures of them before recycling, and plan to display a few special pieces around the house in picture frames, taped to a wall, or on an ‘art clothesline’
- Schedule Craft Time at Home: we’re obviously big fans of doing crafts at home, even when the kids might be doing crafts at school. Integrate craft time into the routine to give your child some much needed down time at the end of a busy day. Crafts at home are a great way for kids to practice new skills, to start conversations about what they did at school, and to get creative without any social pressure. Keep supplies in an easy to reach location and (if they need it) help your child get started by offering a few simple ideas, without telling what to do. If you’re running short on ideas or supplies, the Kids Craft Club provides a monthly delivery of craft supplies and suggestions.
- If you take something out, put it back when you’re done: this may seem obvious to all of the naturally organized out there, but this summer I’ve realized that my kids are very good at starting a multitude of projects throughout the day, but they’re not very practiced at cleaning up after themselves before they move on to the next thing. They come by this honestly, as I often find myself leaving one task half-finished as I dash off to the next. Since schedules get tighter in the fall, we won’t have time to continuously be on the hunt for the latest location of that critical item we left somewhere, so we’re going to make more of an effort to integrate time for a thorough clean-up when we move from one activity to the next.