MBC: What to Read (and Do!) After Halloween
Today is Halloween!
Goodness knows that it has already been and will continue to be a lot for you and your child - of anticipation, stimulation, sugar, fun, stress, discomfort, fun. You will both move through stages of feeling overjoyed, overwhelmed, and overtired - you probably already did this past weekend.
The aftereffects of Halloween will likely continue for the rest of the week and into the weekend. As a teacher, this was a notable and trackable phenomenon - and not in such a good way! It may last into next week, too.
Children need our support with finding their balance after all that stimulation.
Recent posts in the Learning Journal can help you:
To help you recalibrate, I also wanted to share a Meaningful Book Club double-header.
One book is about a simple yet grounding experience of connection. A second is about the delight in everyday costuming.
Tiny Perfect Things, by M.H. Clark and Madeline Kloepper, is a book is about noticing the small yet wondrous aspects of an autumn walk in the neighborhood, and concludes with scenes of quiet time and a cozy family dinner.
You needn’t alternate between pumpkin patches and apple picking and fall birthday parties every weekend without pause in order to make the most of the season. Take a walk with your child with the simple, shared intention of paying close attention to what you see in the world around you. Call it a special autumn walk. Even if it just lasts five minutes. Describe what you both see as you walk.
Consider extending that experience in the following ways when you come home:
Collect some leaves for art-making or arranging in a vase.
Make a list of what you observed together to support retention and model writing.
Have some conversation about what you saw at dinnertime, perhaps using your list as a prompt.
Invite your child to draw what they saw, like the child protagonist in the book.
Very Good Hats, by Emma Straub and Blanca Gómez, can help keep a conversation about the fun of wearing something interesting and transformative going - without turning to fantasy characters.
It's a little bit silly - you will want to have back-and-forth dialogue with your child about some of the scenarios in the story, and laugh together at the mischief. But this book has the type of irrepressible good humor and playfulness that children enjoy, and that bring important lightness to your relationship.
Consider extending the book with the following:
Discussion. Can you think of any other types of hat?
What did they look like? What was their function? Where did you see these hats?
Creation. Would you like to make some hats? What could you use? Make a plan.
Construction paper, child-safe scissors, and tape are always a good place to start.
Good luck this week!
We’ll keep the ideas coming to support you.