Today’s post is the sixth in a series of “At Home With Gratitude” topics. We at Little Wonders hope this series will be helpful to you, our community, by providing support and resources during these unique times. As Mireille’s recent blog post mentioned, we hope to find the silver lining and embrace this as an opportunity to slow down and spend quality time with the ones we love most. By doing this with gratitude, we will set an example for our children and hopefully make this a time that our little ones will remember fondly.
By Elizabeth Euresti
Even in “normal” times it can sometimes feel like we are struggling to get through the same routine day after day - work, a class, figuring out what to make for dinner from pantry staples...lather, rinse, repeat (literally). As parents of small children, we are often reminded that, as much as we love our kids, days can be looooong.
Right now it is more important than ever to have a tool to help snap out of that mindset - and mine is that every day is a holiday somewhere.
How does this help?
A holiday means that there is something special about the day, something to celebrate and look forward to. (Think about it - when it’s almost Halloween, there are pumpkins to choose and carve, costumes to assemble, songs to sing, books to read, parties to attend, and more!)
When I’m not sure which day that ends in “y” we are actually on, something like National Sneak a Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Night is what I need as a guiding light to theme my kid’s snacks and activities (and my post-dinner vegetable espionage, clearly).
Here are a few recent and upcoming “official” holidays, as well as a few ideas for go-to themes and celebrations:
In Mexico, April 30 is El Día del Niño (Children’s Day). Schools and families celebrate children in much the same way as parents are celebrated on Mother’s & Father’s days - by doing things that the children enjoy! Activities might include face painting, making kids’ favorite treats, watching puppet shows, or anything else that brings your child joy. Libraries in the United States have taken this holiday on as well, declaring a combined “Día del Niño/Día de los Libros” (Children’s Day/Book Day) and offering special programming. Check out Book Fiesta by Pat Mora for more information and ideas!
May 1 is May Day - celebrate spring with dances, make a maypole, sing about the sunshine and flowers, plant some seeds, and maybe even bake a spring sweet (carrot cake? Banana bread? Applesauce cake?)!
May 4 is Star Wars Day - “May the ‘fourth’ be with you!” If you are a Star Wars fan, you probably don’t need to be reminded to celebrate that galaxy far far away. While the movies are a little too scary for our younglings for right now, they can still enjoy dancing to the music of John Williams, practicing “Jedi breathing,” or making art inspired by stars and aliens. (I also would take the opportunity to make Star Wars pancakes and blue milk.)
The first full week of May is National Nurses Week and National Teachers Week - make thank you cards for these amazing women and men, do chalk art on your driveway to show your appreciation, or play dress-up or make paper bag puppets with your kiddos to teach them more about these professions.
An everyday holiday doesn’t have to be an “official” holiday - it can be any fun theme that makes you smile. Here are some ideas that might bring your family joy:
Beach Day - dress up like you are going to the beach! Spend the day outside (or inside) playing with water, building sand castles (use dirt, cereal, or play-doh if you don’t have sand), and doing anything else you would do at the beach.
Train Day - take a walk or short drive to watch trains drive by; dress up like trains or train engineers; make train sounds and sing train songs; glue pieces of construction paper together to make trains; use a large cardboard box or laundry basket to take a “train ride.”
Opposites Day - have ice cream for breakfast, breakfast for dinner, and tea time for lunch; greet everyone by saying “good-bye!”; wear clothes inside-out or backwards. Listen to Lisa Loeb’s “Opposite Day” if you want a theme song (and don’t mind having her catchy tune stuck in your head all day)!
Favorite Color Day - everyone dresses head to toe in their favorite color; all foods are in the favorite colors of various family members; decorate the house with favorite colors using construction paper, yarn, or anything that fits the bill.
Camping Day - set up a tent inside or outside and get ready to sing campfire songs! Pretend you won’t have access to your refrigerator or microwave -- camping food only! Take a nature walk, watch the birds and squirrels, and make sure to get a bit dirty. If fire seems like a bad idea for your littles, make a pretend campfire out of brown blocks and orange scarves or crumpled paper.
Zoo Day - set up a zoo inside your own home! You can create displays of stuffed animals in different rooms of your house; livestream animal cameras from Curiodyssey, the California Academy of Sciences, or the San Diego Zoo; play animal noises and songs on your music player of choice. Feel free to have your child pretend to be his or her favorite zoo animal, and then offer that animal’s favorite food at lunch or snack. Make (or eat) animal crackers!
What will you choose to celebrate today? Let us know in the comments or share pictures with your class on Konstella!