Countdown chain

Today we made a paper chain to count down the days until Oma and Opa get here. We cut 4 red and 4 green. I drew Christmas objects on the green (candy cane, elf, Christmas tree, ornament--and as I drew I explained how I was drawing each feature--this is important to model for toddlers and preschoolers as they learn to think through drawings and add appropriate features....one of the best activities you can do with your child is just sit and draw--talking aloud the whole time!) and Quinn drew on the red strips. Then we stapled them together. I talked to her about a pattern and what that means. We said, "red, green, red, green," together many, many times. Then I said it by adding a clap when I said "red" and a slap on the table when I said "green" and showed Q a musical version of our pattern.