Year of Play Week 1 Snowmen

Here's a look at A Year of Play!

A Year of Play is an easy to use ebook that includes 12 months of activity calendars and play plans for busy toddler parents created by Toddler Approved! The program includes 48 weeks of themed activity ideas and children's book recommendations.

A Year of Play kicks off in January with Week 1- Snowman Week! In this week's activity plan, kids read Snowmen at Night by Carolyn Buehner and try five snowman themed activities.

I'm excited to give you a preview of A Year of Play- Week 1!

I know as a parent it can be overwhelming to think about what you should be doing with your toddler each day. It can also take a lot of time and mental energy to come up with ideas.

One of the most important things you can do each day with your toddler is to read together! Anything else is just icing on the cake.

I created this ebook to help busy and overwhelmed parents have a simple plan to use each day with their toddler that focuses on two important things:

1) Reading together

2) Connecting with one another

When we take time to connect with our kids each day in simple ways, their buckets are filled and they are better prepared to go off and do their "work," which is to play!

The Year of Play ebook introduces kids to simple themes and activity ideas that can be repeated again and again. Pretty soon you'll find that your kids will be organizing their own activities after some practice doing activities with you!

Have fun exploring A Year of Play Week 1: Snowmen!

Check out this blog post filled with information about A Year of Play.

Start each week with storytime!

I recommend that you kick off each week with story time where you read the suggested book. You can either get the book from your library, purchase it, borrow it from a friend, or watch it read on YouTube.

Only one book is suggested each week because we want you to read and RE-READ each book a few times each week with your kids!

Reading a book again and again helps kids become more familiar with the book, like they would watching a movie over and over again. Each time, they notice new things. As they read and reread, they are able to dive a bit deeper and understand what's happening a bit more. This helps them build their reading comprehension skills and be able to answer those "wh" questions about books (who, what, when, where, why...). It also helps them make deeper connections with what is happening in the book.

Think of the book like you would a friend. Each time you spend time together, you get to know one another more.

If you don't have a copy of Snowmen at Night, you can watch it read here:

Each month starts with a calendar! Calendars include four weeks of activities featuring four unique themes. Here is the January calendar.

Each week includes a Weekly Activity Plan. Here is the Snowman Week 1 plan.

Each weekly activity plan includes:

• Link to the story time video for the week (click on the underlined book title to go to the video)
• Materials list for the week
• Simple instructions for five activities (one per weekday)

Are you ready to have a plan to use with your child each week?

A Year of Play provides so many benefits to families!

Here are five benefits of using the Year of Play!

1. Introduces your child to a variety of books
2. Encourages you to try new types of activities together
3. Exposes your child to new vocabulary and themes
4. Gives you a plan to have in your pocket on a tough day
5. Helps your child develop new skills

Make your life easier with a plan! Start now by purchasing A Year of Play!

You can learn even more about A Year of Play in this post or by visiting my shop!