One of the things that has helped our young children cope with long deployments are marking calendars on the wall.
And the best part of making Xs for month after month?
is ripping all of those pages down after Daddy is home again…
Which means it’s also time to start planning for our next milestone event…
I started with January so the kids can remember the day Daddy came home.
Each month has a milestone holiday day or birthday to look forward to.
Just like we didn’t know exactly when Daddy would come home, we don’t know exactly when moving day will be.
So we’ll just keep making Xs and planning for what we do know – holidays and birthdays one month at a time.
This way when we finally do get something official, we’ll be able to add them to our plans!
How do you help the children in your life understand time?
What are your creative methods for helping your children prepare for big changes in their life?
(Oh – and here is a link to the free calendar website we use!)
February 3, 2012 at 1:40 pm
I LOVE that you use post-it notes for each milestone. That’s the best way to keep track with dates since things change with this lifestyle. I need to remember to bust out some post-its for our calendar!
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February 3, 2012 at 2:14 pm
Love the post-it idea! Genius!
February 3, 2012 at 2:15 pm
I love this idea! It’s such a great visual of when things are coming up, things to look forward to and also to see all that you have done! I may have to steal your idea, if you don’t mind
The New “Normal” recently posted..“Who Am I?” – Homefront United Network
February 3, 2012 at 2:40 pm
The post-its are ingenious! I always avoided a calendar kind of thing because the dates did keep changing but the post-its solve that problem completely.
During my husband’s deployment we made a paper chain, adding one link for each day he was gone. Sometimes we wrote notes on the links for him to read when he came home. We enjoyed watching the chain grow around the kitchen and with each link we added we were reminded that he was one day closer to coming home and that we had made it through yet another day, a little older but also with a sense of accomplishment. The chain was hung on a big bulletin board that we used for pictures of my husband, letters, etc. In some small way we felt like he was with us when we sat down to share meals.
This was long enough ago that we didn’t have Skype or even very consistent email so it was great to have a visual reminder of him in our lives.
February 3, 2012 at 7:26 pm
I absolutely
LOVE this calendar idea! For my husband’s last deployment my daughter was two and didn’t understand! I think for his upcoming deployment this will be perfect to help her understand! This is also great to help her understand when it’s her turn to bring snacks to preschool (something she loves) and of course other big events! Thanks so much for posting this!
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February 4, 2012 at 2:19 am
I love the post-it note idea. I would always draw small pictures in the calendar squares, like ballet slippers for dance class or a soccer ball for soccer practice, to help them figure out which day we do what.
February 4, 2012 at 1:58 pm
I love this idea. The post-its are such a great great idea since dates change!
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February 7, 2012 at 5:38 am
I like this idea Ann…Pat leaves this summer and I wanted to do something like this. Other ideas I have seen weren’t what I was looking for. This might be it.
Tara O’Rourke recently posted..Don’t need no stinkin’ sleep…
February 7, 2012 at 7:21 pm
I am in agreement with the others here, that post-it note tip is a great one. I might use that for my to do lists during the week since I can never get things done exactly on each day I plan for it. My son has his own calendar that is hung on the wall and we reference it when he asks what day it is…usually at least once a day. We use calendar songs as well that help teach current day, preceding day, and next day concepts which is hard for the concrete thiinking child under about 8 years old. Great ideas all!
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