Over a year ago, Bean started asking over breakfast every morning, “what are we doing today? Is daddy staying home today? Is daddy staying home tomorrow? what are we doing tomorrow?” I realized that she had no idea what day it was, no idea what our weekly schedule was, and no idea when the “weekend” was. Every day was this mystery bag of activities and attendees.
In my head, I came up with this perfect layout for a weekly calendar. A very simple week layout with images for what we were doing each day. Done. But, every calendar I could find online was 1) a busy cluttered monthly calendar or 2) a jumbled hot mess of drawings and magnets and weather indicators — if I could barely figure out what was going on, how could a 2 year old? And would we really maintain all that daily? (No.)
For a while, I thought I was going to design one myself and print it out weekly. (HAA!)
Thankfully, I eventually stumbled across two that fit the bill exactly: the Monkey & Chops Weekly Activity Planner and the 2fish kids My Week Calendar. (I ended up with the Monkey & Chops planner; not sure the 2fish kids is available in the States.)
Bean has loved it since the moment it arrived. The magnetic calendar sticks prominently on our refrigerator, and it is the topic of conversation every morning at breakfast. It’s also a dry erase board, so I can easily draw or write in anything I don’t have a magnet for.
It’s given her an understanding of what is happening in her life, and what events she can look forward to. It has also given her some independence: when she sees that a day has no magnet on it, she proposes something to do.
Of course, now she talks about days of the weeks as colors (“Mommy, I go to swim class on the purple day?”) and Dave and I have to scramble to remember which day is which color.
She’s no longer blindsided by Dave’s work travel, upcoming events or a boring trip to the supermarket. Even better, she can count down the days to a birthday party or a weekend away. The calendar has been a total success.
More reading:
How to disguise a toy shelf with Montessori trays and baskets
A closet fit for a preschooler
Finally, a toy storage solution
