Counting Down with Kids Too Young for Calendars

This is an impromptu post inspired by C yesterday morning. As we were sitting at the table eating breakfast, he asked me, “How long ’till my birthday?”. I told him the number of days but that didn’t seem to satisfy him. Nor did my explanation that it’s next month (he’s entering into that wonderful phase where all he does is question, question, and question some more). Finally I decided to show him.

Have you guys made this type of countdown chain with your kids? They’re such a great way to help little ones who can’t read a calendar to conceptualize time. We made one link for every day left between now and C’s birthday. Each morning when he gets up C will be allowed to cut off one link and when the chain is gone it’ll be his special day.

We cut a few sheets of construction paper into strips and C decorated half of the yellows with a birthday cupcake stamp. We used a glue stick to secure our chain links. This project is nothing new, I know, but sometimes we forget about the simple stuff that makes kids so happy.

And speaking of birthdays, I was supposed to post today on C’s favorite toys from years past as well as my picks for this year. But since that got postponed, I now have time to add some of your input. Which toys make it on your “all-time best” list? Which ones do your kids never tire of playing with? Let me know in the comments below – thanks!