We didn’t accomplish as much today as I had originally planned and that’s OK. Some days will be like that. As we navigate eLearning and isolation the biggest lessons often come in the unplanned.

Encouraging Play and Clean Up– We began our day cleaning up. With spending all of our time at home our house was getting out of control! So I put on some music and mommy, daddy and our reluctant little one began putting away toys, dishes and art supplies. My daughter loves to play and in doing so she creates scenes that she does not want to destroy by putting the pieces back in place. The latest project was a well designed Doggy Daycare swimming pool complete with a deck for cats to sit on so they don’t get wet. The other project was the bear den we constructed the day before. As she ran around the house, screaming that we were ruining her life by cleaning up, I was reminded that play is a child’s work. I also recalled the “Work in Progress” signs I often see in her classroom. That gave me the idea of compromising and telling my daughter she can keep one “Work in Progress” out per day but the rest will have to be put away. Satisfied with our new agreement it was decided the bear den would be dismantled while the swimming pool would stay open.

Muffins– My daughter loves to bake so today we made raspberry muffins. I pulled out the book If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff and after reading we made muffins together. Through baking my daughter was learning a lot…how to follow directions, how to measure and how to be generous as we saved some to take to Maw Maw and Paw Paw and to their neighbor.

Maps– A mom friend suggested we read Me by Joan Sweeney. I know we had the book upstairs (working for a textbook company has its benefits) so I pulled it out and daddy read it to our little one. Click Here to read a digital copy of the book. Then the two of them set out to draw a map of our house. But our little one had other ideas. She wanted to draw a map of her Doggy Daycare so that’s exactly what we did! Gratitude Journal– Per her teacher’s suggestion we began a Gratitude Journal. Her first entry was a picture of mommy and daddy and her beloved blanket! She knows how to write mommy and daddy on her own and I helped her write the word blanket. We will add a new page to the journal everyday.

Generosity– Perhaps the best part of our day was delivering a weekly care package to Maw Maw and Paw Paw and to their neighbor. While practicing social distancing we were able to see our loved ones and model an example of generosity for our impressionable little one. Without a complicated lesson plan or an on line resource, children are learning. By watching the adults in their life, by listening to the sounds in their environment and by being actively engaged in activity, children are learning. Through play and imagination, children are learning!