When my children were little, we delighted in special mommy planned days. These were themed days of art, cooking, science and play that gave me lots of quality time with my little ones as well as time to myself because they were so fully engaged and occupied. Years later, my now teens, still mention favorite activities or request meals from those special days!
A day with a plan and loose schedule allows children time to explore and create while giving them the comfort of a routine. A day with a theme, organizes new information and concepts in a variety of ways, giving all learners an opportunity to grow and incorporate new skills.
My new series–Kindred Home Adventures–kicks off with a seasonal apple theme. This eBook contains a day (or more) of themed learning and play for your household. Use during school breaks. Incorporate it into your home school program. Pass to a grandparent or a caregiver to make their time with your child as special as yours! Therapists can also use it as a guide for parent education.
This book contains apple themed ideas for:
• Costumes
• Art projects (including one open ended project, three directed projects and one option especially for parents)
• Related science experiments
• A sensory box or activity
• Music and rhymes
• A movement activity/game
• A family game (including a printable)
• Book suggestions (for children and adults)
• Video/media suggestions (for children and adults)
• Field trip ideas
• Recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and drinks
• Place card printable
• Sticker sheet of twelve (12) different stickers (print on full-size sticker paper)
For full details, click here.
One of the crafts, Apple Orchard, can be modified to be low prep and non mess–perfect for your therapy room!
Materials needed:
- color coded dot stickers in red or green
- green card stock
- clothes pin (make sure it can stand upright with the wide legs down/pincher up) or paper towel tube
Trace a 4-6″ diameter circle on the card stock. Cut.
Use the color coded dot stickers to put “apples” on the tree. You might:
- say an artic word for each “apple”
- work on counting skills
- elicit “more” or “again”
- elicit multi-word utterances like “apple on tree”
Color the clothes pin or paper towel roll brown. This will be your tree trunk. Clothes pins can simply pinch the “tree branches” and be placed wide legs down. The paper towel roll may need to be cut a bit shorter and will need two notches cut on opposite sides to slide in the “tree branches.” No drying. Easy as can be!
Click here for a description of the entire book. It contains additional art projects and lots more!
Have you ever tried a theme day at home? What’s your favorite theme(s)?
