Before the events of this Summer, the 2021-2022 school year was already looking pretty intimidating. For the first time I will be homeschooling all three of my cute crew. As I write that I can hardly believe it. How did we get here so fast? Balancing our time will certainly be a juggling act as it is. I sat down to plan out themes for my Learn + PLAY calendars and the subscription and found myself completely overwhelmed and fuzzy on creativity. Each calendar takes hours to complete from concept to print and photography. The very honest truth is after Rutledge’s T1D diagnosis I knew it was no longer sustainable. I had to make a change.
Earlier this Summer I was making my order list for transitional kindergarten. I wanted to make sure we had everything for our guy. I knew I wanted to use my Little Lessons curriculum and Learn + PLAY calendars and that’s when it dawned on me. I have written 3(!) years worth of activities that I am so proud of. I have loved each theme and I know he will too! I thought maybe we’d just use that exclusively. I’ve written these activities and families all over the world are using them. Why not use them in real-time with you and let you see how it looks in action in our home?
And so, our plan was set. Life is still upside down but I felt relief that one weight was going to be off my shoulders. Instead of writing a new calendar each month I will now be following a schedule of previously written calendars to create a truly special year of transitional kindergarten.
As a caveat, I do have plans to re-write All About Apples & Playful Pumpkins. They were my very first two Learn + PLAY calendars. As much as I love them I would like to revisit them and spruce them up a bit! I will also be writing a brand new Christmas Learn + PLAY calendar called Searching for the Star. It will be a special set celebrating the true meaning of Christmas!
Additionally I WILL continue to write BRAND NEW Learn + PLAY calendars each month through the entire year.
Who loves to plan? Anyone else out there? Me too! Right now it has to be in the quiet of the day before life starts (so I can think clearly) but I’ve been planning out my girls’ curriculum and making a print order for the Little Lessons curriculum for Rutledge. I’ve looked through themes over the years and have come up with a plan for what I think will be an extra specially fun year! If you’re new around here, making kindergarten intentionally FUN is really important to me. This is their first year of their “official” educational career. I want to spark a LOVE for creativity, learning, and curiosity!
If you’re here for the cliff notes here’s the basic break down of what this year will look like as far as Everyday Learn + PLAY resources:
- BRAND NEW Learn + PLAYmat every month (subscription or membership required)
- BRAND NEW Practice + PLAY activities every month (look for science themed sets for emergent readers!)
- Updates on All About Apples and Playful Pumpkins Learn + PLAY calendars
- BRAND NEW Learn + PLAY calendar for Christmas
- Using a planned layout of previously written Learn + PLAY calendars
- BRAND NEW mini resources every month for preschool – 3rd grade (sight word games, playdough sets, puzzle sets, etc)
I’m also deep into planning out an all new resource. Unlike anything I’ve written before. It’s intended specifically for littles struggling to read, struggling with confidence reading, or simply struggling to enjoy reading! As much as I want to push hard and have it ready for a back to school release time it’s just not going to happen. I want to do it well and my capacity to do that just isn’t available. Look for that coming during the school year!
Have any questions about the plan for next year? Always feel free to connect with me anytime. My email address is hello@everydaylearnandplay.com Thanks so much for hanging with me through this blogpost- it was a long one. You’ve made it! As a treat use the code BTS2021 to take 20% off the Little Lessons Curriculum! I would be delighted to have you along for the fun with us this school year! If you don’t already follow along on Instagram or Facebook be sure to see our fun in action at @everydaylearnandplay
No Comments