Month at a Glance: January

This past weekend as we were driving home from a family day trip, S announced from the backseat that he was inventing a new holiday. He's calling it Kid's Day. On Kid's Day, he explained, we will cut herbs and cut playdough, and use scissors...and he would like me to make special snacks. My heart melted a little as my son conjured up a reason to celebrate. My son who needs no reason to celebrate at all, but can recognize the value and status in a holiday or special occasion. I can remember how the natural rhythm of holidays and seasons marked my own years growing up. There was great comfort in the cycle of time passing through the lens of celebration. On the secular calendar, January marks the beginning of the year. On the Jewish calendar, the new year is months behind us. The festive lights of Chanukah have dimmed to a memory and this is somewhat of a slower season. This week we will celebrate Tu B'Shevat, a minor holiday honoring the first budding of trees in Israel, while here most trees are still dormant and bare. Nonetheless, this new year of the trees falls right in the middle of our Winter for a reason. It is a gentle nudge from deep beneath the frozen layers of soil that life is still there--that growth is still happening even when we can least tap into it.
January here is a smorgasbord of weather--one week we are blanketed in the white fluff of freshly fallen snow, huddled up inside to avoid single degree temperatures. A week later, we are out with no coats at all chasing away the hours in our play garden. January is a month of ins and outs. We are indoors, craving to be out again. Then we spend invest a solid twenty minutes bundling up to get out only to come right back in again, disrobe, and repeat! Inspired by S's need to find and create the celebration in each day and season, I'm beginning a series of Month at a Glance posts this year. It's your monthly one-stop-shopping for our favorite in-season activities--ways to appreciate and celebrate the moment whatever the weather!


I often muse that if a parent wishes to introduce one "educational" activity to meet all of the developmental needs of a child under 5, sensory play is your guy! Sensory play engages young children, encourages abstract and critical thinking, introduces vocabulary and language development, mathematical concepts, science, fine motor and gross motor skills, spacial awareness and more... It's a great way to bring the outdoors inside when conditions are not conducive to outdoor play. A few of our favorites this month were:

Arctic Slime! We jumped on the slime bandwagon this month and had repeated play sessions with this fascinating play medium! Perfect for a snowy day or rainy day or any day at all...

When it was too cold to play outside in the snow, we played inside in the snow! Both boys had a blast playing, shaping (um, eating by one brother...) and painting the snow in our sensory bin. The best part of playing in the snow in your kitchen is the shortened distance between chilly hands and warming up with a cup of cocoa!

For a warmer version of snow play when snow is not available, we love this baby-safe sensory bin. We used mashed potato flakes along with some favorite forest friends and a couple of toy sleds for this story stretcher activity with the book red sled by Lita Judge. 

When the winter doldrums have you longing for the beach, this simple sand table with a selection of rocks, a few pouring bowls, a scoop and a large paint brush is the perfect reminder of summer days. S likes to make "ice cream" in the sand table. Something about sand play is so peaceful and relaxing. It is also a versatile sensory play medium that can be used with a variety of tools and add-ins, or even on its own. S does pretty well with a reminder to keep what's in the bin in the bin, but I also keep a dust brush and dustpan attached to the bottom of our sensory table for easy clean-up when spills happen.

 Books and reading are a year round endeavor here. We read in all kinds of weather, outside, inside and even at the library!
We have lately been on a Jan Brett kick, particularly enthralled with some of her well known winter books like The Hat, The Mitten and The Three Snow Bears. S and Y had fun using a selection of forest animal stickers to decorate our own set of paper white mittens. We also spent many a day playing with "tree blocks," a pair of white mittens and a selection of toy forest and arctic animals.

When we need a change of scenery, our local library is the place to be! We have a great library system here and frequently take advantage of story times, craft events and "just playing and looking at books."

At home, we got into some chapter books as read-alouds. To accompany and honor this newfound interest, we also got into making bookmarks! We have quite the collection now, many made by S and some made by me (mommies need hobbies, too!) and whenever we need to set a book aside for later, we head over to the bookmarks basket to grab one of our special creations. It definitely eases the transition of having to stop reading to go to sleep or go to school and it's a lovely way to save our spot until we can come back to reading later.

 January begs for a splash of color. In a season when we are more restricted to indoor play, I like our environment to encourage movement and inspire creativity. This colorful play area set up was the perfect way for both boys to engage in movement at their own developmental level while building, creating and exploring toys and materials through the lens of some favorite children's literature.

S explores color and fine motor skills with this basket of yarn scraps that he enjoys cutting. It's the perfect way to use leftover yarn. We recycle it for use in crafts/collage, sensory play and even outdoor activities...

 S has also taken to more loose parts play. As we have talked a bit about trees and Tu b'Shevat, I've been more mindful of talking about how we can help the trees that help us in so many ways. Children at this age do not inherently have an understanding of protecting natural resources. Through the addition of loose parts and "non-permanent" art materials in our art center, S has explored his ability to create artwork that can be created and recreated again and again. I do still keep glue and paper at our art center and we still make collages and permanent artwork. We even upcycle a lot of our artwork into new artwork. S is also learning to create and experience art using mirrors and recycled picture frames and arranging buttons, glass gems, and other interesting small items. When we work with paper, scissors and glue, we talk about using the whole page, or using scrap paper for cutting practice as opposed to a whole page. I do not disallow use of "new paper" for cutting practice as it is meaningful work, but I do encourage S to use the smaller pieces in a new way. We also keep a selection of interesting scrap paper, recycled magazines and greeting cards, even junk mail for cutting and gluing when the urge strikes.

Pipe cleaners and floral foam are another fascinating medium. We spent a morning building menorahs and lighting pipe cleaner candles, per S's lead. When this set-up became a bit stale, I swapped the craft foam out for some beads that S enjoys stringing on the pipe cleaners to make necklaces, bracelets, bookmarks and decorations. He has already made everyone in the family bracelets for Tu B'Shevat and a decoration for a tree!

Dramatic play is a big attraction at home after S spends the morning in school. Lately he is particularly into small world play using our "tree blocks" and other small loose parts like wooden peg dolls or toy/needle-felted animals, items collected from nature and some from indoors. I love seeing how he combines materials as he weaves a story to go along with it! I also recently purchased some silk scarves very inexpensively from a secondhand store after years of dreaming about play silks without the budget to necessarily support it. This was the best few bucks I've spent in a long time! Our play silks have become rivers and sunsets, tablecloths and doll blankets, a tichel, a bandaid, and dress up clothes of all sorts. My favorite spontaneous costume to date has been S dressing up as "a rainbow!"

When weather has permitted getting outdoors, our play garden has been the perfect haven for taking along some favorite small world materials and even art supplies.
 Remember that yarn we were cutting inside? It was just the perfect way to decorate "trees" (unique sticks and twigs we've found) outside and making "magic wands."






Y loves exploring the soft and colorful texture of these DIY ribbon dancers made from shower curtain rings and strips of ribbon in a variety of colors and textures. I keep a set outside in our play garden and another set inside.

 Both boys love exploring the mud kitchen in their own way. Tea parties are had, rock cakes are baked and music is always playing in the background as both boys explore the sound qualities of tin and copper....
Yes, I'm pretty sure our neighbors love us right about now!

S loves this tiny dinosaur world created with a collection of small gravel
and pebbles and plastic dinosaurs set inside of a foil pan. I poked a few holes in the bottom of the pan so rain water can drain out.

We also had a great time adding vibrant color to our walkway using chalk pastels. Our recycled frames made for a museum like work space as we doodled and designed. 

 I also started a Mommy and Me Cooking Club with S this month. It's a way for us to have an activity that is just for the two of us together. S is a somewhat particular eater as well. He may or may not try many new foods as we explore grocery aisles together, look up and try out new recipes. We are both learning a lot in our adventure toward trying out new foods and recipes. We had a blast taking a color scavenger hunt in a grocery store to find foods that are purple (that was S's idea) and he loves joining me in the kitchen as we plan, prepare and serve new recipes. He's tried a few new things and perhaps not yet found any favorite new foods, but all the way we are enjoying each other's company and the many skills that are cultivated through culinary experience!

To feed a need for some green, living, breathing (and tasty) foliage this time of year, we selected some herbs to grow in our kitchen window. My husband picked out some planters that can be mounted on the wall and although not all our herbs are exactly thriving right now, the ones that are add flavor and joy to our kitchen and our plates. Even staying hydrated is more fun with a slice of lime and a sprig of freshly cut mint--in January!

January may be a month of ins and outs here, but we roll with it! Sometimes that less predictable weather is a blessing; if you don't like the weather now, wait five minutes!
Sometimes the absence of major holidays is also a blessing. It allows us to slow down and spend longer stretches of time engaged in play, creating or simply reading a great book. It allows us to remember that every moment can be celebrated, whether it's a holiday or just a "regular day." In the last two days alone, we've seen rain, hail, snow and sunshine. We are ready for whatever this afternoon holds and so, too, we are ready for the new month ahead! For those who are celebrating, happy Tu B'Shevat--may this time of year find you rooted in the comforts of family and home while branching out toward new adventures as the opportunity strikes. We'll be back soon and until then...

Happy Playing