It's almost February and we're getting ready for the next theme: LOVE. We do this theme every year but we switch things up by changing the sub theme. Some of the sub themes we've done in previous years are:
Valentine's Day
We kept this lesson simple by learning how others celebrate Valentine's Day. My girls got to explore the colors and shapes associated with the Holiday as well as share their love for others by sending out valentine's Day Cards.
God is Love
We started this lesson by asking, 'What is Love?' The bible tells that God is love (1John 4:16) The next question was, 'How can we show our love?' You might be surprised with the answers your little ones have. To answer this question, I like to reflect on 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.
Postal Services
We learned about the United States Postal Service and how to mail a letter. Then we made a trip to the post office. This lesson is also great when you write letters to Santa or if you're planning a party and need to mail invitations.
Hugs & Fishes
Last year we did a special theme because my youngest's birthday is in February and her birthday theme was Baby Shark. I wanted to stick to the theme of the month while also incorporating her birthday theme. Planning this lesson helped me think outside the box because at first, I had a hard time making the connection between Love and Baby Shark. Eventually, it clicked and we rolled with it. We had so much fun; the best part was when we visited Sea Life Park as a field trip/ birthday celebration.
WOW! I said all of that to say, this year our sub theme is Once Upon a Time. I chose this years theme because it's my baby's birthday again and we're having a Princess Tea Party. I'll share all the activities we have planned in my next blog post. For now I want to talk about the benefits of a fairy tale theme.
Fairy tales are just stories that have magical elements. Storytelling is a part of human history. Whether you call them legends, parable, folk or fairy tales, people have used storytelling for centuries; usually to teach messages or morals. Here are 4 benefits of fairy tales in preschool development:
Imagination
By giving our littles space to explore their ideas they develop creativity and problem solving skills. As their imagination grows, so will their confidence.
Relatable
Many stories are presented to be relatable in some ways and this is important for teaching/learning the moral of each story. We should be able to take a key concept and easily apply it to our own lives and experiences.
Cultural
Some, if not most, fairy tales include cultural experiences. When you look at all Disney "Princesses," you'll see that they all have different cultural backgrounds. Belle is French, Pocahontas is Native American, Moana is Polynesian, and Mulan is from China. (Don't come at me, I know lots of people don't consider some of these princesses. It's just an example to show cultural exposure from fairy tales.)
Builds Vocabulary
Whether you are reading a fairy tale book or watching the movie, your toddler will learn new vocabulary.
The benefits don't stop there. With so many positives, I think itʻs about time I do a fairy tale theme with my girls. They love princesses, unicorns, and all things magical. This might be their favorite Toddlerschool lesson yet. We'll be having many movie days with this theme so you better get your popcorn ready.
Thanks for your continued support. We'd love to hear how your Toddlerschool journey is going. You can do that by commenting below, sending us an email, or tagging us on social media. Don't forget to follow us on FB and IG where we share more of our day to day Toddlerschool journey. Stay tuned for our next post where we'll share some of the activities we've got planned this month. Can you guess which fairy tales we'll be including in our Toddlerschool lesson?
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